New Orleans gets a second chance

For those who do not live in the deepest of the
deep southern states, you may not realize that
New Orleans, the Queen city of the South, has
been under siege. No, not from hurricanes. The
siege has been from within. New Orleans
is known as the City that care forgot. But
it’s hard to let the good times roll in the
Big Easy when the dice keep coming up
snake eyes.
The Crescent City has been in a battle
for a number of years to stay afloat as it
dealt with Major Street crime, inept public
leadership, and a dysfunctional criminal
justice system. Even federal officials
can no longer be trusted. Author James
Lee Burke writes about this corruption
and dysfunction in his novel Last Car to
Elysian Fields. “One of the most beautiful
cities in the Western hemisphere was killed
three times, and not just by forces of nature.”