Schools
Cowen report: Younger children do better on state standardized tests this year | The Lens – Tracking results over three years, students generally tend to do worse as they get older, study finds.
Judge Rejects Teacher Tenure for California | The New York Times — A California judge ruled that tenure laws keep ineffective teachers in classrooms and deprive students of their right to an education. Similar lawsuits are expected to be filed throughout the country.
Jewel Bush: Why are we teaching our children to beg? | Uptown Messenger – There must be better and safer ways to raise funds for extra-curricular activities than to encourage an “aggressive culture of youth panhandlers” at busy intersections.
The Payoffs and Pitfalls of Flagging ‘At-Risk’ Kids in Early Grades | MindShift – Do early flagging systems for “at risk” students lower expectations, and do more harm than good?
Government & Politics
Steve Scalise Will Run for House Majority Whip | NationalJournal.com – After Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s upset last night, Rep. Steve Scalise plans to run for House Majority Whip.
In Louisiana, limitless fundraising creates a political wild West: Jeremy Alford | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – New rules that allow Political Action Committees to raise unlimited amounts of money to support or demonize a candidate, raise questions about whether large donors will warp the democratic process.
10 most corrupt states in America | FORTUNE – Louisiana ranks second among states with histories of political corruption. The South dominates the rankings.
Land Use
Rouses official: Former Home Depot on South Carrollton “under contract” for retail development | Mid-City Messenger – Donny Rouse, managing partner for Rouse’s supermarkets, isn’t ready to identify the new tenant.
Pride On Bourbon Street | Southern Glossary – Bassist Bill Richards points out that Bourbon Street isn’t a bad deal for a lot of performers. “Your average full time Bourbon Street musician is doing just as well financially as some sideman out there touring with major-label groups,” he says. Via Curbed NOLA.
Culture as a Form of Control: All Hail New Orleans’ Go-Cup | Pacific Standard – Go-cups were a revelation for a sociology professor from Occidental College. They reminded her that “we internalize rules invented by humans to the point where they feel like laws of nature.”
Housing Solution: Backyard Cottages Could Add One-Third More Homes to San Francisco | San Francisco Public Press – Zoning presents an obstacle for a creative idea to increase the housing stock in San Francisco.
Environment
Restoring The Coast By Creating Oyster Beds In St. Bernard Parish | WWNO – “A consortium of environmental and industry stakeholders are making concrete reefs on the Gulf Coast in an attempt to create new oyster habitats.”
Drones Approved: FAA Gives OK To First Commercial Use Over Land : The Two-Way | NPR
The Federal Aviation Administration says it has issued the first permit in its history for an unmanned aircraft to fly over U.S. soil. Oil company BP will use a drone from the company AeroVironment to conduct surveys in Alaska.
Obama signs water resources bill into law at ceremony with Sens. Vitter and Landrieu | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune “The president praised the Republican and Democratic lawmakers who negotiated the final bill, which, notably for Louisiana, includes authorization of the $10.3 billion Morganza to the Gulf Hurricane protection project.”
Criminal Justice
Holder Backs Sentencing Panel Plan To Cut Some U.S. Drug Sentences | The Crime Report – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder supports a proposal that would significantly reduce sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders.