Jonetta Rose Barras: In a powerfully introspective column, Rose Barras details a recent trip to her destroyed family home in New Orleans. In recounting her visit to the site, Rose Barras writes of the struggles endured by her mother and sister in trying to return and rebuild, drawing comparisons to the District’s own troubles. “Truth told, New Orleans looks and feels like Ward 8 circa 1985: few quality retail outlets, high crime, high unemployment, poor schools, and no real economic development. It took 20 years for the District’s revival,” she writes. “There are lessons for New Orleans in the District.”

Courtland Milloy: Just as Milloy wants to get rid of gangsta rap…

Tom Knott: … Knott wants to get rid of illegal immigrants.

Harry Jaffe: Turning the focus onto the District’s second most important elected official, this week Jaffe talks up D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray. Dispelling rumors that Gray is thinking of running for mayor, Jaffe argues that his relationship with Mayor Adrian Fenty has been cordial and cooperative. The question is how long that will last. “What should worry Fenty is not whether Gray wants his job but how his government will measure up under the oversight of a committed and competent council,” writes Jaffe.

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