New Orleans Institute

City is missing $17 million from business loan program  (The Lens)

More than $16 million in loans given to private businesses from the city's largest economic development loan fund is missing, according to internal city documents. A summary of the city's Urban Development Action Grant program shows that only $2.35 million out of $26 million from one particular round of loans has been repaid. Another $7.3 million being actively repaid, adding up to $9.6 million in loan funds that are accounted for, less than half than the amount that went out to businesses. But what doesn't show up on city books is nearly $17 million that went out and never came… (continued)

BP bankruptcy is a real fear  (The Lens)

After meeting with BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg on June 16, President Obama said he was “absolutely confident BP will be able to meet its obligation to the Gulf Coast and to the American people. BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all of our interests that it remain so.” The stock market doesn’t share the president’s absolute confidence. Since April 20, BP stock has declined and the company's market capitalization has fallen over $100 billion. Naturally, speculations about BP’s future have intensified. And there’s no doubt that BP’s liabilities for the oil gusher will be massive.… (continued)

Direct AeroMexico flights from New Orleans to Mexico City have been cancelled  (The Lens)

Tuesday update: Political unrest in Honduras, the swine flu epidemic in Mexico and resulting travel advisories took a toll on the demand for flights out of New Orleans, said Michelle Wilcut, spokeswoman for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The now-canceled direct AeroMexico flights, which had a final destination to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, also suffered as a result worldwide economic crisis. A statement released by Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office places the decision to cancel flights during the Nagin administration but that they are now working towards expanding service: “The decision to cancel the route was made by the airline… (continued)

Can Mabus save us?  (The Lens)

Though President Obama's highly anticipated oil-gusher speech was widely panned, he made an important commitment to restoring Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. If kept, this expensive, long-term promise –  made before a national prime-time audience –  might be the most significant commitment a president ever made to the Pelican state. Here’s the relevant excerpt from Obama’s Oval Office address. Beyond compensating the people of the Gulf in the short term, it's also clear we need a long-term plan to restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region. The oil spill represents just the latest blow to a place that's already suffered… (continued)

Jindal needs to engage in more than a war of words  (The Lens)

Weeks ago, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Sen. David Vitter’s call for the government to treat the response to the Gulf Coast oil gusher as it would a war. Here’s a representative quote: “[W]e need the federal government and BP to intensify their efforts and treat this oil spill like a war. We need to be using everything we have in this fight to save our coast… We are in a war to protect our coast and failure is not an option. You might recall that Jindal freely used war language throughout his 2007 gubernatorial campaign, saying: This is a war…… (continued)

More Senate candidates courting Tea’d off voters  (The Lens)

Let’s see how various fringe candidates in Louisiana are intending to ride the Tea Party wave to electoral success. 1. Remember David Duke? Well, he’s planning a comeback, and he thinks it might be a promising time to begin a 2012 Presidential run. In preparation, he recently posted a video “Message to the Tea Party” where he praised their “European-American movement” as a worthy heir to the original Tea Party protests that presaged the Revolutionary War. Duke agrees with many Tea Partiers that illegal immigration is an existential threat to the country as we know it, and says that it… (continued)

Who dat say they’d pay mo’ for a cool driver’s license?  (The Lens)

Legislative watchdog C.B Forgotston expects Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto a bill that repeals the fee increase on driver's licenses, which the Jindal administration ordered earlier this year. Forgotston correctly asserts that this fee is tantamount to a tax, and he urges everyone to support the repeal and oppose a veto. As a stalwart opponent of taxes and red tape, Forgotston has crusaded against the new driver's license fees on his blog (while hardly mentioning the oil spill). Some argue that Jindal “only” increased license fees by $15 a pop, but Forgotston says that adds up to a $13 million… (continued)

The Small Print  (The Lens)

We scan The Times-Picayune’s legal ads so you don’t have to. Here’s a look at some selected items from the past week. Library needs makeover – Louisiana's Office of Facility Planning and Control is taking bids for the Phase I – 4th Floor completion of the Earl K. Long Library at University of New Orleans. Info: (504) 586-9303 DEQ gives OK to waste – The state Department of Environmental Quality has given the OK to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. to operate a Solid Waste Surface Impoundment in Orleans Parish, 10 miles northeast of Chalmette. If that's your area, be… (continued)

Barton’s not the only one using “shakedown” language  (The Lens)

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton's fellow Republicans quickly forced him to apologize for his “shakedown” remark and to retract his apology to BP. A little more about Barton, a Texan, from the NY Daily News: Rep. Joe Barton, a Republican who once angered ailing 9/11 responders by comparing them to the cartoon character Wimpy, called Tony Hayward the victim of a “$20 billion shakedown.” … Barton was referring to President Obama‘s faceoff with the BP barons that ended with the oil company promising to finance a $20 billion fund to compensate victims. … “Mr. Barton’s remarks are out of touch with… (continued)

What’s in a blowout’s name?  (The Lens)

The May 1980 issue of Popular Mechanics discusses what at that time was the world's worst oil spill – the Ixtoc I blowout, which gushed an estimated 140 million gallons into the Gulf of Mexico for 10 months. Towards the end of the article we learn that “Ixtoc”, is the Mayan term for “blowout,” or “damn blowout.”  I'm not kidding! Recently, government officials upwardly revised estimates of the Macondo oil gusher for the fourth time. Despite recent forecasts to the contrary, and BP's attempts to capture ever greater portions of the released oil, the open wound created by the Deepwater… (continued)

Another man-made disaster, another presidential speech  (The Lens)

As President Obama prepares to make a prime-time address about the oil gusher, South Louisiana finds itself in a familiar position: reeling from man-made disaster, concerned about the future, and hopeful their president will make a bold commitment to the region in front of a national TV audience. Based on past experience, the smart money is on the “under” side of the over-under bet when it comes to the president keeping his commitments to post-disaster Louisiana. While President Bush's famous 2005 speech in Jackson Square included several rhetorical flourishes and grandiose-sounding promises, the follow-through was, shall we say, sub-optimal. Remember… (continued)

Come to the Anadarko side: We might have liability limits  (The Lens)

BP’s U.S. stock price plunged over 16 percent Wednesday, before partially recovering. CNBC commentator Jim Cramer was “mesmerized” by the descent, as BP’s total lost market capitalization, since the Deepwater Horizon explosion April 20, surged to over $90 billion. Many analysts linked the drop to a Reuters report quoting a BP source saying that “at some point a line has to be drawn” regarding oil spill restitution expenses. Rumors regarding BP bankruptcy and counter-party risk exposure added to the sell off. However, BP did not suffer the biggest stock decline Wednesday  – Anadarko Petroleum did, dropping almost 20 percent, for… (continued)

Despite commandeering boats, officials losing island oil battle in Barataria Bay  (The Lens)

Click to enlarge. Signs of the siege were scattered across East Grand Terre Island at the mouth of Barataria Bay: a pile of rakes crusted with oily mud, drenched absorbent matted into the sand, baby pools filled with greasy mud-colored water, wooden scrub brushes that looked more appropriate for a bubble bath than the cleanup of the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. A crew of 36 had been working on the island since June 2, said Deepwater Horizon response team spokeswoman Gail Dale, but even after three days of raking up oil-contaminated soil and sand, thick black gobs still… (continued)

Putting A Stake in the Heart of the Earth: Actions-Response to the BP Oil Drilling Disaster New Orleans, Louisiana May 25, 2010 

On May 25th the New Orleans institute @ Cityworks, together with the Urban Conservancy and a diverse array of other sponsors drew over seventy academics, activists, non-profit leaders and local community leaders living and working in the New Orleans region to discuss the economic, social and environmental implications of the British Petroleum Offshore Drilling Disaster (BPODD). A short video was prepared on site summarizing the complex implications of this disaster and is available here. A Working Group on the Delta is forming and a report summarizing their concerns and proposed solutions will be available soon. Putting A Stake in the… (continued)

Scenes from the spill: Grand Isle  (The Lens)

As Louisiana experiences week eight of the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe, globs of crude continue to wash into Grand Isle.  Instead of fishers and sunbathers, workers hired by the oil giant raked contaminated sand occupy the shore, raking the toxic sand and removing it in plastic bags.  Wetlands scientist Michael Massimi  of The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program warns that more oil likely remains below the surface of all areas hit by the reddish-black tide. “It’ll look like a clean beach because the tide will blow fresh sand in, over the oil,” Massimi said. “Scrape it with your boot or a shovel and… (continued)

…and the rig you rode in on  (The Lens)

The late, great Ashley Morris struck a chord with displaced Louisianans when he wrote  his famous FYYFF post three months after Katrina and the federal flood disaster. It was a perfectly timed rant that resonated among bloggers focused on New Orleans, and passionately expressed their common frustrations. FYYFF became a touchstone within the local blogging community, and Morris' blog became a “must read” for many New Orleanians. After a while, Morris would sometimes complain about the popularity of his FYYFF rant. He noted that during his career he had made presentations to NATO, worked for NASA, and advocated for New… (continued)

City gets reprieve to spend balance of grant money  (The Lens)

After sitting on most of a half-million-dollar grant for nearly two years, the city of New Orleans has convinced the Rockefeller Foundation to give it another three months to spend the money on getting citizens more involved with government. Without the extension past Monday's expiration, the city would have had to return the unspent balance, which is more than $300,000. This week's deadline was already an extension of the original grant agreement, which went almost nowhere under former Mayor Ray Nagin. The foundation extended the deadline so Mayor Mitch Landrieu's new administration can find the best way to use the… (continued)

The Small Print  (The Lens)

We scan the legal ads so you don't have to Potholes no more? Eh, probably not The Sewerage & Water Board is looking for bids to re-pave open cuts in the streets, driveways, and sidewalks that resulted from SWB’s underground utility repair. It won’t fix all the gaping holes in the city, but at least your tires will get a break on some streets. Audubon looking for (non-oily) shrimp The Audubon Commission is seeking bids from seafood suppliers to contribute to animal diets. They want shrimp, crabs, clams and other varieties of seafood. Fax: 504-866-1224. In related news, the citizens of the Gulf Coast are also seeking clean… (continued)

Oil companies tax our coast; it’s time we tax them back  (The Lens)

Bienvenue en Louisiane! We’re still calling ourselves the Pelican State, but who knows what the future holds? Louisianans identify with pelicans because they are unique, non-extinct birds that seem to coast through life and eat lots of fresh seafood. We admire them because when times get tough, pelicans will prick their breasts and feed their young with their own blood. Noble, huh? But what happens after that? After? Hmm. I suppose unless circumstances change, the Pelicans run out of blood to share and they all die. Oh. — In a recent speech, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu posed the following… (continued)

Q&A with Landrieu staffers  (The Lens)

Landrieu The Lens contacted Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office recently to discuss her role in the oil spill response. In an interview with Tom Michaels, the senator’s legislative director, and Aaron Saunders, her communications director, we discussed campaign contributions from BP and from the maker of the dispersants and whether drilling for oil continues to be a worthy domestic prospect for the future. The Lens: What role has Sen. Landrieu played in the decision of what kind of dispersant to use on the oil?m Tom Michaels: None. That decision is up to the EPA and the on-scene coordinator. The Lens: In… (continued)

Landrieu letting sun shine on city contracting process  (The Lens)

Mayor Mitch Landrieu today announced a series of “sweeping reforms” to city contracting designed to bring a new level of cooperation, transparency and equity to the process. The awarding of these contracts had been an opaque process, frequently criticized by City Council President Arnie Fielkow as well as many civic and good government groups. The changes are aimed primarily at contracts for professional services, such as those offered by lawyers, architects, consultants, that critics say have enabled a system of political patronage to flourish hidden from public scrutiny. The reforms include: * Establishing a Chief Procurement Officer * Largely removing… (continued)

Alternative for dispersants to break up oil hampered by politics and bureaucracy  (The Lens)

Fewer controversial oil-spill issues exist right now than the use of dispersants. Specifically, environmentalists, residents and clean-up workers are concerned about BP’s  use of petroleum-based Corexit brand, which is more toxic than many of the alternatives approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is only 55 percent effective on the type of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Consider the scene a few weeks ago at a town hall meeting in eastern New Orleans where a BP representative said that with the help of the dispersants, “we expect oil that sinks to the bottom will be naturally remediated.”… (continued)

Without bolder action on spill, greatness to slip from America  (The Lens)

For the second time in five years, an incredulous nation watches the New Orleans region deal with an out-of-control, man-made disaster. And, once again, an incredulous nation watches the government mount an ineffective response. Five years ago, Americans watched water gush through breached floodwalls and drown 80 percent of New Orleans. Helicopters dropped huge sandbags into levee breaches, to no avail. Thousands of disaster victims were stranded downtown, needing food, water, medicine, help. TV viewers throughout the country found the situation excruciating and unacceptable. Before Katrina, FEMA director Michael Brown said he was prepared for whatever the storm might bring.… (continued)

Council increases transparency with subcontractor ordinance  (The Lens)

With little to no fanfare, the New Orleans City Council passed an ordinance today requiring all city contractors to disclose their subcontractors. Transparency proponents have long advocated for this kind of reform to the contracting system, saying that abuse or waste can hide in undisclosed relationships. As an example of what can happen without such openness, they point to an incident in which a computer-services subcontractor provided a Hawaiian vacation to then-Mayor Ray Nagin.  Nagin later said he didn't know about the company's contractual relationship with the city. In the spring of 2008 Councilman Arnie Fielkow tried to tinker with… (continued)