All the money is in the trash

BSJD has some interesting comments following yesterday's T-P article on JNE Enterprises. JNE is the company hired by the City to do the "bulky waste" trash hauling, many originally thought Richard's Disposal and Metro Disposal were being paid to perform.

During the most recent City Council election cycle, much was made in the paper over Richard's and Metro's political connections. So just who is JNE, then? From Gordon Russell's article:

JNE formed shortly after Katrina, according to state records. While JNE's Web site says the firm serves 10 states and has offices in three cities, the work promoted on the Web site was all done in New Orleans. The four listed references, including White, are all in the New Orleans area.

Though the site boasts that the principals have "over 25 years of combined experience," none of them are named on the site. A heading on one page says, "Key team members" over gray boxes marked only "image comming (sic) soon."

The company's incorporator and namesake, James Eaton, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

I can't wait to see if anything commes of that. Meanwhile, BSJD asks, "I wonder if James Eaton will turn out to be a home grown businessman." I can't answer that, but since the company's website describes JNE "As one of the Gulf-Coast’s leading full-service small/minority/woman-owned, construction, and disaster recovery firms" I'll keep an eye out around town for any small minority women named James and report back on what I find.