NYT: In New Orleans, Mayoral Race Still Lacks Heft

The New York Times is the latest to point out the void of high-profile candidates running for New Orleans mayor.

"A few new candidates have been announced over the past few weeks," Campbell Robertson writes for the New York Times. "But as the reality settles in that on May 3, 2010, somebody other than C. Ray Nagin will be mayor, a question hangs over the city: Why do so many people feel like this is not the race the city needs?"

And as Campbell, the only New Orleans beat writer among national publications, points out, citizens want someone they can stand behind, prompting them to ask for a pie in the sky candidate: Brad Pitt.

"It does tap into a reality about the mood of this election: while New Orleanians say they are looking mainly for a mayor who can get things done, they are also eager for someone they can rally behind."

Campbell also mentions the Nagin factor -- the potential that voters will be scared to vote for a candidate with a business background, since that's the platform Nagin ran on.

"Mr. Nagin is so broadly disliked that his selling point in 2002 -- that he could apply the practical knowledge he learned as a cable company executive to the city's problems -- has become a liability for future candidates."

You can read more about the Nagin factor in a piece that Bigad Shaban brought you last week.

One thing is for sure: We may not even have mentioned the name of the candidate who will eventually replace Nagin.

"After all, less than three months before winning the 2002 mayoral election, Mr. Nagin was still undeclared -- and most of the city did not even know his name," Robertson writes.

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NYT: 'Zeitoun' As Cartoon: Demme Plans Animated Film of Eggers Book

It looks like "Zeitoun," Dave Eggers' hit novel about a man who stayed in the city during Hurricane Katrina so that he could protect his home and help other flood victims, will hit the big screen. But it's coming in an unexpected form: an animation.

"A film version of a book about a man's true-life experiences in post-Katrina New Orleans would seem sufficiently pregnant with artistic possibility. Still, Jonathan Demme plans to take his adaption of "Zeitoun," the best-selling Dave Eggers work, one step further by making it as an animated feature."

I haven't read the book but have heard plenty of good things. For those who have read it, what do you think? Would the book transfer well to a cartoon?

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Evening Standard: New Orleans is recovering its old spirit

Lindsay Jones with the London Evening Standard took a trip across the pond for a visit to New Orleans, which she documents in a play-by-play article that takes you from the heart of the Quarter to some of the city's most devastated areas.

"Nawlins is a sensuous hymn to life as it ought to be lived - with gaiety, abandon and a commitment to the pursuit of happiness. So if you love life, don't sleep in New Orleans, baby!" Jones writes.

Jones mainly stayed in the Quarter area, except for a trip to Algiers and to step on a three-hour bus tour that surveys some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. But it does do a good job of providing UK readers with a hit-list on where to visit and eat.

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HuffPo: No Divisive Delays in the 2010 Census

Wade Henderson, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, feels that Sen. David Vitter's amendment that would take measures to stop illegal immigrants from being counted would halt the process, endangering the public and private projects that rely on the "well-oiled" census for funding.

Henderson voices his opinion in a blog post for the Huffington Post.

"Make no mistake: such a last-minute change would stall the census and every public and private project that depends upon an accurate headcount of our nation's population, while singling out segments of our society for intimidation and exclusion," Henderson writes.

Henderson gave three points for his opposition to such an amendement: it would be "costly and cumbersome;" would delay the apportionment of congressional districts and the allocation of federal funds; and would scare immigrants away from taking the census at all.

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