We hope you have enjoyed this blog and have found it a useful way to get more information about NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. If you have any suggestions on ways to make this more useful for future Summits, we hope you will leave a comment below. Thanks for your interest!
When the streets of New Orleans flooded after Hurricane Katrina hit, photographers from the New Orleans Times-Picayune began documenting what was happening to their community. While doing so, they found themselves making difficult personal and professional decisions.
"Eyes of the Storm" is the name of a session that takes place at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 24 at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. It's also the name of a special video presentation the newspaper produced that focuses on the recollections of the photographers in the early days of the flood. The NCSL session will feature three members of the newspaper's photography division.
It promises to be a very moving session. To be a part of this session, be sure to register for the Legislative Summit today!
America spends an astounding $2.4 trillion to keep us alive, productive and healthy -- a number that will rise another $175 billion in 2008. Some states want to take the lead in "fixing" key parts of this system—
a daunting task for big-government and small-government experts alike.
"Can We Afford Our Health Care? New Directions and Solutions" will be a featured session at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. The session will take place on Thursday, July 24 at 1 pm. Three national experts will discuss recent initiatives intended to control costs while preserving or improving health outcomes.
One of the speakers will be Robert Helms, an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services in the Reagan Administration, who played a key role in market-based reforms.
Register today to be a part of this session.
More than a year ago, Paul Vallas was named the superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans. An article in The New York Times called him "one of the nation’s most prominent edu
cation reformers."
Vallas will be featured at two sessions at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. On Thursday, July 24 at 1 p.m., he will be paired with Sol Stern to discuss "Two Decades of School Choice: What Have We Learned?" Then, at 8 a.m. Friday, July 25, he will be a panelist at a session entitled, "Lessons from the Trenches: Turning Around Poor Performing Schools."
Vallas is credited with making notable changes in Chicago and Philadelphia school districts. He has been featured in a PBS series on leadership. We couldn't find an official bio for Vallas on the Web, so here is a link to his Wikipedia entry.
To hear his views on education in America, be sure to register for the Legislative Summit today!
One of the nation's most respected travel writers recently wrote a piece that sums up how we feel about New Orleans.
"It can now be said with certainty and joy that New Orleans has returned to life: you really should visit this unique national treasure."
We couldn't agree more, Arthur Frommer! Read the full article here. We think you'll agree, when you attend NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans next week, you'll be glad you did! Register today!
"A New Life for Online Government," a session that takes place 8 a.m. Friday, July 23 at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit, will take a look at new ways government can use the Internet to provide services and collaborate with citizens on health, education, public safety and civic life.
Leigh Rowan of TheSLAgency, will guide you through Second
Life (illustrated here), where a specialized 
microsite has been set up for
attendees to use as a resource. You'll also see Virtual Alabama,
a powerful tool that pulls data from different sources throughout the state and
overlays it on a 3D map. Alabama Homeland Security Director Jim Walker will describe how this
award-winning
tool for
To be a part of this
session, register today to attend NCSL's Legislative
Summit.
Strengthening the relationship between communities and military installations is the focus of a special 
session at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. On Friday, July 25 at 2 p.m., Major General Michael R. Lehnert will be a featured speaker at the session called "Strengthening Military-Community Partnerships." He currently serves as Commanding General, Marine Corps Installation West.
The highly decorated Major General has more than 30 years of service to his country, including stops in Japan, the Philippines, Panama and Guantanamo Bay. In addition, he has served on numerous U.S. military installations and he will be able to provide a unique perspective on the military-community relationship at this NCSL session.
To be a part of this session, register for the meeting today!
How do institutions of higher education handle natural disasters? From floods to fires to funnel clouds, university administrators have to evacuate students and faculty while maintaining essential services. Imagine the challenge of evacuating an entire university, including shutting down a medical school and hospital.
At Legislative Summit, a panel of officials from a number of schools in Louisiana that were forced to evacuate during Hurricane Katrina will discuss the Effects of a Natural Disaster on Higher Education at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 22.
The panelists include Dr. Charles Zewe, vice president for external affairs for the Louisiana State University System, who handled communications between the system office and the media during and immediately after Katrina. Also, William Silvia, the former executive vice president of the LSU System, handled all of the logistics involved with moving the LSU Medical School and the University of New Orleans (UNO) to locations where they could get back up and running quickly. This involved finding housing for faculty and students, transportation, reconstructing payroll records, working out accreditation issues, and an array of other tasks.
The LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans had to be moved out of the city even though the New Orleans Charity Hospital is where a large percentage of the medical school residents practiced and where medical school students do their clinical work. The facility was completely destroyed by Katrina and remains closed today. Dr. Larry Hollier, Chancellor of LSU Health Sciences Center, had to deal with faculty issues and the placement of medical school residents in settings where they could continue to work in their specialties.
The Chancellor of the University of New Orleans, Dr. Timothy Ryan, has spent the last three years re-building the campus and programs. The UNO campus is within walking distance from Lake Pontchartrain and was hit hard by the storm, especially when the levee of the 17th Street Canal was breached. Dr. Ryan, who is also a well respected economist in Louisiana, has a unique perspective on the impact of the storm and its affect on the economies of New Orleans and Louisiana.
And Jerry Jones, director of the Office of Facility Planning and Control in charge of all state buildings in Louisiana, will discuss how he handled the negotiations with FEMA and other federal agencies involved in providing hurricane relief services during Katrina. Even today, he still is dealing with hundreds of unresolved issues nearly three years after the storm.
Medical schools, public and private universities, and community colleges were all affected by Hurricane Katrina. This session will highlight some of their challenges and successful efforts to recover and rebuild in order to preserve these institutions of higher learning.
This session is at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 22 in the Hilton Riverside Grand Salon.
When Newt 
Gingrich and Lee Hamilton take the stage at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans, their discussion will be under the guiding hand of Robert R. Hoopes.
Hoopes, president and senior partner of Vox Global Mandate, is a nationally recognized expert on public policy, issue advocacy, and crisis management. His company focuses on providing bi-partisan advocacy and communications counsel to clients.
Robert has attended both the Republican and Democratic Conventions since 1992. He provides political commentary for Fox News, NPR, MSNBC, News Channel 8, Fox and BBC World News Radio and Television.
To be a part of this session, which takes place Thursday, July 24 at 2:45 p.m., register today!
Hopefully by now you have registered for NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. With our improved online agenda, you can now plan your schedule before arriving in the Crescent City.
Our online agenda allows you to search for sessions by day, time, committee, topic, staff sections or other NCSL groups. Or, you can search for specific sessions or speakers.
With more than 150 sessions and nearly 500 speakers, the meeting offers several paths for you to take during the meeting. We encourage you to take some time, look over the agenda and plan your activities. You can start with the full agenda, or check it out one day at a time: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
While the NCSL 2008 Legislative Summit has invitations out to the two major
presidential candidates,
we have secured a couple of key advisers who will share their candidate's perspective on education issues.
NCSL attendees can hear representatives Linda Darling-Hammond from the Obama and Lisa Graham Keegan of the McCain campaigns discuss the candidates' views on an appropriate federal role for K-12 education. The session will take place Wednesday, July 23 from Noon to 2:15 pm.
To be a part of this rare opportunity to compare the two candidates education issues side-by-side, register for the meeting today!
The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau has secured time on the Travel Channel during the month of July to showcase its city. Over the next four weekends, "Forever New Orleans TV," created and hosted by Emmy award-winning reporter Karen Carlson, showcases the city's culture, restaurants, attractions, accommodations and most of all, the spirit and resilience of New Orleanians. 
So watch on Sunday mornings (8:30 a.m. Eastern and Pacific, 7:30 a.m. Central), or search for "New Orleans TV" on your digital video recorder. Here is the schedule for July.
July 6: Voluntourism
The hurricane may have brought a lot of destruction to the gulf coast, but it has also brought a groundswell of kindness from all over the country and all over the world.
July 13: Sportsman's Paradise
You wouldn't know it was so close to the city, but a natural oasis exists within an hour's drive of New Orleans.
July 20: La Nouvelle New Orleans
They may not pronounce the names of streets the same way, but France and New Orleans have a special relationship that neither time nor storm could tear apart.
July 27: Sugar and Spice
We eat and cook with Chef Paul Prudhomme - the man who essentially created the demand for Cajun spices worldwide, visit a one-of-a-kind confectionary and make other stops in the city.
The Arena Football League is holding its annual championship game on Sunday, July 27, one day after the NCSL 2008 Legislative Summit officially concludes. Their championship weekend starts off with a Saturday night concert featuring Huey Lewis and the News. Check out the league's special NCSL flyer below for the full details of the offer and other special events happening that weekend.
Download arenabowl_xxii_flyer_ncsl.pdf
Special training for a new NCSL service that will allow members to search legislation in all 50 states will be available at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. The database contains the full text of legislation in states, the District of Columbia and Congress. This new service, powered by StateNet, is available exclusively to state legislators and legislative staff.
Training will be available every half hour Wednesday, July 23, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., Thursday from 9 to 11:30 a.m., and Friday from 9 to 10 a.m.
Attendees will learn how to find legislation by topic, bill number, state and other categories. It will also allow access to legislative calendars, session summaries and other information.
To take advantage of this special training, register for NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit today!
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports Sunday that the final leg of the streetcar lines in the city opened over the weekend. The event is being celebrated by the community, local businesses and tourists. The streetcar has long been a symbol of this historic American city.
As the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority announced, "For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, locals and tourists alike will be able to enjoy a scenic ride down the full St. Charles streetcar line—boarding at Carondelete and Canal Street, rolling the length of St. Charles Avenue, down South Carrollton Avenue and ending at South Claiborne Avenue."
Be sure to take a ride on a streetcar when you attend NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans. Register for the meeting today!
by Meagan Dorsch and Janna Goodwin
The National Conference of State Legislatures is honored to have Alan D. Haley as a speaker during the 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans, July 22 - 26, 2008.
Haley has been a Preservation Specialist (Senior Rare Book Conservator) at the Library of Congress since 1993. He has been a member of the LC Collections Emergency Response Team for 12 years and been involved in emergency preparedness, disaster response assessments and on-site collections recovery efforts at the Library of Congress as well as in El Salvador after the 2001 earthquakes. He most recently was in Iraq after the arson attacks on the National Library in Bagdad in 2003. He has collaborated with colleagues to train LC custodial division staff in emergency response protocol and has given numerous collections salvage workshops at universities and museums in El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Alabama, New Orleans, and South Florida.
Haley will be speaking at the session ""In the Line of Fire and Flood: Protecting and Recovering Collections at Risk" on Tuesday, July 22. He will discuss generally accepted guidelines on preventative steps to minimize risk to institutional collections. He will describe and demonstrate procedures and techniques to minimize loss when disasters have damaged such historical materials. This session at NCSL Legislative Summit is sponsored by the Legislative Research Librarians Staff Section.
There is only one way to see Haley and all of our featured speakers at the 34th annual NCSL Legislative Summit in New Orleans. Make sure to register today!
For more than two decades, there have been a wide range of experiments in allowing parents to choose the schools their children attend. At one of our breakout sessions at the NCSL 2008 Legislative Summit
in New Orleans, we'll take a look at what we've learned in that time.
Sol Stern, a noted writer who focuses on education reform, will be featured in a discussion on how well the choice experiment has worked, and which strategies have been successful in improving student achievement and improving the public school system. The session takes place Thursday, July 24 at 10 a.m.
Stern is a contributing editor to City Journal and a Manhattan Institute senior fellow. His writings on that topic have helped shape the terms of the current debate in New York City. He is the author of Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice. Aside from his work in City Journal, Stern’s articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Magazine, Commentary, The New Republic, the New York Post and the Daily News.
To be a part of this discussion, register for the meeting today.
Mother Earth has been claiming her share of the headlines lately. Every region of the country seems to
have a major weather-related story right, particularly the flooding in the Midwest. Our host for NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit, New Orleans, is still recovering from hurricanes that hit in 2005.
Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, looked at what was happening to the planet and has written a best-selling book, Earth: The Sequel. The premise of the book is that the nation can build a low-carbon economy while unleashing American entrepreneurs to save the planet.
Krupp has focused his career on developing market-based solutions for environmental issues. He has led
Environmental Defense Fund in a series of corporate partnerships with DuPont, FedEx, McDonald’s and others and helped launch the U.S. Climate Action Partnership.
He will join Shell Oil President Marvin Odum at the Summit's general session on Wednesday, July 23. Register today to be a part of this session to learn how can the U.S. maintain the delicate balance between energy, economic and environmental sustainability.
by Meagan Dorsch
First, I would like to apologize for taking so long before highlighting another great place to visit in New Orleans during NCSL's Legislative Summit. We have been so busy preparing for this meeting, everyone is going 100 miles an hour and loving it!
Having said that, thank you for giving me the opportunity to stop for a second, and remember how wonderful warm beignets are on a humid morning in New Orleans. Throw in some Chicory coffee, and I can't think of a better way to start the day.
Since it's open 24 hours a day, you can start your morning or end your night Cafe DeMonde! It is close to the French Quarter and just a quick tip...there is also a location inside of the RiverWalk Mall...steps away from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center!
Don't miss out on these fabulous treats or NCSL Legislative Summit in New Orleans. You are going to want to be in that number...register today!
If you've been thinking about attending NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans, you should be aware of a couple of deadlines that occur this Friday, June 20.
First, if you like saving money, you can save at least 10 percent by registering for the meeting by Friday. Second, the guaranteed rates we have for hotels in New Orleans ends this week. In order to secure your housing at these low rates, you'll need to book your room by Friday, June 20.
The meeting is only five weeks away! We hope you will join us.
When Lee Hamilton left Congress in 1999, he felt the American public needed a better understanding of how government, and particularly Congress, operates. He founded The Center on Congress at Indiana University that year as a non-partisan educational institution seeking to improve public understanding of Congress and encourage civic engagement.
His reputation as a statesman has led to his appointment to lead several notable U.S. commissions, including co-chair of the 9/11 Commission. He is the author of two books: How Congress Works and Why You Should Care (Indiana University Press), and A Creative Tension: The Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress (Woodrow Wilson Press). He co-authored with former Gov. Kean Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission (Knopf).
At NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans, Hamilton will share the stage with Newt Gingrich on Thursday to discuss what is needed to move America beyond gridlock to solving our biggest issues, including health care, education and the environment, with innovation and originality.
Register today to hear this fascinating conversation between two American legendary public servants.
Looking for a great overview of the 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans? Today, we recorded a free, online event highlighting the program, the tours, social events, kids program and some great information about the city of New Orleans.
At only 36 minutes long, the presentation features NCSL staff and a representative of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. All you have to do is grab your favorite beverage, go to your computer, turn on your sound and click on the link found on this page that says "encore presentation." The event, called a Webinar, will play out on your screen.
We welcome your feedback. Post a comment below and let us know if you have any questions that we didn't answer at today's event. And, if you haven't yet, go ahead and register for the meeting!
Planning on spending some extra time in New Orleans with your family? The Convention and Visitors Bureau has put together a suggested itinerary for families that you may want to consider. Here it is:
Day 1
New Orleans pancake breakfast at Mothers Restaurant in the Warehouse District can start your day. Walk to the Aquarium of the Americas which also houses the IMAX Theater. Enjoy lunch across the street from the Aquarium complex at Gordon Biersch Brewery (good for families).
After lunch take ferry across the river to Mardi Gras World. You will see where the magic of Mardi Gras is created by the artists who make the floats that are seen around the world. When you return, take the Red Lady Trolley from the ferry dock to Café Du Monde where you’ll get beignets to go and walk along the Moon Walk (pedestrian walkway along the Mississippi River). You can rest, eat your treats and watch the action in the 3rd largest port in North America. International ships, tug boats and paddle wheel boats run continuously on the river.
Day 2
Take the St. Charles streetcar to 2020 St Charles Ave and visit the Tourism Headquarters of New Orleans. There you will find activity brochures, maps and experts on fun to help you plan your day. Down the street from the Tourism Headquarters is a shop called Pralines by Jean. Stop by and see how they are made and enjoy a unique item made only in New Orleans.
Hop back on the St. Charles streetcar and continue to Audubon Park where you can visit one of the top Zoos in the United States. Don’t forget to see the seal families, the elephant fountains and the butterfly exhibit. You can have lunch at the zoo but don’t feed the flamingos. Return to downtown on the streetcar or a short cab ride.
Day 3
Walk down Decatur St, have Beignets at Café DuMonde, stroll and shop the French Market, visit Jackson Square and watch the street performers. You can visit the St. Louis Cathedral, the 1850 House and the Hermann Grimma House to see how life was in New Orleans 100 years ago.
For lunch, have a New Orleans Poor boy at Fiorella’s in the French Market or a Mufelletta and a Barq’s Rootbeer at Central Grocery. In the afternoon take the Canal Streetcar to City Park and enjoy Storyland (for young children), the newly restored antique carrousel and the Bestoff Sculpture Garden.
by Meagan Dorsch
When we traveled to New Orleans a few months ago to create our NCSL video on the places to visit during the 2008 Legislative Summit, I had to do a little research. Of course I had heard of Jackson Square and Cafe du Monde, but for Commander's Palace, I turned to the Internet, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and colleagues for help.
The video is now up on NCSL's website and you can see for yourself what options are available to explore. But I am going to attempt to give you some background and insight into these places based on my recent experiences.
Let's start with the first place we feature on the video, Jackson Square. This is the first image of New Orleans that comes to my mind anytime the city is mentioned. It is steps away from the Mississippi River and Cafe du Monde.
Originally called the Place d'Arms (thank you Ms. Brown, my 4th grade teacher), Jackson Square is a historic park located in the French Quarter of the city. I will stop with the history lesson and pass along a tip. If you want a great picture of Jackson Square, make sure to cross Decatur Street and climb up to the Mississippi River boardwalk, also known as the Moon Walk (named after the former Mayor that had it built (thank you Internet). You can see the entire square from this vantage point and it makes for a picture perfect memory of New Orleans. Who else has this picture framed at home? Only me?
Also, this is a great place to buy local art. We saw everything from paintings to jewelry. The prices are reasonable, depending on what you want to buy. Just a note, more artists showed up as the day went on. We started and ended our day in Jackson Square and there was more to choose from in the afternoon compared to the morning.
There is so much to see and do in New Orleans! I can't wait to fill you all in on our adventures in the days to come!
One of the key topics at NCSL's 2008 Legislative Summit is sustainable energy. Shell Oil Company, which has an enormous presence in the Gulf Coast area, has several sustainable development initiatives to integrate economic, social and environmental aspects of energy.
Marvin Odum, Shell's new president, will be featured as the keynote panelist during our opening general session, at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, July 23. The session will feature a lively discsussion on energy resources, energy security and important factors for policymakers to consider in developing related legislation.
Before assuming his new position, Odum was executive vice president of the company's exploration and production operations in the western hemisphere, contributing to its leadership in addressing the nation's current and future energy needs.
Register today and be part of the sustainable energy discsussion.
