Destination: New Orleans

Good news for the Big Easy:

Bob Sharak, marketing and membership coordinator for the Cruise Lines International Association, said he's confident in New Orleans' future as cruise destination given the number of new ships scheduled to come online in the next four years and despite competition with other U.S. ports for Western Caribbean cruises and with European ports for the newly popular Mediterranean cruises.

Jindal Gets National Attention

Bobby Jindal is gaining national attention these days surrounding his upcoming meeting with a presidential candidate:

Gov. Bobby Jindal and his wife, Supriya, are scheduled to fly to Arizona Friday for a meeting with presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain, fueling speculation that Jindal is among a small group being considered as running mate for McCain.

Jindal, 36, has downplayed suggestions that he is getting serious consideration as McCain's running mate, and, while saying he loved his job as governor, has refused to say he would turn down the chance to run for the nation's No. 2 job.

New Orleans' Saints Defensive Indicted

AP:

New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant has been indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a February altercation at a nightclub.

Grant, who was stabbed in the neck during the fracas, was charged by an Early County grand jury that also charged Laquient Macklin with felony murder and feticide in the shooting death of Korynda Reed, 23. Reed died after being taken to the Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, after the fight early Feb. 3.

Some Type Of Headline

Does Gwendolyn thinks she will earn brownie points for that little disclosure?

Federal investigators asked a convicted bond broker to wear a surveillance wire last year as they built their case against state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, who knew he was a target of the probe as early as September, according to statements made during a preliminary court hearing Friday.

Gwendolyn Moyo, who is accused of money laundering and other federal charges, said while representing herself in the hearing that an FBI agent tried to get her to "wire up" in July. She disclosed the detail of the investigation while trying to persuade U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to reverse a detention order that has kept her locked up since October.

Are we suppose to be be shocked and disgusted because she was asked to wear a wire? I guess her answer was no. What does she think she gained by that disclosure?

Hiring Illegals

Illegals were able to get construction jobs in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, however, they have a problem with being targets for customs' enforcement:

Workers still cluster outside Home Depot and Lowe's hoping a contractor will hire them. But they say their gathering spots have become targets for undercover U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who hold up the prospect of day's pay as bait.

ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez wouldn't confirm sting operations, but said "ICE conducts targeted enforcement actions based on intelligence and investigative leads in both criminal and administrative cases."

Did legal workers cost the major contractors too much? Legal workers go unemployed while illegal workers get the jobs. Nice going.

Any Activity In New Orleans Helps

Any type of activity in New Orleans can possibly help the economy:

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is reinstating the company's leadership conference with a gathering Oct. 26-30 in New Orleans. About 10,000 store managers and other field leaders from the U.S. and Canada will meet for career development and "to reinvigorate the passion within the company," Schultz wrote in an e-mail to employees Tuesday

Nagin Endorses Obama

Barack Obama has picked up another endorsement:

Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, and a new superdelegate, endorsed Barack Obama for president Tuesday, saying Mr. Obama had the best vision for rebuilding the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast.

Will The State Get The Airport?

Does this mean that airport contracts will have to be renegotiated?

A bid for the state to take over the New Orleans airport has taken its first step forward in the Louisiana Legislature.

House Bill 1272 by House Speaker Jim Tucker was approved today by the House Transportation Committee. The details of how much the state would pay and how the transaction would work still are sketchy.

Tucker said putting the state in charge of the airport would give the city millions of dollars for hurricane recovery initiatives and let the state improve the airport to a higher-quality facility with international flights, more in line with Charlotte or Orlando.

The bill heads next to the House for debate. Gov. Bobby Jindal hasn't taken a position on the measure.

Or does someone owe someone else a debt they want to see paid?

Bernazzani Leaves FBI

James Bernazzani has decided to retire from the FBI rather than being ousted to Washington after the fallout behind him flapping off at the mouth of possibly running for Mayor.

Interesting quotes from Bernazzani:

"I will not run for political office," he said in an interview Friday afternoon. "Absolutely not."

"That's because of the reputation I've built," he said. "I don't have that reputation in Houston."

The Fate Of Louis Armstrong International Airport

If the state owned the airport, I guess contracts would become state contracts.

Business leaders from across the metropolitan New Orleans area and Baton Rouge have crafted an audacious proposal that calls for City Hall to hand over ownership and governance of Louis Armstrong International Airport to the state, in return for heavy state financial support for city redevelopment projects.

Does that mean CA One would have to sign a new contract with the state? I guess that would be good for them since they would then be able to rid itself from their corrupt business partner.

Morial Clan Upset Over Convention Center Change

Important News Break---the Morial Clan is upset and after remaining mum concerning corruption probes and guilty pleas following his administration, Marc Morial speaks out:

In a stinging letter addressed to the president of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, former Mayor Marc Morial calls on the center's board to reverse its decision to change the facility's name in promotional and marketing materials.

The Convention Center is named for Morial's father, Ernest N. "Dutch" Morial, the city's first black mayor and an instrumental force behind the facility's launch.

Last month, Convention Center officials announced that they had changed the facility's name to the New Orleans Morial Convention Center on brochures, pamphlets and other marketing paraphernalia to ensure that potential clients would instantly recognize its location. The exhibit hall's legal name is unchanged.

The name MORIAL was not a nationally recognized name until the feds begin their investigations following Marc MORIAL's administration. Perhaps a google search can refresh Marc's memory. Some words come to mind: corruption, probe, cronies, plead guilty, contracts, etc.

Silence Can Be Golden

Last week the T-P reported that FBI chief, James Bernazzani would be reassigned due to remarks he made about possibly being the next Mayor of New Orleans. I wish he would have remained silent, on the issue, because he has helped New Orleans tremendously.

As for him one day running for Mayor---well, that sounds like a great idea.

CAOne Fails To Rid Itself From The Stench Of Stan "Pampy" Barre

Judge Kern Reese sided with convicted felon, Stan "Pampy" Barre when he refused to grant CAOne's request to have Barre ousted due to a "change in control" clause in the company's contract.

Barbara Barre, the convicted felon's partner of 42 years, is now in charge. As a result, the judge sees her as simply a "mantle of Caesar" and not a "change in control". Since the judge sees her as a "mantle of Caesar", he concluded that there was no "change in control" since Barbara will act on behalf of her convicted hubby.
Of course the judge wants to protect the convicted felon's interest.

Let's hope CAOne win their appeal. The citizens of New Orleans are counting on that.

Judge Sets Antoinette Frank's Execution Date

Although there is speculation that his ruling won't stand, let's hope it is just speculation.

Orleans Parish Judge Frank Marullo today signed a death warrant for convicted killer Antoinette Frank, the former police officer sentenced to die by lethal injection for the 1995 triple murder at a local Vietnamese restaurant.

Marullo, acting on his own, ordered the state of Louisiana to execute Frank on July 15, after 6 p.m., on the lethal injection table located at the state penitentiary at Angola.

Where Are All The Protesters?

It seems as if not too many people were interested:

A group of around 20 protesters waving signs and chanting slogans against the North American Leaders' Summit pressed against NOPD barricades in front of the W Hotel on Poydras Street as President Bush's caravan rode by Monday morning.

The protesters repeatedly recited the Pledge of Allegiance to an American flag they were carrying, loudly repeating the pledge as Bush passed. Across Poydras Street, in front of the Loews Hotel, tourists stood in the street to see the president drive by at around 11:00 am.

T-P Sues NOPD

T-P:

The Times-Picayune filed a lawsuit Friday against the New Orleans Police Department, alleging that the department has failed to provide a long list of public records requested by the newspaper and routinely delays the release of initial incident reports intended to promptly inform the public about crime in the city.

Perhaps the NOPD don't realize how important this info is to the public or maybe they just don't care.

ACOE Responsibility To New Orleans

New Orleans still at risk:

Despite ongoing levee improvements, the New Orleans area still faces a life-threatening risk of flooding from hurricanes, and it's the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers to make that risk clear to the public, an American Society of Civil Engineers panel said.

The panel also recommended that the corps use its bully pulpit to ensure that local evacuation and emergency planning equals or exceeds similar planning elsewhere in the nation.

Planning in New Orleans should exceed planning elsewhere. We do not want a repeat of hurricane Katrina.

When Will Jefferson Face The Music?

T-P:

A Virginia appeals court has agreed to expedite its consideration of Rep. William Jefferson's appeal to dismiss 14 of the 16 criminal charges now pending against the New Orleans Democrat.

But how quickly the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes the case may be determined by whether it agrees to hold oral arguments this summer -- a time when the court usually isn't in session -- or when it reconvenes in September.

Until the appeals court acts, the criminal trial for the congressman, originally scheduled to begin in January, remains on hold.

Do The Feds Have Anything On Marc Morial?

Although it as been almost six years since former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial has been out of office, there seems to be speculation that the federal probe, into his administration, is not over.

This news has everyone in a wait and see mode as to whether or not the former Mayor will face charges. Whether he is ever prosecuted, there will always be that doubt as to his innocence doing and possibly after his reign as Mayor. What we are definitely sure of at this point is that his cohorts, who received lucrative contacts doing his administration, have caused the City of New Orleans great harm that has everlasting effects.

New Orleans' Visitors Increases

Via: T-P

About 7.1 million people visited New Orleans last year, up from 3.7 million in 2006, according to a survey conducted by the University of New Orleans Hospitality Research Center for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation.

Despite a whopping 92 percent increase, tourism still has yet to reach pre-Katrina levels when the city hosted about 8.5 million to 9 million visitors a year. Last year, visitors to New Orleans spent about $4.8 billion, or about $676 per visitor, compared with $2.8 million, or $756 per visitor in 2006.