NPN hosts School Governance Forum with OPEN

NPN co-hosted its second monthly community forum in 2011 with the Orleans Public Education Network (OPEN) on Wednesday, February 23^rd from 6-8 pm at Wilson Elementary School in the Broadmoor Neighborhood. Through NPN and OPEN community outreach and organizing, community members involved with four schools in the midst of transition were asked to present their stories to the public. The four schools were Colton Middle School on St. Claude Ave., Frantz Elementary in the Bunny Friend neighborhood, Priestley High School in the Carrollton area, and Sarah T. Reed High School in New Orleans East.

For more information read "2011 School Governance Forum Notes"

New Orleans' officials to update blight-fighting efforts Thursday morning

To track their progress toward Mayor Mitch Landrieu's goal of ridding New Orleans of 10,000 nuisance properties by 2014, top city officials on Thursday will hold another biweekly BlightStat session.

Officials will gather at 8 a.m. in the 9th floor conference room at 1340 Poydras St. The public is welcome to attend.

Like ComStat sessions held by the Police Department, BlightStat meetings are internal working meetings. City officials generally take turns reviewing reams of blight statistics, from complaints logged to properties set for sheriff's sale.

 They also field residents' comments and questions, though they try not to veer too from the prepared agenda. 

State law hampers reach of Jefferson Parish inspector general, attorney general concludes

Despite public pleas for greater oversight of government agencies, an opinion by Attorney General Buddy Caldwell concludes that the powers of Jefferson Parish's new inspector general should not extend beyond oversight of the parish government itself.

To do so would violate the state Constitution, according to the opinion.

That argument, sent Wednesday to Parish President John Young, means that the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, School Board, coroner, district attorney, clerk of court and the parish's six incorporated municipalities are excluded from the inspector general's reach.

 "That's pretty much what we expected," Parish Attorney Deborah Foshee said. "The rationale is these are independent bodies."

Still, it contradicts the recommendations of a review committee formed last year to establish guidelines for creating an inspector general's office.

Read more