By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist With qualifying for New Orleans’ municipal elections about a month away, politicos are eyeing the party, gender and ethnic make-up of the city’s voters overall and in the individual City Council districts. A new analysis...
Column / elections / Opinion / Politics
by Gentilly Messenger · Published February 18, 2021 · Last modified March 8, 2021
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist With qualifying for New Orleans municipal races just five months away, New Orleans business leaders are still scrambling to find a candidate they consider suitable to challenge Mayor LaToya Cantrell. District 93 state Rep. Royce...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist “Oh my God, I can’t believe it’s happening,” said Desiree Ontiveros about yesterday’s congressional vote to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time. A Latina who moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Ontiveros,...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Amid an Epiphany Day marred by an unanticipated insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the state’s highest COVID rates, 87-year-old Isiah Steele received his long-awaited COVID-19 vaccination at New Orleans East Hospital. “I am so...
Column / Food and Drink / Opinion
by Gentilly Messenger · Published November 25, 2020 · Last modified November 24, 2020
By Kristine Froeba, opinion columnist Below is the Oyster Dressing recipe I’ve prepared since 2006. It was recorded at the elbow of my cousin Velma, then 93. At 4-foot-10, still whip-smart and eternally feisty, she bossily instructed me in “the...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist From Keva Landrum to Chanel Payne, women of color and younger progressive-minded voters were the big winners in New Orleans’ election earlier this week. Women of color were candidates in 21 of the 25 local...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Although qualifying for New Orleans mayor, City Council and other municipal offices is still eight months away, many of the same conservative business leaders who gave Mayor LaToya Cantrell the seed money that launched her...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Dear Mayor LaToya Cantrell: Long gone are the days when the Louisiana Legislature is willing or even able to solve New Orleans’ financial problems, especially in the years of ever-tightening budgets and Republican dominance of...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Long before the honorific “criminal justice reformer” came in vogue, Arthur L. Hunter Jr. was earning a national reputation for identifying alternative solutions to incarceration aimed at decreasing recidivism. After four years as a New...
Column / court / elections / Opinion
by Gentilly Messenger · Published August 27, 2020 · Last modified August 30, 2020
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist In the race to fill the open seat in Criminal District Court Section K, three lawyers are bringing their diverse background and outlook to the competition: attorney Stephanie Bridges, best known for her 24 years...
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist The Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC), New Orleans’ premier criminal justice watchdog agency, is urging the New Orleans Police Department to refocus on violent offenders during a time when shootings and murders are surging and fewer...
Column / court / COVID-19 / Opinion / Politics
by Gentilly Messenger · Published August 6, 2020 · Last modified August 14, 2020
By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist Armed with the ruling yesterday (Aug. 5) by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk, which returned control of the Orleans Justice Center to Sheriff Marlin Gusman, the sheriff said he is moving ahead with his push...
