Trailing behind Mississippi? Editorial from the Baton Rouge Advocate

New Orleans photo by Matin Katirai, MPH, Graduate Research Assistant, Center for Hazards Research and Policy Development, University of Louisville.

In the vein of leadership and who gets elected really does matter, the Baton Rouge Advocate opines:

In broaching the idea of expanding casino gambling in New Orleans' downtown hotels, Mayor Ray Nagin caused more than a little discussion that, as the mayor himself acknowledges, distracted attention from more constructive proposals for the city's redevelopment. The mayor's ideas about a reinvigorated school system, business tax credits and improved city planning are welcome and should get a fuller airing now that he has dropped the casino idea.

It drew fire from opponents of legalized gambling and a very cool response from Gov. Kathleen Blanco, so the legislative prospects of any such proposal were poor at best. We agree that more casinos aren't a good idea, but the mayor can hardly be blamed for casting about in a crisis for ways to get investment into the city as quickly as possible.

The larger issue, though, is that the mayor and many others have a large number of ideas that are bouncing around about how to rebuild.

When do we start with something?

In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour is making tracks. He hired a team of planners headed by Andres Duany, the town planner who developed the Plan Baton Rouge master plan for our downtown. Duany and the team have already developed reconstruction plans for all 11 towns on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Barbour is pushing for action on them.

In Louisiana, we struggle to find a plan....