Center for day laborers is worth considering

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Like many people, I evacuated to Houston for Hurricane Katrina.

Not having been to Houston since I was a child, I didn’t remember much about the city.

One of the first things that struck me about Houston were the groups of day laborers, most Hispanic, usually waiting on the side of the road for someone to hire them to do yard work or other jobs.

Now, 19 months after Katrina, it’s not hard to spot day laborers spread throughout New Orleans, often in the parking lots of home improvement stores. Indeed, Hispanics were already flocking to New Orleans at least two months after Katrina.

Many New Orleans-area residents aren’t used to the presence of large groups of day laborers, and perhaps that’s why they are causing alarm.

CityBusiness reporter Richard A. Webster reported on the issue recently.

According to Webster’s story, the Gretna Police Department arrested Hispanic day laborers and charged them with trespassing on the parking lot of Home Depot, where the day laborers congregate in hopes of being hired by contractors.

Webster also talked to Emile Lafourcade, public information officer for Kenner Mayor Ed Muniz.

Lafourcade said if day laborers want to find employment they can go to the Department of Labor. If they are undocumented, “they should get documented,” Lafourcade told Webster. When Webster asked about day labor centers in other cities, Lafourcade suggested laborers “should go to those cities and avail themselves of their services.”

Kenner Police Department Chief Steve Carraway told Webster his office fields dozens of calls every day complaining about the migrant workers milling about the parking lots at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Carraway said the majority of the workers are good, hard working people. But to local residents not used to seeing them gathered en masse, they can be intimidating. And then there are the bad seeds, he said, who drink, get rowdy, litter and relieve themselves in public and harass customers.

Sounds like Mardi Gras.

Advocates for the laborers say that without them construction in New Orleans would slow to a crawl and so would sales at home improvement stores.

But private property is private property, and no one, whether it’s a day laborer or fishmonger, has a right to loiter on someone else’s land.

On the other hand, these laborers are helping rebuild the city. Face it. How many Hispanics have you seen putting new roofs on homes in the metro area? Plenty, right?

So why aren’t we creating the day labor centers Webster referred to in his article?

I haven’t heard anyone else talk about this idea.

It’s at least worth looking into.

A monster with many heads

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

It’s no secret that people have been dumping trash illegally in the Almonaster-Gentilly area of eastern New Orleans for decades.

Like the Greek Hydra, the problem has many heads.

There are residents who for generations have dumped in the east, unaware that it is illegal. They do it because their parents did it. They do it because their neighbors do it. For many, it has become a reflexive behavior. And, with so much trash already dumped in the area, it seems like a legitimate place to dump waste, anyway.

The dumping also comes from people who are too cheap to pay to dump trash at a legal dump site. This behavior is truly shameful, because these folks know the difference between a permitted, legal dump site and an illegal one.

Another issue is the illegal dump site operator. Hidden in the labyrinthine Almonaster-Gentilly corridor are dump sites operating without a permit and charging people to drop off waste. These operators also know that what they are doing is wrong – but they also know enforcement of laws has been lax.

City and state officials are well aware of the situation, but they admit resources to address the problem and enforce laws are limited. Some say the New Orleans Police Department has not made patrolling the area fulltime a priority, likely due to a shortage of officers in the force.

But lack of constant police patrolling is just one issue. Another issue is the slow handling of illegal dumpers by the district attorney’s office.

In June, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said two people arrested in January 2006 for allegedly running an illegal dump continued to operate as the district attorney’s office had yet to take up the case.

Yesterday, DEQ announced it had conducted a crackdown of illegal dumping in eastern New Orleans during the week of March 19. DEQ, with the help of New Orleans police, the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, inspected 49 sites in the first two days and said it “nabbed” two trash haulers. The haulers paid fines and fees for towing and storage, DEQ said.

Although DEQ promised more crackdowns in eastern New Orleans, its resources and manpower are limited, too.

It will take added police patrols, stiff penalties and quicker handling of cases by prosecutors to do away with illegal dumping once and for all. It also wouldn’t hurt to launch a public awareness campaign, perhaps with TV commercials like those reminding people what will happen if they don’t wear seatbelts.

And let’s not forget the role average citizens can play in reporting neighbors or other people illegally dumping.

Waiver issue has Louisiana feeling mistreated

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

The feds did it for Hurricane Andrew, and they did it for Sept. 11.

But when it comes to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, President Bush does not want to waive a requirement that states provide a 10 percent match for federal rebuilding dollars.

Bush is asking Louisiana to provide the match for every dollar provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s public assistance program to pay for the recovery from Katrina and Rita.

The issue has angered some Louisiana officials, who feel the state is being treated unfairly compared with the way communities were treated in past disasters.

But Donald Powell, Bush’s Gulf Coast recovery coordinator, told CityBusiness this week that Louisiana is free to use the federal recovery dollars to cover the match.

“We need to say is this about more money or is it about the 10 percent waiver?” Powell said.

Critics, including some members of Congress, say the requirement will cost Louisiana as much as $1 billion that could be spent on recovery projects.

The future of the waiver is unknown, because it is included in a mammoth $122 billion war-spending bill, which is in and of itself controversial.

Walking tour blues

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Before she left office, New Orleans City Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson sponsored an ordinance that limited the hours that walking tours could operate in the French Quarter and reduced the number of people allowed on each tour.

Under the old law, the tours could operate at all hours and each tour could have as many as 47 people.

Under the new law, which, among other things, sought to reduce noise in the Quarter, the tours must end at 10 p.m. and no more than 28 people can attend each tour.

Now, at least one businessman is trying to tweak that law to help struggling tour operators.

Sidney Smith, owner of Haunted History Tours, which operates in the Quarter and Garden District, said he’d like to see the curfew extended to 11 p.m. or even midnight. He’d also like to see the 47-person limit reinstated.

Smith said the changes don’t have to have a negative impact on quality of life. He said he would be willing to pay a New Orleans police officer to walk with the 47-person groups to help keep them under control. He also said the officer would serve as added police protection for the neighborhood.

Smith said he has written a letter to Councilman James Carter to ask for support.

Smith said the changes are needed to help his and other tour businesses. Since Katrina, he has had fewer people on his tours, he said. Last night, he gave a tour to a group of only four people. Pre-Katrina, a tour would have had 40 people, he said.

If the curfew were extended and the group size increased, tour operators could capture business from people in town for conventions, he said. The current 10 p.m. curfew is too early for many conventioneers, who often have jammed-packed days that last well into the evening, he said.

“I’m just throwing ideas out there,” Smith said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can do … to help this situation.”

At least one civic group doesn’t want the law to change.

“I think what we worked out under that law was a good compromise, and it was just really a problem before. These tours spent a lot of time in the very residential areas. I just think this was a good compromise that was working pretty well,” said Nathan Chapman, president of Vieux Carre Property Owners & Residents Associates.

“I think it’s the kind of thing they do in other cities,” Nathan said of the restrictions. “Twenty-eight is a pretty good-sized group. If they’re hurting, then they can have two tours if they go beyond the 28.”

Smith might (emphasis on might) find an ally in Mayor Nagin, who a several months ago told CityBusiness he was concerned about the struggles of French Quarter businesses post-Katrina.

The question is whether Carter and the rest of the council are willing to take on the issue.

Broken promise

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Tasha Torrence has been waiting since 2004 to move into a home that she was promised during the 2004 New Orleans Home & Garden Show.

The home is on a lot on Spain Street, but 27-year-old Torrence said she has never been given keys or a deed.

Back in 2004, St. Bernard Parish-based MetalPro Industries donated a steel-framed shotgun-style house to be raffled to a person trying to qualify for a home. Mayor C. Ray Nagin pulled Torrence’s name. The city was supposed to donate a lot.

For months, the city kept coming up with lots that were too small for the house. When a lot big enough was found, Torrence expressed concerns about the neighborhood.

Finally, before Katrina, the house was being finished on Spain Street. But then the storm hit, and Torrence had to flee to Atlanta, where she remains.

The home was damaged heavily by Katrina. But without paperwork, Torrence said she can’t sell the home, apply for The Road Home or anything.

CityBusiness asked Nagin’s press office for comment early last week. But no information was provided.

Since CityBusiness posted a story on its Web site about Torrence’s predicament, no one has contacted her.

“Nobody’s called,” she said today. “Who is obligated?”

This is one person who knows the meaning of bureaucratic bungle.

Could Blanco be reading The Onion?

By Stephen Maloney, Staff Writer

Last week, in an article titled “Hillary Clinton Tries to Woo Voters by Rescinding Candidacy,” satirical newspaper The Onion announced that the senator from New York took a look at her poll numbers and political opponents lining up against her and decided it was in her best interest to drop out of the race in order to gain popularity.

In the aftermath of Governor Blanco’s announcement that she will not run for re-election, I am left to wonder if the governor read the Onion’s article and was influenced by it.

New ambassador program can have impact

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

New Orleans has an image problem.

That’s according to the creators of a new ambassador program, which will send local business leaders to major U.S. cities this year to try to attack “misperceptions” about New Orleans’ recovery.

This sounds like a great idea. After all, the national media have not been quick to report on progress in post-Katrina New Orleans.

But that doesn’t mean the ambassadors should avoid frank discussions about our challenges.

People in other states should know we are still living in FEMA trailers, that our levees have not been upgraded to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, that tens of thousands of people are waiting for The Road Home program to give them rebuilding dollars, that the insurance market is making it hard for people to find and afford coverage for their homes.

There’s a presidential election coming up, and New Orleans’ recovery should be a campaign issue. One way to make that happen is by getting Americans fired up about the problems plaguing New Orleans a year and a half after Katrina.

These ambassadors can help light that fire.

Developer not firing back at Willard-Lewis

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Despite criticism from Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis that a proposed $300-million Lincoln Beach redevelopment has never come before her office, the project’s developers are not firing back.

On Tuesday, Willard-Lewis said she was upset by a press release Atlanta-based Nolatown Development Group sent late last week announcing their plans to resurrect the historic site.

“It is erroneous information as far as I am concerned, said Willard-Lewis. “No one has discussed this with me or the community that I represent. Nor has anyone discussed this officially with the Special Projects Committee.”

Today, Nolatown CEO Rickey Spearman issued a statement of his own. From the tone of the statement, it is clear he wants to avoid working out the issue in the media.

“We are very concern about maintaining the integrity of our development partners, the Lincoln Beach proposed project and our elected and/or appointed officials,” the statement said. “We look forward to a common ground resolution to it all and choose to make no additional comments at this present time.”

Lincoln Beach developers, councilwoman off to bad start

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Today, Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis’ office said the councilwoman was stunned to learn Monday that a team of developers plans to spend $300 million to resurrect Lincoln Beach.

In a press release, a team of developers said they will “be signing an agreement with the City of New Orleans” to build the project.

Matthew Broussard, Willard-Lewis’ aide, said that’s news to the councilwoman.

“It never came before the City Council, and it never got community input. Somebody messed up,” Broussard said.

Likewise, those working on the project were shocked by the councilwoman’s shock.

“The City Council basically had to authorize the transfer of this whole situation. That’s why I’m surprised that the councilwoman hadn’t heard of it or hadn’t heard that there was anything going on,” said Robert Kutner, associate partner with Monrovia, Calif.-based Nardi Associates.

Lincoln Beach is overseen by the New Orleans Building Corp., an arm of city government that acts as landlord for city-owned property, such as the World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street.

Regardless of who’s at fault for informing whom, it should make for some interesting comments from the councilwoman and the developers.

Teacher raises should be tied to performance

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

I believe pay raises boost morale and improve work performance.

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco probably feels the same way, which is why she is asking the Legislature to give all public school teachers a raise of roughly $2,400.

But I speak from experience when I say across-the-board pay raises for teachers will not necessarily improve public education.

I was a public school teacher in Gretna for two years. I knew teachers who were excellent at their job, even though they made less than $30,000 a year. I also knew horrible teachers who, when their income was combined with their spouse’s, earned six figures a year.

The point is: high teacher pay doesn’t always correlate to good teaching.

Rather than award mediocre teachers with a raise, the state needs to tie pay increases to improved test scores.

It’s a better way to spend the money. And if a teacher doesn’t improve student performance, then they don’t deserve a raise.

Isn’t that fair?

And Nagin wants to run The Road Home?

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s administration finally paid the Little Sisters of the Poor today, a month after the order was told by city officials that it would be given $1.4 million it was owed to pay Katrina-related expenses.

Is this the same Nagin administration that a few weeks ago said it wanted to run the Road Home program to speed up the sluggish disbursement of grants?

Maple Street bar battle not getting prettier

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

It looks like the worst nightmare of some Maple Street residents will come true.

Lawyers for David Melius, who opened Bruno’s Tavern July 5, say he won’t operate Bruno’s, his older bar across the street, as a restaurant, despite a promise he made to the neighborhood. The reason for Melius’ change of heart is the continued opposition launched by the neighborhood, his attorneys said.

Melius announced plans in 2003 to build a new bar on Maple Street. Melius said he needed to build the bar because the lease on Bruno’s at 7601 Maple St. would be expiring soon. At the time, he pitched the idea of a 8,066-square-foot, three-story bar/residence at the intersection of Maple and Hillary streets.

The neighborhood freaked when they heard how big the bar was going to be. They started a campaign calling for no new bars on Maple Street, which is already a popular college drinking corridor.

The City Planning Commission told Melius he could build a two-story, 6,600-square-foot building, but Melius scaled back the size after former Councilman Jay Batt asked residents what they “would sign off on,” Melius said. In the end, Melius built a one-story, 4,000-square-foot operation.

In August 2004, Melius agreed to two provisions with Maple Area Residents Inc., a neighborhood group, in a “letter of understanding.” One, Melius agreed to operate the original Bruno’s more as a restaurant than a bar within six months of opening Bruno’s Tavern. Second, he agreed to shut down the cash register at the original Bruno’s at 11 p.m. within six months of Bruno’s Tavern opening. Bruno’s Tavern opened July 5.

Today, MARI is not satisfied.

“Now, more than six months later, the owners of Bruno’s Bar have not changed the operations to a restaurant and have not closed operations by 11:00 p.m. as promised and required by its conditional use approval to continue operating Bruno’s Tavern,” MARI says on its Web site.

“MARI will pursue this flagrant violation – without which Bruno’s Tavern never would have been approved – of the requirements to continue operating Bruno’s Tavern.”

MARI also takes issue with Melius’ parking arrangement, saying his offsite parking spaces should not be shared with other businesses. MARI appealed to the city. But on Feb. 12, the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustments rejected the appeal.

MARI’s attorney, Keith Hardie, says Melius is legally required by his conditional use permit to provide 21 offsite parking spaces. But, Hardie said, Bruno’s Tavern is sharing parking with a business at 7713 Maple St., a violation of city law that does not allow a bar to share parking space.

“It’s not exclusive use,” Hardie said.

Melius and his attorneys defend the parking, saying city law allows a business to share as much as 50 percent of its parking. Bruno’s Tavern falls well within the requirement because it has “exclusive use” of 19 spaces, Melius’ attorneys said.

MARI is now considering appealing to Civil District Court.

Due to the nonstop neighborhood opposition, Melius will not run the older Bruno’s as a restaurant, Melius’ attorneys say.

For the foreseeable future, the relationship between the bar and the neighborhood will be sour, at best.

Moratorium’s timing does not bode well for business

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Let me start this off by saying I’m all for sound policies to guide the growth of a city.

But a City Council proposed moratorium on apartments in eastern New Orleans is poorly timed.

Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis’ office wrote the moratorium, which also has the backing of councilmembers Cynthia Hedge-Morrell and Arnie Fielkow. The moratorium was introduced March 1. It must lie over for 21 days.

Matthew Broussard, an aid to Willard-Lewis, said the idea is to prevent eastern New Orleans from being overrun with poorly managed and maintained apartments as it was before Hurricane Katrina.

Before the storm, the city lacked a consistent and comprehensive housing policy, Broussard said. As a result, eastern New Orleans suffered from an “oversaturation” of 49 multifamily complexes before the storm, he said.

“What we’re trying to do is protect the rights of both homeowners and renters by insuring that down the line we continue to have well-maintained and well-managed multifamily apartments, because pre-Katrina that was a problem. You can drive down I-10 … in New Orleans east and you can see that. The plan is to address that now on the front end,” he said.

“There just needs to be stronger controls,” he said. “We’ve got to create a system, an entire policy, that deals with all of that. Otherwise, we can say, ‘build this today’ .. and then three years from now we’re right back where we were.”

While all this sounds good in theory, the moratorium is a slap in the face to developers who have already invested thousands, in not millions, of dollars buying land and drawing up plans to build apartments in eastern New Orleans to replace what was lost in Katrina.

Also, many developers have won tax credits to build apartments in the east. Now, their projects may be put on hold indefinetely.

There’s nothing wrong with the idea of making sure apartments are build, managed and maintained well. But why is the council dropping this bombshell now, more than a year and a half after Katrina?

If the council would have at least announced sooner that a moratorium was being developed, developers would have known about it before they got too far into planning and preparing for construction. Instead, this is being dropped in developers’ laps after they have already invested a lot of time and energy preparing to build apartments and applying for tax credits.

But it’s not too late. The moratorium has not come up for final vote. Perhaps there’s a way to work with developers who already have tax credits and plans and grandfather them in.

Bottom line: The last thing the city needs to do at this time is anger developers who followed the rules. It sends the message that the city is not a good place to do business, which is not a message we need to be sending post-Katrina.

Waiting on the word from Germany

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Over the past several weeks, ThyssenKrupp and its proposed $2.9 billion U.S. steel plant have made headlines.

St. James Parish and Alabama are vying for the plant, which is expected to be a massive job generator.

Today, I tried to find out whether the Germany-based company has made a decision on which state to set up shop in.

It all started after a rumor I heard this morning. Someone told me they heard that the company selected Louisiana because top management does not want to live in Alabama.

I contacted ThyssenKrupp directly. They assured me no decision has been made.

“There’s no decision in sight,” said Erwin Schneider, a ThyssenKrupp official.

“The negotiations are complex, so there is no timetable.”

The Louisiana Department of Economic Development also said it doesn’t have any updates.

“We are continuing to work with the company, and we look forward to their announcement, and it’s really on their time frame,” said Lana Sonnier, spokeswoman for LDED.

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco’s office could not comment.

I’ve wondered whether the company will be able to find enough workers to fill the 29,000 jobs that will be created during construction. But it seems not everyone shares that concern. Some people have told me they think that won’t be an issue.

I’ve also received criticism from people who took exception to remarks I made earlier that maybe the governor was spending too much time trying to lure the plant. The point I was trying to make is that we have local companies suffering from a lack of skilled labor. I think our elected officials need to find ways to train and attract workers to fill the jobs we already have so that we don’t lose companies and businesses.

The steel plant would be a great job generator, no question. But let’s not ignore the workforce needs of our established businesses. Let’s find a way to fill those jobs before we create 29,000 more job vacancies.

Finally, I suspect an announcement on this deal is around the corner, because today the company launched a Web site to provide updated information on the steel plant.

Allstate’s drive-by inspections not good for insurance industry image

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

It goes without saying that insurance companies were not well liked before Hurricane Katrina and are even less liked now.

Allstate Insurance Co.’s inspection process, which state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has called sloppy and ill-conceived, does not exactly make us feel warm and fuzzy about insurance companies. In fact, Allstate’s inspections will likely instill more contempt for the company specifically and the insurance industry in general.

Donelon, who is ordering Allstate to reinstate about 4,700 policies that were involuntarily cancelled, questioned the company’s inspection process. Allstate apparently relied on drive-by inspections to determine whether a home was being repaired. Donelon is considering sanctions against the company.

But after conducting follow-up inspections, Louisiana insurance department officials said it should have been apparent to Allstate that some homes were being lived in and undergoing repairs.

Allstate says its process was the industry standard and that the company looked for any signs of life.

Regardless of what defense Allstate might offer of its inspections process or whether Allstate is in the right, the damage to consumer confidence might already be done. I’m sure many are wondering why state insurance department officials were able to discern that homes were being repaired, while Allstate could not. At minimum, the ordeal will cast doubt on the credibility of the industry, which is unfortunate.

Slow pace of recovery is unsettling

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

The Bureau of Governmental Research threw a brick at the Unified New Orleans Plan this week by basically calling the citywide plan a confused mess.

I agree with BGR on several points, including the weird prioritizing of projects. Why, for example, is the repairing of historic forts ranked higher than repairing crumbling streets? Are we preparing to go to war or something?

But what concerns me more than absurd rankings in the citywide plan is that this plan hasn’t even been approved by the city yet. In other words, the city is still in planning mode, rather than the building boom we’ve all been waiting for.

I was driving home yesterday when a really disturbing thought popped into my mind: In about five months we will hit the two-year anniversary of Katrina. Nearly two years, and the city hasn’t even signed off on a recovery plan.

I look around this city, and some parts look like the day after Katrina. I realize the magnitude of Katrina, how it flooded about 80 percent of the city. I know it won’t be rebuilt overnight.

But the slow pace of the planning process has the entire city stuck in limbo. Look around. Can you believe the condition eastern New Orleans is in, that people are still living in FEMA trailers?

Never mind the lobbying effort it will take to fund the $14 billion UNOP.

It’s time to step on the gas. We should wrap up planning and start building. We know what’s broken. Let’s get the funds and fix it.

Wait goes on for N.O. inspector general

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

In November, there was a lot of back patting when the New Orleans City Council adopted an ordinance to create an inspector general’s office.

It was a long time in coming. New Orleans voters had approved the creation of such an office more than a decade ago to root out fraud and corruption in city government. Previous councils and administrations failed to activate the office, perhaps out of fear of what might be uncovered.

So, where does the IG’s office stand now, more than four months after the Council adopted the ordinance?

Well, the IG’s job hasn’t even been advertised yet. A seven-member Ethics Review Board is still trying to finalize the job description before the position can be advertised nationally. The board has the authority to hire the IG.

The board itself is still trying to get organized. (It hasn’t even approved its own governing policies).

To be fair to the board, the board’s members weren’t ratified by the Council until Jan. 4, roughly a month ago. The board has only had two meetings. The next meeting is March 23.

“We’re creating this thing from scratch. The city’s not had this before. The first meeting, we elected officers and who’s doing what,” said the Rev. Kevin Wildes, board chairman.

Wildes said the job description is being written from language in the ordinance.

“I would like somebody (hired) by early in the summer,” he said. “My hope is that if we get this (job description) approved on the end of March, we can get it listed or posted right away. I would hope to have applications by early May, and do a further weeding process.”

In a city that has waited more than a decade for the IG, I guess more waiting won’t kill us. What’s important is that the office is the office is built correctly and the right person hired.

Singing the commuter’s blues

By Stephen Maloney, Staff Writer

Let me start off by saying I’m no angel on the road.

I try my hardest to be a responsible and safe driver, but I find myself exceeding the speed limit at least once a week, as I suspect the vast majority of us do.

I have never raced down a residential street at 140 mph, or even at half that speed, but when I’m on the interstate, I do tend to lean on the gas pedal until I’m cruising along at around 65 or 70 mph.

The exception to this rule – and I’m fanatical about this – is when I’m on the Causeway.

I’ve been living in Mandeville on and off since 2001 and that is where I’ve been spending my nights since the storm, so I understand what it is like to commute.

Along with that understanding, I have come to realize that speeding across the bridge is not worth it, plain and simple.

In my younger days, I used to hit 80 mph in between crossovers, which used to be considered safe territory.

I’d zip along and get across the 24 mile bridge in 20 minutes.

Then I started getting tickets, leading to the realization that crossing the bridge at 65 mph takes 24 minutes, meaning I’d have to be willing to risk an approximately $200 ticket to shave a total of eight minutes off of my daily commute.

That’s just not worth it, which is why I stick to 65 mph now, the posted speed limit.

I take my sometimes led-soled right foot out of the equation altogether, opting to set my trusty cruise control at 65 mph and not worry about flashing red and blue lights chasing me down.

Speaking of the flashing lights, I’m not saying the Causeway cops are entirely fascist, but they literally have nothing better to do than find new and better ways to hunt you down and punish you if you even come close to bending any of their Byzantine rules and regulations.

Case in point: the signs reading “Slower traffic keep right,” can be more accurately read as “If we catch you in the left lane and you are not actively passing a car, you will get a ticket.”

The Causeway cops glide around like sharks on their crossovers, just begging the legion of commuters to depress their gas peddles one more fraction of an inch.

“Just go a little bit faster, I dare you,” they seem to be saying.

But it may just be that my perceptions are skewed by my own personal experiences and the fact that at least once a week a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office cruiser rockets past me with immunity, leaving me in a trail of dust even though my cruise control is set at the speed limit.

Come to think of it, people pass me all the time. In the realm of commuters, I’m a granny, but the problem with that is I don’t see all the people who pass me on a daily basis pulled over by the circling cops somewhere down the road.

There seems to be a disconnect between who speeds and who actually gets the ticket.

A while back, I was passed by a car that was doing at least 75 mph, but because the responding cop, who I later found out is nicknamed “the Ticketmaster,” failed to catch up with the speeding Cadillac, he chose to pull me over because I was driving in the left lane.

Literally no one else was on the bridge at the time. Just me, the Ticketmaster and the speeding Cadillac. Go figure.

Anyway, two weeks ago, I’m piddling along at a mere 65 mph, my cruise control firmly set at the posted speed limit, when a string of speeders passed me by.

They disobeyed just about all traffic laws at the same time, weaving in and out of traffic in a no-passing zone while speeding and without the benefit of a turn signal.

It was actually quite flagrant.

The last vehicle was a dark colored Ford F-250, which looks not all that dissimilar from my dark colored Nissan X-Terra when you are going the opposite direction on the northbound span of the Causeway, as the officer who pulled me over was.

Let me make this absolutely clear.

I was doing the speed limit. A string of cars exceeding the speed limit passed me. A Causeway cop traveling on the opposite bridge saw me, even though he was approximately 80 feet away and there were two three foot high barriers between us, and decided to pull me over.

Now, I have never said this in the 11 years that I have been an Eagle Scout, but I’m saying it now: on my Honor, I was not speeding.

I saw the officer slow down as he passed me and watched him accelerate to the nearest crossover, turn around, speed up to my bumper and eventually turn on his lights and pull me over.

At no time, under any circumstances, was I ever exceeding 65 mph.

Put me up in front of a firing squad and I’ll tell you the same thing under penalty of death. I’m quite serious.

It didn’t seem to matter, though, as I ended up getting a ticket for doing 76 mph in a 65 mph zone.

If the officer had informed me that I was doing 67 or 68 mph, I would have chalked it up to an error on the part of my speedometer and prepared to pay the ticket.

As it is, I know to the very core of my being that I was not traveling at 76 mph, so I’m in the process of fighting this ticket.

I want to subpoena the officer’s dashboard camera and force him to show me, and the judge, exactly the frame of film that shows me traveling at 76 mph.

It didn’t happen. He’s wrong and I’m right.

Time will tell if I end up having to pay the fine and take a hit on my insurance, but I’m foolishly optimistic that I will win in the end since I’m not guilty.

Several questions arose later in the afternoon after my blood stopped boiling at the thought of paying a fine for something I didn’t do, mainly if this has happened before.

Has any other commuter ever received an unjust speeding ticket on the Causeway?

Something tells me the answer is yes.

I’m quite sure other people have found themselves in my position.

If so, I’d love to hear from you. Please respond to this blog entry if you want to share your stories of overzealous cops.

I’d love to hear what happened to you, but only if you are truly as squeaky clean in your situation as I am in mine.

I want to know who has fought the Causeway cops and won, as I plan to do.

This one’s a no-brainer

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Louisiana’s congressional delegation is trying to eliminate what I think is one of the most regrettable federal rules hanging over the heads of the rebuilding effort.

The SBA, in its infinite wisdom, says people who receive an SBA disaster loan must repay the loan with Road Home grants. SBA says that, under federal rules, receiving both an SBA loan and a Road Home grant amounts to a “duplication of benefits.”

What???!!! Are you kidding me!!! Come on!

Rep. Charlie Melancon and Sen. Mary Landrieu are trying to overcome this ridiculous hurdle. They are pushing legislation that would waive the requirement that Road Home funds be used to pay back SBA.

Let’s all pray this no-brainer legislation zips through.