Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu appoints 30 to New Orleans economic development panel

New Orleans needs more hard work and attention to detail -- not quick fixes -- to improve its economy, Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu said Tuesday as he introduced a 30-member citizen panel that will help craft his administration's blueprint for business growth and retention.

"There's nothing that's going to be easy,'' said Landrieu, who was surrounded by more than two dozen community leaders he described as among the city's best and brightest. "The basics and the fundamentals here are all tough.

"And I don't want to continue to beat a dead horse, but if the city's not safe, it's going to be very hard to bring anybody here. If the schools don't teach, it's going to be hard to recruit companies to come.''

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