Founding Director of the Center, for Society, Law and Justice
Founding Director and Co-Director of the Center, for Society, Law and Justice at the University of New Orleans
PROFILE
Peter Scharf
Guest
FROM Peter Scharf
To the Point
Mardi Gras Revelers Flood Big Easy, Residents Ponder Jump Ship Mardi Gras has been described as the tale of two cities: New Orleans before and after Katrina. Last year's Mardi Gras was the first after Katrina, and it was mostly a local affair. This year's will be a better measure of what's in store for New Orleans. Today is Fat Tuesday, and hotel occupancy is up, but so is the number of cops on the streets because of an increase in violent crime. Many residents who've qualified for government grants still aren't sure if they ought to rebuild or take buy-outs. With the city just half as large as it used to be, we hear about prospects for public safety, race relations and reconstruction.
To the Point
Is New Orleans Safe for Anyone? Immediately after Katrina, violent crime all but disappeared from New Orleans as the city lost about half of its pre-hurricane population. But the police chief says that 80% of its criminals have come home, and a headline in last week's Times-Picayune read " Killings bring the city to its bloodied knees ." Recent murder victims include Dinerral Shavers, a 25-year old high school teacher and drummer for the Hot 8 Brass Band , gunned down in broad daylight driving his car with his family. Another was Helen Hill , a filmmaker and wife of a doctor, shot to death when she answered a morning knock on her door in a Bohemian neighborhood near the French Quarter. In the aftermath of such high-profile murders, citizens are ready to march on City Hall. We visit a devastated city that's under siege. Will New Orleans be safe for Mardi Gras less than six weeks from today?
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The 805
A call to prepare for the next natural disaster A local environmentalist says we should spend more time and money preparing for natural disasters than responding to them. A Ventura resident who lost his home in the Thomas Fire says rebuilding is taking longer than he’d hoped. Local animal shelters are becoming critical evacuation centers. And California counties must now hold public meetings on their relationship with federal immigration agents.