Political Horizons: Honoré wants public involved on environment ~Mark Ballard, The Advocate~“Look, the reason we have so many lawsuits in this state is because we don’t have enough laws. When you break someone’s stuff … you should be held responsible. But they can say, ‘No, no, I don’t have to pay for it because it’s permitted under state law.’”

Legislation stripping levee districts of autonomy raise questions about flood protection taxes, emergency response ~Andrea Shaw

New Orleans Earth Day Festival & Green Business Expo!

Developer sentenced for filling in Bay St. Louis wetlands ~WVUE

Do as you're told ~Michael Gorman
~Oil and gas companies are used to getting their way in our great state. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll sit down and take it. Lord knows if you make much of a fuss, you will find yourself the target of smears by the industry and its fawning lapdogs in state government. The governor and his sympathetic legislators are on the verge of changing one state law after another just to put a stop to this lawsuit.

Stephanie Grace: Bill eliminates levee boards' independence ~New Orleans Advocate

Children's Hospital holds news conference to address public concerns over fatal "mistakes made" ~John Simmerman

Chain stores, rising rents may make Magazine Street the victim of its success ~The Lens

Gulf Oil Disaster’s Impacts to Wildlife and Habitat Still Unaddressed Four Years Later

~Four years after the Gulf oil disaster began, killing 11 men and spewing 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, leading national and local conservation organizations working on Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast restoration released the following statement:
“Four years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Gulf recovery remains elusive. We must hope for a measure of justice for communities, wildlife and habitats. However, the urgent need for restoration is still unfulfilled."

“Reports from the field and laboratory continue to raise the alarm. New scientific studies show how the oil disaster’s impacts are permeating the food chain – from small microorganisms like zooplankton to large mammals like sperm whales and dolphins. Louisiana wetlands suffocated by BP’s oil have eroded more quickly than those the oil spared. Areas that once provided valuable mangrove habitat for thousands of nesting birds and other animals have shrunk or disappeared. Islands that were thriving rookeries for birds and wildlife are now gray and lifeless. The stark truth of visible damage in areas like Barataria Bay, Louisiana, speaks for itself. This week, BP declared active clean up complete in Louisiana, but volumes of BP oil continue to surface, from miles of oiled coastline to a monster-sized 40,000-pound tar mat.

“While BP denies clear science, the facts present the truth: the Gulf is still hurting, and BP’s to blame. Four years after the largest oil spill in U.S. history, the oil giant has yet to pay a penny of its Clean Water Act fines for polluting the Gulf.

Four years after the Gulf oil disaster began, killing 11 men and spewing 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, leading national and local conservation organizations working on Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast restoration – Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – released the following statement:
“Four years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Gulf recovery remains elusive. We must hope for a measure of justice for communities, wildlife and habitats. However, the urgent need for restoration is still unfulfilled.
- See more at: http://www.mississippiriverdelta.org/blog/2014/04/17/gulf-oil-disasters-impacts-to-wildlife-and-habitat-still-unaddressed-four-years-later/#sthash.Aciosrxp.dpuf

Four years after the Gulf oil disaster began, killing 11 men and spewing 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, leading national and local conservation organizations working on Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast restoration – Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – released the following statement:
“Four years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Gulf recovery remains elusive. We must hope for a measure of justice for communities, wildlife and habitats. However, the urgent need for restoration is still unfulfilled.
- See more at: http://www.mississippiriverdelta.org/blog/2014/04/17/gulf-oil-disasters-impacts-to-wildlife-and-habitat-still-unaddressed-four-years-later/#sthash.Aciosrxp.dpuf

Four years after the Gulf oil disaster began, killing 11 men and spewing 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, leading national and local conservation organizations working on Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast restoration – Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – released the following statement:
“Four years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Gulf recovery remains elusive. We must hope for a measure of justice for communities, wildlife and habitats. However, the urgent need for restoration is still unfulfilled.
- See more at: http://www.mississippiriverdelta.org/blog/2014/04/17/gulf-oil-disasters-impacts-to-wildlife-and-habitat-still-unaddressed-four-years-later/#sthash.Aciosrxp.dpuf

The Green Minute: Myths Of Recycling, Part One ~Chrystal White, WWNO

Outnumber Hunger concert helps local food banks

Folk rocker Todd Snider adjusts to degenerative arthritis ~Alex Rawls

Restoring Louisiana's Coast Will Require Restoring Its Democracy -- Governor Jindal Is Trying to Undermine Both~Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

BP oil spill cleanup will continue, Coast Guard tells state coastal authority ~Mark Schleifstein

James Gill: Fair Grounds not what it used to be

City, sheriff's office reach settlement on Death Jail consent decree

Could the Bible become the new "State Book" of Louisiana? ~WVUE

Decades-old Lakeshore Drive weekend motorist ban lifted ~WWLTV

Neil DeGrasse Tyson at Tulane ~NOLA-dishu

Today in New Orleans ~NOLA DEFENDER

Rep the Who Dat Nation at Earth Day!

~Check out the Silent Auction tent for all the Saints memorabilia the festival has to offer! Bid on a signed Drew Brees football, a signed Willie Roaf photo, or a signed Morten Andersen photo. Show your Saints pride and support the Louisiana Bucket Brigade at the same time!

Dozens pack tense meeting on fracking in Mandeville ~WWLTV

Live blog: Senate committee considers bill giving governor more control over levee board ~Tyler Bridges, The Lens

Southeast Authority bill rewritten, gives more power to Jindal ~Marsha Shuler, The Advocate

Judge to hold hearing on who should pay for prison changes

Why New Orleans Should Invest in a CBD Transit Hub ~Ride New Orleans

RTA wants to build transit hub in downtown New Orleans ~WVUE

‘Dine & dash’ — for a ferry that is — after visiting these Algiers Point bars and eateries ~Ian McNulty, New Orleans Advocate

Hogs for the Cause raises over $1 million pediatric brain cancer ~WWLTV

BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill main focus of coastal board meeting Wednesday: Live coverage ~Mark Schleifstein

Study finds high rates of depression, anxiety among Gulf oil spill cleanup workers ~Jennifer Larino

BP finds a friend in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — but look who gets screwed ~Tom Young, The Lens

Barataria Bay, 4 Years After The Deepwater Horizon Disaster ~Eileen Flemming, WWNO

Senate OKs bill to sidetrack levee lawsuits ~Marsha Schuler, The Advocate

Letter: Sen. Mary Landrieu should let coastal erosion lawsuit go ahead

New Facebook group seeks to oust James Gray from New Orleans city council

BP ends 'active cleanup' of Louisiana's coast, nearly four years after 2010 spill ~Manuel Torres

Stephanie Grace: Bills aim to short-circuit judicial system

Letter: Anti-lawsuit politician/columnist from Alabama confused on coastal case ~John Barry

Jeanie Riess on the lack of bus stop infrastructure at the Canal Street transfer hub ~Gambit

Public Demo Aims to Improve CBD Transit Hub ~NOLA DEFENDER

Owen Courreges: Freret bus line sacrificed to prop up new Loyola Avenue streetcar numbers ~Uptown Messenger

Who Will Pay To Restore Land Damaged By Oil and Gas? You or Oil and Gas? ~LEAN

“Pancake” Could be on Saints’ Menu in Draft’s Early Rounds ~HarahanWhoDat, Saints Tailgate

Landrieu looking for three tax increases to pay for consent decrees, pensions ~Tyler Bridges, The Lens 

State employee or Jindal campaign worker? ~C.B.Forgotston

Local teens team up to organize peace rally against violence ~WWLTV

Mid-City residents & businesses raising money to install crime cameras ~WVUE

TUCP Direction Presents: A lecture by Neil deGrasse Tyson

N.O., BR make list of nation's top 20 allergenic cities ~New Orleans Advocate

Study: Maritime Jobs Pump $11.3 Billion Annually Into Louisiana Economy ~gCaptain

USDA lending $8.5M to 2 Louisiana businesses ~WDSU

Vermilionville event focuses on protecting our rivers ~Bill Decker, The Advertiser

Louisiana Earth Day in Baton Rouge

New Orleans Earth Day Festival & Green Business Expo

Broken system produces 11-day season for recreational anglers ~Coastal Conservation Association

Dear Editilla, help Louisiana stop Senate Bill 553!

The vote Monday on the Senate floor will set the tone for the rest of the session! It's absolutely critical that we stop Senator Adley's bill SB 553.

SB 553 will halt the SLFPAE lawsuit if passed through process and not ruled unconstitutional in court.

We need your strong grass roots effort between now and Monday evening!

Please pick up the phone and call these four State Senators and ask the staffer to leave a message.

Sen Dale Erdey (225) 686-2881 
Sen David Heitmeir (504) 361-6356
Sen A.J. Crowe (985) 643-3600
Sen Conrad Appel (504) 838-5550

Tell the staffer this: I would like to leave a message for the Senator urging him to vote against SB 553 because it will dismantle the good government that citizens voted for after the levees broke.

It is critical that you make your phone call by 3 PM Monday April 14.

Want to do more? Please send a letter to your state senator urging him or her to vote against SB 553.

http://go.levees.org/SB-553

SB 553–filed by a northern senator–would restrict the ability of the new Flood Authority to hire qualified attorneys without the Governor's approval. Most importantly, it would undermine the Flood Authority's existing lawsuit already filed against Big Oil.

Thank you for your support of Levees.org.

With your help, we're winning.

Sandy Rosenthal
Founder, Levees.org

9th Ward Festival! Today, 11:00 am to 8:00 pm, 4219 Urquhart St.

Atlanta firefighter killed in New Orleans bike wreck ~Alexis Stevens, ajc.com

Fest season floods market with illegal short-term rentals ~Scott Satchfield, WVUE

Survey: New Orleanians like cops better ~John Simerman, New Orleans Advocate

Home & Garden Events calender for today 

We Won't Bow Down, Mardi Gras Indian Doc Explores Untold Stories Over 8 Years ~M.D. Dupuy, NOLA DEFENDER 

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Letter: Residents’ opposition to Holy Cross plans falls on deaf ears ~New Orleans Advocate

BP oil spill choked off important pelican nesting sites on Louisiana coast ~Bob Marshall, The Lens

City Council delays voting on Holy Cross proposal, Perez architects' petition contains forgeries ~New Orleans Advocate

Reward offered for information on bald eagle’s killing ~Advocate