b.rox

http://www.flickr.com/photos/derek_b/ / CC BY 2.0
This passage in a news story caught my eye. Mary Rickard for Reuters:

Along with a championship team, New Orleans has a new mayor in Mitch Landrieu, who won election on Saturday by a wide margin. Landrieu, the city’s first white mayor in more than 30 years, pledged to bridge racial divides [...]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/therefore/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Yes, that’s right, New Orleans is having an election tomorrow, right in the midst of Superbowl mania and Carnival madness.
I’m a little shy this time around about voicing my own opinion, but others are not so afflicted. Here’s a roundup of what some other bloggers think.

Adrastos
The Huck Upchuck
NOLA-Dishu on the assessor [...]

If I haven’t written here as much lately, perhaps it’s because I feel constrained from public discussion of many of the topics which are currently preoccupying me.

There’s an election coming up, and I’ve got opinions, but I’m afraid to express them. Whoever wins, FOLC will have to work with them. It won’t help FOLC’s cause [...]

Some of my neighbors have been bickering, er, I mean debating about Comiskey Park here in Mid-City. The basketball goals that used to be there were taken down when an television production company made plans to rebuild the park for a reality show. That didn’t pan out in the long run, and the park was [...]

The results of last week’s venous blood test came back Friday, indicating our daughter now has 6.6 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. That’s a bit of welcome good news, since it’s a significant reduction from the 13 or 14 indicated by her preliminary screenings three months ago.
Had to stretch a bit, but there’s [...]

President Obama is visiting New Orleans today, so here’s a mix (warning: some dirty lyrics).

This is a silly thematic mix. The associations are simple and obvious and not necessarily germane to today’s visit. Some of the tracks are about Bush. And just to avoid any confusion (and, hopefully, any visits from the Secret Service) I [...]

Just got this via e-mail. Here’s an opportunity for some New Orleanians to go to Washington DC in support of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act. Short notice but this is something I believe in. I wish I could go! But I can’t. Maybe you can? Please spread the word, because the bus leaves soon.

TRAVEL [...]

There’s an article in today’s paper on a subject near and dear to my heart. I’m even quoted herein. My comments follow.

Greenway Ahead
by Lolis Eric Elie, The Times-Picayune
Saturday September 05, 2009, 10:42 PM
In a move that could help create the first new public park in New Orleans in two decades, the Trust for Public Land [...]

Here’s a nasty tale of corporate intrigue.
First, check out this editorial from the Urban Conservancy about the Walgreens which is being built at Carrollton and Canal. I used to serve on the board of the Urban Conservancy, as well as Mid-City Neighborhood Organization; I was contacted for input on the editorial but can’t take [...]

I got a press release about an interesting event coming up on the fourth anniversary of Katrina. My comments follow.
Gulf Coast Rally to Demand Speaker Pelosi Take Action on 4th Anniversary of Katrina
This Friday supporters of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (HR 2269) will gather for a noon rally and press conference on the [...]

I really hate our whole healthcare/insurance system, which is why I get excited when I hear about reform and discouraged when it seems to go off-track.
This is on my mind today because of the inane interaction I just had with my health insurance provider, Humana.
Back in June, when we were traveling, our daughter got an [...]

This is the second installment of three sample documents dredged up from my old Brother WP-500 disks. I think this letter more or less explains itself. I wrote a number of such letters, inspired by author Bruce West, and in fact that was my original motivation for purchasing the WP-500 in the first place. With [...]

Here we go again, I thought, as I sat down at the MCNO meeting last night. Once again New Orleanians are being asked to engage the planning process.
But, in fairness, this time is different. This is for the New Orleans Master Plan, which will have the force of law. And another thing that’s different: Many [...]

I wasn’t going to post anything about the current e-mail foofaraw down at City Hall, because I figured I didn’t have anything to say about it. I don’t aim to just regurgitate news from other sources here. I write about my life. Of course, the headlines that I read daily affect me and become a [...]

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We got a Sex Offender Notification in the mail, about a guy who’s living six or so blocks away. The card lists the following offense: “03/27/1995 14:81 2-Molestation of Juvenile.” There’s a mugshot, as well as his name, sex, hair and eye color, race, height, weight, age, and of course his address. It’s also got [...]

I think I was secretly hoping the Beyond Jena forum would be a bust. I’ve never been involved with organizing something on this scale before, and it was a little challenging, a little demanding, a little stressful. I knew if it was successful I might be tempted at some point in the future to try [...]

It’s stunning for me to realize: Today is a great day in American history.
I can recall plenty of dark days. September 11th and Hurricane Katrina come immediately to mind. But I’ve been racking my mind to come up with a day on which I felt a sense of pride like today.
Can’t think of one.
Funny thing [...]

Rather than express my obligatory outrage over Bush’s remarks yesterday on Hurricane Katrina, I’ll simply link to Darwin Bond Graham’s rather excellent rebuttal.

We got our Malik Rahim campaign sign, and it is proudly on display in front of our house.
I chatted with Christian Roselund a bit when he dropped the sign off. He informed me that Malik’s candidacy has caught the attention of many Greens across the country. Some of them are, as one might expect, a [...]

I’m passing the mic to Malik Rahim who has sent out the following campaign letter. — B
November 19, 2008
Dear friends in the struggle,
As you may be aware, I am seeking election to the United States House of Representatives on December 6. I apologize in advance for the impersonal nature of this letter. I wish I [...]