The Urban Conservancy News Roundup

Mid-City Hospital Complex Land Seized by State; Former Owners Plan to Sue

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:17:45 -0600

Recovery Oversight Contract Allowed Overbilling, Poor Performance, Inspector General Says

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:52:55 -0600

The recovery contract was flawed from day one, the report says. MWH’s deal resulted from the city’s search in early 2007 for a single person who would be paid $150,000 year to oversee large capital projects. However, after four months of private negotiations with MWH, which was selected from among seven bidders, the firm had inked “a major contract estimated at the time to be worth up to $48 million,” according to the report.

Coffee Party, With a Taste for Civic Participation, Is Added to the Political Menu

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:12:30 -0600

“This is about recognizing that the government represents us,” Ms. Cabiling said, “so we need to step to the plate and start having a voice and start acting like bosses.”

Mid-City VA Hospital Street Closures Approved

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:37:12 -0600

Amid cries from residents accusing the New Orleans City Planning Commission of being a rubber stamp, commissioners voted 5-1 Tuesday to approve the eventual closure of Mid-City streets within the footprint of a planned federal hospital for veterans.

Mitch Landrieu Claims New Orleans Mayor's Office in a Landslide

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:53:46 -0600

Amazon Quarterly Profit Jumps 71%

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:25:08 -0600

“The real issue is that they’re getting better terms from suppliers,” said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech Inc. “It shows what power these guys have in the retail channel.”

New Orleans Master Plan Wins Approval of City Planning Commission

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:34:11 -0600

David Dixon of Goody Clancy said adoption of the master plan means that “for the first time New Orleans has a plan that provides a credible and legitimate basis for future public policy and decision-making regarding land use, development, zoning, city capital expenditures, transportation, and similar fundamental decisions that shape the city’s future.”

A Choice Between Renew and Replace

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:41:04 -0600

Such a departure would spare scores of camelback and shotgun houses from being taken by eminent domain for the VA to build its hospital in a century-old neighborhood, much of which is included in a National Register Historic District. The property owners are likely to get lower payments from the seizures, because the City Council prohibited them from obtaining permits to fix their houses after the storm, the only New Orleans neighborhood not allowed to recover.

Editorial: After Katrina, Whither Charity

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:36:18 -0600

Transparency ought to be the order of the day in a dispute involving a third of a billion dollars, the health of tens of thousands of post-Katrina New Orleanians and the fate of a 25-square-block neighborhood of historic homes and buildings threatened by eminent domain. Instead, secrecy rules.

Race Cited in Sen. Ed Murray's Surprise Exit from New Orleans Mayor's Contest

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:13:45 -0600

In a statement issued Sunday, Murray said his decision rested in part on a desire to avoid what appeared to be shaping up to be an “extremely racially divisive” contest between himself and Landrieu “whether either of us intended it or not.”

The Ruse of the Creative Class

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:35:41 -0600

Cities that shelled out big bucks to learn Richard Florida’s prescription for vibrant urbanism are now hearing they may be beyond help.

Charity Hospital Debate Turns on Distrust of Expert Assessments

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:43:00 -0600

“There have been lots of studies, but none of them have been independent,” said Sen. Jack Donahue, a Covington Republican and contractor who persuaded six of his fellow commissioners to push for a new study.

Mid-City Man Fighting to Save Home

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:00:39 -0600

Thurman’s home and those of his neighbors may be doomed if government officials carry out their plan, so Thurman decided to do his best to slow them down.

Quick Decision Urged on Hospital Suit

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:55:41 -0600

“We took this action because time is running out for the residents of Mid-City,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust.

Is Mayor Daley Looking to Lease Water System?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:16:52 -0600

Could it happen here in Chicago? It already has nearby. Homer Glen in Will County relies on Lake Michigan water, but the supply comes from a private company. Locals say there’s a lot more than water going down the drain.