Experts say commercial real estate to be next crisis

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

For months, experts have been predicting that the commercial real estate industry will be the next shoe to drop as part of the national mortgage crisis.

According to a story posted Monday by Forbes.com, Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said he was concerned that U.S. banks remain “pretty heavily exposed” to commercial real estate. “It is the one domestic factor that keeps me up at night,” he said.

“Delinquencies on commercial real estate loans and mortgage-backed securities are expected to increase as businesses suffer the effects of a slowing economy,” the story says.

In the New Orleans metropolitan area, a lot of commercial real estate projects have been built in the past three and a half years as businesses rebuilt following the 2005 hurricanes. Some construction was to replace businesses that had been ravaged. Other construction was new. For example, a new Home Depot was built after Katrina in Central City.

As businesses in the New Orleans area rebuilt, they no doubt took out loans in some cases. Now that the economy is in a recession, it becomes harder for businesses to make payments on those loans, just like homeowners struggle to pay their mortgages.

Experts have said the New Orleans area has escaped the foreclosure crisis, although others say the crisis has been delayed here.

But what about delinquencies on commercial real estate loans for New Orleans developments built in the past three and a half years? Will the New Orleans area be invincible?•

White council members criticized after leaving meeting

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The exit of the New Orleans City Council’s four white members from a meeting yesterday did not leave a good taste in the mouths of the public in attendance who lashed out against the members after they departed.

The criticism of the members’ exit was another sign of what seems to be growing dissatisfaction of some in the community with the council, which has upset black residents who have concerns about the council’s call for more transparency in the awarding of professional services contracts. Some in the black community see it as an attempt by white council members to take power away from Mayor C. Ray Nagin, who is black.

Nagin vetoed an ordinance, authored by Councilman Arnie Fielkow, who is white, to open the selection of contractors to the state’s open meetings law. Nagin also this year eliminated a panel involving a public representative to select contractors. Nagin created the panel using his executive powers. The mayor, in eliminating the panel, said he is within his legal rights provided by the city’s charter, which would require a vote of the public to be amended. On the other hand, Nagin could use his executive powers to put the panel in effect again, which would not require a public vote to change the charter.

Yesterday, members of the black community showed up in council chambers to see whether the council would override Nagin’s veto. But no vote was taken. Instead, the white council members left the meeting early, some citing reasons such as doctor’s appointments, according to news reports.

After the white council members left, members of the public voiced their complaints to the three black council members who stuck around.

Here’s an excerpt from a Times-Picayune story:

The Rev. Joseph Recasner offered this sarcastic take: “If I had known this was doctor-scheduling day, I would have made an appointment for myself.”

Recasner then referenced the “power grab” allegations that some supporters of Mayor Ray Nagin have leveled against council members who pushed for the open-meetings ordinance that prompted the debate. The ordinance would require committees that rank prospective city vendors to meet in public.

“Stop trying for what the mayor’s got!” he said. “If you want what the mayor’s got, run for mayor.”

Fielkow returned to the meeting more than half an hour into the discussion to hear the remaining speakers, according to news reports.•

Anger erupts over Jindal’s volcano remarks

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

When Gov. Bobby Jindal gave the GOP’s response to President Barack Obama’s address to Congress, he briefly took aim at funding for “volcano monitoring” that was included in the nearly $800 billion stimulus bill Obama signed earlier this month.

“While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending,” Jindal said. “It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a ‘magnetic levitation’ line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called ‘volcano monitoring.’ Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.”

Now those remarks are garnering Jindal criticism from a place where volcano monitoring is considered important.

According to a CNN story, Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Wash., said, “Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard? We have one that’s very active, and it still rumbles and spits and coughs very frequently.”

CNN also quoted Marianne Guffanti, a volcano researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey, who said, “We don’t throw the money down the crater of the volcano and watch it burn up.”

Some might say it’s hypocritical for Jindal to question spending to make a community safe from volcanoes when his own state is vulnerable to hurricanes and has received billions in federal funding to recover from the 2005 hurricanes.

CNN says in its story that “Louisiana is no stranger to natural disasters itself, having been devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s chief of staff, said the governor stands by his statement. ‘That was just one example of wasteful spending in the largest government spending bill in history,’ Teepell said. ‘The governor made it clear that we need to grow jobs, not government.’”•

Council’s plans seen as racist

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Earlier this month, the New Orleans City Council adopted an ordinance to make transparent the awarding of professional services contracts. Mayor C. Ray Nagin vetoed the ordinance, making the council have to decide whether to override his veto.

In the meantime, the issue is seen by some in the black community as an attempt by white council members to take power away from a black mayor.

Here’s how the issue evolved: Nagin, early in his administration, created a panel that involved a public representative to award the contracts, which total $150,000 or more. On Feb 5, the council decided it wanted the awarding process to be totally open to the public, and it adopted an ordinance to make the process adhere to the state’s open meetings law.

Some in the black community worry that what is being marketed as a way to make City Hall more transparent is actually an attempt by white council members to water down Nagin’s authority. (The council is made of three black and four white members.)

The concerns are being aired on the radio, such as 1230 AM, a station that discusses issues important to the black community in New Orleans.

The concerns are also being voiced in e-mails, such as one sent today by new@nola.tv. Here’s the e-mail, which in the subject line says “City Council’s Smoke Screen”:

URGENT!! COME OUT TO CITY COUNCIL 9AM TODAY
Some City Council Members Want To Change City’s Charter In The Name Of Transparency
It’s A Smoke Screen
TIE City Council Member’s VOTE  to Re-Election Bid
DON’T OVER-RIDE VETO

Yesterday, Vincent Sylvain of The New Orleans Agenda, in another column that’s being e-mailed around the city, wrote that Councilman James Carter “has reportedly received pressure from both sides of the issue; hate e-mails for his failure to vote for the override largely from the white community, pleas from his Black constituents to remain firm and vote against the measure. This sentiment has been echoed on WBOK 1230-AM Talk Radio with a majority of the listeners and bloggers supporting a no vote. “

Here’s another excerpt from Sylvain’s column:

Others have pointed out that the forced resignation of former District Attorney Eddie Jordan; the refusal of any charges against the Gretna Police Department for the blockage that kept hundreds of evacuees from crossing the Mississippi River bridge after Hurricane Katrina; the lack of a conviction in the Levon Jones case, the Georgia college student who died after a clash with Bourbon Street bouncers on New Year’s Eve 2004; the acquitted of the officers who participated in the beating of retired 66 year-old teacher Robert Davis; the dropping of all charges against the officers involved in the Danziger Bridge shooting of Ronald Madison and others; the lack of a formal investigation of the alleged vigilante shooting in Algiers Point during hurricane Katrina as uncovered in A.C. Thompson’s Katrina’s Hidden Race War documentary; frequent clashes between NOPD and cultural organizations are all examples of why Black view many of the proposed revisions to the governmental make-up of New Orleans with a suspicious eye.

Readers, do you see the move for more transparency as racism or reform?•

Reaction to Jindal’s speech mixed

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

There’s a lot of talk today about Gov. Bobby Jindal and his nationally televised response to President Barack Obama’s address to Congress last night.

Jindal, considered a rising star in the Republican Party, delivered the GOP’s response to Obama’s address. For a moment, Louisiana was in the national spotlight, as people from across the country tuned in to hear what Jindal had to say.

Today, Jindal’s speech is being met with mixed reviews. He is being made fun of for the way he spoke — National Public Radio political analyst Juan Williams described it as sing-song — and the content of his speech.

Sam Stein on huffingtonpost.com today wrote that “Both Democrats and Republicans alike panned Jindal’s rebuttal in terms that were decidedly harsh: ‘amateurish,’ ‘laughable’ and, most commonly, ‘a missed opportunity.’”

Here’s more from Stein’s piece:

And yet, much of the critique of Jindal’s address focused on his hokey, folksy, seemingly-forced tone and vernacular. The Governor, who has never held court on the national stage before — remember, his speech at the Republican convention was called off after Hurricane Gustav made landfall — showed a bit of wetness behind the ears. And the commentators let him have it, even on Fox News.

The harsh reviews go on and on: Jindal’s Speech Bombed, Jindal’s lame GOP response speech, The Jindal Speech.

On the dailybeast.com, Max Blumenthal used the speech as an opportunity to tell America some “surprising facts” about Jindal. Here’s an excerpt:

As the country gets acquainted with the Bayou’s boy wonder, the stranger details of Jindal’s religious or personal background remain largely unknown, even among the Republican grassroots. How many Americans know that Jindal boasted of participating in an exorcism that purged the spirit of Satan from a college girlfriend? So far, Jindal’s tale of “beating a demon” remains behind the subscription wall of New Oxford Review, an obscure Catholic magazine; only a few major blogs have seized on the story.

But some are praising Jindal’s speech. David Brody, on The Christian Broadcasting Network’s Web site, wrote this yesterday:

Bobby Jindal is going to be a star. Correct that. He is a star already. His star turn came tonight when the Louisiana Governor gave the Republican response to President Obama’s speech tonight. Can anybody say 2012?

On humanevents.com, Jed Babbin wrote this in a column headlined “Obama’s On Path To An American Welfare State”:

Jindal spoke eloquently of the faith he learned in the power that derives from freedom. He told the story of a Louisiana sheriff — organizing rescue craft during the aftermath of Katrina — frustrated at some bureaucrat’s interference and how he stood with that sheriff to shut off the interference and get the rescues under way.

His most important points — that Democrats want to expand the power of government over American life while Republicans want to empower Americans to help themselves — were couched in the terms his father taught him: that Americans can do anything. And we can.

Jindal appears a mild man, one who inspires confidence as a leader must. His solid conservative core was reflected again and again in arguments that we shouldn’t spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need. Which, he said, was what the trillion-dollar spending spree the Democrats legislated as a “stimulus.”

Readers, what did you think of Jindal’s speech?•

Workers could be in ER on Ash Wednesday

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Today is a day of hangovers and headaches for many people who spent yesterday partying too hard for Mardi Gras.

Offices might be emptier than normal as some workers stay in bed. In fact, this morning, I noticed traffic was thin as I drove to work, but that could have been because many people were getting ashes and planning to go to work later in the day.

However, according to someone I know who works as an emergency room nurse, Ash Wednesday is a day when many people flood emergency rooms in the New Orleans area. He said it’s the busiest day of the year for local emergency rooms.

The partied-out patients, who are in no mood to report to work, are in search of a doctor’s note, my nurse friend said. They know they have slim chances of getting a doctor’s appointment on such short notice. Instead, they go to emergency rooms, get checked out and leave with a note to turn in to their unsuspecting employer the next day.

So, for you businesses wondering where your workers are today, check the ER.

Readers, do you know anyone who’s done this? Have you ever done this?•

Nagin critic sells bumper stickers

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Drivers might notice a new anti-Mayor C. Ray Nagin bumper sticker in New Orleans soon.

Today, someone using the nickname Super Ray sent e-mails announcing that the stickers were for sale.

The e-mail was sent the day after the City Council failed to override a Nagin veto of an ordinance that would have opened to the public the process of awarding professional services contracts.

Here’s what was in the e-mail:

Trump project hits pause button

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Another project seems to have fallen victims to the brutal credit markets. This time it’s the Trump International Hotel & Tower, a project that was proposed for New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina hit.

The Associated Press was apparently the first to report that the project is on hold. In a story Tuesday, the AP quoted New Orleans lawyer Stephen Dwyer, who has represented many developers of local projects over the years and is representing the developers for the Trump project, too.

Here’s an except from the AP story:

Stephen Dwyer, who represents Poydras LLC, said developers have not secured all their funding but still hope to move ahead with the high-end condominium and hotel project by the end of the year. He said it’s not a matter of whether the project will go forward but how big it will be when it does.

“Everything’s there except the credit markets,” said Dwyer, noting that developers had secured the needed zoning and land downtown. “The credit markets aren’t back in a way to allow the financing to move forward.”

The story was picked up by major media outlets, including Forbes.com.

Many people have wondered what Donald Trump’s role is in the project. The AP wondered the same thing. But Dwyer “declined to specify Trump’s level of involvement in the project,” AP reported.

Dwyer also suggested the project could change in scope. Here’s another excerpt:

Dwyer … said there’s no way to know for sure how large or expensive it will be until the economy stabilizes. But he said the developers were “absolutely committed” to building here.

More than 100 reservations and other expressions of interest have been made so far, he said. A Web site touting the property cited a starting price for a studio at $387,000.

While Dwyer insists the developers are “absolutely committed” to the project, many in New Orleans will have to see it to believe it.•

Will Jindal take the whole stimulus?

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Gov. Bobby Jindal reportedly has not made up his mind about how much in stimulus funding Louisiana will accept from the federal government.

Blogs and media outlets across the country have picked up the story. A search for “Jindal” and “stimulus” in Google pulls up a long list of results.

One of those is a posting on thinkprogress.org with the headline “Jindal may reject recovery package money.” The posting had generated 121 comments as of 1:50 p.m. today.

Here’s one comment:

So the question is, who does Jindal serve by rejecting the money?

Himself. GOP — Party before country. Now you can add — career before constituents.

The commenter is not alone in having that viewpoint. Others are being critical of Jindal and other GOP governors for considering not accepting the money.

“No community or constituent should be denied recovery assistance due to their governor’s political ideology or political aspirations,” U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said in a story by The Associated Press.

Jindal, for his part, has expressed concerns about strings that may be attached to the funding, according to a story on cbsnews.com.

“We’ll have to review each program, each new dollar to make sure that we understand what are the conditions, what are the strings and see whether it’s beneficial for Louisiana to use those dollars,” Jindal said in the story.

The question is: If Jindal, a Republican, turns down the stimulus funding, will President Barack Obama, a Democrat, fulfill any future requests from Jindal for more Katrina recovery dollars?•

N.O. photographer says Nagin has done ‘amazing work’

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

I am signed up to receive e-mail newsletters from The New Orleans Agenda. Today, the newsletter features “an open letter” to Mayor C. Ray Nagin from New Orleans photographer Lloyd Dennis, who on his Web site says he also is a motivational speaker who goes by the nickname “Love Doctor.”

The letter comes at a time when the relationship between the mayor and City Council, which is comprised of four white and three black members, is at perhaps an all-time low; Nagin today said he is getting rid of a panel to review the awarding of professional services contracts, even though the council voted unanimously to open up the process to Louisiana open meetings law.

Here are excerpts from Dennis’ letter:

Dear Mr. Mayor,

Let ice water flow through your veins. You have learned many hard earned lessons about the ruthlessness of evil and you are fighting the good fight.

You are protecting the interest and power of a 60% African American electorate against an onslaught of temporary white power created by the elections right after Katrina. This four to three Confederate clique on the city council is an imbalance to the demographics of the city and an anomaly. It will never happen again.

Trust that all across America, you are a wonder, and they are the clowns, even though local media which shares the white power agenda avoids touting the amazing work that you and your administration has done, even while under siege. The world is back in New Orleans, and they can see that we are extremely functional, and the cranes are rising.•

What was in those Nagin e-mails?

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

A Orleans Parish Civil Court judge blasted the Nagin administration yesterday after learning that nearly all e-mails Mayor C. Ray Nagin sent and received in 2008  — and a lot of the items on his 2008 calendar — have been erased.

The issue came to light when WWL-TV news anchor Lee Zurik sued the Nagin administration to get access to the e-mails and calendar.

The judge, Rose Ledet, ruled in favor of WWL. For WWL-TV coverage of the issue, click here.

According to a story in The Times-Picayune, Deputy City Attorney Ed Washington told Ledet that nearly all of the mayor’s e-mails and all calendar information before June 30 have been deleted and cannot be retrieved. Washington said there is no written record of the mayor’s calendar; it exists in electronic form only.

Destroying the e-mails and calendar information is a violation of state public records laws. In online comments to the media’s coverage of this story, many people have pointed out that deleted e-mails can be retrieved.

Readers, what do you think was in those e-mails?•

Nagin becomes the decider

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

In a move that critics say represents a step backward for City Hall transparency, Mayor C. Ray Nagin has proposed giving himself total control over the city’s awarding of professional services contracts — just when you thought things could not get more strained between the mayor and City Council.

Nagin was scheduled to hold a press conference on the issue at noon today.

His plans are not being well received by some, including Councilman Arnie Fielkow, who, in a CityBusiness story yesterday, called removing a review panel from the selection process a “scorched earth policy.”

Nagin’s move comes after the council voted unanimously to open the contracting of professional services to full transparency. Nagin vetoed that ordinance last week, even though two opinions from state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell support more openess in the process of awarding the contracts.

Under Nagin’s new executive order, a public representative would not be part of the selection process for the contracts. Instead, city Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Hatfield, City Attorney Penya Moses-Fields or recovery director Ed Blakely will suggest to Nagin who should get the contracts.

Nagin created the panel to improve transparency at City Hall. So why is he now apparently going to destroy it?

Is it just a game of one-upmanship with the council, with which Nagin has been at odds? It’s clear the council and Nagin administration are having a tough time getting along, as evidenced by the recent dispute over enhanced cleaning services in the French Quarter.

According to news reports, Nagin thinks the council’s call for more openess violates his authority.

Here are some excerpts from a Times-Picayune story today:

Nagin, meanwhile, has leaned on a legal opinion from his in-house attorney in calling the requirement an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers, as well as a nuisance. He has said the City Charter is not subservient to state law and that if the council wants contract panels’ meetings to be public, voters must amend the charter to require it.

He maintains the council-backed ordinance would “cause serious delay to the city’s recovery efforts.”

Nagin spokesman James Ross said Tuesday that based on the city’s experience last year entering into more than 800 contracts and other legal agreements, “it is impossible to have public meetings for each of those and keep with the pace of the recovery.”

Who’s side are you on? Is Nagin right, or is the council right?•

Despite recession, Mardi Gras rolls on

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Mardi Gras is nicknamed the Greatest Free Show on Earth.

Let’s face it: It’s not exactly free. For those who ride, there are throws to be bought and krewe days to pay. For those who like to get all dressed up for parades, that SpongeBob SquarePants costume can drain the wallet. And let’s not forget about the all-important liquor budget.

This year, as the nation goes through a recession, people are, naturally, wondering whether businesses that rely on Mardi Gras dollars will do poorly.

In the past week or so, national news stories have posed the question. For example, the Associated Press’ New Orleans bureau wrote a story, “A bad economy rains on some Mardi Gras parades,” that has picked picked up by the national media.

Yes, the bad economy has rained on some Mardi Gras parades. Some krewes have had to pull the plug this year and won’t be riding. CityBusiness reporter Richard A. Webster wrote about it in a story headlined “Recession takes toll on Carnival krewes.” The Krewe of Aquila, a Metairie parade, is among the victims of the tough economy. Ditto for the krewes of  Shangri-La in New Orleans and Gladiators in St. Bernard Parish, which failed to collect enough membership dues to roll this month.

So, Mardi Gras isn’t quite recession-proof.

But not everyone is letting the recession rain on their parade.

According to CityBusiness’ poll question this week — Is the economy affecting how you celebrate Mardi Gras? — 56.64 percent of voters, as of 2:56 p.m. today, say, “No way! Money is no object during Mardi Gras.” (A total of 113 people have voted as of this posting.)

Still, the economy is having an impact on Carnival. So far, 30.97 percent of voters to the CityBusiness poll say they are attending fewer parades, 6.19 percent say they bought fewer throws, 3.54 percent say they can’t afford to ride this year and 2.65 percent say they will not be costuming at parades.•

N.O. loses science conference because of state law

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

When it comes to nature, it’s all about survival of the fittest, as Mr. Darwin would say.

When it comes to retaining science conferences, Louisiana has learned it’s all about survival of the states who don’t enact science education laws that national scientific organizations disagree with.

On Feb. 5, in a letter to Gov. Bobby Jindal, the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, which has more than 2,300 members, told the governor that the society was canceling plans to hold its annual meeting in New Orleans in 2011. The reason, according to the society, is the 2008 Louisiana Science Education Act, which Jindal, who has a biology degree from Brown University, signed last year. Basically, the law allows public schools to teach alternatives to evolution, which opponents say opens the doors to the teaching of creationism. The society says the law “undermines science education and attacks teaching evolution.”

The society has posted the announcement on its homepage. The headline: No Thanks, New Orleans.

Salt Lake City will get the conference, instead.

The Louisiana Coalition for Science wrote about the loss of the conference on its Web site Saturday.

Here are some excerpts:

The repercussions that were expected from the Louisiana legislature’s passage and Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signing of the creationist 2008 LA Science Education Act have begun. Louisiana taxpayers and schoolchildren are now reaping what the legislature and governor have sowed: the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, one of the nation’s leading scientific societies, is boycotting Louisiana.

The legislature and the governor cannot say they weren’t warned. They were, but they ignored the warnings. Indeed, they ignored everyone except the creationists at the Discovery Institute and the Louisiana Family Forum.

The governor’s office this morning issued this two-sentence response when asked what the governor thought of the news that New Orleans was losing the conference:

“That’s too bad. New Orleans is a first-class city for a convention,” Kyle Plotkin, Jindal spokesman, wrote in an e-mail.•

New flood maps pose interesting dilemma

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

On Monday, FEMA issued new 2009 preliminary digital flood insurance rate maps for Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes.

On Wednesday, St. Tammany Parish sent out a press release saying the parish is appealing the new maps. And, according to St. Tammany’s press release, other parishes have requested that previously adopted maps be used until the 2009 maps can be reviewed.

It’s understandable that parishes would be concerned about the impact the new maps could have. New maps could mean people who weren’t required to have flood insurance in the past now need to purchase the coverage. That could affect home sales in an already slow market.

But according to a Feb. 6 Times-Picayune story, “in the New Orleans area, because of the incomplete levee work, the new maps will not immediately affect flood insurance rates. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not yet require any parish to implement new building elevation codes, though Jefferson Parish has chosen to do so voluntarily.”

It won’t be until mid-2011, when levee improvements to protect the area from a 100-year storm are complete, that FEMA will mandate changes, the T-P story says.

So, parishes are faced, it seems, with an interesting dilemma: Is it better to adhere to the new maps — which reflect the current levee protection — or wait until the new maps come out, which will take at least until two years and a half years from now?

The first option would better protect structures now in the event there is a major hurricane in the next two or so years.

But, on the other hand, if the levees will be better in only two and a half years, does it make sense to make people elevate their homes before then?•

Will the stimulus stimulate?

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

With the roughly $800 billion stimulus package awaiting final votes in Congress, the legislation appears likely to soon hit President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature.

According to a story by The Associated Press today, the House could vote on the bill today — but more likely Friday — and the Senate would vote on it after that.

Even though the package has yet to hit the streets, critics are already speaking out, saying the bill might not be so stimulating after all.

Here’s an excerpt from the AP story:

The $500-per-worker credit for lower- and middle-income taxpayers that Obama outlined during his presidential campaign was scaled back to $400 during bargaining by the Democratic-controlled Congress and White House. Couples would receive $800 instead of $1,000. Over two years, that move would pump about $25 billion less into the economy than had been previously planned.

Officials estimated it would mean about $13 a week more in people’s paychecks when withholding tables are adjusted in late spring. Critics say that’s unlikely to do much to boost consumption.

The stimulus package also includes a one-time payment of $250 to millions receiving Social Security, veterans receiving pensions and low-income people receiving Supplemental Security Income payments; an $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers for homes bought by the end of August; and the ability for car buyers to deduct the sales tax they pay on new cars.

To be sure, the package has supporters, but even among those folks there is some concern about the bill’s impact.

Michael Tomasky, in a column for The Guardian, on Monday wrote:

I’m nervous, too, about whether the bill will work. But meanwhile, its impending passage sets the country on a dramatically different course to the one it’s pursued over the last eight years (the last 30, really). To me, that’s hardly a stinker. In fact, it smells rather nice. I love the smell of stimulus spending in the morning. It smells like … victory.

For Louisiana, which is trying to rebuild infrastructure in the wake of devastating hurricanes, infrastructure spending in the stimulus bill could go a long way. According to the AP story, $46 billion would go to U.S. transportation projects such as highway, bridge and mass transit construction.

Readers, what do you think of the stimulus package? Is it just what the doctor ordered for the ailing economy or the equivalent of taking aspirin for a heart attack?•

N.O. not among ‘America’s Most Miserable Cities’

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Based on the sometimes-bitter — to put it mildly — comments about New Orleans that I often read on blogs and Web sites, New Orleans is a miserable place to be.

Let’s face it: People like to complain that New Orleans is corrupt and crime-ridden, among other things.

Those people might be surprised to learn that New Orleans did not make it on a Forbes.com list, published this month, of America’s Most Miserable Cities. It’s the second time Forbes has published the list.

Here are the cities:

1. Stockton, Calif.

2. Memphis, Tenn.

3. Chicago

4. Cleveland

5. Modesto, Calif.

6. Flint, Mich.

7. Detroit

8. Buffalo, N.Y.

9. Miami

10. St. Louis•

Show me the money

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Yesterday, Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s press office issued a press release announcing the completion of renovations to Orleans Parish Prison.

According to the press release, the project’s final cost is roughly $19.8 million, but FEMA has valued the project at about $14 million, a difference of $5.8 million.

This morning, FEMA spokeswoman Gina Cortez e-mailed me to say the city is wrong about the amount FEMA has approved for the project. FEMA has actually provided the state $16.2 million to reimburse the city for project costs, she said. Of the $16.2 million, the state has reimbursed the city for almost $14.8 million, she said.

So, someone does not know what they are talking about. The question is: Who’s wrong? With the nation watching how we spend every nickel of recovery dollars, there shouldn’t be so much confusion about who paid what to whom.•

Should state chip in to keep Saints, Hornets?

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

How important are the Saints and Hornets to Louisiana? We may soon find out.

According to a story today by The Associated Press, Louisiana could be more than $27 million short of what it owes the Saints and Hornets next year to meet the state’s contractual obligations to the teams.

So now what?

According to the AP, the state, which is dealing with its own expected shortfall, might have to cough up some dough — or we could be saying goodbye to the Saints and Hornets.

What would you do if you were the state?•

A call to make Mardi Gras a national holiday

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

On Zatarain’s Web site, the company declares itself a New Orleans tradition since 1889. Now the company wants Mardi Gras, a New Orleans tradition that dates well before 1889, to be celebrated by the rest of the U.S.

The company has an online petition to persuade Congress to make Fat Tuesday a national holiday.

The goal is 100,000 signatures. At 11 a.m. today, the petition was at 5 percent of its target. As of 3:30 p.m., four and a half hours later, it was still at 5 percent.

“Mardi Gras has such a rich tradition and is a fun way to enjoy the spirit of New Orleans far beyond our great city,” Zatarain’s President Scott Bolonda said in a press release. “We know America is already honoring Mardi Gras, which is why Zatarain’s is leading the push to have Congress make it official.”

Bolonda was referring to a survey conducted in December showing that nearly seven in 10 Americans said they support declaring Mardi Gras a national holiday.

Readers, what do you make of this push to make Mardi Gras a national holiday? Should Mardi Gras be celebrated in every corner of the U.S., like Peoria, Ill., and Fargo, N.D.?

If it does become a national holiday, should we start dying the 17th Street Canal green on St. Patrick’s Day?•

Grammys shine vital spotlight on city

By Christian Moises, News Editor

New Orleans may have been passed over for the Grammy museum, but last night’s tribute to the city made it easy to forgive the decision.

The performance by Lil’ Wayne, Allen Toussaint, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Terence Blanchard, coupled with images of Carnival proved once again — this time on a very large national stage — that we are open for business and ready to welcome tourists.

Just one week after multiple national news media picked up the trash debacle of 2009, which came at the worst possible time as our biggest tourism draw quickly approaches, the plug for New Orleans one week before Mardi Gras was much needed and much appreciated, not to mention publicity you just can’t buy.

The only negative during the performance was the constant images of Hurricane Katrina damage and a flooded city — when will we ever escape that? — but that was even mitigated by images of Habitat for Humanity rebuilding homes and before-and-after images of homes that have been rebuilt in the 9th Ward.

Overall, the tribute proved for the umpteenth time the vital role New Orleans and our culture have in the United States.•

We’re not under water — anymore

By Christian Moises, News Editor

While updating the CityBusiness Web site this weekend, I came across an Associated Press story about Gov. Bobby Jindal traveling to Arkansas for a fundraiser.

In talking to GOP members in Fayetttville on Saturday night, he discussed his push to put a new set of ethics rules in place in Louisiana, which the AP pulled the following comment from, a state where he said “half of it is under water and the other half is under indictment.”

I can only hope — and I’m sure they were — that the people Jindal was speaking to were educated, follow the news and understand he was joking.

But if not, that’s the kind of publicity we don’t need outside of Louisiana — especially so close to our busiest tourism season.

When I spoke with a business leader several weeks ago, he said that during a recent trip to New York City, a cab driver asked him where he was from. When he replied “New Orleans,” the cab driver asked how things were going because he had been told we were still under water.

Comments like these, even in jest, are not what we need to be using outside Louisiana, Mr. Jindal.•

In N.O. area, some worry about subleases

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

With the nation going through a recession, the New Orleans-area commercial real estate industry is paying close attention to something called subleases, and some are worried about what they see.

For those who might not know what a sublease is, it is basically an arrangement in which a tenant who is leasing space for their business abandons it and leases it to another tenant. This can happen when, say, the first tenant shuts down their office because of a consolidation — a scenario that is quite possible with the current economic climate.

Last week I spoke with some metro area commercial real estate experts about the sublease market. The feedback was mixed.

Some told me they are worried that too much sublease space is coming online. Others told me the amount of sublease space is actually low.

So which is it?

Perhaps the difference in opinions depends on which market you are in.  For example, the Metairie office market, where some national companies have branch offices, might have more sublease space because national firms could be more likely to be affected by the recession, experts say. The Central Business District office market, on the other hand, has law firms and government employers that might not be as impacted during a recession, experts say.

To read my story, check out the latest issue of CityBusines, which hits newsstands starting today.•

Mencia Katrina remarks not music to Orpheus’ ears

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Comedian Carlos Mencia can still come to Mardi Gras, but it won’t be on a float for the Krewe of Orpheus.

Today, the parading organization said Mencia was being cut from the parade’s celebrity lineup, because of comments he made after Hurricane Katrina. Apparently, the krewe learned of his remarks after he was selected to be part of the 2009 celebrity lineup.

Who’s laughing now?

To view the comments, click here. (Warning: Some readers might find the clip offensive.)•

Big houseboat plans N.O. stop

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

A boat that people pay anywhere from $850,000 to $8 million to live on is scheduled to come to New Orleans for the first time.

The World, a 644-foot boat that is home to people from 18 countries, will arrive in New Orleans at 6 p.m. today and stay until Sunday, according to the Port of New Orleans.

Will it be a boost to the city’s economy? Perhaps. After all, the vessel features 165 units owned by people who apparently have deep pockets.

Here’s a quote from Port of New Orleans President and CEO Gary LaGrange:

“We are pleased to finally welcome the passengers and crew of The World to New Orleans to enjoy our rich culture, cuisine and a taste of Mardi Gras. And we hope this will be the first of many visits this unique vessel makes to the Crescent City.”•

U.S. could show more love for new parents

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

CityBusiness Associate Editor Autumn Giusti wrote a column in this week’s edition on how much friendlier other countries are, compared with the U.S., to working women after they give birth.

According to Giusti’s column, which cites a Harvard University survey of 168 nations, the U.S. is one of four nations that do not offer paid leave to new mothers. The other three: Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and Lesotho.

Here’s an excerpt from her column:

For far too long, the United States has been content with having no parental leave policy. The closest thing we have is the Family Medical Leave Act, but that guarantees only unpaid leave for 12 weeks and is only available to employees who work for companies with 50 or more employees.

The federal government does not sponsor any paid leave. Federal law does not require companies to offer paid maternity leave, nor does it offer them any incentive for doing so.

Only one-third of employers offer some kind of paid leave — maternity or otherwise — to employees, according to the Society of Human Resources Management. Employers that can afford to provide short-term disability leave for new mothers offer about six weeks off at two-thirds of their pay, before tax.

In most parts of the world, businesses don’t have to shoulder the entire burden. There are 128 countries providing paid and job-protected childbirth-related leave.

As a father, I think Giusti brings up some good points.

Some other countries certainly make postpartum life much easier for new moms — and dads — compared with the U.S.

Now I’m sure there are plenty of U.S. companies that offer paid maternity leave, but it’s not mandated. Instead, U.S. women are lucky if they work for a company with 50 or more employees so that they can take advantage of the Family Medical Leave Act, which offers 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. And if you are a new daddy in the U.S., well, you just have to use vacation days or sick leave if you want to bond with your newborn and help your wife, who, if she had a Caesarian, must not only care for a totally helpless organism but also recover from major surgery.

Giusti covered a lot in her column, and I don’t want to rehash what she’s already said. But there are some things I’d like to rant about:

First, while working women in the U.S. can use short-term disability, that only provides two-thirds of their pay, before taxes, at a time when families need as much income as they can get their hands on. The birth of a baby brings with it added expenses, such as hospital bills, diapers and, in some cases, formula. Not being paid at full salary probably pressures a lot of women to return to work quickly, even though they may still be going through postpartum depression or figuring out how to breastfeed, which can sometimes be a painful and difficult thing for first-time moms to master.

Second, if women working in the U.S. would be granted more time off with pay, they might be more likely to try breastfeeding, which boosts the immune systems of newborns, therefore potentially reducing insurance claims.

Third, dads need time off, too. Anyone who thinks men don’t need to bond with their newborn should take a time machine and go have a beer with Archie Bunker. Not allowing dads time off after the birth of a child reinforces the Byzantine concept that men are the breadwinners and women are there to raise the child and provide them with love.

The U.S. prides itself on being progressive in many aspects. But on the maternity leave issue, the U.S. is still in diapers.•

Council trash meeting heats up

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Across New Orleans today, many people are surely talking about Tuesday’s City Council sanitation meeting, which involved some tense moments between city officials, particularly councilwomen Stacy Head and Cynthia Willard-Lewis.

TV news stations Tuesday night aired the exchange between Head and Willard-Lewis, who chastised Head for holding up a large, handmade sign that contrasted the amount unincorporated Jefferson Parish and New Orleans pays for garbage services. Jefferson, with a population of 442,000, pays $14.9 million. Orleans Parish, with a population of 288,000, pays $31.2 million, according to Head’s sign.

Willard-Lewis told Head she was out of order.

“Sit down with your prop,” she told Head.

Anyway, readers, what do you think of Tuesday’s meeting? Are you happy to see your leaders worked up about something, or do you wish the theatrics would just go away?•

Giving economic development funds to the trash man

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

In an agreement that apparently has been worked out between the New Orleans City Council and Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s administration, $2.5 million from the city’s Economic Development Fund will keep enhanced cleaning services alive in the French Quarter.

Those enhanced services went away this week after the Nagin administration said the city could no longer afford the mechanical street and sidewalk sweeping and round-the-clock litter can service that SDT Waste and Debris Services had been providing.

But with Mardi Gras around the corner and many residents up in arms about the services being slashed, the city reportedly will continue to fund the enhanced services using cash from the Economic Development Fund, which is funded by a special property tax.

Here’s a question for you readers: Should money from the Economic Development Fund be used to clean the Quarter? Is that a good use of such funds?

Let us know what you think. Leave a comment.•

N.O. garbage negotiations in the trash?

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

Bye street sweepers. See you later patented, specially formulated Super Fresh deodorizer.

The French Quarter might get smellier starting this week, now that the City Council and Nagin administration have yet to reach an agreement to keep funding enhanced cleaning services, such as mechanical street and sidewalk sweeping.

The enhanced services ended today. The Nagin administration said they had to be cut because the cash-strapped city could not afford the full menu of services Sidney Torres IV’s company had been providing. The council has tried to find a way to keep the services going, but a solution was not reached in time to stop the services from being cut today.

The so-called “Disney-like” services — I’ve always found it a interesting that Sidney and Disney are spelled with the same letters — that garnered the Quarter national media attention are evaporating just in time for Mardi Gras, the messiest event the city puts on.

Is this really the end of enhanced services in the Quarter? Will the city work something out soon? After scouring new stories on the Internet, it’s hard to say how this will play out.

One thing is for sure: Many in the public don’t want to see the enhanced cleaning go away.

On Tuesday, a blog reader using the screenname Jay Garnsbacher had this to say:

Why does the mayor single out the one jewel that we have left? I’m willing to bet that most of the city could do with a garbage schedule that had pickups once a week, or maybe once a week for two weeks and twice a week for two weeks, alternating.

A reader using the screenname pistolette left this comment to a blog posting last week:

Finally, the FQ smells/looks great, yet City Hall still finds a way to screw it up. Pay the frickin’ garbage man Ray, and go home to Dallas.•

For insurers, the grass is greener in La. than Fla.

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

The Associated Press, in an analysis piece, says insurance companies see more opportunity to do business and make money in Louisiana compared with Florida, another hurricane-prone state.

Last week, State Farm said it plans to stop doing business in Florida. According to the AP piece, State Farm is “the first big firm to follow through on industry complaints about the state government regulators who impose price controls and maintain a prohibition on ‘excess profits.’ The company announced its departure after regulators rejected its proposed 47 percent average policy rate increase.”

Insurers make money in two ways: Insuring property and investing money they make from policyholders. With the country in a recession, investments are not doing so hot. So the other way to make money is raising rates, which apparently is not an easy thing to do in Florida.

“As State Farm sees it, intrusive Florida politicians and bureaucrats have made it nearly impossible to make money from underwriting, their other income source,” the AP piece says.

Louisiana apparently is a more business-friendly state for insurance companies. In the Pelican State, there are fewer government obstacles, according to the AP piece.

Here’s a quote in the AP piece from Bill Ferguson, professor of insurance at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette:

“The way that Louisiana has handled it, it’s night and day different than Florida. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons that companies are happy to be in Louisiana, as opposed to Florida: At least they have a chance of getting a profitable return.”

For a change, Louisiana is getting credit for being business-friendly at something.•