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The City of New Orleans Budget Shortfall
It's budgeting for Ray Nagin to skedaddle on May 3, 2010 — and dump this entire mess on the next mayor and council
It's time to crash the party. With less than a month remaining for
the New Orleans City Council to adopt a balanced budget (the
charter-mandated deadline is Dec. 1) and with the city facing a
projected $68 million shortfall, New Orleanians need to let their
elected officials know what their priorities are and demand
accountability.
November 9, 2009
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Bless You, Boys
New Orleans not only has a winning team, but also a team for which we don't have to apologize on any level
Deep breath. Exhale.
November 2, 2009
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Haste and the city's Master Plan
Planners deserve a chance to finish the job without being shackled by a Nov. 10 deadline
One thing that cannot be disputed about the latest draft of the
city's proposed Master Plan is that it's a monster-sized document. The
plan comprises three volumes and hundreds of pages.
October 26, 2009
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Fiscally Indefensible
After decades on the back burner, it's time to put higher ed consolidation front and center
These are tough times for Louisiana government. Everyone knew the
post-Katrina boom would end in a few years, but no one foresaw the
spigot closing at the onset of a worldwide recession.
October 19, 2009
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The Corps Mixed Signals
The state should never agree to cheap and fast. We've seen what that costs
Local, state and federal officials from Louisiana have stood their
ground against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' attempts to build
cheap and fast flood protection for the New Orleans area, but the Corps
seems to be much more efficient at lobbying Congress than it is at
building a flood protection system that works as promised. At stake is
the construction of proposed permanent pump stations at the end of the
17th Street, Orleans Avenue and London Avenue outfall canals.
October 5, 2009
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Chaos and Misrule in the Office of the Inspector General
Mayoral candidates will surely be asked their opinions of the OIG. The question is: Will anyone be listening?
What a difference eight months make. Last January, we published two
cover stories: one handicapping the possible candidates for mayor, and
the other a profile of then-New Orleans Inspector General Robert
Cerasoli.
September 28, 2009
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Jumping in Lake Pontchartrain
The coast has always been southeast Louisiana's first line of defense against hurricanes
To anyone who still questions whether civic activism works, go jump
in the lake: Lake Pontchartrain, that is. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Foundation (LPBF) was formed in 1989, 17 years after the first swimming
ban there, and began the "Save Our Lake" campaign to restore the
630-square-mile body of water for recreation and economic use. The
foundation became the public's voice in advocating for action and
partnerships among local, state and federal agencies, businesses and
other groups.
September 14, 2009
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Save NORD
The more time kids spend in NORD-sponsored activities, the less time they spend unsupervised on the streets, where they can get into trouble
Standing outside of the shuttered Rosenwald Center, a New Orleans
Recreation Department facility, the first thing you notice is the
quiet, the absence of children's voices. The outdoor pool is empty and
forbidding, the doors are locked, and except for a few cars in the side
parking lot, the center appears abandoned.
September 8, 2009
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