Oil spill in Houston Ship Channel jeopardizes wildlife; family’s 911 calls during break-in go unanswered

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Schools

Student Data: Private Property or Shared Resource? | WWNO – Parents went “ballistic” before state House and Senate education committees over the possibility that student data might be sold to third-party vendors who make educational materials. Lawmakers have filed bills to limit or eliminate data-sharing.

Morris Jeff Community School Teachers Unionize | WWNO – The board overseeing Morris Jeff Community School became the first to officially recognize a teachers union.

Districts Look to Promote Economically Integrated Schools | Education Week

To distribute the enrollment of poor students across schools, districts have turned to alternative student-assignment plans, weighted lotteries, and a method known as controlled choice for enrolling students.

Dayne Sherman’s Blog: Gun bill loaded by a gallery of rogues | Talk About the South – Sherman is disturbed by a bill that would allow guns to be sold on college campus. So far the proposal has encountered scant resistance in the Legislature.

Environment

BP oil spill linked to heart defects in tuna and amberjack, new study says | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune

“We can now say with certainty that oil causes cardiotoxicity in fish,”  said Stanford University fisheries biologist Barbara Block, who studies bluefin tuna in the Gulf.

To prevent brain-eating amoeba, most of state’s drinking water meets new disinfectant mandate | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Only about one in 20 public drinking water systems in the state have failed to meet the higher disinfectant standards.

Local Pols Praise Flood Rate Fix | NOLA DEFENDER –  There’s strong bipartisan support in Louisiana for the recently passed law that caps increases in flood insurance premiums. However, that doesn’t mean that those premiums won’t rise significantly. National critics of the premium caps say the new law is a step backwards from the goal of a sustainable flood insurance program.

Oil spill puts wildlife in harm’s way | Houston Chronicle

The heavy oil spilled into Galveston Bay showed signs Monday of harming one of the nation’s great natural nurseries, with biologists finding dozens of oiled birds on just one part of the Bolivar Peninsula.

Criminal Justice

Uptown family concerned by lack of 911 response after break-in, several calls to authorities | WWL-TV – A family called police several times during an attempted break-in, but the calls went unanswered. The Lens has previously reported on the workload at the city’s 911 call center. The New Orleans Police Department says it has begun hiring more operators and aims to increase call center staff from 36 to 55.

Professor produces first official report of human trafficking problem in New Orleans| Loyola University New Orleans – A new study determines that human trafficking cases — most of which are sex trafficking, and many of which involve minors — is a serious issue here.

Government & Politics

The New Orleans marketing challenge | Gambit – State leaders say the city and state must transition its tourism and marketing away from the post-BP spill model used in recent years.

Jindal Takes the Stage | National Review Online – Political columnist Quin Hillyer notes that Gov. Bobby Jindal has smoothed his stump speeches and delivery in likely preparation for a run for national office.

Edwin Edwards’ political soup kitchen | Something Like the Truth – Columnist and blogger Robert Mann vows not to get “seduced” by former Gov. Edwin Edwards, who is running to represent Louisiana’s Sixth District in Congress.

Land Use

HDLC Rejects Demolition Request To Make Room for Canal Hotel Tower | Canal Street Beat – The Historic Districts Landmark Commission struck a proposal to demolish four historic buildings for a 250-foot hotel in the Central Business District.

Owen Courreges: Are bad renters entitled to a month before eviction? | Uptown Messenger – Courreges admits in his column that current laws favor landlords, but a proposal for a “non-waivable 30-day eviction notice period for all evictions” goes too far in the other direction.