Slip sliding away

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

When it comes to losing residents, Louisiana is at the top of the list compared with other states, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the data, between 2000 and 2008, the state lost 58,000 residents, or 1.3 percent of its population. North Dakota was the only other state to suffer a loss — 0.1 percent — during the same period.

Demographers say Louisiana is having a problem retaining young, educated people, according to a story by The Associated Press.

Here’s more from the AP story:

A string of monster hurricanes — Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike — exacerbated the slide.

“Louisiana leads the nation in outmigration,” said Elliott Stonecipher, a Shreveport-based demographic analyst. “Going on 30 years, we’ve had a steady flow of people out the door.”

One root cause is the oil bust of the mid-1980s, which sucked jobs and employers out of the state’s oil and natural gas dominated economy. Since then, population gains have been mostly flat and now downward.

“This is something we’ve been barking about for a long time,” said Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans-based demographer.

So what does the state’s elected officials have to say about this?

“I got into politics because I was tired of seeing so many people leave our state,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said in the AP story. “We absolutely have to change this.”

Some in the public, though, don’t see the loss as a problem. They say the state doesn’t need the people who left, because they probably weren’t major contributors to the state’s economy.

Here’s what someone called 27addresses wrote on nola.com on Christmas Eve:

Lower population, less need for federal assistance. I don’t think there’s much of an error here. Many people are comfortably living elsewhere. That is the bottom line. Let them stay where they have settled in.

Our loss; others’ gains. It is what it is.•

Survey: N.O. area has IT skills

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

“The greater New Orleans region is rich in workers with technology skills … .”

Those words are printed on the cover of a report, released today, that examines the IT skills of the New Orleans metro area.

The Louisiana Technology Council, using a grant from Louisiana Economic Development and support from the University of New Orleans, conducted the survey across the 10-parish area. The results were unveiled this morning in the Pan-American Life Insurance Co. building in the Central Business District.

According to the survey, which had more than 3,500 respondents, about 7.11 percent, or 37,300, of the 525,000 workers in the metro area have a “somewhat specialized IT skill.” Of the 37,000, 73.02 percent, or 27,300, are employed in nontechnology industries.

“This is a significant find for the IT work force of the region,” the report says. “The common perception is that technology workers are concentrated in technology industries.  In fact, the area has a rich supply of technology workers in other industries.”

Those involved with the survey say the results will be helpful in growing the region’s tech industry.

“This report shows that the region has a technology skill set that goes beyond wht most people think,” said LTC President Mark Lewis.”

Are you surprised with the survey’s findings?•

Living in ‘Faubourg Stacy’

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Last week, one of our reporters, Emilie Bahr, took this photo of a bumper sticker that apparently references New Orleans City Councilwoman Stacy Head. The sticker, which proclaims “I live in Faubourg Stacy,” was on a vehicle parked somewhere Uptown.

Is this sticker a symbol of support or criticism of Head?

On the one hand, it could mean the person is proud to live in Head’s district, B, which is going by the fictional name Faubourg Stacy on this bumper sticker.

On the other hand, is the bumper sticker’s creator suggesting that Head’s head is swollen with power, hence the renaming of the district after her?

In November, news reports said two Head critics had filed a recall petition.

What do you think this sticker means?•

Why Santa was so cheap this year

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

According to the poll question I posted to CityBusiness’ Web site this week, many people cut back on holiday spending as a way to make it through these tough economic times.

For those parents in need of an explanation to their children for why Santa didn’t bring as many toys as he usually does, here are some suggestions:

- The elves union went on strike after its request for a federal bailout of the toy-making industry was rejected.

- Santa hasn’t been in the Christmas spirit ever since his executive compensation was cut in half and his corporate-issued luxury sleigh was taken away.

- Santa’s workshop had to be shut down after large quantities of lead paint were found in its toys.

- The Claus family is homeless after losing their house to foreclosure.

- Santa isn’t making as many toys so that he can focus on being part of a Palin-Claus 2012 presidential ticket. (That red suit is a political statement, contrary to other beliefs.)

Readers, feel free to add your own.•

Movie money

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

In 2008, Louisiana had a strong year when it came to the film industry.

According to a story by The Associated Press, the state set a production record, with more than 80 major film and TV projects, thanks to the landing of films such as Oliver Stone’s “W” and Universal Pictures’ “Cirque du Freak.”

The previous record for Louisiana was set in 2007, when the state had 56 projects.

Louisiana has awarded tax incentives since 2002 to lure television and movie projects. Last year, the incentive program became the source of negative press for the state when the former state film commissioner, Mark Smith, pleaded guilty to accepting about $65,000 in bribes.

While the incentives are credited with boosting the growth of Louisiana’s film industry, Louisiana is not the only state to offer such incentives. According to the AP story, David Bergman, spokesman for a consulting firm that tracks the film industry, said New Mexico, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan are giving Louisiana strong competition.

But, Bergman said in the AP story, Louisiana, by being among the first states to offer the incentives, has had more time to establish film and television infrastructure and its talent pool.•

Finding blame for the slow recovery: Part 2

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

It seems like only yesterday — actually, it was Friday — that I devoted a posting to this blog on the issue of who is to blame for the slow pace of the post-Katrina recovery.

In that posting, which can be read by clicking here, I wrote that sometimes federal and Louisiana officials blame one another for keeping the New Orleans area from recovering faster.

It’s worth revisiting the issue today, in light of a story than ran in today’s Times-Picayune.

The T-P said Mayor C. Ray Nagin, during a press conference Friday for the reopening of the Mahalia Jackson theater, complained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has given the city less than half of what the city says it needs to cover work on the theater, which the city owns.

Here’s an excerpt:

Such underpayment for recovery projects, which has fueled ire between city and federal officials for more than three years, remains rampant, and the federal agency doesn’t seem to care, Nagin said.

“I had FEMA in my office yesterday and almost, kind of, threw them out,” the mayor said. “They’re just not aggressively helping us.”

A FEMA official who attended that meeting, however, told a different story.

Bob Josephson, FEMA’s chief regional spokesman, said he and a colleague went to Nagin’s office Thursday to ask the mayor to give FEMA workers easier access to work sites and to city-paid architects, engineers and project managers in an effort to get a better handle on how much the federal agency should pay for specific projects.

Josephson said he and Jim Stark, the assistant administrator for the Gulf Coast Recovery Office, told Nagin that when FEMA employees have daily access to recovery sites, like the access Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin Gusman has granted at the city’s prisons, disputes about what work is eligible for reimbursement get resolved far faster than when the parties must communicate through seemingly endless memos.

So, more than three years after Katrina, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to all this pointing of fingers.•

Finding blame for the slow recovery

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

It’s been more than three years since Hurricane Katrina, but anyone who’s driven the New Orleans metro area and seen the still-damaged houses knows this region has a long way to go.

So, after all this time, who’s to blame for delays in the recovery? Depends on who you ask.

Take Sen. Mary Landrieu. She’s among those who point the finger at the federal government. On Thursday she said FEMA’s Public Assistance Program “has been riddled with red tape, slowing down recovery along the Gulf Coast.”

That same day, President Bush’s hurricane recovery chief seemed to be saying that red tape was to blame to whatever slowness there has been in the recovery. In a story by The Associated Press,  Retired Maj. Gen. Doug O’Dell never said anything disparaging about Louisiana or federal officials, but he did say funding for the recovery has been adequate.

Here’s an excerpt from that AP story:

The Bush administration says more than $126 billion has been earmarked for Gulf Coast rebuilding following the 2005 hurricanes. Retired Maj. Gen. Doug O’Dell, who began in the job earlier this year, said he never believed the pace of recovery was about lack of resources and he said Thursday he couldn’t identify any need for additional federal funds immediately.

He said he believes the slow recovery has finally begun gaining traction, with resources being put to wider use. He said that gives him reason to be hopeful.

An AP story Wednesday said the Louisiana Small Rental Program, an $849 million post-Katrina recovery program that has been slowed by red tape, has issued new guidelines to speed the flow of rebuilding money to small landlords. According to the story:

The Louisiana Small Rental Program was designed to restore 18,000 properties, but has distributed only 433 grants so far. The program had required banks to release rebuilding loans to small landlords, who then applied for reimbursement grants through the program.

The owners of shotgun homes and cottages that kept rent cheap in New Orleans for generations found it virtually impossible to obtain those recovery loans needed for rebuilding after the devastating 2005 storm. The credit crunch only exacerbated the problem as financial institutions tightened lending requirements.

Beset with a shortage of affordable housing in New Orleans, especially after demolition began on public housing projects, state officials were pressed to get the rental program funding flowing.

Clearly, the way that program was structured was not conducive to a quick recovery.

The New Orleans area is not the only part of the state where the recovery continues to be slowed by red tape. The AP reported that FEMA is refusing to fund construction buildings in high-risk flood zones in Cameron Parish, which was hit hard by Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Here’s an excerpt:

FEMA said the zones cover more than 80 percent of Cameron Parish in southwestern Louisiana — and that’s the main reason hundreds of homeless residents have not been issued temporary housing since the storm.

Parish officials said they plan to appeal because the maps are only preliminary surveys, and a parish-hired consultant has found mistakes.•

‘Death Map’ analyzes hurricane-related deaths

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Thanks to Hurricane Katrina many people, including some Louisiana residents, see the state as a dangerous place to live.

But according to a new U.S. “Death Map” — how’s that for a name? — hurricanes don’t kill as many people as other natural disasters do.

The map plots deaths that resulted from forces of nature over about 34 years. In other words, it tells you “where Mother Nature is most likely to kill you,” to quote a LiveScience.com article on the map.

Researcher Susan Cutter of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, in the LiveScience article,  says “chronic hazards,” such as harsh summer and winter weather, contribute the most to fatalities resulting from natural hazards. Earthquakes and hurricanes produce fewer deaths, she said.

Cutter points out that perhaps it’s the preparation for hurricanes and tornadoes that makes these weather events not as deadly as other, everyday hazards.

Researchers looked at data from 1970 to 2004. They found that earthquakes and other geophysical events, wildfires and hurricanes resulted in less than 5 percent of deaths stemming from Mother Nature. •

Experts: Charity redevelopment could take time

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Now that Charity apparently will not be reopened as a hospital — the building, shuttered in the wake of Katrina damage, will not be part of VA and LSU plans for a new medical center in New Orleans — the building’s future is in question.

The state says it could take as long as three years to find a developer for the publicly owned building, according to a CityBusiness story this week.

“There is a process for doing this and it can’t be done overnight,” Charles Zewe, spokesman for Louisiana State University, whose medical school ran Charity as a teaching hospital, says in the CityBusiness story.

The state is required by Louisiana law to find out if another state agency needs the facility before anyone else can do anything with it, according to the CityBusiness story.

For now, at least, there’s no shortage of ideas about what to do with the building.

Even though LSU and the VA have made up their minds about where they want to build their hospitals, some people are still fighting to reopen Charity and prevent the demolition — to make way for the new hospitals — of Mid-City homes and businesses. Just today, protesters planned an event.

While there are those who want Charity to function as a hospital once more, others see different potential. For example, the Downtown Development District has begun marketing the art deco tower for residential use, according to the CityBusiness story.

“The building is so large that you could have luxury condos on top with a private entrance for the owners, students on the other side and seniors in another wing with none of them even knowing the other is there,” DDD President and CEO Kurt Weigle says in the story. Retail and office space also are options, he said.

If redeveloping Charity is like some other New Orleans projects, such as the redevelopment of the World Trade Center building, the wait could be long. It’s been at least a decade since the city started trying to redevelop the city-owned WTC building into residences, but that project has yet to come to fruition.

Then again, maybe things will go smoother for Charity’s redevelopment because, according to Weigle, by the time Charity finds a developer the lending climate will likely be better than it is today.•

To protest crime, N.O. workers may play hooky

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Almost two years ago, on Jan. 11, 2007, residents fed up with crime in New Orleans held a protest at New Orleans City Hall.

During the march, which captured the attention of the national media, some demonstrators pushed empty strollers. One protester, in a YouTube video of the rally, said the empty strollers represent “all the families that are leaving or considering leaving … the city because of the crime issue.”

People held signs that said things like “Nagin stop hiding,” “Without law and order freedom dies!,” “Fire Nagin” and “Enough is enough.”

Protesters were clearly displeased with the way public officials were addressing crime.

Nearly two years later, Silence Is Violence, the group that organized the march, thinks not enough has been done to reduce crime since the march, according to a story by The Associated Press. The group is now calling for residents to not go to work on Jan. 9 as a way of demanding that more be done to reduce crime in the city.

In September, Foreign Policy magazine named New Orleans one of the top five murder capitals in the world. No other U.S. city made the magazine’s list.

“When you look at city leadership, it seems as if they’ve done nothing since that time, which is really kind of appalling is the only word I can think of,” said Silence Is Violence founder Ken Foster in a WWL-TV story. “We thought what would be great is if we could shut down the city for a day.”

If workers take part in the strike — during a national recession, no less — will their employers get mad at the employees or the Nagin administration? Then again, some employers might be so hopping mad over crime, they’ll take the day off in protest, too.•

Corruption’s role in economic development

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Thanks to allegations swirling around Illinois’ governor, and the corrupt reputations of past Illinois politicians, the Prairie State appears to be doing some good for The Pelican State’s image; at least we don’t look like the most-corrupt state anymore.

On Saturday, an article on slate.com headlined “Which state is more crooked — Illinois or Louisiana?” dealt with the two states’ reputations for corruption.

All this talk about political corruption has me thinking about the connection between corruption and economic development. It’s a subject many people have written about. Just Google “corruption and economic development,” and lots of reading material will pop up.

Some have blamed corruption for New Orleans’ economic woes. For example, in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina struck, a column on city-journal.org said this: “New Orleans has lost middle-class jobs partly because investors are fed up with the city’s entrenched public corruption.”

The column even quotes James Bernazzani, the former FBI special agent in charge of New Orleans. Here’s an excerpt:

“Outside companies don’t invest because they are sick and tired of the kickbacks,” Bernazzani says. “New Orleans is deprived of a tax windfall.” (Just this summer, the feds indicted four cronies of previous mayor Morial, including Morial’s uncle, for alleged public-contract abuses—and before Katrina, the FBI was investigating alleged widespread corruption at the city’s school board, which isn’t under mayoral control.) A corrupt government cannot police itself or its city, nor can it provide adequate public services of any kind. As taxpayers and businesses decamp in disgust, the city thus has fewer fiscal resources with each generation.

The column blames more than corruption for New Orleans’ economic development problems. It also talks about the need for “the best flood barriers that technology and money can provide” and the need to change “a culture of murder so vicious and so pervasive that it terrorizes and numbs the whole city.”

Chicago, like many big cities, is known for crime, too. Here are some headlines just from this week’s Chicago Sun-Times:

“Police foot chase leads to seizure of sub-machine guns”

“Man found fatally stabbed in vehicle”

“Suspect shot while trying to run over FBI agent”

It’s pretty scary stuff. Yet Chicago’s economic health seems much better than New Orleans’.

Last year, I took my first trip to Chicago. Compared with New Orleans, which at the time had been hit by Katrina just two years earlier, Chicago just felt alive. It hummed. It was bustling. This is how a real city functions, I thought at the time.

I’m no authority on Chicago’s economy; I’m just going by what my gut told me, and my gut told me that Chicago is a healthier city economically than New Orleans was even before Katrina.

So, can corruption be blamed when jobs leave New Orleans or Louisiana? If Chicago — seemingly — is booming even though it, too, has a reputation for corruption, what is holding New Orleans down? Is New Orleans’ vulnerability to hurricanes to blame? Perhaps.

But weren’t we losing oil companies to Texas long before Katrina?•

Merry Christmas from the Department of Revenue

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

At Christmas time, the last thing someone wants to learn is that their Social Security number and other personal information has been shared with other people.

According to a story by The Associated Press today, “The Louisiana Department of Revenue says it accidentally divulged the personal information of 299 taxpayers to other people with tax debts.

Here’s more from the story:

In a press release today, the department says letters mailed to taxpayers who owe money also listed the name, address, Social Security number and debt for a different taxpayer on the other side of the paper.

The department says it is notifying the 299 taxpayers about the printing error and is helping protect them from possible identity theft. But the department says it has no reason to suspect their personal information has been misused.•

In Louisiana, property taxes could be worse

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

In the New Orleans metro area, the subject of property taxes has been in the news lately.

In September, the Jefferson Parish Council slashed 2008 property taxes to offset an increase in property values.

In St. Tammany Parish this month, the parish assessor’s office appealed to the state Tax Commission decisions by the Parish Council to reduce new property tax assessments.

Then there’s Orleans Parish, where the City Council recently voted down a proposal by Mayor C. Ray Nagin to increase property tax collections.

But according to new data released today by the Census Bureau, from 2005 to 2007 average homeowners in Louisiana parishes paid the least in property taxes.

So this raises an interesting question: Would government services and streets and other infrastructure be better in Louisiana if government collected more property taxes, or would government here find a way to waste any additional taxes?

Are we hurting ourselves in Louisiana by not paying more in property taxes? In the long term, would higher property taxes improve our quality of life and, therefore, lure more residents in businesses here, or would it cause more people and businesses to flee?

Weigh in on this issue. Leave a comment.•

Nagin: City services to be reduced

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The future of city services in New Orleans just got a lot grimmer.

Today, Mayor C. Ray Nagin said he has ordered a hiring freeze for all departments, including public safety, a reduction in sanitation services to “basic garbage pickup” and a spending cut of all departments except for public safety.

The cuts are needed in order to close a budget gap of $18 million budget in 2009, Nagin said. (To read a CityBusiness story about Nagin’s announcement, click here.)

Nagin said he has not choice but to make the cuts. He also said: “We expect that there may be future cuts … in the very near future.”

Residents can expect to see a loss of services, the mayor said. Two things residents — and tourists, for that matter — can say good-bye to: street sweeping and power-washing in the French Quarter and downtown.

“The majority of these cuts bring with them a reduction in services to be provided by the city,” Nagin said. “However, we are taking the actions necessary to live within our means and to ensure that our city remains in the best position for today and the future.”

The City Council can still override Nagin’s budget actions. But it’s unclear what the council will do.

If Nagin’s cuts prevail, and city services decline, what do you think will happen to the city’s recovery from Katrina?•

Online editor unmasks N.O. real estate ghostwriter

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

This week, while surfing the Web, I came across a handful of articles about the New Orleans real estate market on americanchronicle.com.

One proclaimed New Orleans “an ideal location to find great commercial real estate.” That same piece also referred to New Orleans as “a bustling city, even after Hurricane Katrina, that attracts lots of tourists, companies and builders.”

Another article said this: “If you are one of the lucky few that can get a loan, buying New Orleans real estate and renting it out is a great investment opportunity.”

In addition to having a rosy outlook about New Orleans real estate, the articles had something else in common: Someone named Andrew Stratton had written all of them.

As a reporter, I’ve covered real estate in New Orleans for five years. But I had never heard of Andrew Stratton. Who is this person writing so authoritatively about our real estate market? I asked myself.

Luckily, next to the articles there was a link to Andrew Stratton’s Web site. When I clicked the link, it took me to Search Influence, a New Orleans-based Web site promotion company. So I called the company and asked for Andrew Stratton. What happened next opened my eyes to a world I didn’t know existed.

The person who answered the phone was Will Scott, the founder and president of Search Influence, which is based at 1423 Pine St. Scott had some interesting news for me: Stratton, it turns out, is a nom de plume for about 30 writers who work for Scott’s company.

Like I said, Scott’s company helps other companies grow their Web traffic. That’s where Andrew Stratton’s articles come in. Scott’s company pays ghost writers to write articles that contain links to clients’ Web sites. Those articles are then posted to americanchronicle.com, a Web site that allows people to publish press releases, articles and other content. There are perhaps thousands of Web sites like this.

The goal of all these articles is to drive traffic to Scott’s clients’ Web sites and to boost their prominence on search engines like Google. One way to do that is to increase the number of inbound links to a client’s Web site, Scott said. That’s why, at the end of Andrew Stratton’s articles, you’ll always fine a link to some Web site, such as www.realestatelouisiana.com.

“The more citations that one of our sites have through the use of articles like this, the greater prominence it’s going to have in the mind, if you will, of the search engines,” Scott said.

Andrew Stratton is just one pseudonym Scott uses. Another is Anna Woodward. Both names are based on real people, Scott said.

To add to the illusion, Andrew Stratton even has an e-mail address: astratton@searchinfluence.com.

Scott’s ghostwriters cover a wide range of topics, not just New Orleans real estate.

“We write on every thing from metal expansion joints to Botox,” he said. “We have a need for a great diversity in service to our clients.”

Andrew Stratton is indeed a knowledgeable fellow. On Monday, on americanchronicle.com, he published an article titled “What are glasses and contact lenses made of?” That same day, he published an article titled “Winter fashion trends for men.”

He’s a very eclectic author,” Scott said.

My conversation with Scott was very enlightening. I had no idea about the online world of ghostwriters and their role in search engine optimization. But there was still something I needed to know: Who was the author of the Andrew Stratton real estate articles I had found?

Scott said they were written by Melissa Herman, who does not live in New Orleans. Scott wasn’t sure where she lived. He said it’s Alabama or Georgia.

How is she qualified to write about New Orleans real estate? I asked Scott.

Herman relies on newspapers to write her articles, Scott said, adding that his ghostwriters do research before writing their pieces.

After talking to Scott, my world has changed a little. The next time I come across an article online about New Orleans real estate or some other topic, I’ll have to wonder whether it was the work of a ghostwriter.

If the name is Andrew Stratton or Anna Woodward, I’ll know the answer.•

When it snows, Louisiana shuts down

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

To the amazement of many New Orleans-area residents, the metro area is a winter wonderland today. Snow — a rarity in South Louisiana — fell across the region this morning, and, in response, many agencies and businesses closed.

When the white stuff falls in the New Orleans area, things just seem to shut down. In the Midwest, Northeast and other parts of the country — where snow stacks up in feet — the amount of snow that fell in New Orleans would be nothing and business would continue as usual.

Not here.

Here, state government offices close in 47 parishes, including Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany and other New Orleans area parishes.

Here, many employees stay home, afraid to venture on roadways, some of which were closed this morning.

Here, some schools shut down. For example, Southern University at New Orleans planned to close at 11 a.m. today “due to the accumulation of ice on the grounds and out of concerns of safety,” the university said in a press release.

Here, meetings get canceled. For example, the Corps of Engineers said it has canceled a meeting set for tonight in St. Bernard Parish. The topic of the meeting: hurricane protection.

The snow also has some people making dire predictions about next year’s hurricane season. They point out that it snowed on Christmas in 2004, the year before the monster storm that was Katrina smashed into the Gulf Coast.

Yes, the New Orleans area gets worked up when it snows. We’re more used to our snow in a Styrofoam cup with syrup poured on top.•

Louisiana’s energy industry should think green

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The oil and gas industry has always been a big part of Louisiana’s economy.

According to statistics from the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association’s Web site, Louisiana’s mineral revenues in 2007 totaled $1.6 billion.

Oil and gas activity accounts for roughly 16.5 percent of the state’s revenue base, down from 42 percent around the time of the 1980s oil bust, according to a CityBusiness story from October.

Even though the state’s budget is not as reliant on oil and gas revenue as it was, 16.5 percent is still a sizable piece of the state’s revenue base. I certainly would not want to lose 16.5 percent of my revenue base.

Meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama has promised to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years to build a clean energy future and ensure that, by 2025, 25 percent of U.S. electricity comes from renewable sources. That’s 17 years away.

What will Louisiana’s part be in a future where nonrenewable sources of energy, such as oil and gas, might not play as large of a role as a U.S. energy source as they do today? If Louisiana’s oil and gas companies don’t figure out how to adapt, they will surely go extinct, costing Louisiana jobs and revenue.

I am by no means an expert in this area; I know as much about the nuances of the oil and gas industry as I do about brain surgery.

But I think I am astute enough to recognize that the U.S. energy industry is changing – and Louisiana’s energy sector could either play a role in that new world or find itself obsolete.•

Promoting a ’still-flooded’ city to tourists

By Christian Moises, News Editor

NEW ORLEANS — It still amazes me that more than three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded our city, I still hear from businesspeople who come back from meetings throughout the nation and tell me people still ask how much of the city is still underwater.

Much of that has to do with the national media showing images of the city underwater and people not following the recovery as closely as they did in the immediate months after the storm.

So to poke a little fun at ourselves, maybe we should follow the lead of a Reuters story out of Venice, Italy, that says hoteliers are trying to lure tourists with “high water” packages that come with free rubber boots.

Venice was almost completely flooded at the beginning of the month, leaving the landmark St. Mark’s Square thigh-deep in water and waterbus services suspended.

We’d have to modify that, of course, and offer inflatable boats and life preservers.•

During recession, costs keep rising

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Today, I posted to CityBusiness’ Web site a story about how LSU is considering raising tuition and fees next year.

Talk about good timing.

The country is in a recession, yet costs are going up all around us. A bright spot is gas prices, which are under $1.50 at some stations in the New Orleans area. The lower cost to fill our tanks has given us all a little more change in our pockets.

But in other areas, costs keep rising. For example, at a gym I am considering joining, membership and application fees will go up after the start of next year.

I’ve also noticed — and maybe I’m wrong about this — that some restaurants have reduced portion sizes, mainly for supper, while prices have remained the same or gone up.

Can businesses afford to raise prices at this time? Will it drive customers away?•

Feeling like a toll booth scofflaw

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

It happened again.

Two months ago, I was fined for going through the Crescent City Connection toll booths without paying. Just a year ago, I was fined for 22 violations for not paying tolls.

Writing about all my fines, I’m starting to feel like a scofflaw. But the story doesn’t end here. I feel I am an innocent man.

I have owned a toll tag for years, and, as far as I know, I had a balance on my toll tag when these alleged violations took place. So, these fines and citations are confusing.

Perhaps the toll tag scanners are broken. But that’s not my fault. So, if that is the case, why should I be fined?

Having paid the fines last year, this time I’m trying to fight the fines. I wrote a letter last month to the Crescent City Connection Division. I asked them to simply waive the $26 fine for the Sept. 16 violation and, instead, deduct the toll from my toll tag.

Now I’m told I have to make my appeal in person — in April.

I think I’ll just pay the fine. What a pain. Anyone else have a similar experience?•

Broussard repeats call for higher police pay

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Although a report handed out today during the Jefferson Parish State of the Parish address devoted only a paragraph to crime, Parish President Broussard spent about half of his presentation on the topic — and reiterated what he said is a need for higher police pay.

Broussard talked about a proposed increase in parish sales taxes, an idea he must sell the Parish Council on in order for it to be brought before voters in April.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is down about 120 officers since Hurricane Katrina, police officers are retiring and not enough new officers are joining the force, Broussard said.

“That doesn’t mean the crime rate is up,” Broussard said. “(Sheriff) Newell (Normand) is doing a fantastic job. It’s not about that.”

The problem, Broussard said, is there are not enough jailers — the parish is down by about 70 — so “bad guys” are turned lose every day.

Broussard shared a story about a businessman — he would not identify the business — who has been burglarized up to three times by the same person who keeps getting caught by police and then released.

Broussard says the quarter-cent hike in sales taxes would raise the starting salaries of police to $40,000 a year. All police departments across the parish would agree to start officers at $40,000 to prevent them from leaving one department for another with higher pay, he said.

Today, the starting salary for a Jefferson Parish police officer is $8,000 lower than the New Orleans Police Department officer and a state trooper’s, and the parish loses officers to those agencies “all the time,” Broussard said.

Next week, the Parish Council is expected to review putting the sales tax increase measure before voters.

For the past 20 years, every poll taken in Jefferson Parish shows the public’s No. 1 concern is crime, Broussard said, followed by drugs, drainage, roads, education and recreation and beautification.•

‘Anthill in Mother Nature’s front yard’

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Jefferson Parish is an “anthill in Mother Nature’s front yard.”

That’s how Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard described the parish during today’s State of the Parish address at a hotel in Kenner.

Broussard tried to relate a message that the parish is vulnerable to hurricanes, and he sounded a call to action for residents and businesses with a new acronym: NEW AGE.

It stands for Next Expected Weather-Event Armor Generate Elevate.

Broussard wants residents and businesses to harden their properties by elevating them and buying hurricane-proof windows, shutters and generators.

Broussard said if he leaves one legacy, it’s to get as many businesses and homeowners to elevate and buy storm shutters, hurricane-proof windows and generators.

“I hope that by doing that I can save one life,” he said.•

Huey P. Long expansion to erase ‘barriers’

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The expansion of the Huey P. Long Bridge, a project expected to be completed in 2013, will erase the physical and psychological barriers that have separated the east and west banks.

That’s according to Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young, who spoke today at the State of the Parish address in Kenner.•

Jefferson Parish bond rating touted

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young today touted the parish’s “A” bond rating, which he said is better than the state’s.

Having a good bond rating lowers the cost of borrowing money for parish projects, he said.

“We’re fiscally conservative in Jefferson Parish,” he said. “We’re fiscally prudent.”

Young spoke at the “State of the Parish” address at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Kenner.•

Young: State of Jeff Parish ‘very good’

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The state of Jefferson Parish is “very good,” says John Young, a member of the Parish Council.

Young spoke at the “State of the Parish” address today at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Kenner.

The state of the parish is better than the rest of the nation, Young said.

The future of the parish is on the West Bank, Young said. That’s where the available land is and where Churchill Business and Technology Park is being built, he said.•

Looking for solutions to Jeff Parish crime

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

I’m sitting here at lunchtime at the Jefferson Parish “State of the Parish” address. While waiting for the event to begin, and having already finished the salad sitting in front of me, I’m perusing the report that accompanies the event.

As I look at this report, I was expecting to see more information about fighting crime. Here’s all the report says about crime:

“It is the mission of the parish president’s office, the council, Sheriff Newell Normand and the Jefferson Parish Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement (the Quality of Life Division) to fight blight in Jefferson Parish to improve the quality of life for all and to reduce crime.”

That’s it. It reads more like a mission statement than an update on fighting crime. I’m wondering if Parish President Aaron Broussard will go into more detail about crime when he addresses this room full of people in this hotel in Kenner.

It would strike me as a little odd if Broussard did not say more about crime in his address. After all, he is strongly backing a proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase for the parish to raise police salaries.

More posts will follow from this event. For now, though, I must break for the plate of food heading my way.•

Timeline for largest Jefferson Parish park

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

As a West Bank resident, I’ve been waiting for a long time for the construction of Parc des Famillies, which will be the largest park in the parish when complete.

According to a report issued at the annual “State of the Parish” address today at a Kenner hotel, park construction will be complete in four to five years. So, at the latest, work will come to an end by 2013.

According to the report, the first major roadway into the 610-acre tract on Leo Kerner Parkway is done.•

State of Jefferson Parish by the numbers

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

In my hot little hands is the State of the Parish report for Jefferson Parish.

The annual “State of the Parish” address is about to begin at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Kenner.

Before the annual event starts, I’ll quickly share some of the information in this report. Here some stats that immediately jumped out at me:

– Jefferson Parish, with 446,686 residents, continues to lead the state in population and economic viability.

– The parish’s unemployment rate is low at 4.7 percent, compared with the state rate of 5.2 percent and the national rate of 6.5 percent.

– Since Katrina, the parish has had a net increase of 5,356 new businesses.

– The parish’s bond rating is “A.”

– Budgeted sales tax growth for 2008 is 0 percent.

Stay tuned for more updates from this event.•

Experts: Now is the time to refinance

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The buzz word lately in the housing market is refinance.

This week, I received two e-mails from different people talking about how now is the time for homebuyers and homeowners to take advantage of lower interest rates.

One of those sources is Eric Bouler, a New Orleans Realtor and blogger. Bouler talked about falling interest rates yesterday in a blog posting he titled “Rates Have Fallen to an All Time Low this Century! Can that be correct?”

Here’s an excerpt:

I was talking to Julie Baudier, my favorite lender today about the drop in interest rates and the effect it would have with people looking to purchase a new place.  Its never too early to get an idea of what your note will be and what kind of payment you will be comfortable with.  Doing this upfront is aways a good idea and great first step.  If you are looking in the Spring this is the time to start learning about the market and the lending process.  This is especially true of first time buyers but still true for experienced buyers.

Julie says  “Six weeks ago a client signed a purchase agreement for $260,000 he was borrowing $208,000.  We locked him in at a rate of 6.25% his Principal and interest payment was $1288.00.  I lowered his rate today to 5.375% and his interest payment went down to $1174.00.  His payment is now $114.00 lower than he originally planned.”•

In N.O., construction work slows

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

New Orleans and the Gulf Coast became a Mecca for construction workers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. With so much widespread destruction, the promise of many years of repair work was too good for these workers to pass up, and they came here from many states to snatch up contracts and jobs.

But more than three years after the storm, experts say the New Orleans-area construction industry is not as booming as it was the year after Katrina.

CityBusiness reporter Richard A. Webster wrote about this issue in this week’s edition. To read the full story, click here.

Even though construction work is not as easy to find in the Crescent City as it was immediately after Katrina, it’s easier to find construction work in this region compared with the rest of the country, according to Rich’s story.

“As slow as someone might think it is here, it’s just gruesome out there in the rest of the country,” said Jon Luther, president of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans.•

Governor’s travels

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sojourns.

For example, Jindal, apparently a rising star in the Republican Party, last month was the main speaker at the Iowa Family Policy Center’s Celebrating the Family banquet, according to a CityBusiness column written by political commentator Jeff Crouere. While there, Jindal was scheduled to visit the Cedar Rapids area to see recent flooding damage.

Jindal’s trip fueled speculation that the governor has his eye on the White House. As Crouere puts it, “For presidential candidates, no state is more important than Iowa.” Jindal, though, has maintained that he is not running for president. Rather, he reportedly plans to seek re-election in 2011.

Jindal will leave the state again, this time to go to Texas to boost his campaign funding. Tonight, he’s scheduled to have a fundraiser in San Antonio, followed by one Friday afternoon in Houston.

The governor’s travels are starting to draw criticism.

Here’s what someone with the screenname shadow08 wrote today on nola.com:

Is Bobby still our Gov.? He has been spending so much time away from louisiana I thought he had resigned!

Now, I wonder how can anyone do an effective job
while being away? Must be all the new technology that allows Bobby to do whatever it is he is doing from far away places.•

Nagin could use veto pen for budget

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Mayor Ray Nagin is considering using his veto powers in the wake of the City Council’s approval of changes to his 2009 budget proposal, according to news reports.

Nagin wanted the council to roll forward the millage rate by 10 mills, a request he said was needed to prop up the $486 million general fund. But the council rejected raising property taxes, because, they said, the city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Rolling forward the millage rate would have generated nearly $25 million for the city, according to reports.

Nagin is upset by other changes the council made to his budget proposal, including council decisions to spend the last $10 million of $240 million in federal Community Disaster Loans and to slash more than $1 million for the city’s much-criticized crime camera program. Nagin is also displeased that the council moved to place about $50 million for the sanitation department and housing and blight fighting in reserve.

The council’s budget changes would result in deterioration of city services, Nagin said.

“We won’t be able to sustain the current level of services,” Nagin said, according to a story on wwltv.com. “2009 will be a challenge. 2010 will be a train wreck.”

At one point, tempers flared between Nagin and Councilman Arnie Fielkow over the budget. To view video of that exchange, click here.

Here’s what someone named katnipkat had to say on nola.com:

Nagin said:
“Most likely we’re looking at services in the city that will deteriorate, ” he said.

Now, this is something that I want to see–as I don’t possibly see how services in the city could deteriorate. What services do we currently receive?

Nothing from nothing is nothing.

Then there was this nola.com comment by xman20002000:

Citzens in NO generally don’t want to pay for public services. The property tax issue is a budget balancing request.•

No renovations in sight for Riverwalk

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The Riverwalk mall dates to the 1980s, when it was built for the 1984 World’s Fair. Some folks might think the property is overdue for a makeover. But don’t expect that anytime soon.

General Growth Properties, the Chicago company that owns Riverwalk and Oakwood Center on the West Bank, announced Nov. 20 it had hired a law firm to help it avoid bankruptcy.

Here’s an excerpt from a story posted to CityBusiness’ Web site:

While the company has taken no public steps toward selling either of its New Orleans-area properties, a spokesman for the company said shoppers should not expect upgrades at the malls anytime soon either.

“Though we are always mindful of the need to keep our properties as appealing as possible, at this time we have no specific plans (for renovation),” said Jim Graham, senior director of public affairs for General Growth Properties.

Do you shop at Riverwalk? What malls do you like and dislike? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.•

Touch of gray

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

CityBusiness has joined the ranks of those in Orleans Parish who have been victimized by gray paint.

According to our circulation director, several of our newspaper vending racks have been painted gray in sections. Some of those unwelcome paint jobs took place perhaps more than a year ago, some perhaps more recently.

One happened at the intersection of Jefferson and Magazine, where someone painted the backside of a CityBusiness newsstand.

Fred “Gray Ghost” Radtke, the man known for concealing graffiti in New Orleans with his signature gray paint, says it’s not his doing.

“We haven’t touched any kind of news racks,” he said Tuesday. “We don’t touch these boxes.”

Other people are using gray paint to paint property in the city to make it seem like it is Radtke, he said.

Radtke founded Operation Clean Sweep, a nonprofit that aims to eradicate graffiti. He said he is concerned with the quality of life in the city, crime reduction and trying to make order to bring people back to New Orleans.

Whomever painted CityBusiness’ news racks, they never received permission from CityBusiness to paint the private property.

Does anyone else in Orleans Parish have a Gray Ghost, or gray paint, experience? Share it on our blog. Just leave a comment to this posting.

If you’re interested in some Gray Ghost stories, click on these links:

Gray Ghost goes gonzo on graffiti

‘Gray Ghost’ strikes again, paints over treasured mural

Gray Ghost launches offensive at café

Crime worries rise as economy hurts

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

On Thanksgiving, my mother- and father-in-law spent much of the day at my house, which is just three or four streets away from their home.

When they returned home after dark, they were shocked to find that someone had stolen their new lawn equipment. So, on a day when everyone is supposed to be having a lovely time with family and friends and being thankful for all that they have, my in-laws were having their stuff stolen.

We live in Marrero, on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish. My street is filled with rental properties, and it seems new tenants are coming and going all the time. There’s a bar on the corner. Don’t get me wrong: I like where I live. Sometimes, though, I don’t always feel safe.

A lifelong resident of the New Orleans area, I’m not surprised by crime. It’s a fact of life in these parts. Just open The Times-Picayune on any given day and chances are you’ll find a story about a homicide in Orleans Parish.

But as the economy continues to struggle — today the U.S. economy was officially declared to be in recession — can we expect an upswing in crime in the New Orleans area? Will there be more muggings and burglaries by people who can’t find work or can’t make ends meet?

The economic slowdown is being blamed for crime in other parts of the U.S., such as south Florida. The types of criminals reportedly on the rise there: pickpockets, shoplifters, car thieves and burglars.