The city’s permitting system is working and available to the public. In a story first broken by The Lens, the technology vendor, Accela Inc., that supplies the system for the city’s Office of Safety and Permits shut it down on Monday because the city failed to pay the company. The system allows contractors and residents to file for permits online and check on their status, and provides an automated format for office staff.

Accela spokesperson Paul Davis said for months the company had repeatedly warned the Nagin administration it would be forced to turn off the system because of back payments. Administration officials finally got the message late Thursday evening.

“We have just received full payment from the city for all outstanding funds for hosting and maintenance fees,” Davis said. He added that Accela has hundreds of contracts with municipalities, and this was the first time it had shut off services because the customer didn’t pay.

“I hope this is the end of it,” said New Orleans Coroner Dr. Frank Minyard today when he declared Jannie Burgess’s death unclassified and its cause undetermined. Burgess died at Memorial Medical Center in the days following Hurricane Katrina when the hospital was flooded and without power. Before dying, Burgess was injected with morphine seven times, but the coroner said the 79-year-old patient was extremely ill — suffering from kidney and liver failure.

“We don’t feel that has contributed to her death,” Minyard said regarding the injections. “We feel it may have some minor contribution.” Minyard added that death from a morphine overdose usually occurs immediately, but Burgess died three hours later.

This death and others lead to an investigation and eventual second-degree murder charges against Memorial Medical Center’s Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses. Then Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti accused Pou and the nurses of killing as many as nine patients, but in July 2007, a grand jury decided not to pursue the charges.

The controversy surrounding the Memorial deaths resurfaced late last year after an article by ProPublica reporter and medical doctor Sheri Fink. In Fink’s story, Dr. Ewing Cook, a senior physician at the hospital, admitted to hastening Burgess’s death: “I gave her medicine so I could get rid of her faster, get the nurses off the floor.”

As part of his investigation, Minyard said he tried to interview Cook, but his attorney, Ralph Capitelli, advised against it.

Americans loathe Congress, but they still like President Barack Obama according to a recent Associated Press poll.  A mere 22 percent support Congress while public approval for Obama’s job performance checks in at 53 percent even though Karl Rove casts the president as “undisciplined.”

The poll also reveals that party affiliation doesn’t inspire confidence — 50 percent of those surveyed would give a pink slip to their congressperson. As the midterm elections approach, public perception obviously matters and pols, but not polls (there’ll be plenty more), will struggle to prove their worth.

And it raises the question, what do you think of your own representative? Will you vote for them, choose someone else, or does it matter what you think, change is going to come?

*photo by Cheryl Gerber

Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu wants the public to participate in selecting the next chief of the New Orleans Police Department. The NOPD Task force hosts a community meeting next Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m., at the Louisiana Superdome’s South West Club Claiborne Room. Xavier University president Norman Francis and Nolan Rollins, president of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, chair the task force, which is made up of various community leaders.

“I understand that often times the best ideas come from people in neighborhoods across the city, who deal with the issue of crime everyday. That’s why I’m encouraging citizens to let their voices be heard, as we work to find the next police chief,” says Landrieu via a press release announcing the meeting.

Citizens can also let their opinions known by filling out an online survey. Hard copies of the survey are available at Urban League of Greater New Orleans (2322 Canal Street).

So what are you looking for in the next police chief? What should be the task force’s priorities?

We knew it was coming.

As part of the New Orleans 2010 budget, the city is extending the days for parking meter use as well as increasing the hourly rate for meters. According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, signs outlining the changes will be posted beginning on March 6, parking enforcement will start issuing warning citations on March 18 and the additional hours and rates will go into effect on March 27.

In case you can’t wait, or you don’t plan on running out to read a sign on March 6, here are the new rules:

*Parking meters will be enforced on Mondays - Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (up from the previous Monday-Friday requirement)

*For the two-hour-maximum meters, the rate is $1.50/hour (up from $1.25/hour)

*For long-term meters, the rate is $1.00/hour (up from $0.75/hour)

Maybe this belongs in Questionland, but will these extended hours and increased rates deter you from traveling in the city on the weekends? Metering minds want to know.

Photo credit below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65172294@N00/3402406458/

You probably wouldn’t want to meet Guliano Stroe in a dark alley…or a kindergarten class. This five-year-old Romanian kid possesses the kind of power and muscles that any steroid-crunching bodybuilding wannabe would envy. He just set the world record for air press ups (believe me, I had to look this up). With his feet in the air, he pushes his body from a horizontal position into a handstand — and he did it 20 times!

Check out his abs and these aren’t photo shopped.

And of course, the accompanying video:

The New Orleans criminal justice system has cut down from 64 days to 10.5 days the time it takes to process simple drug possession cases in the Orleans criminal court through an initiative by the Criminal Justice Leadership Alliance (CJLA).

“This is a result of much better cooperation particularly between the police department and the district attorney’s office to get these things moving through the system,” says New Orleans Councilman James Carter, who started CJLA in the fall of 2007 along with Luceia LeDoux, a public safety and program director for Baptist Community Ministries.

By expediting the process, Carter says it allows the New Orleans Police Department and the DA to concentrate its resources on building strong cases against repeat felony suspects, and, at the same time, release those indigent defendants that spend time in Orleans Parish Prison waiting for a determination on misdemeanor charges.

Often referred to as “victimless” crimes, simple drug possession can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the amount, the type of drug and whether there was an intent to distribute. Possession charges account for roughly one-third of the state arrests in Orleans Parish.

The “Expedited Screening and Disposition” initiative was started in March of 2009, and combines efforts by CJLA members, which include representatives from the NOPD, the district attorney’s office and other parts of the criminal justice system. By the terms of the initiative, NOPD agreed to email police reports and field test reports to the DA’s office within 48 hours of an arrest (except on weekends). In turn, the DA’s office assented to make a screening decision within 24 hours of receiving the reports, the defendant’s criminal record and after interviewing the arresting officers.

Previously, the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans District Attorney’s Office would wait until near the end of the time provided — 45 days for a misdemeanor and 60 days for a felony — to complete the police paperwork and to decide whether or not to prosecute a case.

For January, the initiative reports a decrease from 61 days to seven days the time required to arrest a suspect and to decide whether or not they will be charged with a crime. What has changed little is the time it takes from the filing of the DA’s screening decision to a defendant’s arraignment in court, which stands at 4.5 days.

Carter has made criminal justice reform one of his main concerns during his time with the council.

“I’m leaving the Council soon, and, hopefully, this work can continue on into the next administration,” says Carter, whose term ends this May.

The Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit concerned with improving justice systems, advises CJLA. Jon Wool, the institute’s New Orleans director, will present the imitative’s report today at the general meeting of the New Orleans City Council.

New Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro says he will continue his involvement in the District A City Council race, which is headed for a runoff on March 6. Cannizzaro endorsed former councilman Jay Batt, a Republican, in the Feb. 6 primary for the council’s District A seat, which includes parts of Lakeview, Uptown, Mid-City and Carrollton. Batt faces Susan Guidry, a Democrat, in the runoff. In the primary, Guidry garnered 44 percent of the vote to Batt’s 39 percent.

Cannizzaro says he decided to publicly endorse Batt when the Guidry campaign began putting out materials saying Batt was lenient towards blight. Batt countered the accusation, holding out his volunteer work with the nonprofit organization Beacon of Hope and his legislative record with the council as examples of his anti-blight efforts.

Cannizzaro, who supported the failed mayoral campaign of businessman John Georges as well as Batt’s, says he will offer endorsements in future elections.

“Not all of them, but I will when I see it as important,” Cannizzaro says.

Here’s what others are saying..

The AP’s Michael Kunzelman provided a lot of the print coverage for rest of the nation, calling the parade the only event that could

upstage Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

The Christian Science Monitor described the Saints return to New Orleans as something biblical,

It’s like the prodigal son has finally come home.

The Los Angeles Times thought the parade had religious overtones as well, but saw it more as a hybrid of the sacred and profane:

What other event would bring together Bobby Jindal, Louisiana’s choirboy GOP governor, and the Ying Yang Twins, the Southern rap duo whose songs describe sexual activities that barely sound biologically possible?

Unfortunately, not everyone was overjoyed.

According to WWLTV, passengers on United Airlines flight #263, which was supposed to depart by 7:18 p.m. last night, weren’t too happy with the parade, especially since it delayed their departure until sometime this afternoon. Plus, there were fears that the late-arriving pilots were intoxicated. United Airlines spokesperson, Megan McCarthy vehemently denied the accusation.

But those folks are leaving today, so for the rest of us, Coach Payton couldn’t have put it any better,

Here’s to the best Mardi Gras week in the history of this city.

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Yes, there’s going to be a parade today, but it’s going to be cold out there. The City of New Orleans is enacting its freeze plan this evening, so in the spirit of looking out for those less fortunate Who Dats who might need a warm place to stay tonight, remember the following locations.

Here’s the official press release from the Mayor’s Office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       February 9, 2010

CITY ENACTS FREEZE PLAN

The weather forecast indicates the temperature or wind chill factor in the City of New Orleans is expected to reach 38 degrees or below during the next 72-hour period.  All citizens should take appropriate precautions to protect themselves from the potentially dangerous effects of this weather.  Exposure to temperatures near freezing, combined with strong winds, for an extended period of time can cause serious medical problems. Tuesday through Thursday night’s weather conditions require all individuals to seek shelter.  The City’s Freeze Plan will be in effect to provide temporary shelter for homeless citizens.

Persons needing shelter will be accepted at the following locations under the following conditions:

· The Ozanam Inn, 843 Camp Street - Will accept males only beginning at 7:00 p.m.

· The Covenant House, 611 N. Rampart St - will accept males and females, between the ages 16-21, and families starting at 9 p.m.

· The New Orleans Mission, 1130 Oreatha C. Haley Blvd., - Males and females, starting at 7:00 p.m.

· The Salvation Army, 4500 South Claiborne Ave. - Male or females, beginning at 4:30 p.m.  And finally,

· The Bridge House, 1160 Camp St - Will accept males or females that may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol beginning at 10:00 p.m.

All shelters will be opened free of charge to persons seeking shelter during this period of inclement weather.

Stay tuned for further announcements.