Karen Gadbois, The Lens, opinion writer | Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s on a tear — a tear-down tear, to be precise. He has vowed to tear down 10,000 abandoned or derelict structures in his first term. (So far we’re at 1,378 and counting, according to the midyear report on ResultsNOLA.) But sometimes the juggernaut gets a […]
Tag: MITCH LANDRIEU
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu says city's poor financial situation isn't likely to improve anytime soon
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | It’s going to get worse before it gets better. That was the financial message Mayor Mitch Landrieu left with New Orleanians at the first of his public meetings on the 2012 budget held Tuesday night in the heart of Central City. Though he worked the crowd with […]
Posted inOpinion
City Hall hiring freeze more than just a balancing act
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens opinion writer | Ever played Jenga, the Parker Bros. game where you stack up a bunch of wooden blocks and then take turns easing them out of the middle of the stack, one at a time – until the whole thing falls down? With a hiring freeze on at City […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Blight worsened by housing preservation program, Hoffman Triangle residents say
The process of transplanting this house to 3332 First St. created an intermittent pond that has become a mosquito breeding ground. Photos by Karen Gadbois. By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Hoffman Triangle residents thought they were getting a handle on the blight problem that has gripped their community since Hurricane Katrina. A […]
Posted inOpinion
Get government funding out of the arts? Get real!
By Lamar White Jr., The Lens contributing opinion writer | In a recent opinion piece for The Lens, Kevin Kane argued against government support for the arts. Louisiana’s richly indigenous culture is self-sustaining – and should be, Kane argued. His views are not surprising. A New Yorker in our midst by way of a Tulane […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Sheriff's Office to be placed under federal consent decree, jail panelist says
Loyola Professor Michael Cowan, shown left at a meeting of the jail working group, says the DOJ is debating terms of a consent decree which would put the Sheriff’s Office under federal oversight. Photo by Matt Davis. By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | The U.S. Department of Justice is in discussions that will […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Grocer forging ahead with plans to resurrect Seventh Ward's iconic Circle Food Store
Seventh Ward Neighborhood Center director J. Samuel Cook delights in the revived interest in the curved-front shopping center at Claiborne and St. Bernard avenues. Photo by Ariella Cohen. By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer It was the place to go if you wanted to put food on the table, a uniform on your child […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Recovery projects are progressing, but half are not yet under construction
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | In the nine months since Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration took over City Hall, long-delayed capital projects have made steady, if slow, progress. Even so, don’t expect to see too many cranes in the sky just yet. More than half of 210 planned projects remain in pre-construction phases. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Levee District joins mayor in considering a tax increase
The folks at city hall may not be the only ones inching up your tax bill in 2011.
The Orleans Levee District is also considering raising its own taxing rate, at the same time as the City Council considers a proposed budget from Mayor Mitch Landrieu that calls for raising the rate that determines how much property owners pay in taxes.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Mayor wants to create office for citizen-engagement
Citizen engagement got its own line in the 2011 budget brought before the City Council today by Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Among the items funded within the $126 million proposed budget for the Mayor’s Office is $483,950 for the creation of an Office of Neighborhood and Citizen Engagement. If funded, the office would be the city’s […]