GNOInfo

05/30/2018

New post (Home Repair Loan Program for Elderly and Disabled) has been published on GNOinfo.com

03/30/2018

New post (Aquatic Robotics Summer Camp - Maritime Museum) has been published on GNOinfo.com

Looking for an exciting, educational, fun, unique summer camp experience for your child? The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum will offer four weeks of hands-on educational fun with our 2018 Aquatic Robotics and Junior Aquatics Engineers Summer Day Camps. Each week … more

02/21/2017

New post (Curbed New Orleans Mapping of Recent Construction Projects) has been published on GNOinfo.com

A great map of ongoing and upcoming major construction projects in New Orleans.

09/30/2016

New post (This is the end - thank you for ten years!) has been published on GNOinfo.com
This is it - the last GNOInfo minute. This project began when people were openly questioning whether New Orleans deserved to be rebuilt. It continued through protests and 701 releases and the emergence of a new school model and an inspector general and a unified levee board a single assessor and a second storm named Gustav to test what we had built.

It changed from LouisianaRebuilds to GNOInfo in that moment when the truly impossible happened and the Saints won the Super Bowl which solidified the narrative change from city in distress to city in resurgence. It kept moving through the beginnings of a brain gain, an astounding growth of entrepreneurism to this moment on the edge of 300 years of New Orleans.

It has been my privilege to try to bring attention to so many community resources and opportunities over the last ten years. I look forward to continuing that work in new ways over the coming months.

For 89.9 WWNO and the GNOInfo.com Minute, this has been Chris Reade…

This is it – the last GNOInfo minute. This project began when people were openly questioning whether New Orleans deserved to be rebuilt. It continued through protests and 701 releases and the emergence of a new school model and an … more

09/29/2016

New post (Urban Conservancy's Front Yard Initiative) has been published on GNOinfo.com

The Front Yard Initiative is an incentive program that reimburses eligible homeowners $2.50 per square foot of paving removed- up to 500 square feet- for a max of $1,250.

09/29/2016

New post (Urban Conservancy and other great ideas from the last ten years...) has been published on GNOinfo.com
In the last ten years I have been asked a lot of questions about these radio spots. The most common question I get is where I find the ideas for the spots themselves. Well, I start with reading the metro section of the papers, I check out news articles and people send me a lot of great stuff.

One example is from just yesterday when one of the city councilmembers’ staff called to tell me to note that in addition to the water institute that I’d mentioned last week that they urban conservancy has a great program called the Front Yard Initiative that will pay you to make your yard more green.

So this has been a community effort, one I couldn’t have done without great feedback from you all. Thank you for the last ten years.

For 89.9…

In the last ten years I have been asked a lot of questions about these radio spots.  The most common question I get is where I find the ideas for the spots themselves.  Well, I start with reading the metro … more

09/28/2016

New post (Counting down 3, 2, 1...Friday is the last day) has been published on GNOinfo.com
Ten years is a long time. This week marks ten years that I have been doing the GNOInfo and Louisiana Rebuilds Minute. In that time I have made over 2,500 radio pieces covering topics from FEMA and Contractor Ratings to Education Reform and Film Training Programs and so very much more.

This will also be the last week I do these spots. And while I expect that they may be replayed or recast in a new format my daily briefings are going to end Friday. GNOInfo itself will continue to provide community-based information into the future in it’s web and mobile formats.

You can read about Community Information and Resources at GNOInfo.com.

For 89.9….

Ten years is a long time. This week marks ten years that I have been doing the GNOInfo and Louisiana Rebuilds Minute. In that time I have made over 2,500 radio pieces covering topics from FEMA and Contractor Ratings to … more

09/20/2016

New post (CourtWatch Nola Report - Domestic Abuse much less penalized than drug dealing) has been published on GNOinfo.com
Our courthouse is really tough on drug dealers, but it’s pretty weak on domestic abusers - this is one of the many items in the most recent CourtWatch Nola report. Domestic abusers got, on average, 1/20th of the sentence that dealers did. Almost 40% of the people who could have availed themselves of bail could not afford to. And almost 2,500 people had arrest warrants issued for failing to pay court imposed fines, which has drawn a Federal lawsuit on the practice.

CourtWatch NOLA exists to help bring visibility and accountability into the New Orleans criminal justice system. It’s volunteers sit in on every violent crime’s case and make thousands of observations every year, well over 10,000 observations since the group’s inception.

You can read about the latest court watch report at GNOInfo.com - it’s in the news.

FOr 89.

Our courthouse is really tough on drug dealers, but it’s pretty weak on domestic abusers – this is one of the many items in the most recent CourtWatch Nola report. Domestic abusers got, on average, 1/20th of the sentence that … more

09/13/2016

New post (Learn the Process to Challenge an Assessment) has been published on GNOinfo.com
Passion is a great thing to have, but knowing the rules is more important. The other night there was a public meeting of folks affected by the uptown construction projects and the New Orleans Assessor. As one might imagine there was a lot of venting of frustration at having assessments rise when you can’t actually get to your property because of construction. However, while it is cathartic to vent, the only thing that matters is what the law and the process is.

There is a very particular dance that you have to do to fight an assessment value in Louisiana. It has a lot of options for the property owner during this process to challenge various aspects of the assumptions that underlie the assessments which, even if it all fails, makes you feel like you had your day in court, so to speak.

You can read about Real Estate Assessment Challenges at GNOInfo.com, it’s in the news.

For 89.9…

Passion is a great thing to have, but knowing the rules is more important.  The other night there was a public meeting of folks affected by the uptown construction projects and the New Orleans Assessor.  As one might imagine there … more

09/09/2016

New post (City Hall Technology Is Better Than It Has Ever Been) has been published on GNOinfo.com
When Greg Meffert and folks were first in charge in City Hall there was a lot of talk about revolutionizing how City business was done with technology. And, even though it turned out badly in the end, it did move the ball forward. But I would argue that the last 5 years have been a golden age for technology use in New Orleans Government - but its subtle enough that while it affects you every day you don’t notice it, which is how all good tech should be.

Some examples are the recently released 311 tracker, the data sites, the online ticket and tax payments, the zoning and permit systems - all of this is just in the last few years.

You can read about the City’s Tech initiatives at GNOInfo.com - it’s in the news.

For 89.9….

When Greg Meffert and folks were first in charge in City Hall there was a lot of talk about revolutionizing how City business was done with technology. And, even though it turned out badly in the end, it did move … more

09/07/2016

New post (Second Annual Ada Lovelace Award Coming Up) has been published on GNOinfo.com
NOLA Tech Week is coming up and there’s a lot to be proud of in the growth of this event. This event started as a few techie’s talking about what San Francisco had that New Orleans didn’t and how to address that. Now it’s a full unconference with events all across downtown, all of which are free and open to the public.

One event, now in its second year, is the Ada Lovelace Woman of the Year in Technology. This award, started by LookFar, seeks to highlight women’s contributions to technology, which are too often overlooked. Nominations for this award are now open and the event is in October.

You can read about NOLA Tech Week and the Ada Lovelace award at GNOInfo.com — it’s in the news.

For 89.9..

NOLA Tech Week is coming up and there’s a lot to be proud of in the growth of this event. This event started as a few techie’s talking about what San Francisco had that New Orleans didn’t and how to … more

09/02/2016

New post (Contractor Rating Guide Gets New Users From the Floods) has been published on GNOinfo.com

For almost ten years now the Louisiana Rebuilds contractor rating system has been helping homeowners figure out what contractors to work with.  Born out of the need after Katrina when social network were broken and couldn’t just ask friend what … more