Nagin to Feds: Cut Red Tape

Mary Landrieu's brother, Mitch, succeeds term-limited Ray Nagin

(AP) - Frustrated by term-limited Mayor Ray Nagin's leadership of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, voters elected Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu to succeed him last night, turning to a political scion to speed up the city's recovery. Landrieu, 49, became the majority-black city's first white mayor since 1978, the year his father, Moon, left the office. The mayor-elect, a moderate Democrat, won in a landslide over a field of 10 opponents in a campaign that competed with Mardi Gras and the Saints' appearance in the Super Bowl. More»

Feds could be on the hook for billions in damages

(NEWSER) - In an opinion that could open the federal government to billions in damage claims, a judge ruled today that the failure of the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain an outlet channel led directly to disastrous flooding in and around New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “The people of this city have been vindicated,” one attorney tells the Times-Picayune . “They didn’t do anything wrong and it's time they be compensated.” More»

Nagin, wife, staffer treated 'with courtesy'

(NEWSER) - Chinese officials are holding New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in quarantine with his wife and a staffer after a fellow plane passenger exhibited swine flu symptoms, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The three are "being treated with utmost courtesy" in Shanghai, where Nagin "is feeling well and continues to be in communication with his staff," a Nagin rep said. Nagin flew to China Friday on an economic development trip. More»

Gustav prep was 'responsibility avoidance': Furedi

(NEWSER) - The way media and the state reacted to Gustav wasn't responsible behavior, but rather "responsibility avoidance ... motivated by a desire to avoid blame," Frank Furedi writes in Spiked. He says official overreaction diminishes a sense of community and individual resilience, rendering people passive to the whims of politicians who tell them, “You need to be scared,” and “Get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now.” More»

(NEWSER) - Six inches of water from Hurricane Gustav is flooding the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans, but the Army Corps of Engineers says the situation is not a major danger, the Times-Picayune reports. The Lower Ninth Ward’s levees, which were reinforced after Hurricane Katrina, have not given way. "There are no breaches," said a spokesman for Mayor Ray Nagin. More»