Columnist James Gill

James Gill: With LSU and Caesars Sportsbook, all bets are belatedly off

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Jun 9, 2023

With an unmistakable air of virtuous self-denial, LSU has announced it is ending its partnership with Caesars Sportsbook.

James Gill: The "gender industry" boom is a real bust

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Jun 2, 2023

Emergency! Take your panic stations, for American civilization is under siege.

James Gill: What a friend Clarence Thomas has in John Kennedy

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
May 26, 2023

As a proven loyalist deep in Donald Trump territory, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy is sitting pretty.

James Gill: Jefferson Parish pols make us merry with our own money

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
May 19, 2023

When public officials spend tax money on crowd pleasing projects, they might be said to bribe us with our own money, which is fine. They are doing their job after all.

James Gill: A coastal way of life, destined to go under

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
May 12, 2023

Isle de Jean Charles in Terrebonne Parish used to be the kind of rural retreat that reduces hard-bitten newspaper reporters to filing stories about time passing this idyllic spot by.

James Gill: On tax vote, Susan Hutson's political acumen went AWOL

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Updated May 6, 2023

A year ago, having never held elective office, Susan Hutson ousted a dyed-in-the-wool political insider to become the first female sheriff of Orleans Parish.

James Gill: Uncle Sam wants you (if you're an LSU student athlete)

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Apr 29, 2023

The Secret Service is hiring jocks out of LSU.

James Gill: Louisiana once saw real tax reform. Of course, it couldn't stand.

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Apr 22, 2023

Once upon a time, the Louisiana Legislature adopted fiscally prudent and socially progressive tax reforms, voters were smart enough to pass the constitutional amendments required to adopt them…

James Gill: Under Jason Williams, everything old is new again

BY JAMES GILL
Apr 15, 2023

The wheel came full circle a couple of weeks ago when New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams took Emily Maw to task for refusing charges against 15 men accused of bearing illicit arms al…

James Gill: Recall rules create the illusion of voter control

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Updated Apr 9, 2023

Unless you are registered in some outpost with only about half a dozen names on the roll, you don't know what it is like to see a public official recalled.

James Gill: Inept recall organizers make Cantrell administration look competent

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Mar 24, 2023

It is highly likely that many an American burg is more competently run than New Orleans, but things could be worse.

James Gill: An election mess worthy of Uncle Earl

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Mar 17, 2023

Earl Long quipped that, when he died, he wanted to be buried in Louisiana so that he could remain active in politics.

James Gill: Bedfellows keep getting stranger at Orleans DA's office

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Mar 10, 2023

A hallmark of Jason Williams's administration ever since he became Orleans Parish district attorney in 2021 has been a willingness — nay, an eagerness — to put crack defense and appellate atto…

James Gill: Carnival not what it used to be, when parades had class

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Updated Feb 12, 2023

Beads, according to research conducted by my colleague Doug MacCash, became part of Mardi Gras currency in New Orleans shortly before World War 1.

James Gill: New Orleans' battle against crime goes on

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Feb 3, 2023

New Orleans' extensive network of surveillance cameras got a major boost in 2017 when then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu was engaged, as New Orleans mayors generally are, in a search for ways to reduce crime.

James Gill: Nobody got justice in this tragic case

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Jan 27, 2023

If then-New Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro had had his way in 2004, Darrill Henry would have been sentenced to death after three eyewitnesses identified him as the killer of 89-year…

James Gill: Do we really want New Orleans East to get discovered?

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Jan 20, 2023

Many residents, let alone visitors, seem to regard the vast expanse of New Orleans beyond the High Rise bridge as little more than a drab and crime-ridden wasteland.

James Gill: With all Kevin McCarthy's problems,Steve Scalise could eventually become speaker after all

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Updated Jan 14, 2023

Although he remained stony faced while Kevin McCarthy plumbed the depths of self-abasement to get himself elected House speaker, it would be unnatural if Metairie's own Steve Scalise did not c…

James Gill: State Supreme Court doubles down on injustice

BY JAMES GILL
Jan 6, 2023

Oregon is not the first state that springs to mind in connection with Jim Crow, but it used to be more fertile territory for the Klan than anywhere else.

James Gill: Wherever you celebrate it, Boxing Day has its charms

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Jan 1, 2023

In an editorial Dec. 26, this newspaper reiterated its hope that south Louisiana follow the British example and celebrate that date as Boxing Day.

James Gill: Ronald Greene's mom says he was murdered. Proving that would be challenging.

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Dec 25, 2022

Friends and relations of Ronald Greene are disappointed that the cops allegedly responsible for his death are not facing more serious charges.

James Gill: Can Big Oil get a fair shake in Plaquemines court? We're about to find out.

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Dec 16, 2022

Louisiana wetlands are said to be disappearing at an average rate of a football field every hour, so we are down an unconscionable number of gridirons just squabbling over who pays to mitigate…

James Gill: A plan to fight terrorism, but resisted in Louisiana

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Dec 11, 2022

Louisiana is one of the states that never did cotton to the so-called Real ID.

James Gill: Was Biden clever or careless in tapping Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Dec 4, 2022

Democrats figure they should take a bow for President Joe Biden's statesmanlike decision to draw down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and mitigate increases in the price of gas.

James Gill: Now in charge of the House, Scalise will have to offer policies not platitudes

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Nov 28, 2022

Steve Scalise continues to drone on about “hard working families,” and pledging to fight hard on their behalf, but what about the rest of us?

James Gill: Saints fans don't care about the World Cup. Maybe they're on to something

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Oct 29, 2022

The soccer World Cup gets underway next month, when chances are you will have no difficulty containing your excitement.

James Gill: Deputies should be guarding criminals. Instead they protect these politicians.

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Oct 21, 2022

Violence, drug overdoses and suicide attempts have long bedeviled the New Orleans jail, which must be a really crummy place to work.

James Gill: An attorney alerted a school to a misbehaving priest. This judge fined him $400,000.

BY JAMES GILL | Contributing writer
Updated Oct 15, 2022

Judges naturally get mad at attorneys who leak privileged information, but it cannot be often that a media source gets fined as much as $400,000.