Conservatives say the media has a liberal bias, and liberals and leftists say it has a conservative bias. What the media primarily has is not a bias towards one ideology but an ideology of its own: A status quo centrism that treats policies that actually address the scale of the problems we’re facing as radical and therefore scary; a fiscal conservatism that treats spending on healthcare as wasteful but spending on the military as necessary; a Both Sides fixation that treats Republicans and moderate-to-conservative Democrats as the only two sides worth quoting, and that refuses to see centrism as an ideology instead of the only way to do politics."Centrism" as defined by the commercial mainstream media is a conservative ideology. That's where their bias lies. This is pretty obvious but, for whatever reason, we never seem to treat it like it is.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Yes but that is a conservative bias
It's a throwaway paragraph at the bottom of this article about AOC vs Anderson Cooper but it's a thing that I often think needs clarifying.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Be a coffee achiever
It's always a good idea to have a fresh pot on.
Of course now I have to find out if brewing coffee is actually hot enough to kill amoebas. Probably not, right? Better just keep some Cool Brew around.Two Sewerage & Water Board supervisors fell asleep on the job amid a drop in water pressure that led to a precautionary boil advisory on the east bank of New Orleans in mid-November, the utility’s executive director, Ghassan Korban, disclosed Thursday (Jan. 10). The two employees, who had overnight shifts, no longer work for the utility, he said.The two supervisors were tasked with the same function at the utility’s Carrollton water-pumping plant on the morning of Nov. 17, 2018, when they fell asleep, Korban said. The Sewerage & Water Board’s power and water-pumping equipment was already in a fragile state at the time, made vulnerable by an Entergy line being knocked down by a vehicle and water pumps tripping out during power transfers to overcome the loss of the downed line.
No time to wall off Orleans Parish before Monday
Yeah, well...
Meanwhile Senators John and Bill have weighed in. Just in case anyone was wondering if they were still bad. They are.
Anyway, now we're gonna have to deal with Trump traffic if we plan on being downtown on Monday. It's already bad enough down there as it is.
President Donald Trump will be in New Orleans on Monday (Jan. 14) for an appearance at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th annual convention. The organization confirmed the president’s visit Wednesday.Oh good lord why does he need to come here and do those things he does? I have no idea why but I did tune in to watch his TV show the other night. The back and forth between Trump and the steely gaze of Chuck/Nancy was like sitting through a neighborhood associating meeting where one crank was going on about some cockamamie plan to buy a street from the city and turn into a gated community while the "reasonable" alternative from the rest of the groups was to hire rent-a-cops to run all the kids off. And people take this insane shit seriously as though it merits actual discussion. Afterward some highly paid talking heads implored the two sides to find a "compromise" between their two very right wing positions. This is the reason I can't watch cable news anymore.
Meanwhile Senators John and Bill have weighed in. Just in case anyone was wondering if they were still bad. They are.
After President Donald Trump's televised Oval Office address last night in which he repeated his call for a physical border wall separating the United States from Mexico, U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Neely Kennedy reintroduced legislation that would have Americans, not Mexico, paying for its construction.Also Governor John Bel said yesterday that, while he definitely thinks the shutdown is bad, maybe they could give Trump... like... part of a wall or a wall-like thing or whatever. Because, at heart, really, "both sides" just want to be cruel to migrants and isn't that what's really important?
Edwards said he personally believes that a combination technique could be used to strengthen border security.
“I support border security and I think a combination of barriers, technology and people ought to be able to get it done," he said. “It just seems to me like there’s enough common interest on both sides, if they would just sit down and discuss it, they’d work their way through it.”
Anyway, now we're gonna have to deal with Trump traffic if we plan on being downtown on Monday. It's already bad enough down there as it is.
Being poor is very expensive
During his time overseeing the annual city budget process, Mitch Landrieu used to talk about the drying up of state and federal aid to cities by telling us "the cavalry was no longer coming" from Baton Rouge and Washington. Because we've spent several decades now dismantling federal policies intended to help cities house, feed, and educate and care for their populations, our cities have undergone a bloody cycle of deterioration, privatization, and, finally, reclamation as places that only the wealthy can afford to live comfortably. Of course, Mitch's policy response was mainly focused on conforming to rather than resisting these circumstances but at least he understood the problem.
Not that that was ever much help to the non-wealthy people of New Orleans who, over the course of what we euphemistically refer to as this city's "recovery" from the Katrina disaster, faced the hardships of diminished services, increased cost of living, the privatization of their schools, and the selling off of their neighborhoods to predatory investors. All the while this was going on, Mitch continually warned of a time when even the federal disaster aid would run out and the city would be on the hook to cover the costs of repairing and maintaining its vital infrastructure.
The main part of Mitch's strategy for dealing with this was to do everything he could to encourage the rapid gentrification of New Orleans. Never mind that this necessarily meant the city would have to become a glorified resort where nobody actually lives. Anything to keep inflating those property values, and hopefully, the potential tax revenue along with them. Outside of this, the strategy in New Orleans has been little different from what cities all over the country have done to fill their growing budget gaps. Namely, they've gotten more and more aggressive about shaking down the poor.
Late last year, a federal judge ruled that Orleans Criminal Court's fee structure was tantamount to the operation of an unconstitutional "debtor's prison." Presumably steps are being taken to rectify this. But a lasting solution has not yet become evident. Mayor Cantrell ran on a promise to take down the city's hated traffic cameras which she herself criticized for "nickel and diming" the citizenry. But, as we've seen, she's really only partially lived up to that promise. Basically the money still has to come from somewhere. And while we appear to be getting better at recognizing it shouldn't come from those least able to pay, we've only just begun to where it probably ought to come from instead. And that is still going to be a fight.
Not that that was ever much help to the non-wealthy people of New Orleans who, over the course of what we euphemistically refer to as this city's "recovery" from the Katrina disaster, faced the hardships of diminished services, increased cost of living, the privatization of their schools, and the selling off of their neighborhoods to predatory investors. All the while this was going on, Mitch continually warned of a time when even the federal disaster aid would run out and the city would be on the hook to cover the costs of repairing and maintaining its vital infrastructure.
The main part of Mitch's strategy for dealing with this was to do everything he could to encourage the rapid gentrification of New Orleans. Never mind that this necessarily meant the city would have to become a glorified resort where nobody actually lives. Anything to keep inflating those property values, and hopefully, the potential tax revenue along with them. Outside of this, the strategy in New Orleans has been little different from what cities all over the country have done to fill their growing budget gaps. Namely, they've gotten more and more aggressive about shaking down the poor.
In areas hit by recession or falling tax revenue, fines and fees help pay the bills. (The costs of housing and feeding inmates can be subsidized by the state.) As the Fines and Fees Justice Center, an advocacy organization based in New York, has documented, financial penalties on the poor are now a leading source of revenue for municipalities around the country. In Alabama, for example, the Southern Poverty Law Center took up the case of a woman who was jailed for missing a court date related to an unpaid utility bill. In Oregon, courts have issued hefty fines to the parents of truant schoolchildren. Many counties around the country engage in civil forfeiture, the seizure of vehicles and cash from people suspected (but not necessarily proven in court) of having broken the law. In Louisiana, pretrial diversion laws empower the police to offer traffic offenders a choice: Pay up quickly, and the ticket won’t go on your record; fight the ticket in court, and you’ll face additional fees.As that Times article shows us, poor people in cities all over the country can be sucked into a suffocating spiral of imprisonment and legal fees by something as simple as an expired brake tag. But perhaps the tide is turning.
Late last year, a federal judge ruled that Orleans Criminal Court's fee structure was tantamount to the operation of an unconstitutional "debtor's prison." Presumably steps are being taken to rectify this. But a lasting solution has not yet become evident. Mayor Cantrell ran on a promise to take down the city's hated traffic cameras which she herself criticized for "nickel and diming" the citizenry. But, as we've seen, she's really only partially lived up to that promise. Basically the money still has to come from somewhere. And while we appear to be getting better at recognizing it shouldn't come from those least able to pay, we've only just begun to where it probably ought to come from instead. And that is still going to be a fight.
Tuesday, January 08, 2019
I like that one of these is called Atlantis
When you are expanding production of the fossil fuel industry most responsible for putting South Louisiana under the ocean, that is an appropriate name.
And then what would we do? After all, as bad as this activity has been for the global environment generally and Louisiana in particular, the "job creation" more than makes up for any of those unhappy side effects. And now BP is bringing the good times back. Right?
The $1.3 billion Atlantis Phase 3 development is the latest example of the British oil company’s strategy of growing oil production through its existing facilities in the Gulf, he said.Long story short, BP has found 1.4 billion more barrels of oil in the Gulf and is moving it into production. It's nice to know things are working out for them after everything that's happened. It's a good thing we didn't overly burden that company with the task of rebuilding the coast they have played such a prominent role in despoiling. Otherwise they might not be around to profit from these discoveries today.
BP is the operator of Atlantis and holds a 56 percent working interest, with BHP holding the remaining 44 percent. BHP is expected to make a final decision early this year on whether to proceed with the expansion.
The announcement comes amid a four-and-a-half-year offshore oil bust that has cost the Houma-Thibodaux area about 16,000 jobs. Over the past few months, several reports from economists and consultants have predicted an uptick in the Gulf this year, forecasts that hinge on how high oil prices rise above current levels of about $50 a barrel.
BP’s announcement comes a day after Danos, an oilfield service company based in Gray, said two new contracts in the Gulf prompted it to hire 150 workers.
BP’s actions come after recent the company’s recent breakthroughs in advanced seismic imaging and related technology that revealed an additional 400 million barrels of oil in place at the Atlantis field, officials said.
The same innovation helped the company find an additional 1 billion barrels oil at its nearby Thunder Horse field, officials said.
And then what would we do? After all, as bad as this activity has been for the global environment generally and Louisiana in particular, the "job creation" more than makes up for any of those unhappy side effects. And now BP is bringing the good times back. Right?
The new projects are the latest examples of a trend in which offshore oil companies drill several deep-sea wells then transfer the oil to existing platforms then later onshore by pipeline. The so-called “tiebacks” have helped drive down the break-even cost of producing oil so companies can profit at lower oil prices but have stripped business from major employers in the Houma-Thibodaux area that build and service the platforms.Oh well, that's just capitalism, though. Gotta get more and more efficient. Ideally, BP would be able to churn through the wetlands and suck out as much oil as the atmosphere can choke on without employing anybody except maybe a few guys to polish the robots. They're not there yet but they're trying. And we're grateful to have them here doing it.
Atlantis Phase 3, which operates in 7,000 feet of water, will include the construction of a new subsea production system from eight new wells that will be tied into the current platform, the company said. Scheduled to begin producing oil next year, the project is expected to boost output by about 38,000 barrels a day at its peak. It will also access the field’s eastern reaches, where advanced imaging identified additional reserves.
Pension hopping
The only reasons someone in Harrison's position and at his age would leave his hometown and multi-decade career behind in order to start fresh in a new city 1100 miles away would be 1) He's been forced out in some sort of scandal or disgrace or 2) He wants to use the 3 to 5 years before retirement as an opportunity to pick up another pension. Well he's not being forces out so it's probably number 2, right?
Don't bother asking him, either way. We already know he can't be taken at his word.
Don't bother asking him, either way. We already know he can't be taken at his word.
Anyway so, this will be fun. LaToya gets to pick a new Police Chief now. I wonder what Warren Riley is up to....WBAL-TV in Baltimore says Mayor Catherine Pugh announced her selection for police commissioner Tuesday (Jan. 8) based on recommendations from a search panel. Harrison has said he didn’t apply for the job and initially turned it down.Harrison in December acknowledged he spoke with the Baltimore search panel in October during a police chiefs' conference in Orlando. He arose as the panel’s top pick, according to the Baltimore Sun. However, he told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune last month that he was staying in New Orleans.
"Playing selfishly for themselves"
Is there any other way to do that, Drew?
Anyway do you think he's talking specifically about Jimmy Graham? Also imagine having a mid-level manager at your workplace walking around sniping at you and the rest of the staff that you don't "understand what it is to be a leader" or some such crap.
"Keep in mind, '14, '15 was really tough," Brees said. "The locker room changed significantly, when we lost a lot of really strong leaders. All of a sudden, there was a bunch of young guys that I don't feel like truly understood what it was to be a leader, understand the way that we had built this program and the foundation that had been laid and what the expectation level was.
"So all of a sudden, it was a little bit out of control. I felt like a lot of guys were playing selfishly for themselves, they weren't playing for the team. So we just got a little off track. And we had to get back steered in the right direction.
Anyway do you think he's talking specifically about Jimmy Graham? Also imagine having a mid-level manager at your workplace walking around sniping at you and the rest of the staff that you don't "understand what it is to be a leader" or some such crap.
Monday, January 07, 2019
Gordon Ramsay is a pay day lender
This is an interesting Gambit article about the effect celebrity TV chefs can have on the restaurants they feature. It made me wonder if so-called neighborhood restaurants like Katie's make it on their own anymore without the boost that comes with becoming a Neighborhood RestaurantTM where the real money comes from serving up "local authenticity" to tourists. Of course it also evokes the ongoing question of whether or not anybody besides tourists actually lives in New Orleans' neighborhoods anymore but that's something for later in the week.
The other thing that really jumps out about the Gambit article is going on Gordon Ramsay's reality show (the latest version of which recently featured the Trolley Stop) is basically like taking out a pay day loan. It exploits vulnerable businesses and seldom offers much benefit in return.
But the most important thing I learned from all that was that Ramsay had the Trolley Stop drastically pare down its menu. Like, it went from 6 pages of every sort of appetizer, salad, po-boy, burger, breakfast, nacho... and so forth to just one sheet of basics. This might sound like good common sense advice in a vacuum. It's what you might tell someone just opening a new mid-range brunch spot. Do a few things and do them well.
But that's not really what the Trolley Stop is supposed to be about. At least not to its long time clientele, anyway. In fact the specific claim to fame there has long been that it is a place to get a wide variety of crap at all hours. That's certainly what I appreciated about it way back in a bygone decade when it was a frequent stop on late night walks back from working my hotel shift in the Quarter. Sometimes the fact of a greasy spoon with a sprawling menu is its own reward regardless of the quality. A place like that really just has to be good enough. By the time Jarvis got there, the regulars were already in revolt.
Maybe they'll talk some sense into the ownership. Given Ramsay's track record, I hope they listen.
The other thing that really jumps out about the Gambit article is going on Gordon Ramsay's reality show (the latest version of which recently featured the Trolley Stop) is basically like taking out a pay day loan. It exploits vulnerable businesses and seldom offers much benefit in return.
In 2014, "New York Magazine" food blog Grub Street released a report that claimed 60 percent of the restaurants Ramsay featured on his show “Kitchen Nightmares” had closed. Metairie restaurant Zeke’s, also featured on Ramsay’s show in 2011, closed shortly after the renovation.Last week Jarvis DeBerry wrote that he was unimpressed with the results of Ramsay's work with the Trolley Stop. The primary issue in that column looks like it stems from a misunderstanding over whether it's a terrific idea to call a catfish platter a catfish po-boy. I think, also, the restaurant's owners responded badly to the column and matters just got worse from there.
But the most important thing I learned from all that was that Ramsay had the Trolley Stop drastically pare down its menu. Like, it went from 6 pages of every sort of appetizer, salad, po-boy, burger, breakfast, nacho... and so forth to just one sheet of basics. This might sound like good common sense advice in a vacuum. It's what you might tell someone just opening a new mid-range brunch spot. Do a few things and do them well.
But that's not really what the Trolley Stop is supposed to be about. At least not to its long time clientele, anyway. In fact the specific claim to fame there has long been that it is a place to get a wide variety of crap at all hours. That's certainly what I appreciated about it way back in a bygone decade when it was a frequent stop on late night walks back from working my hotel shift in the Quarter. Sometimes the fact of a greasy spoon with a sprawling menu is its own reward regardless of the quality. A place like that really just has to be good enough. By the time Jarvis got there, the regulars were already in revolt.
Maybe they'll talk some sense into the ownership. Given Ramsay's track record, I hope they listen.
Saturday, January 05, 2019
In-app purchases
Gusman thought he had himself a nice deal on some software. But, see, that's how they get you sometimes.
The new software and database package from Texas-based Tyler Technologies was supposed to revolutionize the jail’s aging tech infrastructure. But officials say that after Gusman signed the contract in March 2017, they realized it would never live up to their expectations without further, costly modifications.
Criminal District Court judges and clerks also worried that the new tech package would cripple their access to information without more pricey plug-ins.
With the cancellation of the contract on Nov. 26, it could take years and at least $3 million more before the jail receives a new system.
Ha ha suckers
I guess there is an extent to which holding Brad Pitt personally responsible for all of this is somewhat akin to getting a bad hamburger and demanding to speak with Ronald McDonald about it. At the same time, though, this is just flat out evil lawyer shit.
Once upon a time there was a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek effort to draft the spokesmodel into running for mayor. It seems like a dumb stunt and all but I wonder if what the fine print is going to tell us about the President eventually.
Pitt’s lawyers have filed a motion to be removed from the class action suit, arguing that the plaintiffs have not cited a “single factual allegation that Mr. Pitt made any promise” to the residents about their homesOh is your house about to explode in a gas fire? Well, so sad for you but you never should have believed that actor we hired, stupid. It's funny the degree to which a "personal brand" matters so much right up to the point where consequences come into play.
Once upon a time there was a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek effort to draft the spokesmodel into running for mayor. It seems like a dumb stunt and all but I wonder if what the fine print is going to tell us about the President eventually.
Friday, January 04, 2019
Who watches who and why
Here is a map to all of the traffic cameras in New Orleans that are no longer active as of the new year. It's the mayor's way of.. almost.. keeping a campaign promise.
Oh also, this doesn't mean they're actually getting rid of all 31 deactivated cameras. Some of them are just getting moved.
What is the public's feeling on mass police surveillance, though? I'm sure there's some depressing poll out there that says everybody is for it. I just haven't seen it yet. No doubt our councilmembers have, though, since they're all gung-ho about reviving Mitch Landrieu's failed camera-in-every-corner-bar ordinance this month. It doesn't have to be a poll, actually. It's really just a matter of the right feedback from the right money to get them to move even on something as morally objectionable as this.
It's an interesting contrast, though. Generally speaking we hate the cameras pointed at our cars in case we run a few miles over the speed limit. But we love the cameras pointed at other people in case they... happen to be hanging out on the corner in a way that makes us uncomfortable. What do you think the major distinction is?
As of Jan. 1, 20 of 31 cameras outside of school zones, including the one southbound one in front of Scoggin’s home, were shut off, in a boon for motorists who have long complained about being ticketed on their way to work or school.Montano's phrasing is rich. A different way of putting it would be they deactivated the cameras that were providing the least about of revenue and kept the 11 that enable the public to "help" keep the city budget in balance by graciously continuing to be "nickel-and-dimed" as the mayor once put it.
Left up are the city's most lucrative non-school-zone cameras. Also still rolling are dozens of cameras in about 50 school zones, though the devices have been adjusted to only issue tickets during school zone hours.
The changes balance the need for motorists' safety with the mayor’s desire to remove a financial burden on the city’s residents, said Cantrell’s Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño.
“We took the cameras that were providing the least amount of tickets and turned those off,” he said in a Friday interview. “The 11 that remain on were ones where we still need a little bit of help from the public.”
Oh also, this doesn't mean they're actually getting rid of all 31 deactivated cameras. Some of them are just getting moved.
Meanwhile, non-school zone cameras deactivated under the rules will likely be relocated to school zones, Montaño said. Although those locations haven’t been determined, he said the city is considering placing more cameras near high schools since most cameras now are located near schools with younger children.Whatever part of this qualifies as LaToya keeping her campaign's founding promise is getting more and more difficult to see. But there probably isn't going to a be a political price to pay. The traffic cameras are unpopular, generally. But the public seems to be grudgingly ok with the ones in the school zones.
What is the public's feeling on mass police surveillance, though? I'm sure there's some depressing poll out there that says everybody is for it. I just haven't seen it yet. No doubt our councilmembers have, though, since they're all gung-ho about reviving Mitch Landrieu's failed camera-in-every-corner-bar ordinance this month. It doesn't have to be a poll, actually. It's really just a matter of the right feedback from the right money to get them to move even on something as morally objectionable as this.
It's an interesting contrast, though. Generally speaking we hate the cameras pointed at our cars in case we run a few miles over the speed limit. But we love the cameras pointed at other people in case they... happen to be hanging out on the corner in a way that makes us uncomfortable. What do you think the major distinction is?
Thursday, January 03, 2019
Disney's reign of terror
It's over. For now, anyway.
Once upon a time, US copyright only lasted for 28 years with one eligibility for renewal. In a saner world this would mean we'd be getting free access to 1963 and probably a little bit of 1991 this year. Theoretically this would mean "Blame it On the Bossanova" by Eydie Gorme and "Blame it On the Rain" by Milli Vanilli could be ours today.
2019 is only a few days old, but the new year is already a happy one for appreciators of early jazz. And classic film. And 20th century literature.Now that the clock is ticking on Mickey again, we can all rest assured that Disney will figure a way to put another stopper on public domain within the next few years. But for now, this is nice.
That's because with the arrival of the new year came the sunset of a 1998 congressional act that for 20 years delayed the expiration of the copyrights of works that were otherwise scheduled to enter the public domain. What that means to you and me: An expansive treasure trove of music, film, literature and other works of art produced in 1923 now, finally, belongs to all of us.
That includes early recordings from such New Orleans jazz legends as Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Sidney Bechet -- and that's just the start.
Once upon a time, US copyright only lasted for 28 years with one eligibility for renewal. In a saner world this would mean we'd be getting free access to 1963 and probably a little bit of 1991 this year. Theoretically this would mean "Blame it On the Bossanova" by Eydie Gorme and "Blame it On the Rain" by Milli Vanilli could be ours today.
Don't do it
If you start getting into the fevered online conversation about the 2020 Democratic primary now it is going to rot your brain. My New Year's resolution is to stay away from it at least until after the Superbowl. And that's just because my blood is already poisoned. In reality, nobody should be on it until much much later. Stay away. There's plenty of other stuff to worry about this year.
Wednesday, January 02, 2019
Bad and worse
Just before the holiday, we here in New Orleans were congratulating our councilpersons (perhaps a little too much) for signing off on a new set of criteria for local taxing authorities to consider when asked to grant Industrial Tax Exemption requests to businesses. The new rules, though, really aren't as restrictive as they ought to be. Some of the requirements, such as the dictate that companies receiving the exemption set up shop in a "distressed" area, sound well-meaning but, in practice, probably don't benefit most residents of the said areas. Other stipulations, such as the requirement that companies "demonstrate good-faith efforts to funnel at least 45 percent of their work hours to New Orleans workers" are practically meaningless.
Worst of all, the whole exercise is still a capitulation to the false notion that large industrial concerns such as Bollinger must be subsidized at all by taxpayers. In passing these rules, Council has tacitly agreed that there is a public benefit received in exchange for the neglect of public schools and services that funds such subsidies. We cannot be certain at all that these rules will result in fewer exemptions being granted. But we can be certain from looking at them that our councilmembers' governing philosophy is still steeped in neoliberal bullshit.
Of course it could be worse. We could live in Calcasieu Parish where they've decided to just outsource the whole question of tax subsidies for oligarchs straight to a panel full of the oligarchs themselves.
Worst of all, the whole exercise is still a capitulation to the false notion that large industrial concerns such as Bollinger must be subsidized at all by taxpayers. In passing these rules, Council has tacitly agreed that there is a public benefit received in exchange for the neglect of public schools and services that funds such subsidies. We cannot be certain at all that these rules will result in fewer exemptions being granted. But we can be certain from looking at them that our councilmembers' governing philosophy is still steeped in neoliberal bullshit.
Of course it could be worse. We could live in Calcasieu Parish where they've decided to just outsource the whole question of tax subsidies for oligarchs straight to a panel full of the oligarchs themselves.
The group is named the Calcasieu Parish Taxing Authority, and its rules state they “meet to objectively review and make a unified recommendation to the taxing authorities for the Industrial Tax Exemption Program.”What could go wrong?
However, the objectivity of this setup may be fairly questioned because these meetings are private and strictly confidential, and the facilitator of the group is the head of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. They have not established – publicly – any formal guidelines for the evaluations.
The legality of this scheme is being questioned, with concerns about it violating Louisiana’s open meetings and public records laws, because the appointees to the Calcasieu Parish Taxing Authority for ITEP are carrying out public functions in a venue closed to the general public.
Indeed, according to the Taxing Authority’s most recently (October 2018) revised rules, even local elected officials are prohibited from attending the meetings, “due to concerns about confidentiality and the competitive nature of industrial projects.” Whatever critical analysis is taking place occurs within the private halls of pro-business Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance—hardly an open or neutral forum. Calcasieu has essentially created a proxy committee that is able to “evaluate” exemption proposals away from the eyes and the scrutiny of concerned citizens in the headquarters of an organization privately-funded by the very companies applying for tax exemptions.
To a whole new year of disasters
Well here we go again. 2019 feels like it should be a skip year. We're so close to having decades with easily agreed upon names again. Let's just get this over with and start the 20s already.
But sadly, no matter how post-modern, post-truth, and... well.. still.. just barely pre-apocalyptic the world we live in becomes, we still have to do the years in order for whatever reason and so here we are. It turns out there's plenty to do this year. There are elections for major statewide offices, including Governor. There are major municipal showdowns brewing over surveillance, housing, and public schools. Also there's a Superbowl to be won.
Last week, I put a blurb in this post about how great the Saints' season has been but I didn't include the two most important data points which could indicate that something special is coming. The first is the Return of the Mysterious Serval. (Actually I did mention this in November.) The fact that a rare African wild cat was spotted on the streets of a Metairie neighborhood this year may seem like a quirky little news item. But it's happened before in Uptown. To be precise, it happened once before. In 2009. Could it be that the Serval only appears to us when the Saints are on their way to a championship?
Similarly, and I know I have mentioned this previously, the brake tags are black and gold this year.
The last time that happened (albeit in a slightly different hue) was, yep, 2009.
So here is 2019. Yeah there's a lot to worry about, but also the signs are looking rather positive.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Year of the Jaguar
Nobody knew he could do it. The enclosure was built according to well established standards. Those standards were "met or exceeded" according to a recent certification. Everything in the book said he shouldn't have been able to do it. And the book was very thorough.
The Audubon Zoo was last accredited following an inspection last fall, Vernon said, though he declined to release that inspection report. To pass, Vernon said, the zoo must show it meets or exceeds minimum standards. For jaguars, those standards are spelled out in a 128-page manual.It is possible, or likely, the zoo officials are overselling us on their preparations. But let's take them at their word. Their plan to contain the jaguar was solid. It was certified. But this jaguar, as is often the case with elite athletes, was just a bit too much to handle.
The manual includes specifics on the thickness and width of steel wire barriers where they are used, though it also says that, “If possible, institutions are recommended to completely enclose the top of any jaguar enclosure.”
Pound for pound, jaguars have the strongest bite force of any big cat in the world, as well as “excellent jumping and ambush capability,” according to the manual.The cage was made of a woven steel cable that was supposed to handle that rough treatment. It wasn't good enough on July 14 to handle Valerio, a three year old Jaguar whose name is derived from a Latin root meaning strong, healthy, or worthy. On that day he was all of those things. Nobody knew he could do what he did. Days later zoo officials were still in awe at what had happened.
“A major risk to jaguars is the failure to use suitable materials to contain the animals. Jaguars often grasp mesh with their canine teeth, over time damaging or breaking them entirely. … Single-strand wire mesh types like chain link or welded wire can be compromised by animals biting and pulling them apart.”
We had a lot of ground to cover in this obligatory year in review show. Naturally we covered almost none of it. But we did get some time at the end to talk about the tragic hero of the year... if not the spiritual embodiment of our age.
Valerio's story has it all. It's a little bit about gentrification. It is a little bit about the degradation of nature for profit. It's a little bit about the way the New Orleans non-profit cabal drains public finances and exacerbates wealth inequality. It's a little bit about the subjugation of the spirit by forces of a scope beyond the capacity of any individual to comprehend or overthrow.
Most compellingly, it is about the surprising power of the will to freedom to defy these forces. But also it is a cautionary reminder of the tragedy almost certain to result from such defiance. Our capacity to resist that which oppresses us is limited by our failure to see beyond our individual enclosures and find solidarity with our fellow wretches. So long as this remains the case Valerio's fate and the fate of his animal comrades is our fate. Perhaps in 2019, we'll finally teach the jaguar how to find Ron Forman's house. But we probably won't. Happy New Year. Anyway, here's Wonderwall.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Post-Christmas grab bag
It's been a long and exhausting holiday weekend. Here are a few items that may have slipped out of the Santa sack this week.
- The Sewerage and Water Board 2019 budgets are approved. I'd like to know more about this item.
The operating budget calls for the elimination of more than 130 positions, for a total of 1,581 positions, including 210 that are now vacant. But it includes 21 new jobs dealing with customer service issues.
The staffing shortages are a chronic problem and a reason the utility does not function the way it should. But also the 130 unfilled positions are not necessary? Okay.
Korban has said that the positions being cut are ones that were never filled or are not necessary and that the reductions will not impact the utility's frontline operations. The S&WB has consistently struggled to hire the workers it needs to fill all its vacant positions, and staffing shortages have contributed to the problems that led to widespread flooding in August 2017.
Meanwhile millions of dollars worth of "critical" and "urgent" projects are going unfunded.
Meanwhile, the S&WB has estimated it will need about $3 billion over the next 10 years to meet imminent and future capital needs.
The Advocate story refers here to the ongoing dispute between the mayor, the state, and "tourism leaders" over the prospect of using more tourism-generated revenue to fund infrastructure. As it turns out, the Washington Post is covering that this week for some reason.
Of that amount, 185 projects totaling $582 million were recommended for 2019, significantly higher than the $384 million the agency budgeted in 2018 and far more than it was actually able to spend.
The board instead expects to fund 34 projects next year at a cost of $167 million, leaving dozens of projects labeled "critical," "urgent" and "necessary" on the table.
"Not one dollar.." other than every single cent raised in New Orleans off the backs of chronically exploited tourism labor, I guess. It's our money. Give us our money, Steve.Much of the money goes to major state-owned tourism draws: the Superdome and its neighboring arena as well as the massive Ernest N. Morial Convention Center beside the Mississippi River. Changing the flow of money would require legislative action. But so far the mayor’s call for a “fair share” for the city has gotten a cool reception from Gov. John Bel Edwards and the president of the state Senate — as well as from one of the top spokesmen for the tourism industry.“Over time, the city of New Orleans has not put one dollar into the building of the Superdome, the building of the convention center; has not put one dollar into the operations of the Superdome or the Convention Center; has not put one dollar into the average, every-year renewal and refurbishment that has to take place,” said Steve Perry, one tourism booster.
- Here is a can't-miss Katy Reckdahl article about the post-Katrina destruction of New Orleans's neighborhoods written for The Weather Channel, of all possible outlets. Because, as we are well aware here, gentrification in our city is, at least in part, a climate change story.
- I haven't had a chance to watch this WDSU segment on the Orleans Parish school system yet. Is it any good? Do they talk at all about the Board's decision to charter out McDonogh 35?
- Are the 2018 Saints the "most complete" team in the history of the franchise? Probably. Of course we'll have to wait and see how it all ends but, assuming they manage to at least advance a little in the playoffs, it's really not going very far at all to ask if this is the greatest Saints team.
- Finally, hey look, more things go boom on Monday night.
After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last year, Carmen YulÃn Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, saw the early stages of a housing grab and described it as “disaster gentrification.” Similar buyouts and land-flipping happened in New York after Hurricane Sandy and in Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
In every city, storm damage and flooding initially displaced people of every ethnicity and income level, though in New Orleans, like elsewhere, communities of color were harder hit because of historically segregated housing patterns that pushed African American households to lower-lying areas. One analysis of black and white households found that black residents were more than twice as likely to live in flooded areas.
In New Orleans, the disparities were exacerbated during rebuilding, as higher-income people moved into city cores, displacing lower-income families. Similar “back to the city” dynamics are playing out in every urban area across the country. But in disaster-ravaged cities like New Orleans, they’re playing out at fast-forward speed.
Watching this process happen on a daily basis for the past 13 years is why I always have headaches now. The animating ethic of our city's recovery has been about attracting investment and "putting properties back into commerce" with little or no regard for consequences.
“There’s so much history here,” Bowman said, as he filed through the box. He is feeling worried about his future here on North Galvez. He was blindsided a few years ago when a suburban land investor bought the house from beneath him through a municipal tax sale. At first, Bowman paid rent to stay in his family home. Then, a second buyer appeared earlier this year, giving him a five-day eviction notice. That’s when he consulted a legal-aid lawyer.A process that worked to push multi-generational New Orleanians out of their family homes has also greatly benefited "investors" who can pick up a properties at auction prices and turn them into cash cows on Airbnb. In January, the City Council will discuss a motion that may limit some of these abuses. Naturally, the investors are whining to the Advocate.
Bowman is hard on himself about the situation. He scraped the house so that it’s ready for painting and has made some repairs on his own, out of an obligation he feels to his great-grandfather’s work. But he doesn’t want to sink more money into the house until he’s certain it belongs to him. So he’s embarrassed that needed repairs have gone undone. He’s ashamed that he and his family didn’t figure out that no one was paying taxes. And he’s worried sick about what the future could bring.
His lawyer, Hannah Adams, of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, is concerned that other generational owners like Bowman may also have lost houses, because of new municipal ordinances and policies intended to move Katrina-damaged properties into the hands of new owners.
In 2015, Bowman discovered that, in 1997, a city treasury official had adjudicated the property for back taxes of $577.91, sending certified mail notices to his grandmother, Marie Camille, who had been dead for nine years, and to DeDe Pierce, who had been dead for 23 years. There’s no record of whether certified mail notices were sent and no records of any notices being returned undeliverable.
Had he known, he would have simply paid the taxes, Bowman said.
My wife Andrea and I have operated a licensed “temporary” short-term rental in our 7th Ward New Orleans home since February of this year. Under New Orleans Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer’s proposed changes to the STR ordinance, we will lose this much-needed revenue, and likely be forced to sell our home and leave the area. We bought the double lot on Franklin Avenue at a NORA auction in December 2015 with the stipulation that we would build a new house on the previously blighted property within one year of the auction. Neither of us are professional builders, but over the course of the following year, we managed to complete a modest 900 square-foot home, fulfilling our obligations to NORA. Like many working people, we sought creative ways to finance our project, ultimately receiving the assistance of my in-laws, who obtained a mortgage on our behalf.It kind of sounds like he's upset that he could lose his STR license because the house isn't technically in his name? He doesn't say whether or not he and his wife actually live in the "home," though. The signature on the letter gives his location as Metairie. Anyway, this is only one in a string of confused and/or disingenuous pro-STR letters and op-eds the Advocate has published since basically the day Palmer's motion was publicized. The "pro" side seems like they were ready to roll.
The board heard about two hours’ worth of impassioned commentary before that vote at the evening meeting, mostly from parents and alumni who wanted the school to remain run directly by the OPSB, as nearly all public schools in the city once were.I watched this meeting on the live stream and, while this Advocate reporter's description is technically accurate, it reads a little cartoonish to me, like she is almost making light of the protest. But "Erase The Board" is likely the beginning of something. It's something well overdue, of course. Remember all of this was still in front of us in 2016 when the Board was up for election. Almost nobody ran.
As they spoke, protesters with the group Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children cheered them on, sang chants with biblical references and shouted, “Erase the board!”
“These are the alumni of McDonogh 35, these are the parents, these are the children. This is the community,” resident Walter Goodwin told the board. “We did not elect you to be a rubber stamp. Do not rubber-stamp this. We elected you to represent us.”
Several audience members began crying and screaming after the vote.
The season has had a little bit of everything. It had spin moves. It had dance moves. It had a blowout win against a defending champ. It had a sweep of Atlanta. Drew Brees broke an NFL record. Mark Ingram and Wil Lutz broke team records. Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara set some early career benchmarks that indicate they'll break records of their own one day.
But the most impressive thing to me has been the way Saints have consistently won tough games against physical opponents at Baltimore, at Minnesota, and at home against Pittsburgh. The key here is the Saints aren't doing any of this with smoke and mirrors. They've gone toe to toe with every heavyweight this year and come out on top. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but there's nothing we've seen this season to give us any cause not to be confident seeing them matched up with anybody. That's not often how this goes, even in the better years.
City and tourism leaders have revealed there will be not one, but four fireworks displays launched at different points around New Orleans on Tuesday (Jan. 1) for New Year’s Eve. The shows will start in New Orleans East and follow at City Park and then Uptown before culminating with the traditional downtown display.Take the celebration out into the neighborhoods a little bit. I like this idea. I don't know how much I understand the timing, though.
The whole point of the fireworks is to mark the coming of the new year, right? And the point of having them in far flung locations is to bring them to people who probably aren't going to the Quarter anyway. So there's no reason to believe any of these displays conflicts with the others. Why not just do them all at midnight?The fireworks are scheduled for:· 8:30 p.m., at Read Boulevard near Interstate 10· 9:30 p.m., at City Park’s Big Lake near the New Orleans Museum of Art· 10:30 p.m., from barges on the Mississippi River between Napoleon and Jefferson avenues· Midnight, downtown from river barges between the French Quarter and Algiers.
Friday, December 21, 2018
The price of an uptick
Warren Riley is still smarting over missing out on an opportunity to lead the city's public safety operations pull down another six figure salary plus benefits.
Well now it looks like it's Riley who's having trouble getting over it. Would it help if we sent him a Christmas card? Maybe a councilmember can make him a video.
Well, okay.. it's still better than another Benny Grunch re-run. Nguyen's explanation for it is especially gratifying.
Former New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Warren Riley filed a federal lawsuit Friday that accuses Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the city of breach of contract for reneging on an agreement to hire him as public safety czar.Go ahead and read the rest of that article for the full re-cap. But the short version is, LaToya was all set to announce Riley's hiring until a last minute "uptick in the community" in her words, persuaded her to back out. The community was particularly upticked that the new mayor wanted to hire the man who ignored/covered up the Danziger bridge murders buy New Orleans Police officers under his charge in the days after Katrina. The shooters themselves have eluded justice due to an already bizarre set of circumstances. That their boss would be rewarded now in this fashion only further highlighted the glaring lack of accountability for that crime. Of course, in LaToya's estimation, the real problem here was the upticked community was still too caught up in their feelings to move forward, or something.
In the lawsuit, Riley claims more than $700,000 in damages as a result of quitting a lucrative job in the federal government and preparing to move from Georgia to work for the city where he served a tumultuous four years as police chief beginning a month after Hurricane Katrina.
The suit names Cantrell both individually and as mayor, claiming Riley has been unable to find a job with the same salary and benefits as the $170,000-per-year post he left at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In that job, Riley helped coordinate federal disaster response and recovery efforts.
Well now it looks like it's Riley who's having trouble getting over it. Would it help if we sent him a Christmas card? Maybe a councilmember can make him a video.
Congratulations to Cyndi Nguyen on winning this year's #Hostilidays. This one is a real banger.New Orleans may be one of the few towns in America that keeps a piano in the City Council chamber — in this most musical of the nation’s towns, that’s how often City Council members invite performances during meetings.But during the Thursday (Dec. 20) meeting, council members were treated to a whole new genre of music: The Constituent Christmas Carol, created singlehandedly by District E resident Frank Richard with his “District E 12 Days of Christmas.” The song counts down the accomplishments District E Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen has achieved since taking office in May.
Well, okay.. it's still better than another Benny Grunch re-run. Nguyen's explanation for it is especially gratifying.
Nguyen has worked for the past seven months to raise the district’s profile, which includes New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward — two areas where residents often feel like they get the least attention. So Nguyen wanted to continue that work when she came up with the idea for the video after Thanksgiving because it was too expensive to mail Christmas cards to everyone in her district.What is meant by "worked to raise the district's profile," by the way, is Cyndi explored the idea of re-branding it "The E" along with "The L9" for the lower ninth ward just to give you a sense of the high-wattage we're dealing with in the Nguyen creative department. As for the Christmas cards being too expensive, I'm a little surprised she didn't ask Entergy to sponsor them. I'd hate to think we aren't exploring every option to make things right with Riley.
We love our cameras
Cyndi Nguyen and Kristin Palmer are bringing last year's narrowly scuttled mass surveillance ordinance back to life.
More to the point, they're predisposed to be full of shit on account of the fact that so many of them have a personal interest in or close association with the real estate business. Which is why, for one thing, this ordinance is being carried by Palmer and Nguyen. More importantly it is why its major point of the ordinance isn't just about installing cameras. Rather the cameras are one piece of a plan that is really more about shutting down as many neighborhood bars as possible.
Less than a year after a similar measure was dropped, a proposal from members of the New Orleans City Council could require "nuisance" bars, clubs and liquor stores to install live-streaming video cameras inside and outside their businesses, part of a proposed ordinance that tightens restrictions for businesses that sell alcohol.I still don't understand the universal enthusiasm for sticking cameras everywhere. Particularly since it obtains among a set of elected leaders who profess often to care very much about social justice. It's possible they all suffer an acute case of cognitive dissonance. Although Occam's razor, as always, suggests they're just full of shit.
The proposed ordinance — which mirrors parts of a scrapped plan from former Mayor Mitch Landrieu — also gives the mayor’s office or New Orleans police superintendent the ability to revoke or suspend an alcohol license, if the city or its Alcoholic Beverage Control Board determines that the business “directly endangers the health, safety and welfare of the community.”
More to the point, they're predisposed to be full of shit on account of the fact that so many of them have a personal interest in or close association with the real estate business. Which is why, for one thing, this ordinance is being carried by Palmer and Nguyen. More importantly it is why its major point of the ordinance isn't just about installing cameras. Rather the cameras are one piece of a plan that is really more about shutting down as many neighborhood bars as possible.
Bars and music venues also can’t be built within 300 feet of a playground, church, public library or school — unless the owner has a sworn affidavit from 75 percent of property owners within a 300 foot radius.This ordinance is slated for committee discussion on January 31. Between that and the Jan 10 motion on STRs, it's going to be a busy month.
They’d also be forbidden within “residential or park area,” and would grandfather in existing neighborhood bars, unless there’s a six month lapse in their permits and licenses.
MaCCNO also warned that real estate speculators and developers, including short-term rental operators with multiple listings, which proliferated in recent years, could abuse the complaint process to shut down area bars.
“This is an aggressively pro-gentrification ordinance and presents a clear and present danger to every small grocery, pharmacy, bar and music venue in the city,” MaCCNO said.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
"Colossal Brother"
Holy cow
In August 2017, three months before former-Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced the opening of the city’s $5 million Real Time Crime Monitoring Center, the city spent $2.8 million to buy a suite of software from Motorola Solutions that includes artificial intelligence and object detection to help law enforcement sift through the thousands of hours of footage recorded every day.At several junctures during the evolution of the surveilance "canopy," as city and police officials like to call it, that, despite our supposed hysteria, the cameras were minimally intrusive. But here we are wondering if we need to be more mindful of our "dwell time" in public.
The package includes software called BriefCam, CommandCentral Aware, CommandCentral Analytics, and CommandCentral Predictive.
“My initial reaction is, holy cow, this is not just big brother. This is colossal brother,” said Bruce Hamilton, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Louisiana. “When you take a step back, you really get the sense that the surveillance state is rapidly expanding here in New Orleans.”
Still, with the software the city does have, the NOPD could, for example, pull up every piece of footage that includes a man in a red shirt on a blue bike riding north on Esplanade Avenue. Or it could pull up every person with a backpack that appeared on the corner of Broad Street and Orleans Avenue, displaying them all simultaneously on one screen with timestamps over their heads to indicate when they were there.Everybody loves it, though.
“My question is, what does it mean to say you’re not using facial recognition technology when you’re using something that’s equally powerful?” Hamilton said. “So for instance, the city may not be able to identify me by my face, but if the city knows what I’m is wearing, or what I drive, I mean there’s any number of factors they can use to track you from place to place.”
BriefCam can also produce “heat maps” of dwell time, object interaction, and common paths. In a YouTube video from March, the head the Hartford, Connecticut crime center illustrated how he used the software to track the movement paths of everyone who walked in the frame of one of the city’s cameras to track which homes they were coming in and out of. He claimed that the analytics helped him locate a drug operation.
“How long did that take me to do?” he said in the video. “That took me a minute.”
Send the bill to Gayle
The Mayor's office is (at least it is posturing as though it is) thinking about playing hardball with the Superdome commission.
Anyway, I don't know what will come of it. Probably nothing. But it's been fun these past few months to watch LaToya at least try to hold some of these tourism-focused state entities to account for all the money they suck out of the city every year.
After arguing for months that New Orleans’ powerful tourism and sports agencies should shift some of their tax revenues to help fund the city's aging and sometimes crumbling infrastructure, Mayor LaToya Cantrell is demanding $3.6 million in rent from the Superdome's governing body for its use of a city-owned portion of Champions Square.They probably owe significantly more than that, actually. Take a few minutes and review the original AZ story about this from a few years ago.
The city and the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, also known as the Superdome Commission, have been trying for years to conclude a land-swap agreement that would include the 1400 block of LaSalle Street that runs between the Superdome and Champions Square.
Because of a disagreement over the land’s value, those talks have fizzled. So on Tuesday, Cantrell sent a letter to Superdome Commission Chairman Kyle France that said the city is owed $3.6 million in back rent, plus $488,000 in rent annually.
Anyway, I don't know what will come of it. Probably nothing. But it's been fun these past few months to watch LaToya at least try to hold some of these tourism-focused state entities to account for all the money they suck out of the city every year.
#CityOfYesTR-day's news
The pro-Airbnb lobbying group Alliance for Neighborhood Prosperity has "parted ways" with its sometimes-coherent head, Eric Bay. His replacement seems to have even wackier ideas about stuff.
Oh also in that story, a bunch of people took over the lobby during the council meeting today to speak out against the short term rental effect on affordable housing. Kristin Palmer's proposed motion on the matter has been deferred to January 10.
Meanwhile, the largest pro-short-term rental group, the Alliance for Neighborhood Prosperity, announced the departure on Wednesday of its president, Eric Bay. The organization will now be led by Mary Margaret Keane, a realtor who filed an ethics complaint against Palmer over the summer because Palmer briefly held a short-term rental license that she said she returned without using.Councilmember supposedly trying to rein in STR abuse had a legal STR license so the pro-STR people are mad at her.. or something.
Oh also in that story, a bunch of people took over the lobby during the council meeting today to speak out against the short term rental effect on affordable housing. Kristin Palmer's proposed motion on the matter has been deferred to January 10.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
They grow up so fast
Everybody got such interesting jobs after graduation.
The ranks of Baton Rouge lobbyists are thick with former lawmakers. Erich Ponti left the Legislature in mid-2015 to head the Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Association. Ann Duplessis is now the president for the Louisiana Federation for Children, which advocates for charter schools. Anthony Ligi represents the Jefferson Business Council. Another former House speaker, Chuck Kleckley, advocates on behalf of casinos and makers of body cameras. Mike Michot’s clients range from local governments to grocery stores.The "revolving door" phenomenon is one of the oldest stories in politics. That doesn't make it any less relevant. It's just that it's difficult to see what the solution is besides just let's do our best to deny power to corrupt assholes. And aren't we trying to do that already? One thjng that might help would be to get rid of term limits. At least that way we might keep some of the corrupt assholes out where the voters can see them a bit longer.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Holiday recipes
The thing about gumbo is it is not very complicated and actually any idiot can make it. To prove this, we made a video. It took longer than a minute, though.
See also in Yellow Blog posts about gumbo recipes:
The Gumbo Z'herbes that, I guess, could be vegetarian if we wanted to but instead is loaded up with pork is at the bottom of this rambling post from Easter Weekend 2010
The Great Big Turducken Gumbo I made in 2011 appears as the lead in to this rambling post about some Saints games from that season.
See also in Yellow Blog posts about gumbo recipes:
The Gumbo Z'herbes that, I guess, could be vegetarian if we wanted to but instead is loaded up with pork is at the bottom of this rambling post from Easter Weekend 2010
The Great Big Turducken Gumbo I made in 2011 appears as the lead in to this rambling post about some Saints games from that season.
Back tracking
Kristin Palmer says in her press release that she is putting off a vote on her short term rentals motion until after the holidays. But this story says the vote has actually been moved due to "mounting criticism."
No one is saying much about where and to whom the pressure is being applied although we do have our suspicions. The one-to-one affordable to STR unit requirement for large scale commercial developments might screw up the Motwani Canal Street plan that Jason Williams loves so much. Also some of the key landlord groups pushing against homestead exemption requirements are based in Cyndi Nguyen's district. And, of course, Mayor Cantrell has a long history of approving STR spot-zones for influential property owners during her time on the council. None of the above have issued a public statement to the press on Palmer's motion as far as I am aware. So we'll just have to wait and see where they show up on this stuff. In any case, the deferral on the motion is probably about more than just the holidays.
Update: You know when a newspaper website substantially rewrites its story a few hours later after publication it really should just make it separate post. It doesn't hurt anything to do that. And there's something at least a little bit dishonest about pretending a thing you already wrote never actually existed. I'm just an idiot blogger and I at least note when I update or edit a post.
Anyway the rewrite of the Advocate story linked above confirms some of my speculation.
With criticism mounting from short-term rental advocates, City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer said late Monday she plans to delay a preliminary vote on changes to New Orleans' short term rental rules until January.Well I'm relieved to see that the problematic criticism mounted from the other side. I had some quibbles with Palmer's proposal myself last week but I have to say the main element of it tying most STRs in most residential areas to homestead exemption is good and should be passed if not expanded. Now "mounting criticism" has slowed even that long overdue development.
Palmer, who unveiled a package of changes that would curtail short term rentals through platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway in New Orleans last week, had initially planned to kick off the four-month process needed to put the plan into law with an initial vote on Thursday.
But in a news release late Monday night, Palmer said she would delay that step to provide more time for residents and council members to weigh in on the proposal.
No one is saying much about where and to whom the pressure is being applied although we do have our suspicions. The one-to-one affordable to STR unit requirement for large scale commercial developments might screw up the Motwani Canal Street plan that Jason Williams loves so much. Also some of the key landlord groups pushing against homestead exemption requirements are based in Cyndi Nguyen's district. And, of course, Mayor Cantrell has a long history of approving STR spot-zones for influential property owners during her time on the council. None of the above have issued a public statement to the press on Palmer's motion as far as I am aware. So we'll just have to wait and see where they show up on this stuff. In any case, the deferral on the motion is probably about more than just the holidays.
Update: You know when a newspaper website substantially rewrites its story a few hours later after publication it really should just make it separate post. It doesn't hurt anything to do that. And there's something at least a little bit dishonest about pretending a thing you already wrote never actually existed. I'm just an idiot blogger and I at least note when I update or edit a post.
Anyway the rewrite of the Advocate story linked above confirms some of my speculation.
Some council offices could raise concerns about that part of the proposal, particularly in light of plans by Sonder — a short-term rental company — to put rental units on vacant upper floors or in blighted properties on Canal Street. Both Councilman Jason Williams and Mayor LaToya Cantrell have supported that plan, and the stricter rules proposed by Palmer could potentially derail those projects
Monday, December 17, 2018
Rearranging the Board chairs on a sinking utility
It says here that a task force appointed by the legislature to come up with options for reforming Sewerage and Water Board is moving away from the idea of privatization. It says that loudly in the headline so that everybody can relax and not worry about what they're actually suggesting. That would be a mistake, though, since what they are suggesting is not necessarily better.
On that note, I thought this recent episode of the The Lens podcast could have been improved if the segment about the web of kickbacks and favor trading that comprise the local non-profit industrial complex had been connected to the segment about the now 14 year old Taylor Energy oil spill. Phyllis Taylor is, after all, kind of the matriarch of that whole scene. It would make more sense if people got some perspective on how dirty all the dirty money that gets passed around really is.
Whatever they end up doing at S&WB is likely to be just the latest rearrangement of the same old deck chairs. Every now and then they need to refresh the order. But it's still the same game of determining a more frictionless system for distributing the money.
Which is why the ballot measure passed in last week's election isn't likely to be of much consequence. What it does is put a City Councilmember back on the Board. Mitch Landrieu's reforms removed two Council seats just a few years ago in favor of seats appointed by the mayor with input from a collection of community luminaries such as the University Presidents and others with heavy ties to our friends in the familiar NOLA fundraiser's cabal. I voted for this year's amendment figuring it at least looks like a move toward a more democratic spirit of oversight. But I don't have any illusions it will actually achieve that.
Anyway, after the measure passed, the Council decided to appoint Jay Banks as their SWB representative. What's most interesting about that is, prior to his election to City Council, Banks had been a John Bel Edwards appointee to the Convention Center Board. Currently the Governor and the Mayor are having a disagreement over whether hotel/motel tax revenue currently controlled by the Convention Center should go to SWB instead. Banks seems to have a foot in each of those camps now. Will his role on the Board find him furthering the Mayor's plan? Or will he be more involved in walking it back? Either way, I'm sure the key will be in making sure the important people who pass all the money among themselves under the current system continue to do that under whatever new plan is devised.
Ah see that's probably the preferred option. A public benefit corporation offers all the opportunities for piracy that outright privatization would while also building in the means of keeping the graft inside the usual circle of quasi-governmental non-profit operators who run everything in this city anyway.One option Antrup said the task force may recommend is forming a drainage-specific agency to oversee all drainage operations in the city, either via a newly created agency or an oversight body similar to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services in North Carolina. Antrup said the option could involve implementing a new stormwater fee for impervious surfaces on properties, which the Sewerage & Water Board has already been analyzing in recent years as a way to harness additional drainage system revenues beyond property taxes. That fee would also allow for the utility to offer grant programs to assist low-income residents with reducing impervious surfaces on their properties, Antrup said.Another option on the table for the task force, Antrup said, is reforming the Sewerage & Water Board’s management structure into a public benefit corporation, whose profits would be directed into the agency’s operations. The task force has taken a look at how Citizens Energy Group in Indianapolis works as a model, Antrup said. The city struck a $1.9 billion deal in 2011 to transfer the city’s water and sewer utilities to Citizens, which an Indianapolis news release at the time described as “a public charitable trust that operates like a not-for-profit.”
On that note, I thought this recent episode of the The Lens podcast could have been improved if the segment about the web of kickbacks and favor trading that comprise the local non-profit industrial complex had been connected to the segment about the now 14 year old Taylor Energy oil spill. Phyllis Taylor is, after all, kind of the matriarch of that whole scene. It would make more sense if people got some perspective on how dirty all the dirty money that gets passed around really is.
Whatever they end up doing at S&WB is likely to be just the latest rearrangement of the same old deck chairs. Every now and then they need to refresh the order. But it's still the same game of determining a more frictionless system for distributing the money.
Which is why the ballot measure passed in last week's election isn't likely to be of much consequence. What it does is put a City Councilmember back on the Board. Mitch Landrieu's reforms removed two Council seats just a few years ago in favor of seats appointed by the mayor with input from a collection of community luminaries such as the University Presidents and others with heavy ties to our friends in the familiar NOLA fundraiser's cabal. I voted for this year's amendment figuring it at least looks like a move toward a more democratic spirit of oversight. But I don't have any illusions it will actually achieve that.
Anyway, after the measure passed, the Council decided to appoint Jay Banks as their SWB representative. What's most interesting about that is, prior to his election to City Council, Banks had been a John Bel Edwards appointee to the Convention Center Board. Currently the Governor and the Mayor are having a disagreement over whether hotel/motel tax revenue currently controlled by the Convention Center should go to SWB instead. Banks seems to have a foot in each of those camps now. Will his role on the Board find him furthering the Mayor's plan? Or will he be more involved in walking it back? Either way, I'm sure the key will be in making sure the important people who pass all the money among themselves under the current system continue to do that under whatever new plan is devised.
Defrocked
It's pretty harsh when an individual is legally barred from performing any more acts of banking from now on.
First NBC Bank’s stunning $1 billion collapse likely ended dozens of banking careers, some by choice and some by circumstance.
Gregory St. Angelo’s circumstances are unique.
St. Angelo, the former longtime attorney for First NBC, has been cited by a federal agency for having engaged in “unsafe or unsound banking practice” and essentially banned for life from the banking industry.
According to a four-page prohibition order issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., St. Angelo demonstrated “willful disregard for the safety or soundness of the bank,” which failed in April 2017.
Saturday, December 15, 2018
The Nagin Presidency
Kicking into Phase II now.
WASHINGTON - Two years after Donald Trump won the presidency, nearly every organization he has led in the past decade is under investigation.
Give us our moneeeys
Helena Moreno:
The voices are growing louder, as is the frustration, on a recurring theme that the City of New Orleans isn’t getting its fair share of tax dollars or losing out completely. Based on our significant infrastructure and public safety needs, I’m glad to see this grassroots push for fairness, which includes support to rein in one of the most irresponsible giveaways in Louisiana; the Industrial Tax Incentive Program. Since 1998, ITEP has cost the City of New Orleans and Orleans Parish School Board more than $210 million in lost property tax revenue, due to exemptions rubber-stamped by a state board. Yes, a state board can exempt local property taxes. In fact, the state Board of Commerce and Industry has a 99.95 percent approval rate for companies who seek the local property tax exemption. In 2017, this led to a $1.9 billion loss to local taxing bodies across Louisiana.Moreno has an ordinance in front of the council now that will tighten restrictions on how ITEP is handed out locally. This is a positive development, of course. But even as we seem to be moving in a better direction, it's worth pointing out that state officials are still handing out very large gifts via this instrument.
The developer of a liquefied natural gas export facility in southwest Louisiana won approval for a controversial tax break that could reach more than $2 billion over 10 years, potentially the largest exemption awarded in the state’s history.Also, at the local level, despite some progress, such as this decision by the Orleans Parish School Board to deny an exemption to Bollinger, other local entities continue to take the exact opposite tack. This week, the Jefferson Parish School Board approved an ITEP exemption for Bollinger. Win some, lose some I guess. But Moreno is right to keep pressing this.
The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry voted in favor of the exemption for Driftwood LNG LLC, a subsidiary of Tellurian Inc., on Friday. A spokesman for Gov. John Bel Edwards said he will sign off on it.
Friday, December 14, 2018
Please rush
Short Term Rentals. We're in the endgame now.
Oh and while I'm typing this, yes, here is the story that lays out that exact problem.
The "small scale" deal looks tailored to set up STRs all along commercial corridors through neighborhoods. I'm thinking especially here about the cultural overlay districts along Oretha Castle Haley or Freret Street where you can see developers already trying to figure this out. There's even one on LaSalle Street where there's the possibility of renewed tourism interest.
Still, even though we'd like to see it expanded, it's important that the homestead exemption requirement passes. Expect a fight. Even now, several years into the debate, the pro-STR side is worried about regulations being "rushed though."
The most wide-ranging aspect of the proposal would require any property used as a short-term rental in a residential neighborhood to have a homestead exemption verifying that the owner lives on the site. That would limit the practice to owners renting out one or more rooms in their own home or, for example, half of a double house when they live in the other half.A homestead exemption requirement has been the most important priority for housing activists since this argument began and it's taken a few years to get us to a point where that goal is close to being realized. As always, the devil is the details. This says the restriction applies in residential neighborhoods which implies it is tied to zoning which further implies that commercial or "mixed use" areas might still be vulnerable to exploitation.
That change would eliminate the licenses that now allow entire homes to be rented out for up to 90 days a year, whether or not anyone lives there full-time.
Such rentals are the most common type in the city and have been in the cross-hairs of critics who argue that they allow investors to amass multiple properties, reducing the supply of housing for residents and often leading to neighborhoods emptied of most residents and overrun with hordes of partying tourists.
Oh and while I'm typing this, yes, here is the story that lays out that exact problem.
The proposal would also create three categories for short-term rental permits in commercial and mixed-use districts. “Single unit” commercial permits would be similar to residential permits, but for properties in commercial and mixed-use zoning districts, including condos and single-family homes. The permit would require a homestead exemption.The "large scale" permit looks like an acquiescence to the notion that the CBD is a sacrifice zone for wealthy tourists and part-time residents. They do get us an "affordable" set-aside written in. And, I know housing activists have been more or less conditioned to fight for inclusionary zoning policies lately (and with good reason.) But that's really just indicative of how far the goal posts have been moved. Generally speaking, set-asides are a sop to developers looking to rationalize public approval and/or subsidies for the nice things for rich people they want to build. Will the "large scale" commercial STR permit described above create enough "affordable housing" to be considered worth the trade? Probably not. But we'll wait and see how they end up defining "affordable."
“Small scale” commercial permits would allow properties with four units or less to use the entire building for short-term rentals, except the first floor, which would be reserved for commercial use unless the first floor is already being used for residential.
“Large scale” commercial permits would be for properties with five or more units. These buildings would only be allowed to use 30% of their units as short-term rentals, and would have to add one affordable housing unit for each short-term rental.
The "small scale" deal looks tailored to set up STRs all along commercial corridors through neighborhoods. I'm thinking especially here about the cultural overlay districts along Oretha Castle Haley or Freret Street where you can see developers already trying to figure this out. There's even one on LaSalle Street where there's the possibility of renewed tourism interest.
Still, even though we'd like to see it expanded, it's important that the homestead exemption requirement passes. Expect a fight. Even now, several years into the debate, the pro-STR side is worried about regulations being "rushed though."
“We've long been committed to working with the city leaders to find fair, reasonable regulations for short-term rentals, but this proposal was crafted in a backroom without input from key stakeholders like hosts who rely on home sharing and short-term rental platforms,” an Airbnb spokeswoman wrote in an email after being informed of the proposal. “We urge the council not to rush this through."Uh.. if "rush this through" means getting us about 50 percent of what we want four or five years after we started asking for it, then, yeah, let's rush it through, please.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Cyndi Nguyen's price
It's somewhere between $1500 and $20,000 but definitely not $1500. That's not nearly enough.
Is this a Christmas parade or a Cyndi parade? Also does "family come first" in District E? At the parade? Or just at Cyndi? What is this poster promoting? Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen presents Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen along with some other stuff.
So you can see why it's a dicey matter to have Entergy underwriting the Cyndi presents Cyndi parade. Especially, as Kevin Litten points out in that NOLA.com article given the Lens's prior reporting on Entergy's relationship with Nguyen's non-profit.
To be clear, she's trying to relieve East New Orleans of "neglect" by putting a Christmas parade on Crowder Boulevard. And that's fine and all. I especially like the non-traditional Santa there on the poster.Nguyen, who said she understands the concern about the donation, considers the $1,500 contribution is a relatively small donation.“If it was like a $20,000 question," Nguyen said she would understand the concern. "We’re talking about $1,500 to help boost a district that’s been neglected, and they are a company in the city” that supports those goals."We were going to do this ourselves in my office with our team and we realized there was no way we could pull this parade off and deal with constituent services,” she said.
So you can see why it's a dicey matter to have Entergy underwriting the Cyndi presents Cyndi parade. Especially, as Kevin Litten points out in that NOLA.com article given the Lens's prior reporting on Entergy's relationship with Nguyen's non-profit.
Vietnamese Initiatives in Economic Training, or VIET, the nonprofit group Nguyen founded and ran, received more than $6,000 in grants and payments from Entergy as part of the company's campaign to get the plant approved.I went ahead and quoted the whole bit about LaToya's friends also being on the take from Entergy just for kicks. But, really, the broader context is worse than that. As the Lens has continued to report this week and previously, the whole of the New Orleans non-profit universe is really a network of bribes and kickbacks from which Entergy is not shy about calling in favors.
Nguyen wasn’t the only politically connected person involved in Entergy’s $530,000 public-relations campaign. Two top officials in LaToya Cantrell’s mayoral campaign were also on Entergy’s payroll.
Bill Rouselle was Cantrell’s chief strategist. Bob Tucker was her campaign chairman and served on her mayoral transition team.
Their companies billed Entergy tens of thousands of dollars to bolster public support for the plant.
According to invoices submitted to the city council as part of its investigation, Entergy paid Tucker’s company Green Pastures Unlimited $95,240 for strategic messaging from 2017 to 2018.
Rouselle’s public relations firm Bright Moments received $336,583 from 2016 to 2018. At least $166,800 of that represented hours billed by another public relations firm, The Ehrhardt Group, which was a subcontractor.
To avoid a $5 million fine from the city, Entergy New Orleans is recycling a tactic they used in the campaign that led to the potential sanction: leveraging their donations to lobby the City Council.So maybe Nguyen is just the one haggling over the price, but she's far from the only person or entity for sale around here.
Communications obtained by The Lens show that in response to the possible fine — over the use of paid actors who appeared at public meetings to support a proposed power plant — several beneficiaries of Entergy’s charitable giving sent letters supporting the company to New Orleans City Council members. At least two of the authors were directly asked to write the letters by an Entergy employee who oversees the company’s charitable giving.
We built the nice things for the rich people
Nothing to do now but find some rich people to sell them to.
Multifamily development isn't exclusive to downtown, either. Look to the Edwards Communities apartment complexes going up in Mid-City or the Parkway Apartments taking shape near Xavier University.I'm so old now I can remember when it was very important that we built dense high rises on high ground (and heavily subsidized it with tax credits and PILOTs and so forth) because that was the way to re-build the resilient city we always wanted to be with sustainable affordable housing and what not. But that was a long time ago. Also it was a lie. Some of us are even old enough to have said so at the time.
However, it's the downtown luxury condos (and their prices) that raise brows. Who's buying them?
Talbot said out-of-towners looking for a second home have always driven the downtown condo market. They're more likely to be wealthy people from Mississippi and elsewhere in the South than well-heeled buyers from the East or West Coast, he said. New Orleans Saints fans who live elsewhere in Louisiana, but have money to spend, have scooped up downtown properties for years.
"There are a lot of people who want a place here, but don't necessarily want to live here full-time," Talbot said.
LaToyaPAC
The mayor's people formed a PAC a few months ago. But nobody paid it much attention until she tweeted out a link to it this afternoon. I know mayors always have some form of electorally focused political presence while they're in office but this is little different.
Anyway Cantrell's PAC is called "Action New Orleans" and, as the Advocate article above explains, it names issues that, I guess, we can expect the mayor to push in various ways in the future. But the only thing it's currently asking for "action" on is her call for the city to share more hotel/motel tax revenue.
That's fine for now but this is something to keep an eye on. The "goals" page is loaded with equivocal language that names real problems in a sympathetic voice but leaves us with little sense of what the policy response might be. Others have already pointed this out, but the housing section is particularly concerning.
Mayors and other elected officials have long used political action committees — independent organizations, often referred to as PACs, that can collect and spend money for political purposes — to advance their goals.Mitch's PAC website doesn't list any issues. It just has a big picture of Mitch and a donate button. He has also launched something called the E Pluribus Unum fund which he says is supposed to "bring people together in cities and towns across the South to find common ground and solutions around the issues of race, equity, economic opportunity and violence." But when I pulled up the site tonight it set off my anti-virus software so who knows what's going on with that.
Former Mayor Mitch Landrieu, for example, formed a series of PACs to run campaigns in favor of ballot initiatives and millages sought by his administration before bringing those efforts under a more general-purpose organization, NOLA PAC, in his second term.
But based on the issues highlighted on its website, Action New Orleans may have a broader scope than just urging residents to vote for candidates or propositions supported by the Cantrell administration.
The group highlights six specific issues on its site, including bail reform, affordable housing, transportation, families in crisis and reducing homelessness.
Anyway Cantrell's PAC is called "Action New Orleans" and, as the Advocate article above explains, it names issues that, I guess, we can expect the mayor to push in various ways in the future. But the only thing it's currently asking for "action" on is her call for the city to share more hotel/motel tax revenue.
That's fine for now but this is something to keep an eye on. The "goals" page is loaded with equivocal language that names real problems in a sympathetic voice but leaves us with little sense of what the policy response might be. Others have already pointed this out, but the housing section is particularly concerning.
We know New Orleans is a world class city, but our residents should feel world class too. In 2016, 61% of renters were cost burdened. And over 30% of homeowners were cost burdened, according to HousingNOLA's 2018 report card. Lenders, the Louisiana State Legislature, and landlords can all work with us to make our city a more affordable place to live.Lenders, landlords, and legislators. Expecting that Three L coalition to meet the needs of a housing poor city isn't a particularly inspiring idea.
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