This Saturday and Sunday, October 24th & 25th, join thousands around the world to call for strong climate action!

There are two events in New Orleans:

Saturday, October 24, noon, on the horseshoe in front of Tulane University on St. Charles Avenue
Details here: http://www.350.org/node/10290

Sunday, October 25, noon, at Congo Square in Armstrong Park on Rampart Street near Dumaine
Details here: http://www.350.org/node/7622

Today the House and Government Affairs Committee stopped passage of HB776 which would have stripped the rights of Green Party voters from conducting a Congressional Primary. The bill would have only allowed Republicans and Democrats to conduct a congressional primary.

Secretary of the Green Party of Louisiana, Sean Clark, spoke before the committee.

Click here for Real Media Video (Skip 34 min. Into Video)

Open Letter to House & Govt. Affairs Committee
HB776 was presented as a pro-active and theoretical cost saving measure on behalf of the Secretary of State’s office, however it not only disenfranchises voters of the Green, Libertarian, and Reform parties but it also disenfranchises the “unaffiliated” voters as well.

Statewide Voter Registration Count for Reference:
Democratic: 1,517,563
Republicans: 741,926
Other Parties Total: 645,771

HB776 effects more than a theoretical “Mickey Mouse Party” (as it was referred to) banding together to topple the budget of the Secretary of State. This bill will disenfranchise 645,771 registered voters. Please regard this issue for its face value.

The following glaring issues of HB776:
1. The Green Party, Reform Party and Libertarian parties will be DENIED  congressional primaries with no alternative by law to choosing a nominee.

2. “Unaffiliated” voters will be DENIED the option to vote for another party other than the Democratic party when they go to vote in a Congressional Primary.

3. MORE confusion will be created for smaller “recognized party” voters. For example, a Green Party voter goes to vote in a primary and there are 2 candidates running.  What will the poll worker be required to say when those voters are turned away?

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Green Party candidate Malik Rahim’s campaign website is live at http://www.votemalik.com, and we’ll be continuously updating it as the campaign continues.

If you are interested in volunteering in any way, please fill out the contact form on votemalik.com.

Set your sights on December 6th!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42477609816

Twitter: https://twitter.com/votemalik

A feasibility study released today indicates that it would be 20% cheaper to renovate New Orleans’ Charity Hospital into a state-of-the-art facility than it would be to build a new hospital on another site.  The report, commissioned by the Foundation for Historical Louisiana and created by a team of architectural, structural engineering and financial consulting firms led by RMJM Hillier have estimated that completely overhauling the existing hospital building would cost $484 million, compared to a $620 million price tag for the creation of a similar facility in another location.

“Can Charity Hospital be turned into a modern hospital? We say unequivocally that it can,” stated Steve McDaniel of RMJM Hillier, the Principal Architect of the renovation plans.  These plans included tearing out the entire inside of the building and replacing all existing services such as heating and cooling systems with new, modern systems.

At its presentation the study was praised by healthcare activists including Green Party of Greater New Orleans (GPGNO) member Brad Ott.  (more…)

A number of images of the oil spill tour can be found at the Louisiana Environmental Action Network’s site. View LEAN Report Now »

Mississippi River at New Orleans Shut After Fuel Spill. Associated Press Video Below:

First All-Women-of-Color Presidential Ticket in US History: Green Party Nominee Cynthia McKinney and Running Mate Rosa Clemente on War, Democracy and Hip Hop

The Green Party made history last week when it nominated the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket in US history. Former Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was the first African American woman elected to Congress in Georgia, won the Green Party’s nomination last Monday. Listen to the Democracy Now! Report…

Media Advisory–September 11, 2007
After Katrina, the residents of New Orleans East were shocked that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and the Mayor of New Orleans approved dumping of potentially hazardous household materials at the Chef Menteur Landfill at 166000 Chef Menteur Highway without first placing a leachate collection liner. It posed long-term threats to the ecology of the nearby Bayou Savage National Wildlife Refuge, the Maxtent Canal, and the water supply of the residential community living within 1 mile of the landfill. (more…)

The Green Party of Louisiana Endorsed the following Resolution at the State convention on Sept. 8 2007

As survivors of Hurricane Katrina we are soliciting your support on this resolution to have health care services restored at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. In particular, we are concerned about the mental health services at the Rev. Avery C. Alexander Campus. Everyone should be fully aware of the mental and physical distress that the people of New Orleans have been under and continue to endure. Many who had no mental or physical issues prior to the hurricane are becoming ill and have no where to go due to the closure of this public hospital.

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By Jason Neville
I rode my bike around the neighborhood, one on high ground and spared most–but not all–of the wrath. These same streets had dried-up toxic floodwaters crisped in the sun like fish scales when I rode my bike around the city nine months ago, and wafts of toxins and garbage and dead things filled the air.

The air seemed less foul this time around, but every once in a while the a frail breeze would stir the stagnant summer air, and churn up an awful reminder that “foul nests of mold” (1) were still present in little hiding spots like rabbits, but at least not oozed out across the streets like before. The scent was fleeting but the memories were not. (more…)