That doesn’t smell like Crawfish Monica

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

It’s Jazz Fest! Time for great music, fun and, well, you get the point.

For some, it’s also time for smoking pot in the great wide open.

Before the Jazz Fest organizers get all mad at me, let me say that maybe my experience was an isolated event. Maybe I just happened to be standing next to the only group of people publicly partaking of ganja at the Fest.

Nevertheless, as my wife and I watched a live performance of Paul Simon, some dude to our right just up and started smoking it. Then, he began passing it to a girl who was with him. She’d take a hit and pass it back to him.

I looked around, half expecting a police officer to be rushing over to stop the dubious activity.

But, there was no officer.

The crowd was so dense, I think this pair figured they were well hidden. They were. If fact, the crowds are so thick at Jazz Fest, you could do most anything.

I don’t know if anyone else around us noticed the toking. If they did, they didn’t seem bothered.

I wonder how common marijuana smoking at Jazz Fest is? Has anyone else noticed it?

A near miss with insurance catastrophe

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

I barely avoided insurance disaster today, and I don’t know whether to be grateful or to have survivor’s guilt.

It turns out my homeowners insurance company, American National Property and Casualty Co., is not renewing policies that are less than three years old. Although I’m not sure, the company began doing this around December as a means to reduce exposure to future hurricane-damage claims.

I’ve been with the company for just about three years. So, thankfully, I still have coverage – for now.

But other people I know are not so lucky.

Some friends of mine recently found out that ANPAC is not renewing their policy, because, my friends said, they have been with the company for less than three years. Now, they must buy insurance through the state’s insurer of last resort, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which I understand costs 30 percent more on average than the commercial insurance market.

My friends’ home did not flood. It was barely damaged. Yet they lost insurance simply due to not being with the company long enough. It pains me to hear their story.

This state is in an insurance crisis. But I really don’t have to say that. Everyone knows it.

How will people afford to live here, if we are forced to pay premiums that keep rising, rising, rising?

I’m not a rich man. I don’t know if I could shoulder 30 percent higher insurance premiums. It would be hard, that’s for sure.

In the past three years, my premiums have already doubled. Funny, but I don’t recall my property value doubling in the past three years. I, too, suffered little damaged during Katrina. I had no water, just tree limbs on the roof.

I left messages with the company today to explain why they were dropping policies, but no one returned my calls yet.

To the credit of ANPAC, I must say they were a good company to work with after the storm. They processed my claim quickly and didn’t give us any trouble.

I’m terrified of the future. I can’t imagine my premiums going any higher, but I fear they will. What if tomorrow ANPAC decides to drop policies that are less than five years old, 10 years old?

Judy Wright, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Insurance, tells me that the state allows an insurance company to drop a customer if they have been with the company for less than three years. If you’ve been with a company longer, you are considered to be vested, she said.

“If you’re with a company for less than three years, they’re able to drop the wind and hail coverage,” she said. ANPAC has 19,000 homeowners policies in Louisiana, she said.

This next part is truly bizarre. Wright said if you make changes to your policy, then the company can also drop your wind and hail coverage. So, if I upgrade my policy and buy more coverage, the insurance company can dump me? Sounds like a cheap excuse for an insurance company to get rid of homeowners and reduce their risk. What a sham. No wonder the insurance industry has such a bad name.

This state needs a plan put into effect yesterday, not tomorrow. Insurers are barely writing policies since Katrina. The only option for people who don’t get renewed is the Citizens plan.

The way to eliminate this crisis and get insurers writing in our state again is to instill confidence in the insurance industry. How do we do that? Well, we start by building stronger homes, which is now required under new building codes.

But more than anything else, we need a stronger hurricane and flood protection system. I’m talking Cat 5 protection – nothing less. I want to hear our leaders talk about this issue all day, every day. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

To be perfectly honest, if I were a decision maker for an insurance company, I wouldn’t want to insure homes in this area either. Think about it. Would you want to have that much risk? Would you want to insure homes in an area that could flood again just as badly as it did during Katrina?

The governor and our elected leaders need to send the message to Washington every day that this area will accept nothing less than the strongest hurricane protection that can be built. Otherwise, more of us will feel the insurance squeeze, which doesn’t feel too good.

Harry Lee thinks he’s better than the rest, even ‘at 70 percent of capacity’

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

The news that Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee has leukemia was among the most shocking announcements of the week last week.

The brazen and often controversial sheriff, who has been in power for almost 28 years and is known for his straight talking, said he plans to seek re-election in October.

It will be interesting to see how voters, who have long been loyal to Lee, will respond to the news of his illness.

Lee said he will have to undergo treatment and vowed to step down as sheriff if his illness becomes overwhelming.

Will voters react with sympathy and support the sheriff? Or will they think the illness and treatments will make him ineffective?

It’s clear what Lee thinks.

In this week’s Sheriff’s Weekly Journal, which is published in CityBusiness, Lee said:

“I am prideful enough to feel that at 70 percent of capacity, I am better at this particular job than anyone else.”

Nagin administration apologizes … again.

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Another apology has come out of Mayor Nagin’s administration, which seems to be issuing “sorries” just about every week these days.

In the latest public relations conundrum created by something Nagin said, the mayor has apologized for saying New Orleans is cleaner than Philadelphia, according to the Associated Press.

I’ve lost count of how many apologies Nagin and officials in his office have issued since Katrina.

Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the latest mea cupla:

Nagin and other city officials were in Philly last week to find ways to fight blight back home. Nagin had good things to say about Philly while he was there, according to the AP story, which reported that on Thursday Nagin thanked The City of Brotherly Love for providing shelter to displaced New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin was back in New Orleans Saturday when he made the following comment to a crowd of New Orleans residents, according to the AP:

“Let me tell you something. You ought to go to Philly and you will appreciate how clean New Orleans is. Just go and walk around Philly a little bit and you will appreciate. We still have some work to do but we definitely beat them by a long shot.”

On Sunday night, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia said a spokesman for Philadelphia Mayor John Street said Nagin apologized, the AP reported.

“I intended no disrespect to the City of Philadelphia,” Nagin said. “We are truly thankful for the generosity of our hosts and look forward to a long, positive working relationship between our cities.”

I wonder if Philly will be hospitable to New Orleans evacuees in the future.

Got loan?

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

One of our reporters here at CityBusiness, Kathryn Jezer-Morton, is writing a story about whether credit restrictions are making it increasingly difficult to buy a home in the New Orleans area.

The national media have been doing a lot of stories lately on problems with the subprime mortgage implosion and the challenges it is creating for people trying to get home loan approvals.

Are credit restrictions making it harder for first-time homebuyers to buy homes in the New Orleans area, too?

If you have had trouble getting approved for a loan and don’t mind sharing your story, give Kathryn a call at 293-9270 or e-mail her at kathryn.morton@nopg.com.

Redevelopment agency needs City Hall to cut the shackles

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Mayor Nagin was in Philadelphia Thursday, ostensibly on a mission to find ways to fight blight.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority is complaining that members of Nagin’s own administration are slowing down the blight flight.

Some board members of NORA, the agency expected to oversee the acquisition and redevelopment of hurricane-ravaged and blighted properties, say officials in City Hall are contributing to bureaucratic hurdles for NORA. NORA, which can seize control of blighted properties and sell them, is supposed to be one of the top players in the rebuilding of the city from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

Rob Couhig, secretary of NORA’s board, blamed more than one factor for holding NORA back. Included in the list of roadblocks, Couhig said, are officials in City Hall who are territorial and “resist NORA doing anything.”

“But I think we’re getting past that, or I hope we’re getting past that.”

There are other things the city could do to help NORA, according to Couhig.

NORA is supposed to have “quick take” powers, which means the ability to acquire properties in about 60 days. But NORA needs the City Council or perhaps the Legislature to clarify rules before NORA can use the power, he said.

Once NORA starts quickly taking properties, it can sell them and generate more operating funds, which could help ease NORA’s funding woes, Couhig said.

Other challenges Couhig cited include lack of funding, difficulty getting clear title for properties and slow-paced hiring of staff for NORA. Of course, some of these challenges are not in the city’s control.

But there are roadblocks that the mayor and City Council can clearly remove for NORA.

Who knows? Maybe the mayor plans to work on those after his trip to Philly.

Golfers and fans should beware of the cones

By Mark Singletary, Publisher

I drove out to the TPC of Avondale earlier this week and noticed the orange construction cones at the intersection of Bayou Segnette and Lapalco boulevards.

Be careful.

We don’t do well in construction zones at any time, but with thousands of golf fans heading out to this week’s PGA tour stop on the West Bank, it might get clogged.

If any of our readers notice particular problems or challenges getting to and from the golf course, we’d like to know.

Traffic and parking problems were an issue the first and only time the pro golfers used their course for the New Orleans tournament.

If you are driving out to see the golf, be careful.

Notes from travels outside New Orleans

By Mark Singletary, Publisher

I just came from a conference that featured three mayors.

The first was Greg Nickels, mayor of Seattle, a city of 580,000. That’s the size New Orleans was in the 1960s.

The next speaker was Mayor Dave Bieter of Boise, Idaho, a city of 210,000. That’s the size of New Orleans today.

The third speaker was Suzy Ageton, deputy mayor of Boulder, Colo., a city of 110,000. I hate to say it, but one day soon our city might shrink to the size of Boulder. Boulder is growing, with plans and infrastructure and money. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if they passed us by, too.

It was so refreshing to hear these city leaders talk about why they considered their cities to be among the “most livable” cities in the country. All three spoke about a commitment to public education, public transportation, affordable housing and safety.

We talk about those things in New Orleans, too, but here it’s in the abstract. In Boise, Seattle and Boulder they have things like “inclusionary” zoning, pocket parks, bike trails, light rail, functioning bus lines, adequate police protection and a deep appreciation for the colleges and universities in their towns. All three are college towns.

All three spoke eloquently about their challenges. All three could point with pride to a changing philosophy that incorporates mass transit, greener construction techniques and flexible city planning that is more interested in results than credit.

After the meeting they all asked me how our city was doing. I changed the subject.

Mail service. What mail service?

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t seem to think there are major problems with mail service in the New Orleans area nearly 19 months after Hurricane Katrina.

Dave Lewin, a Postal Service spokesman, this month told CityBusiness reporter Jaime Guillet that the agency has “regained all of our old traction.”

“The short story is mail service in New Orleans is good and getting better all the time,” Lewin said.

Perhaps the mail service in New Orleans is good – that is, if you consider receiving months-old mail good service.

Regular users of the Postal Service beg to differ with Lewin’s rosy assessment. Take Norris Babin, co-owner of Print All Inc., a small printing company in Belle Chasse.

Babin publishes two Plaquemines Parish newspapers, the Plaquemines Gazette and Plaquemines Watchman. Complaints are pouring in, Babin says, from subscribers who are getting newspapers weeks late. Even worse, some people are getting only part of their subscriptions.

Since newspapers are in the business of delivering news, and since people expect news to be delivered regularly, post-Katrina mail service is not conducive to happy customers, which is not conducive to good business. It’s all so simple, really.

Speaking of poor delivery, I’d like to know what’s up with my postman. Since Katrina, there have been many occasions where he’s delivered the wrong mail to my house. We once received someone’s Entergy bill, someone else’s bank statement and someone else’s Social Security mail. With so much identity theft going around, I worry who’s getting my mail.

And, since Katrina, we’ve had about three different carriers. Before the storm, we had the same carrier for years.

Here’s a final question for the Postal Service: My wife wants to know where her May issue of Martha Stewart Living is. It’s been on newsstands for about a week, she said.

A man on a quest for transparency in Louisiana government spending

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

How would you like records of Louisiana’s spending as close as the click of a mouse?

Eric Kavanagh, an Algiers resident who moved from Seattle after Katrina but has lived in New Orleans off and on for about a decade, is pushing for just such an online database in Louisiana.

Kavanagh, 39, is calling for more transparency in state spending at a time when the federal government is soon expected to make its spending records public.

The federal government is set to debut early next year a Web-based database of all federal contracts and grants, thanks to adoption of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, he said.

Louisiana should follow suit, he said.

“We’re talking about public money,” he said. “What you’re really doing is you are exposing the general ledger of the state.”

The database, which could include purchase orders, invoices and many other documents – “basically anything the state spends money on” – would allow “citizen auditors” to review spending, Kavanagh said. The advantage, he said, is citizens who are experts in specific fields can lend their expert eye to the state’s spending. If citizens see suspicious spending or other problems, they can raise a red flag to draw state auditors’ attention to the questionable spending, he said. Citizens will naturally gravitate to areas of interest, he said.

The database would protect the privacy of specific citizens and recipients of social programs, he said.

Creating the database does not have to cost the state an arm and a leg, he said. There is free technology, such as Linux, that can be used, he said.

Once the state rolls out the database, individual parish and municipal governments can link their spending records to it, he said.

Spending transparency is a hot topic in several states. In Kansas and Texas, lawmakers have pushed for spending transparency, according to a story on www.examiner.com.

But the idea has hit snags in some states, such as Colorado and Kentucky, where bills to create Web sites for state government spending died in committee, according to the story at www.examiner.com.

Want to live on the sea? It’ll cost you a measly $4 million.

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

A Florida company wants a New Orleans-area shipyard to build a cruise ship-style boat that would lease condos to those interested in living on the water.

Cala Corp. is asking Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Avondale to build the ship, which would be almost three football fields long.

Cala Corp. says its “Undersea Resort” would be the first of its kind.

But the prices of the condos might be more interesting than the concept.

Would you pay $4 million for a 2,000-square-foot unit? That’s the smallest condo available on the ship, where units will sell for $2,000 a square foot.

The condos would be leased for 99 years.

This is one houseboat for the rich and famous.

Wanted: More recovery news, less controversy from Blakely

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

New Orleans recovery czar Ed Blakely has been talking a lot lately.

That’s good.

But the majority of his recent media interviews have been spent responding to controversial remarks he’s made or been reporting as making.

That’s not so good.

A week ago, during an interview on Australian radio, Blakely said the city pre-Katrina kept too-high population figures on the books as a way to receive certain benefits. Blakely said the city’s pre-K population was about 325,000, not the 400,000 the city kept on the books.

Blakely has since apologized for “doubting pre-Katrina population numbers.”

“I am very sorry for the statement and I was totally incorrect,” he said.

The dust had hardly settled from that controversy when, on Tuesday, the New York Times published a story that once again had Blakely publicly defending himself.

The Times story quoted Blakely as saying the city’s “lower-income population” may not be coming back. Last night, Blakely appeared on WDSU-TV to declare the Times had misquoted him.

“I said the lower-income population would be coming back if we have the right infrastructure for them when they come back,” Blakely said to WDSU anchor Norman Robinson.

Don’t get me wrong: Watching Blakely apologize and defend his comments is interesting. But it’s a regrettable waste of time for a man who said he will be the city’s recovery czar for no more than a year.

When Blakely appears on television or in print, the public should be hearing updates on the city’s recovery – specific examples of progress and the challenges lying ahead.

The media deserve some of the blame, too.

Rather than waste entire interviews with Blakely on questions about his controversial remarks, the media should focus more on asking Blakely hard questions about his recovery efforts.

A year from now, when Blakely’s gone, what will matter more is not his controversial comments but what he was doing to rebuild a busted city.

Cell phones are not the only driving distraction

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

I’ve heard talks lately that some Louisiana officials are trying to ban the use of cell phones in vehicles.

Great idea. I’m all for anything that reduces accidents and deaths, although I must admit I would miss being able to catch up on calls while in the car. And, as a reporter, I seem to frequently receive calls from hard-to-reach sources when I’m on the road.

Drivers who use cell phones are an obvious target for state leaders who want to make our roads safer.

But there are other distractions that make driving just as unsafe if not more dangerous.

For example, what about putting makeup on while driving? I was once on the Causeway, when a woman flying by at about 60 mph was putting on eyeliner or something. I’ve also seen men shaving while driving. During these grooming sessions, drivers often have their eyes totally off the road as they stare into their rear view mirrors.

Let’s not forget the hazard created by eating while driving. Have you ever tried to put mustard on a corn dog while cruising down the road? I have. It’s not easy to open the mustard pack with one hand.
What about reading the newspaper while driving? I’ve seen people do that, too.

Satellite radios and global positioning systems also require hands and eyes that should be used for driving.

Bottom line is, while a cell phone ban will help make driving safer, drivers will surely find other ways to distract themselves. So, let’s all put away the clippers, makeup, newspapers, corn dogs and other distractions and focus on the road.

Contractor fraud concerns have consumers doing their homework

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Contractor fraud has become part of the vernacular in post-Katrina New Orleans, along with FEMA, SBA and myriad other words.

Since Katrina created a massive market for construction and home repair, officials from the local level to the federal level have warned consumers to be on the lookout for crooked contractors.

It seems all that preaching has had some impact, at least according to statistics from the New Orleans Better Business Bureau. The BBB last year was flooded with inquiries on homebuilders, contractors, plumbers, electricians, roofers and other similar businesses.

Cynthia Albert, spokeswoman for the New Orleans BBB, said the inquiries are a good sign, because they signify increased use of the BBB’s services.

Here’s a look at types of inquiries and how much they have increased in 2006 compared to 2003. The statistics are from the New Orleans BBB and listed in no particular order:

- Roofing, 17,701 inquiries, up from 4,967;

- Construction and remodeling services, 12,802 inquiries, up from 3,728;

- General contractors, 16,208 inquiries, up from 3,547;

- Plumbing contractors, 4,783 inquiries, up from 1,551; and

- Electrical contractors, 4,724 inquiries, up from 750.

Despite the warnings, Louisiana consumers have been bilked by contractors. One of the most common wrong moves consumers make is giving contractor’s too much upfront, officials say. Some unlucky souls have given contractors nearly 100 percent upfront, only to have contractors leave the job undone, Albert said.

Although it’s good news that consumers have been researching contractors’ reputations, officials fear The Road Home’s lump-sum payouts will result in an upcoming surge in contractor fraud.

For a change, Nagin must do damage control

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Recovery Director Ed Blakely’s comments about the city’s population and Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s reaction are fascinating.

Nagin, who has made no small number of controversial comments since Hurricane Katrina, has suddenly found himself doing damage control for someone else’s remarks.

The Associated Press reports that in a radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp., Blakely, who was hired by the city just months ago, said the city pre-K kept wrong population figures on the books so the city could “get certain benefits.” Before Katrina, the city said its population was 400,000, but it was closer to 325,000, Blakely said in the radio interview.

This morning, Nagin found himself responding to Blakely’s comments on WWL-TV, where the mayor makes appearances every other week.

“I think he kind of got tripped up on pre-Katrina versus what’s going on today, and whether we’re at 300,000 versus 250,000,” Nagin said, according to the AP. “He’s gone back and checked his notes. He remembered being in a seminar or session early when he came on and just got his figures jumbled up. It was a mistake. He’s gone back and looked at the numbers again.”

Nagin seems to have his figures jumbled up, too.

In the AP story, Blakely said: “New Orleans had slightly under 400,000 people. I think the actual numbers are closer to 300-and-some-thousand, maybe 325,000, and we’re at 230,000 now.”

So, where is Nagin getting 250,000? Why did the mayor, who was trying to do damage control, reference a figure Blakely didn’t even use? Blakely said 230,000, not 250,000.

But what’s more intriguing than Nagin and Blakely’s differing population figures and whether Blakely is mistaken or not is Blakely’s reference to what sounds like a questionable city practice.

Is Blakely right? Did the city knowingly report false population numbers to qualify for benefits?

Sounds like the focus should be less on whose population figures are correct and more on this interesting bookkeeping practice Blakely mentioned.

Demonstrations could reap revenue for the city

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

A group of public housing advocates set up a camp outside the St. Bernard housing complex March 24 to demonstrate their displeasure with post-Katrina housing policies.

Specifically, the demonstrators say they want the Housing Authority of New Orleans to reopen housing complexes for residents struggling to come back to the city.

On Monday morning, about 10 a.m., the city tore down the encampment, which was on city property, the demonstrators said. The demonstrators said the city said the encampment was an obstruction of city rights of way.

The city did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Undeterred, the demonstrators say they plan to rebuild the encampment in June.

Imagine if the city could make people pay a permit before they demonstrate. One person pointed out to me that that would likely go against the right to assemble. And, of course, I would never support such an idea.

But, if it were possible to charge fees to demonstrate, it could be big business for the cash-strapped city post-Katrina.

With so much to protest – crime, The Road Home, lack of Cat. 5 levees – the city could be flush with cash.

Heck, the city could even float bonds backed by demonstration revenue and use the bond proceeds to rebuild streets and other infrustructure.

Just a nutty idea for a nutty time in New Orleans.

What was Google thinking?

By Deon Roberts, Social Media Editor

Google Inc. created a stink when it posted pre-Katrina satellite images of New Orleans.

The Associated Press reported Thursday on the outdated maps, triggering a public outcry. Some members of Congress went so far as to accuse Google of “airbrushing history.”

Google has since replaced the images with post-Katrina ones, although those, too, are now outdated. (They do not show post-K improvements at three outfall canals).

Do you think Google would post maps of New York that show the World Trade Center buildings still standing?

Why did this happen? Was it because:

A). Google is unaware that New Orleans has not been returned to its pre-K status?

B.) Google knows the city is still damaged but doesn’t think it’s harmful to publish pre-K maps?

C.) Google is part of a government conspiracy to pretend Katrina never happened?

What do you think?