After being passed over last year as a site for a presidential debate, New Orleans is not giving up.
Mayor C. Ray Nagin and Gov. Bobby Jindal appear in a video posted Tuesday on YouTube inviting the presidential candidates to a debate that will involve Google and YouTube.
The event is scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Using Google’s technology and YouTube’s video platform, people from across the country will be able to ask the candidates questions during the forum.
Jindal said the forum will spotlight “the top issues facing our nation.”
So far, no candidates have accepted the invitation.
On Tuesday, the Louisiana Senate voted unanimously to do away with state income taxes, according to a story by The Associated Press.
What started off as a bill to reverse changes in tax brackets resulting from the “Stelly Plan” five years ago turned into a proposal to eliminate state income taxes altogether.
With the state deriving more than 30 percent of its revenue from income taxes, this bill is sure to be amended or killed by the House or Gov. Bobby Jindal, AP reported.
The Morial family is upset over a recent decision by the board of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to begin marketing the center by a new name: the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.
The center’s president, Bob Johnson, said the name of the facility has not changed. Rather, the new name will be used in marketing materials to let the world know the city is back open for business, he said, adding that the name will not be changed on the sprawling building.
Morial was the city’s first black mayor. He died in 1989. His son, former Mayor Marc Morial, is especially mad about the decision. Marc Morial, in a letter to Johnson this month, called it an “unauthorized and illegal name change.”
What do you think? Should the Convention Center use the new name or old one in promotional materials
Sometimes its really easy to get frustrated with the civic non-function of New Orleans. Streets have potholes a hobo could live in, recycling is but a hippie dream and the city seems to have an official policy of not giving out information to reporters and residents alike. Sometimes it seems like you should maybe move to a place where people don¹t get murdered all the time and the tap water doesn’t taste like it came straight from the Mississippi.
But if you ever find yourself plagued by these thoughts, there’s a simple solution: spend one day in Dallas. When you return, you’ll want to get down on the ground and kiss the toxic lands surrounding the refineries.
I had the privilege of going to Dallas this weekend, and it certainly was something. Dallas is so very rich in concrete; there’s just so much of it, everywhere you look, and it’s often painted in rustic desert colors. While I imagine this was a program designed to promote civic pride, the overall effect seems to be the child of an eight-lane highway and a Mexican chain restaurant.
You can enjoy these views as you move sloooowly through the city’s 8 million highways and interstates. Beyond the seven-layer overpasses one can glimpse mile after mile of Class B office space interspersed with Ye Olde Towne Square-style strip malls and Cadillac dealerships. The downtown (or the main downtown, at least; there seem to be five city centers) certainly has a great deal of shiny buildings, but so does Pyongyang.
As a friend and I were getting lost trying to find our hotel, we passed a subdivision with a road called Deforestation Lane, so at least the city has a wry sense of humor. But accurately named streets aside, Dallas is ugly as sin, a deathtrap to drive through and has the George W. Bush Turnpike.
In a CityBusiness story this week, reporter Jaime Guillet writes about New Orleans Inspector General Robert Cerasoli’s struggles to get the basics for his fledgling office.
Cerasoli seems to be having trouble getting phones, computers and staff. He blames the problem on City Hall bureaucracy.
“I’m not satisfied. I’ve been here seven months and I don’t have computers and phones,” said Cerasoli, the city’s first IG.
Anybody got two tin cans and some string?
(Photo from http://www.wizkidzcreches.co.uk/images/tincans.jpg)
The head of the New Orleans FBI office has been reassigned to the agency’s national headquarters after publicly flirting with the idea of running for New Orleans mayor.
James Bernazzani, on TV news in New Orleans last week, said he was considering running for mayor. Then, in the blink of an eye, the FBI reassigned him Friday.
The FBI, in describing its decision to reassign Bernazzani, said the news that he might run for mayor could create the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“Even the appearance of a conflict must be avoided for the public to have the highest confidence in the FBI,” the FBI said.
Some in the New Orleans area are concerned about the loss of Bernazzani, who oversaw a campaign against corruption of public officials.
(Photo from http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/L10215586.jpg)
Newspaper is often used to wrap presents on the cheap, line bird cages and make nifty paper hats.
But it also has another application I didn’t know about: plugging openings in floodwalls.
According to a story by WWL-TV Thursday, workers have filled expansion joints in a St. Bernard Parish floodwall with newspaper instead of the rubber joint that is normally used.
When asked about the work, Kevin Wagner with the Army Corps of Engineers said, “If you look at the repairs we made to the joints, there’s not really a safety issue with the joints at all,” according to WWL.
Mayor Nagin’s administration said Wednesday that its goal is to have no more FEMA trailers in New Orleans by Aug. 15.
Unlike some other parishes, Orleans has not cracked down on FEMA trailer dwellers. In Jefferson Parish, for example, it has been illegal as of March 31 to possess a FEMA trailer in unincorporated areas of the parish.
But is it too early to force residents in Orleans Parish, which was harder hit than Jefferson in Katrina, to move out of trailers? Some hurricane victims are still waiting on The Road Home program, which has not doled out all of the rebuilding grants to homeowners whose property was damaged.
On the other hand, Jefferson Parish has set its foot down, despite The Road Home’s pace. So, should Orleans do the same and impose deadlines and fines, too?
For some people, though, flowers are the source of a debate about whether they can remove lead from New Orleans soil, which researchers say has high levels of the heavy metal.
Students from Dillard University have been planting sunflowers in the city to see whether they reduce the amount of lead in the soil. Those involved with the project say flowers, particularly sunflowers, have shown promise for removing lead.
The New Orleans Office of Recovery and Development Administration backs the sunflower project, according to The Associated Press.
A senior research agronomist with the federal Agriculture Department, in Beltsville, Md., who has studied the use of plants in removing lead from soil for 25 years, said sunflowers “do not take up lead,” according to the AP.
A Tulane researcher also says research indicates that the project will not work.
(Photo from http://www.nps.gov/wica/naturescience/images/Annual-Sunflower.jpg)
Since Katrina and Rita, I’ve seen many press releases from the office of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten about people accused of defrauding FEMA.
Now, the feds apparently are interested in whether people tried to cheat The Road Home program.
The Associated Press said ICF International, the company running The Road Home, said federal investigators have asked the company to provide case files to assist a U.S. grand jury probe into applicant fraud.
AP also reports that “while Louisiana has thus far seen no federal indictments for suspected applicant fraud in the Road Home program, Mississippi has 50 on public record with only a fraction of the grants.”
(Photo from http://lifelockprotection.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/fraud.jpg)
It’s never pleasant to walk back to your car and see a boot wrapped around your wheel. It’s kind of like the feeling you get when you see that bright-orange ticket on your windshield for an expired meter, except at least with the meter ticket you can drive away.
While New Orleans is not getting rid of the practice of booting, the city said it is trying to make it easier for drivers to have the devices removed.
Starting Friday, the city will switch to the SmartBoot, which drivers can remove themselves after paying off tickets over the phone using a credit card, debit card or check by phone.
What to do with the boot once you take it off?
The city expects you to turn it in to 200 N. Claiborne Ave. or face a $25 late fee.
(Photo from http://dcist.com/attachments/dcist_adam/2007_0328_boot.jpg)
Indicted state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-Marrero, for at least the second time this month, has failed to win support from the Legislature for legislation he pushed.
This week, senators rejected Shepherd’s bill that would make it illegal to go out in public wearing low-riding pants.
Last week, the Legislature failed to support another Shepherd bill, one that would force some insurers to offer homeowners policies to active duty military personnel.
Does the Legislature’s lack of approval for Shepherd’s bills have anything to do with Shepherd being indicted this month for money laundering, among other charges?
Shepherd denies the charges.
This brings me back to a question I raised in a blog posting last week: Can Shepherd be an effective lawmaker with an indictment over his head?
(Photo from http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/vox/media/r_baggy_pants_criminals-722845.jpg)
The Mexican consulate in New Orleans reopened today in a ceremony that featured President Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who were in town for the North American Leaders’ Summit.
Six years ago, the Mexican government closed it to focus on areas with larger Hispanic populations, according to The Associated Press.
According to www.mexonline.com, there are no other Mexican consulates in Louisiana.
New Orleans seems like the most logical place to open the consulate, considering the influx of Hispanics, some of whom are Mexican, to the city to help with the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding.
A man from Memphis, Tenn., said he has come to New Orleans to do something about the homeless situation that has been exacerbated since Hurricane Katrina.
Back in Tennessee, Wayne Andrews runs a Web site, www.street-people.com, featuring photos and descriptions of the homeless there. Andrews has come here to do the same thing in New Orleans.
But some people might not appreciate Andrews’ methods.
His Web site features some unflattering photos and sometimes cruel descriptions of the homeless in Tennessee. In one post, “The Trash Lady,” a photo shows a woman digging in a garbage can in Nashville. The accompanying description refers to her “top notch bum skills.”
Needless to say, Andrews’ arrival in New Orleans has angered some advocates for the homeless.
To read more, check out CityBusiness reporter Richard A. Webster’s story about Andrews and his New Orleans plans.
(Photo from http://www.photographyblog.com/images/photo_of_the_week/28030405/Homeless%20Dinner.jpg)
Louisiana’s work force is on the brain of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is proposing an overhaul of the Louisiana Department of Labor.
Jindal’s proposal comes as the state reportedly faces an estimated 100,000 vacant job because of a lack of skilled workers.
Jindal’s overhaul idea is not new, though. The Associated Press reported that former Gov. Mike Foster also revamped the labor department in 1997 but, 11 years later, “the complaints remain unchanged and thousands of Louisianians remain too unskilled to fill the 100,000 estimated jobs in the state.”
What do you think? Will Jindal’s administration get more done that Foster’s did in overhauling the labor department?
(Photo from http://www.mbi-inc.com/images/timeclock.jpg)
Gas prices are becoming more painful every day, as they come closer to $4 a gallon, a price that makes me shudder.
So why are gas prices going up, up, up? Our overall economy seems to be a contributing factor.
Our dollar has been weak, causing investors to turn to oil as a safer bet. So what makes our dollar weak? One reason is the recent slew of interest rate cuts that were meant to help our economy.
This seems to have the potential to create a snowball effect. The higher gas prices go, the less money people spend, which hurts the overall economy, possibly leading to more interest rate cuts, which weaken the dollar and drive up the price of oil. Doesn’t this seem like a vicious cycle that can’t end?
Then there are analysts who say a weak dollar is not the sole reason for high oil prices.
Still, there’s no question our struggling dollar is affecting oil prices. Perhaps the stimulus checks will be the ladder to help the nation climb out of this hole and, therefore, put the brakes on oil prices. Then again, I know people, myself included, who plan to save most of their rebate.
I can imagine the shock that people in East Jefferson and St. Charles Parish had this morning when they picked The Times-Picayune off their lawns.
“EJ, St. Charles levees’ strength in question” read the headline.
The problem, according to the newspaper, is a new analysis by the Corps that shows the levees could be at risk for catastrophic failure because fabric at the base of the levees is not wide enough to stand up to a 100-year storm.
This is not exactly the news you want to hear with hurricane season just around the corner.
What happens when a lawmaker is charged with a crime? Do they become ineffective? If they are a member of the Louisiana Legislature, for example, can they expect to win support from other lawmakers for bills they want passed?
This is the question facing state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-Marrero, who was indicted last week for money laundering, among other charges. Shepherd denies the allegations.
This week, Shepherd failed to win support from other members of the Legislature for a bill that would force some insurers to offer homeowners policies to people who are active duty military personnel, according to The Associated Press.
Is that a sign of Shepherd’s waning power?
It’s hard to say, because Shepherd has failed in previous years to have the bill passed.
To my unborn grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Sorry for the no-name brand graham crackers.
You see, your grandpa would love to buy you the good stuff, but, well, his Social Security payments are just not high enough.
This is the conversation I’m afraid I’ll have with my grandkids one day, thanks to an expected shortfall in the Social Security Program, which I think should be renamed Social Insecurity.
It stinks to be told that unless something is done about the shortfall, the program is expected to not be able to pay full benefits beyond 2041. At that point, Social Security payments could be cut by 22 percent and possibly reduced every year after that, according to the Social Security Administration’s Web site.
Great! That’s the year I turn 62, the age at which I become eligible for some Social Security benefits.
Don’t think for a minute that I was always counting solely on Social Security to carry me through my golden years. I am contributing to a 401(k). But with a child and bills, it’s a challenge to save more than that at this point in my life.
The Social Security Administration, in citing one factor contributing to the projected shortfall, said people are living longer. So, this is the reward Americans get for quitting smoking, eating healthier and exercising more, all of which are helping us live longer? We get shortchanged on our Social Security payments? Well, pass me the fried chicken, cheesecake and ice cream. There’s no point in living long now.
But, seriously, something needs to be done, and I hope the solution is not higher taxes or fewer benefits as has been suggested.
Otherwise, my golden years will be more like aluminum foil years, the no-name brand aluminum foil, at that.
As gas prices continue to rise at the pump, chew on this:
To buy two gallons of regular unleaded gasoline at the price of $3.34 – a price I noticed today at a gas station in the New Orleans area – a person working for the federal minimum wage of $5.85 would have to work two hours.
To fill a 13-gallon tank at the same price, a person earning minimum wage would have to work 7.4 hours, nearly a whole day’s work.
Rumor has it that Baton Rouge-based The Shaw Group is considering buying the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, according to a story today by The Associated Press.
The rumor has gotten the Legislature all worked up. In fact, at least three lawmakers are backing bills to prevent such a sale, even if it is just talk.
That’s what I imagine Sen. David Vitter is saying today now that he apparently will not be called to testify in a federal prostitution trial.
I’ve heard people speculate that Vitter would have pleaded the Fifth Amendment, anyway. After all, Vitter has certainly shown no interest in talking publicly about why his phone number was linked to Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called “D.C. Madam.” In July, he apologized for “a very serious sin in my past,” but he has provided no details as to what that “sin” entailed, leaving his constituents to speculate.
Then, last week, the media reported that Vitter could be called to testify in Palfrey’s trial. It was exciting news to those who have been eager to hear more from Vitter.
Now that he doesn’t have to testify, I assume Vitter will go back to being mum. But that’s a good thing for those people who didn’t want to hear Vitter share any details. For those who wanted more, well, you’ll just have to keep waiting.
This week, a federal grand jury indicted State Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-Marrero, on charges he conspired to launder money for a convicted felon.
Shepherd’s response: He will resign his chairmanship on the Senate’s Local and Municipal Affairs Committee.
Shepherd maintains that he is innocent, and while an indictment is only a charge, I don’t think Shepherd can be an effective lawmaker with such an accusation hanging over his head.
So, for the good of the state, should he resign and allow a person who is not under such a cloud assume his post? That’s a question he needs to answer for himself.
Let’s face it: Shepherd’s clout in the Legislature is now diminished. He no longer holds the powerful chairmanship of the committee that oversees a long list of things, including economic development districts, parish tax collectors, drainage and sewage and water districts, expenditures by local governments, city of New Orleans affairs and assessors. It was a powerful post, indeed.
Even though he is quitting the chairmanship, will he have the respect of his peers in the Legislature to accomplish anything? Will he be able to secure enough support for any legislation he tries to get passed?
Some say Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, has lost his effectiveness since his telephone number is said to have been linked to the so-called “D.C. Madam.” The chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party this week called for Vitter to resign, after it was reported that Vitter could be asked to testify in the upcoming trial of a woman accused of running a high-end Washington prostitution ring. The chairman, Chris Whittington, called Vitter “politically impotent.”
What do you think? Should elected officials be required to step down if they are indicted or faced with a scandal? Or are they innocent until proven guilty?
What do you want the Louisiana Legislature to focus on? Public education? Improving the condition of our roads? Rooting out wasteful spending?
How’s about choosing a state cocktail?
State Sen. Ed Murray, a New Orleans Democrat, wanted to make the Sazerac the official state cocktail. But the Louisiana Senate on Tuesday rejected the idea.
Today we learned that Sen. David Vitter could be called to testify in the trial of a woman accused of running a Washington prostitution ring.
Vitter has said little since his phone number was linked to Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called “D.C. Madam.” In July, he apologized for “a very serious sin in my past,” but he has said little about the issue since then.
That could change if Vitter finds himself on the witness stand for Palfrey’s trial.
But what will Vitter do in court? Will he plead the Fifth Amendment, or will he finally talk?
And if he does go into detail, what impact would that have on his political career? On the other hand, will it hurt his career if he doesn’t talk?
Less than a month after CityBusiness ran a story about a $50,000 pay raise for Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek – making him the highest-paid public school leader in the Gulf Coast – state lawmakers have refused to support the exorbitant salary.
Today, the Louisiana Legislature’s joint budget committee told the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education they want Pastorek’s contract to include more details about how his performance would be judged.
I agree. If his contract is approved, Pastorek would have a pay package of more than $355,000, earning more than any Southern state education superintendent.
You’re darn right his contract should detail how his performance will be judged; that’s taxpayer money paying his salary. Pastorek does have a lot on his plate, and therefore should have a big salary, but he should be held accountable to get results, too.
Since Gov. Bobby Jindal last month signed into law tax deductions for Louisiana parents who send their children to private schools, opponents would like to make us think the incentives will sound the death knell for the state’s public schools.
But the tax deductions are so miniscule, I don’t see how they will entice parents to move children to private schools. The maximum deduction per year for a parent in the highest tax bracket and qualifying for the largest tuition deduction would be $300, said Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office.
$300? That’s the most per year a parent can deduct for sending a child to private school? What a joke. What’s that supposed to cover?
I found an example of how the deduction will “benefit” a parent in the March 28 issue of The Journal, a Jefferson Parish community newspaper published by New Orleans Publishing Group, the same publisher of CityBusiness. Sherry Esta, a St. John Parish public school teacher, enrolled her two sons in private schools near her Metairie home. For her, the tax deduction is welcome news. But it won’t help her family’s budget in any major way.
“I think it’s going to help, especially for people who have three or four kids,” she said. “I’m just not sure how much it is going to help.”
Let’s look at the math in the case of the Esta family:
To send one son to Archbishop Rummel High School, it will cost $5,700. Only 50 percent of Rummel’s tuition is eligible for the deduction. That means the Estas will be eligible for a whopping $57, $114 or $171 deduction on their taxes next year, depending on their tax bracket.
$57 is enough to cover Rummel’s $51 yearbook fee.
The bottom line is the tax deductions will help only those parents who already could afford to send their children to private schools. Period. It certainly is not enough to cause the mass exodus from public schools that so many people fear.
I was pleased to read today that Congress grilled executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies about why their profits are soaring as gasoline prices near $4 a gallon.
It’s nice to see our elected leaders investigating why oil companies continue to get richer as we pay more for gasoline. Exxon Mobil, for example, earned $40 billion last year.
Just another reason to fume while filling up the tank.
To read more about today’s congressional committee hearing, click here.
By Deon Roberts, Online Editor
By Deon Roberts, Online Editor
