Labor secretary in N.O. for ‘Strong Cities’ launch

New Orleans is part of a six-city pilot program aimed at boosting economic growth in urban America. U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis joined Mayor Mitch Landrieu and other officials in New Orleans today as part of a nationwide launch of the “Strong Cities” initiative. The plan entails partnering federal officials with local decision-makers in New Orleans and five other cities. Solis is just one of the cabinet-level officials traveling to announce the plan. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was in Detroit to tout the new program. Other cities involved are Chester, Pa.; Fresno, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn. and Cleveland. The federal staffers will in effect be embedded in the cities, working on issues the mayors have identified as important, such as developing transportation infrastructure, improving job-training programs and the like. Solis noted that Mayor Mitch Landrieu often has referred to the city after Hurricane Katrina as a laboratory for urban economic innovation, including the development of independently run charter schools, efforts to develop public-private partnerships, and plans to partner a major medical center now in the planning stages with a new Veterans Administration hospital. Federal employees heading to New Orleans will be responsible for cutting through the red tape in Washington, she says. “We’re here today to give the lab the tools it needs,” Solis says.