Category Archives: Commentary
Governor Bobby Jindal is said to have lost his “mojo” this legislative sessions. His plan to repeal the state income tax failed before it got started. His education reforms are on life-support due to successful court challenges to his plans for vouchers and public charter school supports. Yet, publicly he remains committed, he says to vetoing any tax that comes before him. He opposes the cigarette tax, for example, even [...]
Read More »There’s an old saying that he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword. Well, here in New Orleans, the tourism industry is a double-edged sword. Ever since the first oil-and-gas crash of the 1980s and especially since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, the Crescent City has depended on the kindness — and the tourism dollars — of strangers from all over the world to pay its [...]
Read More »If there is any state in the country that is in serious need of good watchdog journalism, it would be my home state of Louisiana. Sure, our Sportsmen’s Paradise has been celebrated for its colorful pols dating all the way back to Huey Long and the barely fictional “All the King’s Men,” but the reality is that too often “colorful” has been a euphemism for “corrupt.” And that is no [...]
Read More »Some folks are born New Orleanians (like me) but many others fall in love with the Crescent City and adopt it as their own, including some Hollywood celebrities. Harry Shearer — star of “This is Spinal Tap” and TV’s “The Simpsons,” and formerly of “Saturday Night Live” — is one of these. He’s done a lot more than just buy a home here — he’s become quite an an active [...]
Read More »Sometimes the threats to our quality of life strike close to home, in the middle of the night…from the “bump, bump, bump” that assaults our ears because this City Administration, like the one before it, refuses to protect our neighborhoods from the assault of unregulated noise. The BUKU Festival is just the latest evidence that there is no noise control program in the City of New Orleans; that noise control [...]
Read More »In a few hours, the government’s massive civil case against BP in the Deepwater Horizon spill is finally slated to come to trial. As we noted on the blog last week, it’s unusual for a case this large — with so much to lose for both sides — to come before a judge. The fact that the U.S. Justice Department has been pressing forward is a powerful signal of confidence [...]
Read More »Mayor Landrieu and tourism leaders: We, the residents and property owners of New Orleans hear you loud and clear…at least we’re trying. We’re ready for company but the cacophony is already building in the French Quarter from Superbowlers, Mardi Gras revelers, musicians, street performers and revelers! Improved streets, working streetlights, the new streetcar lines and upgraded Convention Center: These long awaited improvements have finally made their way to [...]
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Is the French Quarter America’s Ground Zero for noise pollution
Did you hear about the latest iPhone app? It alerts you when you find yourself under aural assault, when the decibel level where you’re at reaches the point where it could actually damage your hearing, or worse. If you’ve been paying attention to the posts here about noise pollution over the last couple of years, you probably won’t be surprised at all where the inventors headed to test their creation: [...]
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