Duncan Plaza Being Vacated

While agencies are moving the homeless out of Duncan Plaza, they are calling on landlords to make more housing available:

Agencies are counting on permanent case management services for those with physical and mental disabilities, which is part of a hurricane recovery permanent supportive housing plan under the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Nonprofits are counting on Congress to finance some 3,000 permanent supportive rental vouchers designated for low-income people with severe mental and physical disabilities.

UNITY and other agencies hope to get the homeless out of hotels and into apartments by January. The agencies can't continue to pay for low-cost hotel rooms for much longer and need landlords to work with them to lower rents. So far, 157 landlords are part of the effort.

Open leter to Barbie (Barb): Come on Barbie; lend a hand. Your hubby, The Pamp, stole enough from the City of New Orleans. Give back by renting to these people.

New Orleans City Council Unanimously Support Public Housing Demolition

Everyone has heard by now that the New Orleans city council has approved demolition of four public housing complexes in New Orleans. Sure, some protesters were physically beaten but they have vowed to keep on fighting.

Endesha Juakali, a protest leader arrested on a charge of disturbing the peace, said Thursday's confrontation with the council was not the last breath from protesters.

"For everything they do, we have to make them pay a political consequence," Juakali said. He vowed that when the bulldozers try to demolish the St. Bernard complex, "it's going to be an all out effort."

For weeks, protesters have been gearing up to battle with bulldozers and have discussed a variety of tactics, including lying in front of the machinery.

Let's see what the 'political consequence' will be. Do politicians, in New Orleans, ever have to face political consequences for their actions?

Penalties Increase for Disaster Related Fraud

The House on Wednesday unanimously passed legislation making it a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison to fraudulently seek disaster assistance. The bill also increases fines to $1 million for mail and wire fraud when those methods are used to get bogus disaster aid, placing the offense on par with bank fraud.

The Senate passed the bill earlier this month, and President Bush is expected to sign it.

The Justice Department asked Congress to develop a new category of fraud after the number of cases following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Government Accountability Office has estimated that $1 out of every $6 FEMA initially paid out in the two storms was claimed improperly in a wave of fraud amounting to billions of dollars. |Read on|

Tulane University gets more

How nice for Tulane:

Tulane University has been given a 15-story building in downtown New Orleans. The Murphy Oil Corporation donated the structure, which includes a 204,500-square-foot building and adjoining parking garage.

A former chair of Tulane’s governing board, Cathy Pierson, helped secure the donation. Ms. Pierson is the sister of the chief executive of Murphy Oil. Tulane officials plan to use the building to continue the expansion of the university’s medical school.

Too bad SUNO never reaps any benefits.

New Orleans Should Wake Up

It will be interesting to see how the council will vote.

The New Orleans City Council is scheduled to vote on Thursday on whether to sign off on the demolitions of three projects. HUD already has its bulldozers in place, engines warm and ready to roll the next morning.

Arguing that the housing was barely livable before the flooding unleashed by Hurricane Katrina, federal officials have cast their decision as good social policy. They have sought to lump the projects together with the much-vilified inner-city projects of the 1960s.

But such thinking reflects a ruthless indifference to local realities. The projects in New Orleans have little to do with the sterile brick towers and alienating plazas that usually come to mind when we think of inner-city housing . Some rank among the best early examples of public housing built in the United States, both in design and in quality of construction.

On the contrary, it is the government’s tabula rasa approach that evokes the most brutal postwar urban-renewal strategies. Neighborhood history is deemed irrelevant; the vague notion of a “fresh start” is invoked to justify erasing entire communities.

We all know the notion of fresh start is not the real reason.

My Sentiments Exactly

I had to quote this article from jaunted.com because these are my same sentiments. People need to ask themselves why UNO is so critical of New Orleans and chooses to report erroneous information.

The latest University of New Orleans poll that shows more than half of respondents think the city is one of the nation's most dangerous. The same survey says a third of people think the French Quarter was one of the hardest hit areas during Katrina, and about one in four people think parts of the city are still underwater.

Wrong, wrong and wrong. The Quarter was largely spared major damage and flood waters are long gone. While New Orleans does have some crime, you probably won't get caught in it unless you go looking for trouble. (We suggest you don't.) But USA Today, which ran the AP story about the poll early this morning, isn't helping correct misconceptions with the headline "New Orleans crime may be keeping visitors away."

We beg to differ: 3.8 million folks stopped by in 2006, and New Orleans will host 6 million by the end of 2007. That's not bad, given the fact that airlines slashed service to Louis Armstrong International after the storm and entire tracts of the city remained evacuated for months.

We hate to sound boostery, but the last thing New Orleans needs after so much progress is more "scary" headlines.

UNO pollsters need to discuss the real reason why they are so mean spirited as if we do not already know why this institution is such a New Orleans' basher. We all know the motivation behind their tactics.

Is Crime Really Keeping Visitors Away?

According to a UNO poll, crime is keeping visitors away from New Orleans.

Just over half of respondents to a University of New Orleans poll released Dec. 10 rated the city a 1, 2 or 3 in crime on a scale of 10, with 1 being "the worst city in the U.S." The poll of 775 people was taken Nov. 29-Dec. 4 and gauged the impressions of Americans outside Louisiana. Its margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Can we really trust anything UNO does? After all they have never had anything positive to say about New Orleans. Wonder why...as if we don't know.

Council Appoints Interim

Now you see it now you don't:

The New Orleans City Council appointed Carol Carter as the city's interim Recorder of Mortgages and set a special election for Oct. 4 to fill the post permanently. A runoff is scheduled for Nov. 4 if necessary.

Keep in mind the words permanently:

The election will precede by just three months the dissolution of the recorder's job, which along with the registrar of conveyances and the appointed job of custodian of notarial archives are scheduled to be folded into the operations of the Clerk of Civil Court starting in 2009.

To be dissolved:



"Even though this office is being merged and eventually will be dissolved, we still need to have an election called to fill the vacancy," Council President Arnie Fielkow said.

You gotta love it. This is their brain; this is their brain on #####.

Who Killed Two LSU Students?

Leads eluded a four-agency task force even as it stepped up its hunt for the killers of two Indian students at a US university with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

But the task force has not definitively determined a motive in the murder of two Ph.D. students, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma, 31, of Hyderabad, and Kiran Kumar Allam, 33, of Kurnool, Kelly said. There was "not enough information available right now to rule anything in or out".

Authorities are in the process of inventorying the apartment - where they could not find any sign of forced entry - to see if anything was missing, Kelly said. Police have determined that there are some items in the apartment that could be unaccounted for, but he would not elaborate.

They are still looking for three men who were seen hurriedly leaving Allam's apartment on Thursday night and entering a car driven by another man, who drove into a nearby neighbourhood, Kelly said. Police planned to hand out fliers seeking information about the shootings and hoped to talk to people who live along the streets the car drove down.

Stepping up outside patrols and seeking evidence, task force officers knocked on all doors to interview residents at the Edward Gay Apartments where the two students were fatally shot in the head.

Former Councilman's Middleman Sentenced To Probation

Yesterday, Judge Vance sentenced Joseph Jourdain to probation for his role in acting as a middleman in the bribery scheme between convicted Councilman Oliver Thomas and convicted ex-restaurateur and ex-political operative Stan "Pampy" Barre. While sentencing Jourdain, she noted the major role he played in obtaining a conviction against Thomas.

"Without your assistance, it would have been Mr. Thomas' word against Mr. Barre's," she said, noting that corruption cases are difficult to detect unless those involved turn against each other.

We all know this was crucial to the case because Stan "Pampy" Barre's word can never be trusted.

Jefferson's defense team uses stall tactics

First Congressman William Jefferson's defense team wanted his trial moved out of Virginia because they felt that the jury pool would not consists of blacks, thereby hindering Jefferson's chances of a fair trial. Now they are trying to block one of the government's witnesses from testifying.

The defense team filed papers in federal court Tuesday seeking to keep Abner Mikva off the witness stand, saying his service as an appellate court judge would unduly influence the jury.

"The government refers to him as " 'Judge Mikva' no less than six times," attorney Robert Trout protested in legal papers referring to the Department of Justice's witness list. "This unnecessary emphasis reveals the government's true intentions in proffering the witness and his testimony should be excluded."

Wow, the government refers to the witness as "Judge". Oh, oh , oh, he should be disqualified. Right. A bribe is a bribe. We all know what a business deal consist of. Come on Jefferson. Play another card.

Housing Threat - New Orleans

With the demolition of public housing slated for demolition, this weekend, who could have sent such a threat? Could it be former tenants or someone who possibly want you to believe it is the former tenants?

If former tenants are involved, in making such a threat, they would garner less support for their plight. People who previously agreed that the public housing units should not be completely demolished may feel somehow that their safety is at issue. After all, we don't want another Rodney King catastrophe.

Canadaville - New Way of Life

Canadaville, the brainchild of Magna founder Frank Stronach, goes well beyond corporate largesse and into the realm of social engineering. Stronach envisioned an experiment arguably more Canadian than American that would transform low-income city dwellers into enterprising organic farmers. Along the way, he aimed to raise them out of poverty, offering five years of free rent and other services, such as transportation to work, as an economic springboard.

As happens with many planned communities, Canadaville -- officially dubbed Magnaville by the company -- ran into predictable difficulties early on. Only a handful of residents took to the idea of farming; they tend a row of garden plots and care for a small flock of chickens and a herd of goats. Many residents, particularly the younger ones, feel constrained by the rural surroundings and hope to return to New Orleans.

The residents estimate only about 30 of the original 110 evacuees who first settled in Canadaville remain there, although a company official puts the number at around 50. After it first opened in December 2005, the village took in evacuees who ended up in central Louisiana after the storm and new residents continually replaced those who left; the enclave now includes about 170 people.

Considering the regional tensions that historically defined New Orleans' relationship with the rest of Louisiana, Canadaville has coexisted remarkably well with the surrounding small towns. Most residents said they feel welcome in Simmesport, population 2,200, although the teenagers say they often feel singled out at school, where they say teachers and students eye them with suspicion.

Only one local politician has made the newcomers an issue, but he's an important man in Simmesport: Mayor James "Boo" Fontenot. At one point this summer, Fontenot blamed the New Orleans emigres for local business robberies, a claim the mayor made with no supporting evidence, according to the parish district attorney. That provoked a distinctly New Orleanian response from community leader Harold Brooks, who organized 40 residents to march on Simmesport's town hall wearing shirts that read, "I'm from Canadaville and I'm NOT a criminal!"

Senator's honesty called into question

Senator Derrick Shepherd's honesty has once again been put under the microscope. In an earlier Times Picayune report:

An FBI agent testified in open court that state Sen. Derrick Shepherd helped a twice-convicted felon launder nearly $141,000 in fraudulently generated bond fees last year, keeping close to half the money as part of the arrangement.

Shepherd was easily re-elected to the state Senate winning 61 percent of the vote. Last year, he finished a strong third in a 2006 run for Congress and then endorsed the embattled incumbent, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, helping him secure a ninth term.

Special Agent Peter Smith testified that Shepherd, a lawyer who often handles personal-injury cases, attempted to make his dealings with bond broker Gwendolyn Joseph Moyo appear legitimate by writing the words "settlement proceeds" on the memo lines of the checks.

However, investigators have found no evidence that Shepherd did any legal work for Moyo, Smith said, although he said that Shepherd had delivered a "vague invoice" to a federal grand jury to explain the payments. The document was basically illegible, Smith said.

Now questions have been raised regarding the Senator's residency:

When Derrick Shepherd qualified to run for re-election to the 3rd Senate District, he signed an affidavit declaring his address as a modest brick house on Garden Road in Marrero.

Twice this year, however, he signed public documents, including mortgage papers and an affidavit attached to a building permit, promising to keep a two-story house bordering a golf course in the upscale Stonebridge subdivision as his primary residence. The posh neighborhood sits in unincorporated Gretna, about six miles outside his Senate district.

Shepherd signed his name to documents submitted to his mortgage company, Jefferson Parish code enforcement and the clerk of court that he would keep the $450,000 home at 3701 Lake Michel Court as his primary residence.

Will this just be another news story or will the Senator be held responsible for his actions?

Developer Faces Fraud Charges

A Marengo developer pleaded not guilty Friday to all charges in a 23-count federal indictment that alleges that he defrauded customers and investors of more than $1 million.

The indictment claims that builder John M. Volpentesta, 50, defrauded at least four families using his company, Volpentesta Construction Inc., by charging the families for supplies that he then would use on a strip mall he owned. He also is alleged to have charged them for work that his company did not do.

The indictment charges Volpentesta with mail, wire and tax fraud. It alleges that between mid-2003 and the end of 2005, Volpentesta withheld $164,999 in federal income tax, Medicare and Social Security taxes from his employees’ paychecks, but never turned that money over to the Internal Revenue Service.

He faces three charges of failing to file Federal Unemployment Tax returns for his company from 2003 to 2005 and three more for failing to file personal income-tax returns for himself and his wife. |Read more|

December 9th. Is Anti-Corruption Day

A resolution was signed on October 31, 2003, by the General Assembly, that declared December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day. This decision was taken in order to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it.

The Assembly urged all States and competent regional economic integration organizations to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption as soon as possible in order to ensure its rapid entry into force.

Lets stand united, on this day, and hold corrupt individuals responsible for their actions.

New Levee Inspection Documentation

According to the Times-Picayune, special levee inspection training courses for district employees will begin this year. From animal burrows in the levees to sinking scour protection along the floodwalls, regulations now require that all deviations be put in writing, photographed, signed by levee district leaders and distributed to state and federal authorities.

First Question: What were the previous requirements for inspecting the levees?

Today the districts are using standardized forms and the inspections are being done, at least within the hurricane protection system, by personnel who have successfully completed the state training course, which included passing four written tests.

Second Question: How is the hurricane protection system determined?

"It won't make the system fail in and of itself," Ardoin said of the deficiencies, "but we want everything documented.

"You may have 20 to 30 to 40 pages in every report, depending on the number of miles," he said. And all those reports, along with any "remedial action" reports documenting repairs, must be signed by the district's chief executive and board president before being submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Transportation and Development, or DOTD.

The DOTD was reorganized after Katrina to invest its Water Resources Division with a much greater role in levee safety and hurricane flood protection.

Ardiron said his department is working toward developing an online interactive map that will allow the public to see recent inspection reports for every mile of levees and floodwalls.

Third Question: Will this online interactive map be developed prior to the hurricane system?

Former Fruit of the Loom Exec Receives His Fate

It seems that Stan "Pampy" Barre's act of money laundering, mail fraud and obstruction of justice has been taken on the road like a well known script from a bad play. Fruit of the Loom has its own bandit in treachery. According to a news report, a former Fruit of the Loom executive and two other south-central Kentucky residents have been sentenced in a scheme to defraud Kentucky-based Fruit of the Loom, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Kalen Wade Watkins, 45, of Alvaton, a former executive with the company, was sentenced to 10 years and one month for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney David L. Huber's office said in a statement.

Laura Leigh Wells, 33, of Bowling Green, was sentenced to one year and one day, and Tyrone Nathaniel Tackett, 36, of Bowling Green, was sentenced to one year and three months for conspiring to defraud the underwear manufacturer.

Watkins previously pleaded guilty to a scheme in which, as Fruit of the Loom's environmental director, he hired companies owned by several co-conspirators to perform services for the company and approved inflated invoices from the companies, according to Huber's office.

Wells, of Environmental Technology Associates, and Tackett, of Cyclone Inc., paid Watkins hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.

U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell also ordered the three to pay restitution totaling nearly $1.7 million and were given three years of supervised released when their sentences end.

Let's hope Mr. Barre gets a similar sentence as Mr. Watkins.

Jena 6 Teen Accepts Plea Deal

Mychal Bell, the teen at the center of the "Jena Six" case, pleaded guilty Monday to hitting a white classmate in an agreement that will allow him to go free by June.

In the agreement, Walters dropped conspiracy charges against Bell and reduced an aggravated battery charge to second-degree battery. Bell was sentenced to serve 18 months, which includes the year he already spent in jail.

He had been scheduled to go to trial Thursday. If convicted, he could have been sent to a juvenile facility until he was 21.

The deal allows Bell to be released to a group home and return to public school as early as Monday. He agreed to testify against the other five if their cases go to trial. Bell was also ordered to pay $935 toward court costs and Justin Barker's medical bills.

Bell had been held in an adult jail since last December. He was released in September after his conviction was overturned by an appeals court. He was sent to a juvenile facility in October for violating his probation on unrelated previous convictions for simple battery and criminal destruction of property.

The 'Who You Know' Doctrine

After I read this article, I could not help be reminded of the political scale in New Orleans.

Corruption in Hungary - It's WHO you know - paper
Budapest, December 3 (MTI) - A Hungarian wanting to manage an administrative matter had best know someone in the office handling it, reported Monday's national daily Nepszabadsag, analyzing corruption reports from private citizens and businesses.

While comparatively few people reported having to pay bribe money, nearly half the survey said their business was handled faster if they had friends in the administrative offices.

Fully 46.9 percent of the sample said their personal contacts speeded things up, although only 8.1 percent supplied a gift to support the contact. Even fewer, 3.2 percent said they had been asked for money to speed up their business, while only 1.8 percent said officials had asked them for money to approve a request.

The sample also found family services to operate best among the various offices of public administration, while they qualified employment centres as the worst. The least popular bureau - and apparently the one where one-third of people have had to contend with corruption - is the land title office, Nepszabadsag wrote.

New Orleans own brand is the 'Who You Know' Doctrine. 'What You Know' gets you nowhere in The Big Easy where political corruption continues to run rampant.