TagNew Orleans

The frightening new stat about New Orleans and global warming

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As citizens of the world, we all should be concerned — if not alarmed — about climate change and the impact it will have on our way of life. But when you are a citizen of New Orleans, as I am, the issue looms even larger. It’s no secret that my native city is on the front line of global warming; sitting below sea level and separated from the Gulf of Mexico and its ferocious...

New Orleans is sinking just as the waters are rising

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When it comes to climate, the latest news for my lifelong hometown of New Orleans is not very good at all. As many people know — and as Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed made quite clear in 2005 — much of the Crescent City sits below sea level, which is why the city’s levees and its other defense mechanisms such as flood pumping stations are so critical. When...

A new threat from rowdyism: Airbnb party houses

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From time to time, I write here about the issue of noise and rowdy behavior, and how it affects residential neighborhoods in some of our great American cities — particularly in my hometown of New Orleans.  My native city has always been known as a place to have a good time, and our great music spots and some of our classic bars and nightclubs remain a civic treasure. But — as noted...

10 years after Hurricane Katrina, the stench of corruption persists

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In the last decade, two disasters — one completely man-made, the other a joint production of Mother Nature and avoidable human error — have rattled my native Gulf Coast. I’ve had deep personal involvement — both as an environmental attorney and as an ally to those who’ve crusaded for truth and justice — in the latter one, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill...

New Orleans needs to hit the brakes on proposed zoning amendments

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New Orleans has been through a lot of political and physical upheaval since 2005 and the days after Hurricane Katrina. But there is much that hasn’t changed at all. Because so much of our city—nearly 80 percent—was harmed by the levee breaks following Katrina, it made sense to give the updating of the City Zoning Ordinance and the attendant Master Plan a lot of attention since the storm...

Playing by the rules on Frenchmen Street

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In writing about noise pollution and quality-of-life issues that are plaguing key residential neighborhoods across New Orleans, one thing I’ve been clear and consistent about is this: The city would be in pretty good shape if police and code officers simply enforced the laws already on the books. But nowhere is that more true than the Marigny, the trendy zone just downriver from the French...

Action alert: Public comment on radical New Orleans zoning changes should be extended

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With little fanfare, the New Orleans city planning commission is finishing work on a new comprehensive zoning ordinance. I want to give some kudos to both the commission and their staff for getting this done — it clearly was a major, labor-intensive undertaking. Much of their work is perfectly fine in bringing the city’s zoning ordinance up to date, but there are also some major flaws...

Hypocritical Jindal raises taxes on New Orleans tourists

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It’s not really breaking news at this point that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is a hypocrite. Not just in the environmental laws that his agencies consistently fail to enforce, but in his other policies like taxpayer funding of schools that teach religious creationism or slashing spending on children, Jindal talks up the 21st Century even as he tries to push Louisiana back into the 19th...

How far will Jindal go to prove his tax isn’t really a tax

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As feared — but predicted — the tax on New Orleans hotel guests is headed to the desk of Gov. Bobby Jindal. It’s hard to imagine that Jindal — who harbors dreams of riding all the way to the White House on the white horse of fiscal conservatism — would endanger his reputation by approving a tax hike when it finances such a dubious purpose. And before...

An arguably unconstitutional tax hike races toward Jindal’s desk

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Earlier this month I told you about the ill-conceived plan racing its way through Baton Rouge to impose a new tax on tourists visiting New Orleans and to use the money not to address the burning problems in our neighborhoods — high crime and lack of code enforcement — but on an amorphous tourism slush fund. Although our arguments have gained some traction, so far common sense has not...

Stuart H. Smith is an attorney based in New Orleans fighting major oil companies and other polluters.
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