Government & Politics
Zurik: Skeet, golf and grub on the campaign trail | FOX 8 WVUE – It appears legislators are using campaign funds to go on hunting trips.
Gay rights group to file legal challenge to Louisiana’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages | Associated Press – “The lawsuit challenges the state’s refusal to recognize both members of a same-sex union as parents of a child born to them or adopted.”
Why I Can’t Vote For John Bel Edwards (Unless He Changes His Position On The War On Drugs) | CenLamar – State Rep. John Bel Edwards, who is running for governor, co-authored legislation that would make Louisiana’s draconian drug laws even more punishing. Blogger Lamar White won’t support such an effort.
Schools
Children wait for school buses along some of New Orleans’ busiest thoroughfares | The Lens – Six-year-old Shaud Wilson was killed last week trying to cross Paris Avenue to get to his bus stop. Around New Orleans, it’s not uncommon for children to wait for their buses along multi-lane roads, including some of the city’s busiest streets. The Lens will live blog a public forum on school bus stop safety at 4:15 today.
Join The Lens in person for a conversation with RSD Superintendent Patrick Dobard | The Lens – Come out Thursday morning for the next in a series of interviews with people in the headlines.
Et tu, KIPP? Teacher criticizes school that her former colleague praised | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Education reporter Danielle Dreillinger compares recent opinion pieces (familiar to those who follow What We’re Reading) about the discipline policies at KIPP McDonogh 15 compared to other charters. Are they too harsh? Just right?
A John McDonogh senior passionately defends his fellow students: Jarvis DeBerry | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Opinion writer DeBerry: “This isn’t 1954. This isn’t 1964. And yet we’ve got children attending schools in our city who can’t count on always having textbooks. Or a classroom. Or a teacher who doesn’t bail on them.”
Environment
The recent poll of 400 randomly sampled Louisiana voters also showed 85 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Independents agreeing that “saving our state’s coast is the most important issue of my lifetime.”
Industry rallies behind Landrieu-led panel | TheHill – (via @skooks)
“I was just told I will be head of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at 1 p.m. today,” Landrieu said on Tuesday.
And the oil-and-gas industry, along with coal advocates, let its excitement be known.
Criminal Justice
In Ray Nagin trial, central question for jury is what constitutes a bribe | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – The former mayor’s defense team has argued the alleged bribes are merely a series of coincidences. Tulane law professor Tania Tetlow, a former federal prosecutor, said, “That’s a hard argument to make.”
Federal Prosecutions Fail to Bring Justice in New Orleans | truthout –
While the Justice Department has appealed the Danziger reversal, it’s clear that [victims’] families have not received the closure they hoped for. The US court system rightly has many checks and balances, but they are much more accessible to these officers than they have been to defendants caught up in a system that has been shown to be corrupt.
Land Use
N.O. Esplanade Avenue housing project gets go ahead | The New Orleans Advocate
The state Bond Commission voted 7-4 in favor of a funding component vital to turning a former nursing home at 2535 Esplanade Ave. into efficiency apartments for the homeless and working poor. The approval followed years of litigation, the U.S. Justice Department’s intervention and concerted opposition from Esplanade Ridge-Treme Civic Association members.