Sportscaster Jim Henderson says one thing people have always loved about New Orleans is that it appealed to all your senses. You enjoyed the sights–the grand homes, the historical buildings, the river; you loved the sounds–the music; you could taste the city–its cuisine; and you can even smell it–sometimes the smell of coffee roasting at a nearby plant and at other times, less appetizing aromas.
Life in this city these days is a matter of “Ds.” It’s always been daring. Since Katrina, it has been difficult. And now, it’s downright dangerous. The crime rate is soaring off the charts. And that’s not just in Orleans Parish proper. Last year, Jefferson Parish, always thought of as a safer alternative to the city, registered 78 murders. That is more than double the previous year.
Tuesday, Mayor Nagin and other local officials held a news conference to announce plans to combat the increase in violence. They’ll be asking the NOPD to speed up investigations, assigning sheriff’s deputies to routine police duties in order to free up police officers for serious crime work, and increase drug and alcohol traffic checks between 2 and 6 am. So far, they’ve not announced a curfew but it’s being discussed.
In the letters section of the paper, Fred Cargo of New Orleans thinks a curfew is a bad idea. All you have to do, he says, is chart the times of all the murders in 2007 so far. Two occurred after 11 pm; the others took place at 1:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7 pm, 8 pm, 8:45 pm, 10:15 pm, 3:30 pm, 3:45 pm, 7 pm, 5:30 am, and 7:24 am. Good point, Fred.
One of the mayor’s suggested crime-fighting techniques is a “clergy family intervention” program, in which “priests would visit victims’ families.” Priests? Good idea. We may assume that was meant to cover all us non-priests–pastors, rabbis, and such.
Last Sunday’s Times-Picayune devoted several pages to showing how home values have changed since Katrina. Turns out it’s a great time to buy a big house in New Orleans. If you don’t mind its being a fixer-upper and living in a neighborhood of high weeds and big rats.