WADE RATHKE is the founder of ACORN, Chief Organizer at ACORN International, and Author of "Nuts & Bolts", "Citizen Wealth", "Global Grassroots", and "The Battle for the 9th Ward".
New Orleans No one should ever forget that the most stable and sustainable driver of the New Orleans economy is neither tourism nor conventions, but rests in no small measure on the Mississippi River as a port city. Barges of grain and other goods coming down, ships filled with coffee and everything else …
Pearl River Living in New Orleans, we become accustomed to being in the news. People like our food, music, Mardi Gras, and festivals for just kicks or business conventions, so the headlines follow. Somebody wants to report on climate change, New Orleans will be front and center. We get used to all that, and …
New Orleans Criminal justice and penal facilities have become hot button issues with demands ranging across the board from restorative justice to abolition to whether constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment are constantly ignored and racial discrimination is systemic. The politics around these issues have become unpredictable and toxic given the competing …