The LSU/VA proposal requires the use of eminent domain despite the fact that the state has just passed a constitutional amendment to limit the exploitation of eminent domain. Should this proposal succeed in its current form it would set a dangerous precedent for communities across Louisiana. Many of the homeowners and small business owners affected by these land grabs are Hurricane Katrina evacuees who have fought hard to return to the New Orleans area. Many of those surveyed said that they would leave New Orleans or even permanently leave the state should their land be taken from them again. By ceding property rights in this case, the residents of New Orleans set a dangerous precedent that will make it that much harder to defend against future intrusions of the powerful who promise "economic development" in exchange for rote demolition of historic residential neighborhoods.
LSU says its spiffy new medical complex, after gobbling up a vast tract of Mid-City, can be ready to open in 2013. If LSU says it, that should be good enough for anybody. It won't open in 2013 for sure. Whether it ever will is the question. The answer looks increasingly like no.
Perhaps this is a shame; with the up-to-the-minute plant envisaged by LSU, New Orleans could pack in more invalids than Lourdes. The streets would be thronged by doctors, medical researchers and students. The economy would just hum along, and the old town would enjoy new prestige across the land.
So say proponents of the new complex, and nobody can deny that we could use the boost that would come from a medical campus also incorporating the new Veterans Affairs hospital, which is due to open in 2012. That date is a real one, for the VA has its money lined up. Not so LSU. Read More
Diana Monely has worked for the city of New Orleans for 30 years and lived in her Mid-City home for 35, but now will lose her house if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 
New Orleans native Gayle Ruth restored her home after Hurricane Katrina but now may lose it to the wrecking ball if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 
Kevin Krause came to New Orleans as an Americorps volunteer following Hurricane Katrina, and ended up moving there -- and rehabilitating a home in Mid-City. If the VA and LSU go forward with a plan to use the Mid-City neighborhood for the site of their new hospitals, his home will be torn down. These hospitals would needlessly destroy the historic neighborhood around Charity Hospital where residents have been rebuilding and restoring their community since Hurricane Katrina. Learn more at 