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Government & Politics

Kentucky ban on gay marriages from other states struck down by federal judge | The Courier-Journal – Seems likely it’s only a matter of time before a federal judge strikes down similar laws in this state.  In a reaction to the news, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins claimed the decision would lead to a redefinition of marriage which would  “create a level of inequality that has never been seen in our country.”

Should Senior-Age Politicians Be Nudged Out? | LaPolitics – “Judges are the only elected officials in Louisiana who are not allowed to seek election or re-election after turning 70, but voters statewide may be asked this fall whether that should be changed.”

Criminal Justice

Former N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin found guilty on 20 of 21 counts | FOX 8 WVUE – Includes videos with an in-depth discussion between Lee Zurik and legal analyst Joe Raspanti. Nagin — the one-time reformer— is the first New Orleans mayor to be convicted of public corruption, chiefly taking bribes. He will be under home confinement while he awaits sentencing and a likely appeal.

Nagin Convicted on 20 Corruption Charges | LaPolitics – A fine roundup of news links and quotes from the local and national stories on the verdict.

Rapes reported in New Orleans up nearly 30 percent in 2013; NOPD releases year-end crime statistics | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune

Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas painted the increase in reported rapes — from 136 in 2012 to 176 last year — as a sign that more women trust the department’s detectives enough to come forward as victims of a crime that often goes unreported.

City’s new jail may get scaled back again | Mid-City Messenger – The City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee is taking another look at plans to keep old jail buildings open for mental health and other special services, because newly constructed facilities don’t have those capacities.

Schools

Private school enrollment falls 5% in Louisiana, even more in New Orleans, Baton Rouge areas | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Since 2000, private school enrollment in New Orleans has declined 17 percent.

Early Common Core testing will be a jarring wake-up call — what then? | The Lens – A leading New Orleans educator ponders the right response to the terrible scores expected as Common Core kicks in.

Land Use

Train of thoughtlessness: Proposed rail line puts NOLA neighborhood on the wrong track | Grist – The controversy over a proposal to reroute freight train traffic out of Old Metairie and into Hollygrove and Mid-City is gaining national attention.

Shotgun geography: the history behind the famous New Orleans elongated house | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Tulane University geographer Richard Campanella shows “shotguns shed light on patterns of cultural diffusion, class and residential settlement, social preferences and construction methods.”

Environment

Conservation Measures Suddenly Gain Momentum in Congress | Field & Stream – A look at bills in on Capitol Hill that will be of interest to hunters and fishermen.

Louisiana bays and bayous vanish from nautical maps | USA TODAY 

New maps are redrawn all the time with new features, said Meredith Westington, chief geographer at NOAA’s [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s] Office of Coast Survey, which updates maps. But having such a high number of removals in one place – all along Plaquemines Parish – is unprecedented, she said.

“This is the first I’ve seen it,” Westington said. “I don’t know that anyone has seen these kinds of mass changes before.”

Mark Moseley

Mark Moseley blogs at Your Right Hand Thief. Until mid 2014, Mark Moseley was The Lens' opinion writer, engagement specialist and coordinator for the Charter Schools Reporting Corps. After Katrina and...