Sign the National Trust's Petition to Save Charity

Health Care -- Of the People, By the People, originally uploaded by Preservation Resource Center, Advocacy Department.

TAKE ACTION - Sign the National Trust's Petition to the Louisiana State Legislature

sign it here

The petition reads:

On November 25, 2008, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University announced the selection of the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals, in spite of the fact that the State Legislature has not yet finalized plans for funding for the LSU Hospital. The current plan would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital, where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina.

We, the undersigned, applaud the Legislature’s intention to have a hearing and urge consideration of ALL the alternatives for bringing quality health care back to New Orleans, including alternatives that rehab the historic Charity Hospital into a state of the art medical facility an option that would be both faster and cheaper and much less destructive than the plan proposed by LSU and the VA.

Thanks PreservationNation.

Petition the Plan

Jean Gordon Elementary School, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Eli Ackerman has been blogging the School Facilities Plan here. He writes:

As of this moment, the Orleans Parish School Board and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are scheduled to vote on the master plan within days though the plan was released in the midst of Gustav panic and is close to 2000 pages. The case for extension of the public comment deadline based on the insufficient amount of time the public has had to review and provide comment would be plenty compelling by itself. Yet, disturbingly, we've learned that some members of the Orleans Parish School Board, who are, and I can't stress this enough, directly responsible for the approval or rejection of an absolutely critical guiding master plan, HAVE NOT READ IT THEMSELVES.

The public comment period on the plan currently ends October 1, 2008. Save Our Schools New Orleans has created an online petition to extend the public review period to January 1, 2009. Please sign this petition.

We the undersigned urge you as our local and state public education leaders to extend the Orleans Parish Schools Master Facilities Plan Public Review & Comment Period for an additional 90 days to January 1, 2009.

There is magnificent descent and confusion within our community regarding this recently released document and we citizens must have the extended period in order to hold meaningful conversations within our own groups and with planners so as to make informed decisions regarding our thoughts on the plan. Furthermore, the current sitting OPSB only has 2 members seeking reelection, therefore we feel that the newly seated OPSB members will need to hear our well thought out concerns and suggestions regarding the plan as they will be the body that we will hold accountable for the implementation in the years to come.

In closing, we urge each member of the Orleans Parish School Board and LA Board of Elementary & Secondary Education to postpone your vote to approve the current Orleans Parish Schools Master Facilities Plan until after January 1, 2009. Thank you in advance for your support regarding the concerns of New Orleans citizens.

OUR Schools. OUR Future. OUR Plans.