• Gimme sugar
Re: "Mandeville finally has enough," Other Opinions, Aug. 16.

• Jeff parents shocked, confused
Re: "Schoolyard shuffle angers Jeff parents," Other Opinions, Aug. 17.

• Just tell the truth for once
Re: "Parish may fight fire flap with PR," Metro, Aug. 20.

• Move homes to make way for new VA hospital
Re: "Hearing tackles VA med center location," Money, Aug. 13.

• Own up
I wonder whether anyone else was struck by the sharp contrast between Jason David, our Saints corner back, acknowledging and taking personal responsibility for his poor play in Saturday night's preseason game and how Mayor Ray Nagin and his administration react in similiar situations.

• Privatization is not the answer
Re: "Take a new look at Causeway," Your Opinions, Aug. 19.

• City's NOAH review was preliminary, successful
Re: "Holes abound in city's review of contractors' NOAH work," Page 1, Aug. 17.

• Grim duty done well
Re: "3 slayings add to NOPD's load," Metro, Aug. 12.

• Local music shops bypassed
Re: "Special delivery to the birthplace of jazz," Living, Aug. 16.

• Oil is vital to national security
I frequently wonder if the members of the anti-oil crowd drive automobiles or simply ride environmentally friendly bicycles.

• Vets deserve top-notch health care
Re: "VA brass keep options open on site of hospital," Page 1, Aug. 16.

• Clean audits before new taxes
My family and I have been following the recent stories about misuse of taxpayer dollars in Mandeville and New Orleans. I think the type of independent audit that revealed the misuse of taxpayer dollars in Mandeville should be performed on all local governments.

• Inspection system will make tugs, barges safer
The Times-Picayune has painted a very different picture of the tugboat, towboat and barge industry than the one I see.

• Loss of church renews grief
Re: "Go in peace," Page 1, Aug. 18.

• Parents need to be responsible
Re: "We can't let kids go hungry," Your Opinions, Aug. 14.

• Take a new look at Causeway
When Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard proposed investigating the feasibility of selling the Causeway, the idea was quickly crushed by public panic without an investigation of the pros and cons.

• Where's my award?
Re: "And the winner is . . . unclear," Page 1, Aug. 14.

• Costly start-up
Re: "Save money, go solar," Your Opinions, Aug. 15.

• It's good to be the king
Re: "Price lived lavishly on contractors, city," Page 1, Aug. 12.

• Not at home
Re: "Learning a language is just good business," Other Opinions, Aug. 15.

• Old-time justice
Re: "Jindal's cause macabre," Other Opinions, Aug. 13.

• We need all sources of fuel
Re: "Risk isn't worth drilling," Your Opinions, Aug. 14.

• Westwego sign law fails for a few good reasons
Re: "Council rejects political sign ordinance," Metro, Aug. 13.

• Award is a slap in the face
Re: "And the winner is . . . unclear: N.O. award dinner invitation confuses," Metro, Aug. 15.

• Diversify to embrace ethanol
Re: "Importing trouble," Money, Aug. 12.

• Don't just fix the corners
All around my neighborhood Uptown, including at my own corner, the city is engaging in heavy construction to build new handicapped-accessible street corners.

• Eat nicely
Re: "Rethinking school lunches," Metro, Aug. 11.

• Right from wrong
Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price claims he's never intentionally done anthing wrong.

• Russia invades, and there's nothing we can do
Re: "Russia puts West in tough situation," Page 1, Aug. 12.

• City indifferent to residents' ideas on hospital
Re: "Hearing tackles VA med center location," Page 1, Aug. 13.

• Insurance driving us out
I purchased my home following Hurricane Katrina and have been stuck with Louisiana Citizens as my only insurance option.

• Make juvenile justice a priority
In 1995, juvenile corrections institutions were found to be violating national standards. In 2000, the state entered a settlement agreement after being sued by the federal government, the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, and private parties due to inadequate treatment of juvenile offenders.

• Montessori school sparkles
Re: "Jeff board urged to close school: Ames Elementary called 'dilapidated,' " Metro, Aug. 14.

• Respect rights of the disabled
Re: "'Tropic Thunder' a perfect storm of comedy, action," Living, Aug. 13.

• Builders had to work fast
Re: "Paradise paved, for nothing," Your Opinions, Aug. 12.

• Deceptive flier merits apologies all around
Re: "GOP flier irks Democratic leaders," Metro, Aug. 8.

• Driving error could be costly
To the woman in the blue Yukon who ran two stop signs while talking on your cell phone in Greenleaves subdivision Wednesday: I fussed at you, and you apologized and said you "didn't realize." Didn't realize you were supposed to stop at stop signs?

• Save money, go solar
Re: "Power plant switch is pushed back: Company must apply for permit again," Metro, Aug. 13.

• Slurs are not acceptable
Re: " 'Tropic Thunder' boycott in the works,' " Page A-10, Aug. 11.

• Firm dismayed at scrapping of elevation deals
Re: "Elevation grants contract scrapped," Page 1, Aug. 12.

• Inspect them all
I think under state law, every parish should have an independent inspector general like Robert Cerasoli in New Orleans.

• Risk isn't worth new drilling
Re: "Shell's new president planning for future," Money, Aug. 3.

• Step away
Re: "Lose the attitude," Other Opinions, Aug. 10.

• We can't let kids go hungry
The Jefferson Parish Public School System has implemented a new policy, prohibiting cafeteria managers from serving lunch to children who do not have lunch money (or whose lunch account is not funded).

• What pols' infidelity tells us
Re: "Edwards joins parade of humiliation," Other Opinions, Aug. 13.

• Comic relief
Re: "Price lived lavishly on contractors, city: State audit finds luxury trips, credit card abuse," Page 1, Aug. 12.

• Downtown hospital is best for veterans, city
Re: "VA considering location in Mid-City for hospital," Money, July 31, and "Mid-City's health needs our attention," Metro, Aug. 6.

• Get serious about tugboats
Re: "Tugs operate under radar on river," Page 1, Aug. 10.

• Inland barge industry vital
Re: "Tugs operate under radar on river," Page 1, Aug. 10.

• Most charters are open to all
Re: "Progress report," Our Opinions, Aug. 8.

• Turn out the lights
We all pay, one way or another, for the lights on Interstate 10. I hadn't traveled much on I-10 until the past five weekends. All five weekends during the bright daylight hours, the lights along miles and miles of I-10 were on, from the time I entered eastern New Orleans until exiting toward the Crescent City Connection.

• Any businessman knows: Get what you pay for
Re: "Verify work or pay up, city tells contractors," Page 1, Aug. 10.

• City's pride stands out
My husband and I just returned from a week's vacation in your fine city. The sense of community pride in each individual was overwhelming.

• Make tug owners liable
Re: "Tugs operate under radar on river," Page 1, Aug. 10.

• Paradise paved, for nothing
Re: "Hitting home," Page 1, Aug. 10.

• Pay attention
Re: "Traffic cameras are too much," Your Opinions, Aug. 5.

• Reporter deserves applause
Re: "Racist barbs hit home," Other Opinions, Aug. 9.

• Deadline is arbitrary
Re: "Grants open to early sellers," Page 1, July 30.

• Lying on résumé should be a firing offense
Re: "Résumé follies," Other Opinions, Aug. 3.

• Spirit vs. letter of law
Re: "Judge defends how he handled tickets," Page 1, Aug. 3.

• Throwing gas on the fire
The topic of energy and gas prices has become very heated in recent weeks. Drilling off the coast of America has become a highly sought-after option.

• Transparent nonsense
I've figured out what Mayor Ray Nagin means by transparent government: He's invisible!

• Activists on the right track
Re: "City paid to gut houses set for razing: But some work reportedly not done," Page 1, Aug. 6.

• An exceptional columnist
Re: "Silence is a death sentence for others," Other Opinions, Aug. 5.

• ASCE will release ethics report
Re: "Ethics report's results will remain secret," Metro, Aug. 7.

• Community united in presidential debate bid
Re: "2nd chance for debate in N.O. fizzles," Page 1, Aug. 4.

• It's who you know
Re: "Résumé mystery clouds tech job," New Orleans Politics, Aug. 2.

• Catch a thief
Someone tried to steal my husband's car from right in front of our house Thursday night, but thanks to his car alarm, the thief was unsuccessful.

• Dynamic schoolmate recalled
Those of us who went to school with Anne Legendre here in New Orleans in the 1940s remember a dynamic, attractive girl who went on gracefully and enthusiastically to fame and fortune but who continued to care greatly for the needs of many people and for the grandeur of the United States. Anne Legendre Armstrong died July 30 in Houston at 80.

• Episcopal records are limited
Re: "Volunteers did the work, but NOAH contractors got paid," Page 1, Aug. 7.

• Letter to Cerasoli a courtesy, city attorney says
Re: "Go for transparency," Our Opinions, Aug. 7.

• Meals can grow close to home
Re: "Niche carved out as seeds of hope grow," Metro, Aug. 8.

• No more meddling
Re: "A slo-mo meltdown," Other Opinions, Aug. 5.

• Don't rush owners through broken Road Home
Re: "Drop deadlines, Road Home urged," Metro, Aug. 7.

• Health care is a necessity
As a physician practicing in the community, I would like to draw your attention to a study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Eleven million people in this country cannot get care for chronic diseases like heart failure, hypertension, asthma and diabetes because they do not have health insurance. They are six times more likely to go to emergency rooms than people with insurance, and they often give up struggling to get follow-up care because they cannot afford it.

• Housing solutions
Given the situation with NORA and NOAH, and given the city government's inability to deal with blighted property since long before Katrina, shouldn't administration of these programs be handed over to another entity?

• Left out
Re: "Make time for forum," Our Opinions, Aug. 5.

• Mendacity and evasion
Re: "Cerasoli rebuffs request by city attorney: He will not notify her of investigations," Page 1, Aug. 5.

• Oil clean-up a delicate job
Re: "Barge belches more oil, closing river for 6 hours," Page 1, July 31.