[ardecila]

In other good news, FEMA denied the State the $400 million it wants to replace Charity Hospital. FEMA stands by its earlier offer of $120 million, which would not be enough to level Lower Mid-City for a whole new hospital, but it would be almost enough to renovate the existing Charity complex, which is IMO a far better plan for everybody involved - there is less wasteful government spending, a beautiful historic building is preserved, and a whole neighborhood won't be evicted. Honestly, it's a no-brainer - so why do Jindal and the House continue to stand by LSU's terrible plan?

Of course, even if LSU renovates Charity, that still leaves VA, which also plans to demolish a large section of Lower Mid-City. Theirs is a more difficult situation, since their existing building looks like hell AND is inefficient. There are several parking lots between Tulane and Canal that form a continuous parcel large enough for a new hospital with a vertical design, but since everybody important in Louisiana seems to have the urban-planning mindset from the 1960s, I'm sure that would be rejected immediately.