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Some Love for the Gov
Recent polls have shown voter unhappiness with outgoing Gov. Mike Foster.
But the justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court and the judges of the state Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeal apparently think that the governor has done a bang-up
job of helping to renovate their future digs at the French Quarter courthouse,
400 Royal St.
Led by Chief Justice Pascal Calogero Jr.
and Chief Judge Joan B. Armstrong of the Fourth Circuit, and the
Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society, the jurists last week co-hosted
ceremonies commemorating "the inestimable contribution" of Foster toward the
completion of the final renovation of the courthouse. Built in 1909, the four-story,
200,000-square-foot beaux-arts building housed the state's highest court from
1910 to 1958. The court then moved to its present home on Loyola Avenue.
"[Foster] has been supportive in pushing the
renovation forward," says Valerie Willard, public information director
for the High Court. The $40 million project (furnishings not included) languished
for years until 1997, when the Legislature re-affirmed its commitment for funding
the renovation of the building, formerly home to the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife & Fisheries. And Foster helped to secure the necessary state funding.
"I think Governor Foster shared the belief that postponing [the project] was
costing more than getting it completed now," Willard says. The major interior
renovation by Brice Building Co. has been completed, Willard says, though minor
construction remains. The Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit will move into
the Royal Street courthouse sometime after Mardi Gras 2004, Willard says.
The courthouse also will provide office space
for the State Judicial Administrator, the Law Library of Louisiana and Attorney
General-elect Charles Foti Jr. Parking space figures to be another matter,
however. There will be an estimated 18 to 24 parking spaces in the building
garage, all of which are expected to go to the jurists. John T. Olivier,
clerk of court for the Supreme Court, is negotiating off-site parking leases
for the several hundred courthouse employees. The French Quarter is arguably
the most expensive area of the city in which to park.
The Fourth Circuit is currently housed in
the 1515 Poydras St. office building, just down the street from City Hall. The
Supreme Court is housed on the second floor of 301 Loyola Ave., across Duncan
Plaza from City Hall.
Foster leaves his own office Jan. 12, with
the inauguration of Gov.-elect Kathleen Blanco.
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The Best and the Worst of the Week
Politics
Big Shoes to Fill
Virgets
Ghost of Christmas Past
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