Saturday, October 20, 2007

Drug resistant staph cases steadily increasing in Louisiana

Louisiana health officials say cases of a resistant, blood-borne staph infection have been climbing.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also referred to as MRSA, has been in the news since a Virginia high schooler died from the drug-resistant staph infection. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report cites a rise in the same infection, prompting mass cleanings and closing of dozens of schools throughout the country.

In Louisiana, a special education teacher at Hammond High School is being treated for the antibiotic-resistant staph "superbug." Instances of blood-borne MRSA in this state have increased from 346 cases in 1999 to 739 in 2005.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Ex-Councilman, Oliver Thomas' nephew fatally shot by police

The Times Picayune has reported that the nephew of ex-councilman Oliver Thomas was fatally shot by the police.

Alton Laraque, 19, died near his residence in the Iberville public housing complex.

Police were called to complex around 8:30 p.m. to handle a report of a man involved in a domestic disturbance. Laraque had apparently had been arguing with a girlfriend, police said.

When police responded, Laraque acted defiantly, they said. Laraque and police exchanged gunfire on two occasions within an hour, police said.

After the initial exchange near Iberville and Crozat streets, Laraque managed to evade police for about an hour, police said.

But police found him hiding underneath a car and another exchange of gunfire ensued, police said. Laraque died at the scene.

A distraught Thomas, a former city councilman who resigned in August after pleading guilty to taking bribes, arrived at the scene late Thursday night.

Police said they initially discovered a man carrying a chrome-colored, 9 mm pistol and chased him when he ran, police spokeswoman Shereese Harper said. During the foot-chase, Laraque turned and shot at the officer, who returned fire, police said.

The officer was not hit, and it still has not been determined whether the man was wounded at that time. But he managed to evade the officer's pursuit, officers said.

The incident is under investigation.

Is Bobby Jindal good for Louisiana?

Republican candidate for governor Bobby Jindal said he would vote to override President Bush's veto of a bill to expand a health insurance program for children, but Jindal, a congressman, didn't show up in Washington on Thursday for the vote.

The veto override in the House failed by 13 votes, killing the bill to expand and reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Four House members didn't vote, including Jindal, R-Kenner — who has received criticism from his opponents in the governor's race for skipping the vote that sent the bill to Bush's desk.

Mr. Jindal told a group in Jefferson Parish this week that he had “150 specific proposals,” after rattling unflinchingly through a good many in a 12-minute speech.

He makes a particular case for a “war on corruption,” as he puts it, in Baton Rouge, proposing to tighten financial disclosures on lobbyists and legislators and to prohibit business relationships between legislators and the state. He promises to build up infrastructure like ports, to devote attention to research universities and promote technical training. He hardly mentions Mr. Bush, a sharp contrast to four years ago when he often boasted of his connections to the president.

Past governors have charged into Baton Rouge promising reform only to founder in the change-resistant Legislature. Mr. Jindal will most likely face long odds too, if he fulfills the near-universal prediction that he will come out on top.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Is Gubernatorial Candidate, John Georges good for Louisiana?

Two of the best-financed candidates in the governor’s race are trading barbs over video poker.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner, is critical of New Orleans businessman John Georges’ proposal to reduce the number of troopers assigned to State Police’s gaming enforcement division.

Jindal’s Republican Party goes even further, accusing the one-time video poker distributor of pushing a plan that “reeks of corruption and self-interest.

Georges, who has no party affiliation but was a Republican until recently, maintains the GOP is mischaracterizing his proposal.

He said Jindal is being hypocritical by criticizing his gambling proposal while taking campaign contributions from video poker interests.

On another note, John Georges received endorsements from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, as well as five elected officials in Bossier and Caddo parishes.

Endorsing Georges are Bossier City Marshal Johnny Wyatt, state Rep. Roy Burrell of Shreveport and three family members who are elected officials in Bossier Parish: Bossier City Councilman Jeff Darby, School Board member Julian Darby and Police Juror Jerome Darby.

They said Georges has pledged not to neglect North Louisiana, and they praised his business accomplishments and political independence.

Meanwhile, a recorded phone message from Nagin has been reaching homes in New Orleans this week, with the mayor saying that Georges, a former co-owner with Nagin of the now-defunct New Orleans Brass hockey team, has been a good business partner.

"Georges says he wants to do for Louisiana what he has done for myriad business ventures: Create better management systems for more efficiency, invest in modernization and hire leaders "who will know how to merge and consolidate."

"He has branched out with real estate ventures and a variety of investments, including the New Orleans Brass minor-league hockey team. The long and diverse list of big-name partners with the Brass included Ray Nagin before he became mayor of New Orleans, Republican Party leader and shipbuilder Boysie Bollinger and two close associates of former Mayor Marc Morial: Roy Rodney and Stan "Pampy" Barre. The team played for several years until the NBA's Hornets came to town and supplanted the Brass' lease at the New Orleans Arena."

Louisiana favors Jindal in first Post-Katrina Governnor's Race

According to Bloomberg News, Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal, a Rhodes Scholar who became Louisiana's health secretary at 24, is the frontrunner to win the governor's race and become the first Indian-American to lead a U.S. state.

Jindal needs a majority of the vote in an Oct. 20 open primary to avoid a runoff four weeks later. Polls have him capturing almost 50 percent of the vote, while his three closest competitors are each struggling for 10 percent.

The election for governor is the first since hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005. Governor Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, isn't seeking re- election after facing criticism for how she dealt with the storms. A win by Jindal, who lost to Blanco in 2003, would put a Bush administration ally in charge of the second-poorest state.

Housing Information as reported by the T-P

The Times Picayune reported today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will craft a process allowing reimbursements to Road Home applicants who have already elevated their homes -- but warned that such requests face rigorous scrutiny and could be denied.

The FEMA announcement reversed the agency's earlier refusal to consider retroactive elevation payments to "pioneers" who raised their homes to limit or prevent future flood damage, even as state and federal officials haggled over whether such owners should be compensated.

State and federal officials refused to say what percentage of at least 25,000 applicants for Road Home rebuilding grants who began elevation work early might qualify for up to $30,000 in reimbursements. And there was only a vague signal as to how long it might take FEMA to iron out procedures for dispensing the money.

On another note, the Housing Authority of New Orleans agreed Wednesday to apply for $40 million in federal HOPE VI grant money to help transform two public housing developments abandoned since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.

HANO will have to compete with cities across the country for the sought-after grants, which were instrumental a decade ago in doing away with two of the city's most deplorably neglected public housing complexes, Desire in the 9th Ward and St. Thomas in the Lower Garden District, and replacing them with homes that resemble mixed-income neighborhoods instead of isolated barracks of poverty.

At its regular board meeting Wednesday, HANO's one-man board of commissioners, Donald Babers, approved the applications for two $20 million grants to defray the costs of turning the vacant C.J. Peete complex in Central City and St. Bernard in the 7th Ward into brand new communities.

Meanwhile, the City Council is poised today to reduce the assessments of about two-thirds of the roughly 5,300 New Orleans property owners who contested new and often drastically higher valuations unveiled by the city's seven assessors this summer.

Frilot LLC, the law firm hired by the council to handle the unprecedented volume of appeals, will recommend that the contested properties be reduced in value by an average of about 23 percent, according to records provided by the company.

The council is expected to take up the appeals in a single motion today. Individual cases will not be heard by the council, whose members said there is no reason for curious property owners to attend the meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Crook and Liar Stan "Pampy" Barre gets temporary reprieve from his sentencing date

The Times Picayune today reported that "federal prosecutors have asked a judge to delay by two months the sentencing of restaurateur Stan "Pampy" Barré and businessman Reginald Walker for their respective roles in skimming more than $1 million from a large city contract.

Both men had been set to be sentenced Nov. 7. The delay, which is likely to be granted by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, would move the date to early January.

In a motion seeking the delay, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann wrote that Barré "is cooperating with the government regarding other matters under investigation, but not yet completed."

Barré helped prosecutors make their corruption case against Oliver Thomas, the councilman who pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Barré and payments from a friend he installed on a city contract.

Meanwhile, Barré is no longer operating Pampy's Creole Kitchen, his venerable and popular 7th Ward eatery. A news release from his longtime publicist, Vincent Sylvain, noted that the place had "new owners."

The restaurant and its name have been leased by lawyer Curklin Atkins for the past few months.

The lease does not extend, however, to Barré's airport business, Pampy's, which is a joint-venture partner in the concessions contract at Louis Armstrong International Airport. That business remains in the Barré family."

The crook and liar, Stan "Pampy" Barre should also lose his concessions contract at the Louis Armstrong International Airport. We all know how he got that contract. Leaving that business in the Barre family, could only spell trouble for the City of New Orleans for years to come. After all, if your legacy is stealing to get what you want, we know the rest of the clan have learned well from his leadership.

Blanco, Nagin Lobby for Louisiana Aid

From: Times Picayune

By: Bill Walsh


Gov. Kathleen Blanco is getting lots of empathy on Capitol Hill, but no firm commitments yet about whether Congress will come through with the billions of dollars needed to bail out Louisiana's "Road Home" rebuilding program.

On the first day of a two-day blitz through the nation's capital, Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said lawmakers have expressed willingness to help, but are vague on critical details such as how much Congress will spend and when the money might materialize.

Congress allocated $7.6 billion to Road Home for grants to help owners of hurricane-damaged homes repair and rebuild. But the need has turned out to be greater than expected and the money is projected to run out early next year. Blanco is seeking between $3 billion and $4 billion to cover the shortfall and permission to use $1.2 billion in hazard mitigation money for Road Home grants instead. The state also is urging Congress to waive the local share of some $7 billion in New Orleans area levee improvements.

"We've been very well-received," Blanco said after making a presentation to the House Democratic Caucus. "We're asking both parties to branch out and embrace our needs. These are critical moments for Louisiana."

Plans in flux

One reason that House leaders have been unable to give definitive answers is that their own plans are uncertain. The Democratic majority is debating whether to take up a controversial $190 billion Iraq war spending request immediately or wait until next year to consider it. The war spending bill is seen as an ideal vehicle to attach additional hurricane-recovery assistance, but a six-month delay could mean interruptions in Road Home payouts.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the majority whip and designated Democratic vote counter in the House, was encouraging about the state's chances of getting some bailout, but provided few details about how or when it would happen.

"If you look at what (the Democratic leadership has) done with this, I think that's a good indication of what we'll do in the future," Clyburn said.

The Louisiana group, which also includes New Orleans Recovery Chief Ed Blakely, is expected to go to the White House today to meet with President Bush's Recovery Coordinator Donald Powell and Al Hubbard, the domestic economic policy adviser, as well as with Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The Bush administration has been close-mouthed about the state's request.

Through Oct. 8, Road Home had paid out grants averaging $69,887 to about 60,000 applicants. However, nearly 185,000 had sought financing by the July 30 deadline.

f the war spending bill gets delayed, Congress could attach Louisiana's request to any number of routine government spending bills that are still pending in Congress and expected to pass by year's end. If Congress isn't willing to allocate the full amount, Louisiana officials estimate that $2 billion in "bridge financing" would probably be enough to carry the Road Home program through March.

"The challenge is the timing of the funding and what (legislative) instrument they will use," Nagin said.

Seeking a united front

Blanco and Nagin stressed the need for presenting a united front as Louisiana makes its pitch for more money to Congress. But, there were signs of tension Tuesday in the delegation.

Shortly after a morning meeting with Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, the second-term congressman urged Blanco to give Congress "an honest and fair assessment" of the needs of the state. Boustany also noted that this was the first time Blanco had met privately with him since the 2005 hurricanes.

"We need to make this a team effort," Boustany said in a brief interview.

Boustany said Blanco must figure out precisely how much the state needs. With applications still being processed, Blanco estimated Tuesday that it will be between $3.3 billion and "no more than $3.7 billion" and Nagin said it would be between $3.2 billion and $3.9 billion.

"It's getting harder and harder to get members to coalesce around something like this. They need to come up with a figure and make a case for how they derived that figure," Boustany said.

Blanco said she was surprised at the criticism. "We had a very positive meeting with him," Blanco said.

There has been some bad blood between the two since Blanco pointedly criticized Boustany several weeks ago for his vote against a $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Boustany said he supports more money for SCHIP but wants regulations tightened so that it only covers children, not adults.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Congressman Jefferson wants his trial moved

Congressman Jefferson wants his trial moved out of Virginia because he assumes that he won't receive a fair trial. Mr. Jefferson wants to insult the black race by assuming that since he is a black corrupt politician, black people will condone his behavior. It is time we as a people stand united against corrupt politicians, like Congressman Jefferson, and let them know that we will no longer tolerate corrupt politicians in the big easy. Additionally, his legal argument has no merit.

Jefferson's legal team amended its earlier claim that the government orchestrated a sting operation in the heavily white suburbs of northern Virginia to avoid trying an African-American defendant in the majority black city of Washington, D.C.

Race did not play a factor in the government's sting operation because he was the one who accepted the bribe. It is time for him to stand up for once and be a man. Admit to his guilt and accept responsibility for his actions.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Signs of Recovery in New Orleans

The Times Picayune reported, this morning, the following signs of recovery in New Orleans. I did find it refreshing to read this article since there is usually a lot of negative press regarding the city.


Evidence of recovery can be seen all over the metro New Orleans area. Those signs brighten our mood and show that we are on the mend. We'll be watching for these harbingers of rebirth and taking note of some of them every week.


-- The Lower 9th Ward, which lost its public library in Katrina, has a new library branch, located in the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology. The library has received sizable donations of books, computers and money to rebuild its collection.

-- Lakeview neutral grounds are being brought back to life by residents and hundreds of volunteers who've tackled numerous replanting projects. Al Petrie and Glenn Stoudt with the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association and Connie Uddo, director of the homecoming center for St. Paul's Episcopal Church, have been coordinating the ongoing work.

-- The St. Thomas Community Health Center has opened a coffee shop and community meeting rooms on lower Magazine Street to provide a gathering place for people. Tambourine and Fan, the Treme-based group that teaches young people entrepreneurship, is running the coffee shop.

-- The New Orleans Police 5th District, one of the last district stations still housed in trailers, is getting a new home at the former Universal Furniture Store on St. Claude Avenue, according to the Police Association of New Orleans. Construction, which PANO says will take about a month, will begin shortly.

-- Nursery-rhyme mosaics that deck the walkway of Edward Hynes Elementary School won't be destroyed in the building's demolition. Neighbors and former students of the Lakeview school persuaded the Orleans Parish School Board to save them, and they'll be featured at the new Hynes school.

-- Enthusiastic crowds turned out for Art for Arts' Sake, particularly on Magazine Street.

-- Tulane University has enrolled 215 undergraduate transfer students for the fall semester, a university record.

-- Slidell's First United Methodist Church has reopened its Pumpkin Patch for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

K-Ville's opening sequence is a 'Made in Louisiana' product

Posted by Dave Walker, TV columnist


Conceived as a virtual NOPD ride-along through the streets of New Orleans, the opening credits sequence for the Fox cop drama "K-Ville" sets the tone for the whole show.

With motion in every frame -- including, yes, the kind of motion by which female tourists obtain beads in the French Quarter -- the sequence is a kinetic overview of life here post-K: Criminals and cops and crumbling shotguns, but also hard work and families and good music and grown-up fun.

Some weeks, the credits, backed as they are by a funky Dr. John track doctored with a sly hip-hop beat, have been the highlight of the hour.

Not this week. "K-Ville" is on leave Monday while the baseball playoffs play out. The series returns with an original episode Oct. 22.

Stir the roux slowly, you gumbo party animals.

Surprising, perhaps, but the "K-Ville" credits are homegrown, the creation of the Baton Rouge company River Road Creative.

A Baton Rouge native and Catholic High School alum who made his way gradually west until working his way into the high-end world of advertising, then motion-graphic design, Richie Adams founded RRC about two years ago.

While in Los Angeles, he'd worked on coming-attractions trailers and/or title sequences for such high-profile projects as "The Last Samurai," "Babel," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "Hide and Seek," "Star Trek: Nemesis" and "S.W.A.T."

Around the time of the hurricanes, he decided to move home.

"Louisiana was becoming a serious player on the film landscape," he said, adding that the outpouring of person-to-person support he saw his hometown provide storm victims was head-turning. "On a human level, I said, 'I think it's time to move back home.' "

Adams and his staff total four. Thanks to their talent, his established connections in Hollywood and contemporary computing power, River Road Creative operates on the premise that it can do anything larger coastal production houses can do -- but all while within walking distance of a Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers Caniac Combo. (See for yourself here: www.rrc.la.)

"It all can be done just on a basic souped-up Mac," he said. "Our biggest struggle (has been) convincing studios . . . that the usual Hollywood-caliber work can be obtained in Louisiana."

RRC was one of several companies that pitched for the "K-Ville" job, said Adams, adding that Jonathan Lisco, the series' creator and executive producer, was the foremost advocate for keeping the work local.

"It's almost a bake-off," Adams said. "(Lisco) played a huge role."

Racing toward a mid-September premiere, the two-day credits shoot didn't happen until late August. Clips of stars Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser from the "K-Ville" pilot were edited into the original footage shot by RRC.

A lot of the credits imagery, which was captured on a combination of film and high-definition digital video, is shot through raindrop-splattered car windows.

"The idea is kind of a day in the life, riding with these guys," Adams said. "Jonathan's biggest concern was that he wanted this to feel like it was authentic, (that it) basically showed what New Orleans was like right now.

"You couldn't ignore the fact that the flood took place. The point was to see where it (happened), and the end shot is where you see the kids playing, and then it's that long shot over the 9th Ward. That's right where the canal broke, right there, one of the biggest points of devastation, and for us it was poignant.

"That was one of the things we sold Jonathan on. (Fox) responded to the point that we were showing actual places in New Orleans where the devastation took place.

"But we wanted to finish with a sense of hope, which is what that last shot is about."