By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist With qualifying for New Orleans’ municipal elections about a month away, politicos are eyeing the party, gender and ethnic make-up of the city’s voters overall and in the individual City Council districts.
opinion
Viewpoint: State Police presence is only a Band-Aid to cover the city’s real crime problem
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Operation Golden Eagle, the new collaborative partnership between the Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department, began Tuesday (June 1). Though Mayor LaToya Cantrell is unable to quantify exactly how many state troopers are participating, both she and NOPD Superintendent Shaun D. Ferguson are quick to note that Read More…
Viewpoint: Police reforms and crime dominate upcoming mayoral races across U.S.
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist In New York, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit and even Jackson, Mississippi, crime and police reform have emerged as the go-to issues in the many 2021 races for mayor across the U.S. As New Orleans’ crime rate continues to escalate and the federal consent decree lingers on, it’s expected that the Read More…
Viewpoint: Oscar nod for ‘Time’ could bring international attention to Louisiana’s prison system
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Sibil Fox and Rob Richardson (also known as Fox and Rob Rich) are among a handful of New Orleanians who have a personal stake in Sunday night’s 2021 Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Awards. The poignant film about their two-decade-long effort to find justice in what is often Read More…
Viewpoint: Inclement weather and apathy inhibit early voting
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Although state Sens. Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson have continued to campaign almost around the clock, days of heavy rainfall coupled with a general lack of interest has led to exceedingly low early voting numbers in the Second Congressional District race to replace Cedric Richmond, now a high-ranking aide Read More…
Viewpoint: Helena Moreno on pandemic response, Entergy, S&WB, policing and more
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist City Council President Helena Moreno said Wednesday (April 14) that she is proud of New Orleanians’ response to the smart decisions of the city’s public health leaders during the pandemic. “I think we showed that we can adapt and follow the science and, by doing so, we can manage an Read More…
Viewpoint: It’s hard for law-abiding citizens to get justice these days
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist It probably was a case of mistaken identity that could have turned deadly for Jhamal Shelby Jr., a soft-spoken St. Augustine High School star athlete and honor student. One recent afternoon after practice, Shelby drove to his father’s home in New Orleans East. Before he could park his car, a Read More…
Viewpoint: Voters in Louisiana’s ‘majority minority district’ to choose a U.S. representative Saturday
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist The 2nd Congressional District as it exists today is a “majority minority district” created during the 1990 redistricting cycle, according to Ed Chervenak, a UNO political scientist who has polled the race through his firm Edgewater Research. The intent of the 1990 redistricting was to create a voting district where Read More…
Displaced hospitality workers can learn medical-industry skills through Goodwill
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Like many New Orleanians, Tiffany Turner has been having a tough time during the pandemic. She was eager to train for a different career when she saw a Facebook post about Goodwill Technical College’s new Hospitality to Healthcare program for displaced tourism industry workers.
PAC donations fuel Second Congressional District race
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist What do the South Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, the National Cotton Council of America and Jackson Offshore Operators all have in common? Their political action affiliates are contributing in Louisiana’s Second Congressional District race, according to the latest federal campaign finance reports released Monday (March 8). State Sen. Troy Carter Read More…
