new orleans

Last Friday I was invited down to New Orleans to take part in the festivities surrounding the opening of the BP Deepwater Oil Catastrophe whistle-blowing documentary, “The Big Fix.” The film, which was directed by husband and wife team Rebecca and Josh Tickell, also featured Peter Fonda, Jason Mraz and Amy Smart.

Last Friday in New Orleans’ French Quarter, chants of “Justice for Troy” and “Too much Doubt!  Let him out!” interrupted the early-evening partiers and tourists.



A march, about 100 strong, wound its way through the Quarter, calling for justice for Troy Davis and the abolition of the death penalty.  Davis is scheduled to be executed this Wednesday, September 21st, despite considerable doubt about his guilt. 



On August 29, 2011, the 6th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I asked Mr. James Perry to reflect on the significance of the day, and what positive developments he’s seen since the storm.

The Norwood Thompson playground is a gathering place for all ages in Gert Town.  It is a place of fellowship for residents of this New Orleans neighborhood, and provides a break for working mothers to spend time with their children.

But it is also destined and designed as an accident waiting to happen. As you will hear and see from the children and adults who use it, the playground is an environmental health hazard.

Right after Hurricane Katrina, newly homeless New Orleanians gathered on Claiborne Avenue under Interstate 10, and lived under tents and blankets. Some worked in hotels in the French Quarter and the Central Business District, but still didn’t make enough to pay for a place to live.  For a time, their numbers went down.  But now, six years after the storm, homeless folks are under the Claiborne Bridge, and under the Earhart Bridge, in large numbers again.



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