This week's Gambit endorses the HoZone

No link yet but the gist is they think the bill has been "fixed" because the board will now (at least nominally) function in an "advisory" role and because they think the distribution of funds between the city and the tourism associations has been improved somehow.

But the problem was always that the hoteliers shouldn't be given any sort of quasi-private official capacity for deciding how the city allocates resources. If they want to fund their own marketing campaign through their professional associations they're welcome to go right ahead and do that on their own. 

Gambit also cites the promise of $40 million in "improvements" made available from the Convention Center and from CDBG funds as compelling reason for approving the HoZone.  But it's never been clear why one necessitates the other. To a lot of people, it looks like the Convention Center is holding a pile of surplus money hostage.

Just because the Convention Center board voted during March 2012 to contribute up to $30 million for refurbishing the Vieux Carré and a larger hospitality zone in advance of next year’s Super Bowl event on February 3, 2013 does not mean that vague and over-reaching legislation should be rushed through as an on-demand commodity in response to a proffered enticement. Where is the integrity in this process?

Anyway, my guess is the HoZone is going to pass with a little cosmetic tweaking to give the appearance of a vector for "community input". Maybe some of the Very Important Persons in the neighborhood associations will get seats on the board or something.