Schools
Applicants to parish public schools find out this week where — if? — they got in | The Lens – Notification letters are to be mailed by Friday. Some letters have already gone out from schools not using the OneApp process.
Common Core has students writing — on just about every subject | Hechinger Report – This is the third in a series on changes taking place in a Belle Chasse elementary school classroom, as new Common Core standards are implemented.
Louisiana public school funding short $55 million this year | Associated Press
[Superintendent John] White said $35 million of this year’s shortfall is tied to having higher-than-estimated student enrollment for the 2013-14 school year. The rest of it he described as a “cash-flow issue” that he said Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration could explain.
Louisiana’s higher education competitiveness a concern, according to officials | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – State higher education leaders point to budget reductions and uncertainties, which they say adversely affect hiring decisions and student recruitment.
Lawmakers will continue giving Tulane scholarships | The Advocate – The program will continue although pending bills might tighten the rules on scholarship distribution. State Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, the chief opponent to the program, found that the arrangement actually costs Tulane University some $7 million per year.
Environment
Levee board lawyers offer to reduce fee if oil, gas defendants settle lawsuit | WWL-TV – Lawyers for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East said they would cut their fees if oil companies come to the bargaining table to discuss coastal damages. Industry opponents of the suit, who seem to have legislative momentum at their back, are unimpressed with the overture.
Legislature shouldn’t weaken levee board reforms: Editorial | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – T-P editors urge legislators to not roll back post-Katrina levee board reforms because of their displeasure over the local board’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies. This follows an op-ed by author and former levee board vice chairman John Barry who recently argued that “far from being radical, the lawsuit represents the most conservative values in America.”
Report: ‘Oil is not gone; impacts to wildlife ongoing’ | The New Orleans Advocate – A report by the National Wildlife Federation claims damage from the 2010 BP oil spill is serious and ongoing. For more, see the Christian Science Monitor’s report on the study.
Prospect of oil well worries St. Tammany officials | The New Orleans Advocate – A “wildcat” oil well in St. Tammany would puncture both the top and bottom of the parish’s freshwater aquifer. Abita Brewing Co. President David Blossman said he hadn’t heard about the proposed well and needed to look into it.
Residents settle for $48 million in sinkhole lawsuit | The New Orleans Advocate – Owners and residents of 90 homes and camps around the Bayou Corne sinkhole agreed to a $48.1 million settlement.
Government & Politics
State lawmakers to consider regulations on drones | FOX 8 WVUE – Lens editor Steve Beatty demonstrated an unmanned flying camera and discussed the potential of drones as a journalistic tool. State legislators are considering making certain areas no-fly-zones for drones.
Rep. Steve Scalise’s role in pushing flood bill seen as tryout for whip run | Washington Examiner
The Louisiana Republican is mentioned as possible majority whip in the 114th Congress that convenes in January, and his cooperation with Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to move bipartisan flood insurance legislation to President Obama’s desk was viewed by some GOP insiders as an audition for his leadership ambitions.
Why is the French Quarter overrun by gutter punks? | Uptown Messenger – In her column, Jewel Bush speculates that the city would have a different approach to the growing numbers of “gutter punks” in the Quarter if they weren’t predominantly white.
Land Use
City Planning Commission nixes privatization of Newcomb Boulevard | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – The City Planning Commission ruled against residents who hoped to purchase the Boulevard, which has been closed to through-traffic since 2006 with a large fence. The Lens live-blogged the meeting.
How many urban gardens exist now in New Orleans? | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Scores of urban gardens are sprouting up all over the city.
Criminal Justice
New Orleans criminal court is getting more efficient, report says | Mid-City Messenger
Although the report [by Court Watch NOLA] found that judges are still showing up late to the bench, causing a waste of time and taxpayer money, continuances dropped from 63 percent in 2011 and 2012 to 60 percent in the first half of 2013 and 57 percent in the second half of the year.