This gallery contains 4 photos.
Mike Ainsworth was a perpetually good-natured man with a long stride who would always make time to say “Hello” to me whenever our paths crossed. He was the kind of guy who was comfortable in his own skin; he smiled … Continue reading
Whether or not you agree with the politics of Occupy Wall Street you have to acknowledge it as a cultural phenomenom. The park has become a microcosm of activism spawning similar scenes in cities all over the world and I’m … Continue reading
Last Thursday the Occupy Wall Street movement made it to New Orleans. 
With signs ranging from End the War to Government is Organized Crime, the message of the protesters was at times hard to fathom. To be frank, I all but dismissed them as an oddity that was interesting to photograph, but not something that I took seriously. As I thought and read more about the movement, I came across a great Op Ed in the NY Times yesterday that helped me put into words what I was seeing. ”As the Occupy Wall Street protests spread from Lower Manhattan to Washington and other cities, the chattering classes keep complaining that the marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions. The message — and the solutions — should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention since the economy went into a recession that continues to sock the middle class while the rich have recovered and prospered. The problem is that no one in Washington has been listening.” The full opinion is here; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/opinion/sunday/protesters-against-wall-street.html?scp=5&sq=Occupy%20Wall%20Street&st=cse
I was really glad that I found that link prior to posting these images….I have had some conversations recently with friends and acquaintances about the fact that this might be the hardest time to finish a college degree and enter the workforce than any other time in US history. Imagine being twenty-two years old, with a fresh bachelors degree in hand, with numerous college loans that you needed to finance that degree, hanging over your head that you need to repay. It is not a pretty sight just now here in the US for those individuals. Young college graduates still lag far behind older college-educated workers: 9.3% of them are unemployed, more than double the 4.7% unemployment rate for college graduates age 25 and older and the class of 2011 will likely face the highest unemployment rate for young college graduates since the Great Recession began. What a terrifying time to arrive in the US job market.
Add to the mix, the average American who has lost their trust in a government that bails out banks and Wall Street while ignoring the pain that the Wall Street fallout has caused to middle class America. We are constantly being assailed by the profits that JP Morgan (successor to Bear Stearns) , AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, the auto industry continue to make even after receiving extraordinary bailouts from the US. It seems unbelievable that the US government was forced to bailout such companies, at the expense of the American public who has had to endure job losses, home equity losses, a credit bubble that cost them their homes and jobs, while Wall Street has hummed merrily along, thanks to the bailout, and the politicians who were elected pledging to reform Wall Street continue to maintain the status quo, all while raking in money from the corporate sponsors they had pledged to reform. Is it any wonder that the ordinary American is angry? When you factor these in, you begin to understand the need for such protests. Indeed it has even been suggested that the Occupy Wall Street protests that are beginning to spread across the US, might even become similar to the 1960′s protest. Time will tell on that forecast. For now, I think that the politicians, the pundits and the elite who are denouncing these protests should think twice about them; if you continue to bailout and coddle the rich while ignoring the middle class, the protests of the sixties could pale in comparison to these protests currently in their infancy.
The rest of my photos are here; http://laurabergerol.photoshelter.com/gallery/Occupy-NOLA/G0000vZy4n3gOvi4/
This year’s Rising Tide blogger conference was held at Xavier University in New Orleans. If you would like to read the events of the day, you can look on Twitter, hashtag #rt6 or @risingtide. New this year was an adjacent room hosting a tech school featuring several sessions on how to get the most out of your blogging and social media experience. Another great addition this year, the conference was webcast! The space at Xavier is one of the best yet, with plenty room to spread out, a myriad of vendors, and cool environs to participate in the event. The opening address by Sr. Monica Loughlin was a very warm welcome by the conference hosts, and Sr. Monica gave the audience a history of St. Katharine Drexel, the founder of Xavier, noting that she lived her life going against convention in order to achieve her vision, and that she would have been proud that a grassroots blogger assembly was being held on the grounds of her dream made reality, Xavier.
The first speaker was Richard Campanella, who spoke eloquently on the historical geography of New Orleans, and those implications on the current state of New Orleans’ neighborhoods. He has spent countless hours as a researcher gleaning information from local archives to write many books on the city. He presented a thorough picture of the city and surrounding regions and established a foundation of the relevance of New Orleans as a truly unique part of the country. The next presentation, the panel on social media and social justice promoted using social media to mobilize grassroots opposition to unjust legislation in state and federal politics. Moderated by Dr. Kimberly Chandler of Xavier University, it was a dynamic panel with good information on how to participate in social justice. Jimmy Huck who writes The Huck Upchuck blog, and follows Latino and immigrant issues in and around New Orleans presented issues concerning Latinos in New Orleans and stated that this demographic is much more plugged in than many people think and are able to participate in social media activism. One panel member noted that social media can also be used against the activists, with the case in point concerning the recent London Riots: pictures of rioters were posted on a website with a number assigned and people were asked to notify the authorities if they knew the individual in the picture. Scary thought indeed…
The lunchtime panel spoke on the Macondo/BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill that began April 20, 2010 killing 11 people. The panel reviewed the spill timeline, and Bob Marshall discussed the fact that the Minerals Management Service was “in bed” with Louisiana politicians and the oil companies and how it is virtually impossible to change any oil company policy to benefit the citizens of Louisiana and the environment where we all live. Anne Rolfes reported that the oil industry has an exponential number of accidents that are not reported. Drake Toulouse of Disenfranchised Citizen commented on the post-oil spill financial claims distribution mess that Ken Fineberg inherited, and how his promises of distributing checks within 7 days went unfulfilled. The delays wound up wearing people down so they just gave up and took a check, but unfortunately are still living with the disaster effects on their health and finances. All agreed that the American Petroleum Institute controls congress, therefore citizens have little control over this mess and we are all screwed because of that. It was also reported that any remaining monies from the 20 billion BP put into the GCCF fund would be returned to the company, instead of distributing it to people suffering from the spill. Bob Marshall said that he recently watched again the 1948 Louisiana Story movie and how so long ago there was no value on the swamps and wetlands, but now that we realize the wetlands destruction equates a loss of a way of life in Louisiana, it might be too little too late to save the wetlands.
After a delicious lunch by J’Anitas, David Simon the second featured speaker explored the conceptual background of his series Treme’. He presented the fallacies of logic, speaking specifically about “standing” and ad hominem arguments, the second in which a person uses an argument against the other person as opposed to the subject being argued between them. He noted that politicians frequently use the ad hominem fallacy of logic, such as in health care debates and other political discourse. He also posited that “standing” is the lamest way politicians diminish political discourse, using as an example the controversy over the demolition of a row of houses on S. Derbigny street that were featured in the poster of the first season of Treme’. Simon also noted that because he is not a New Orleans local, he got Treme’ right because he bluntly inserted himself into New Orleans situations that perhaps a local would not have ventured, caring nothing about “standing” for or against anyone or anything. Simon also cautioned the audience about the biotech development proposal slated for construction alongside the new LSU medical center, and how Johns Hopkins in Baltimore promised the same. Unfortunately a decade later, the empty dirt filled lots which were to be filled with new businesses and research buildings are still that, empty…
After Simon, a delightful and lively panel discussion on New Orleans Food was moderated by Jeffrey of the Library Chronicles. The panel talked about the miraculous post-Katrina recovery of the restaurant industry and the ensuing burst of food creativity as described by Todd Price. Rene Louapre who writes Blackened Out pointed out how there have been no New Orleans chefs participating on Bravo’s Top Chef series, and the reason probably is that New Orleans chefs in their 30′s have abundant opportunity to open restaurants in the city than anywhere else because of the storm and the abandoned food establishments just waiting to be put back into commerce. Chef Adolfo Garcia recalled how many chefs worked together after Katrina to help each other and mobilize restaurant re-openings because there were so many people in town that needed places to eat: first responders, contractors, insurance people and others who had money to spend and nowhere to dine. A lively discussion ensued about assigning the nomenclature of Creole to the current cuisine being served in town and the question arose: is New Orleans losing its food identity? Alex del Castillo talked about mobile food vendors, “taco trucks”, setting roots into brick and mortar restaurants that contribute to the eclectic mix of New Orleans creole cuisine. Chris deBarr of Green Goddess Restaurant had the most optimistic take on it all: in merging the varied cuisines of the different cultures of New Orleans (Italian, French, Caribbean, African, Vietnamese, etc.) the true identity of Creole cuisine is discovered by marrying local cuisines and cultures into great food.
Next was the presentation of the Ashley Morris Award, and this year’s recipient was Dedra Johnson of the G_Bitch spot blog. An extremely well deserved recipient, she tirelessly writes about the state of the New Orleans public school system. And finally, the exuberant Brass Band panel, hosted by Big Red Cotton discussing the history of and return after Katrina of New Orleans brass bands, closing out another wonderful Rising Tide conference. The TBC Brass band trumpeted another successful year and heralds the continuation and success of an inspiring event. Thanks to all the Rising Tide VI organizers, vendors and participants for making this year another memorable conference!
Wendell Pierce talks about the rebuilding of a green Ponchartrain Park on Future360.
On WWL-TV at noon today, the New Orleans Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association is organizing a fund to help the victims of the flooding from the opening of the Morganza Spillway. In conjunction with the American Red Cross, donations can be made in person at any local First NBC bank: the account accepting funds is named the Morganza Relief Fund and will remain open until June 17, 2011. Please consider helping our fellow Louisianians suffering through this catastrophe, and remember their sacrifices so metropolitan New Orleans and Baton Rouge could be spared.
On WWL-TV this morning, there was a quick video about the release of a seafood cookbook fundraiser, sponsored by the Louisiana Seafood Festival Foundation with the proceeds benefiting the Friends of the Fishermen Fund.
The cookbook can be purchased at any Rouse’s grocery and costs $9.95. It is a softcover book, however it contains excellent seafood recipes from most of the famous chef’s cooking in the New Orleans area. I purchased one this morning and already have a dozen pages marked to try out recipes. These would make great Christmas gifts too, for the cooks on your list. One thing I noticed as I read the local chef’s biographies is that many of them are graduates of New Orleans’ own Delgado Culinary School!
The Louisiana Seafood Festival will be held in the French Quarter the weekend of June 11-12. Check it out and help support our local fishermen.
The Neighborhood Story Project is holding its Third Annual Write-a-Thon! Join us in raising money to support documentary poster- and bookmaking in downtown New Orleans. During the Write-a-Thon, writers will write novels, theses, poems, exposés, love-letters, short stories, blog entries, and autobiographies, until they run out of ink. Food will be served and there will be a forum for readings- all to benefit the NSP. We’re now entering our seventh year, coming out of a jam-packed spring, and looking forward to future projects!
Sign up here.
Date: Sunday, May 15, 2011
Location:New Orleans, Louisiana
Contact:Lea Downing
502-541-6856
leadowning@gmail.com
Why this is personal; I stand with Planned Parenthood!
Congressional leaders and President Obama headed off a shutdown of the government with less than two hours to spare Friday night under a tentative budget deal that would cut $38 billion from federal spending this year. I am grateful that they figured out a way to avert government shutdown and not hurt Planned Parenthood in the process. But I AM REALISTIC; this battle is not over; this was simply the first skirmish in the war on women’s health. So I ask you to please support Planned Parenthood and women’s health issues; it has never been so needed especially in a time where there is an all out assault on women’s health. Please read the post that follows; it was written yesterday and it is my personal story on why this matters!
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Friday April 8, 2011; Today I received emails from Planned Parenthood that actually make me sick; due to the stupid GOP who have decided that Planned Parenthood is a bad thing, so they plan to shut down the government and hold the Democrats and all women hostage in order to prove their point because they have decided that Planned Parenthood is ONLY about abortion. The truth could not be farther from this!
I will cite articles, but what I want to do is to relate my own experience with abortion and a woman’s right to choose. The beautiful girl that you see below in the photo is my sister Brenda; I lost her when she was twenty seven years old and the world lost a great crusader for the underdog. It is because I was lucky enough to have her in my life, that I have the strength to speak out against what the GOP is doing; it is fundamentally wrong and it has to be overturned. Here is her story (and mine.)
When Brenda was 25, she found out that she was pregnant. It should have been a moment that most women who are in love and engaged to be married would cherish; the chance to have a child with the man that they love. Instead it was a time of terror for Brenda; you see, Brenda had severe epilepsy, and she could not be taken off of the medicines that kept her safe, in order to carry a child to term, and the medicines that already caused her significant side effects would have caused severe side effects to a child. If she was taken off the anti-convulsive medicines, it was highly probable that she would have died from a seizure.
Additionally, she had a hard time taking birth control, since the pill caused her to have seizures. So after much heartache, pain, and discussion with her fiance to make her decision, she chose to have an abortion, and asked me to accompany her to Planned Parenthood in Santa Clara, California. The year was 1982, and thank goodness, we had good facilities at that time that performed safe abortions. This had NOT always been the case as I was growing up, and indeed many deaths were attributed to back street abortion clinics. When they called her back for the procedure, they had her talk to several counselors before taking her back to the room. She explained over and over why she had no choice and I could see she was getting more and more upset; why couldn’t they just understand was written across her face. Finally they began the procedure; it seemed an interminably long time, though in reality, it probably was over in less than a half hour. BUT not before, my beloved sister suffered a Grand Mal seizure; I stayed with her, never leaving her side and I tried to protect her from the seizure, and to simply be there for her. She was terrified, as she always was when she had a seizure, and once the procedure was finally over, I took her home and put her to bed where she slept for 14 hours straight. She often felt guilt about that act, but I know in my heart that she would not have survived pregnancy, and that she had made the right decision. If the GOP gets their way, the Brenda’s of the world, will have no where to turn. Please do not let this happen!
To finish my story, about two summers later, Brenda married her sweetheart in June of 1984. They began their married life together, but it was to be short-lived. On October 4, 1984, my sister had a Grand Mal seizure while driving and was killed instantly when her car ran into the piling for an overpass on Highway 101 in Santa Clara, CA.
The one thing that I know about my sister Brenda, is that she would not mind me telling you this story; indeed knowing Brenda, she would be on the picket lines in DC marching with Planned Parenthood. Please do not force women to go back to a terrible time where contraception, family planning, and abortions are difficult to obtain. Please stand with Brenda and me; we support and stand with Planned Parenthood and we believe in the rights of all women to get the medical help they need, no matter their financial situation.
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Links;
Today’s (4/9/11) New York Times; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/us/politics/09fiscal.html?_r=1&hp
From the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/what-planned-parenthood-a… “Though the fight over Planned Parenthood might be about abortion, Planned Parenthood itself isn’t about abortion. It’s primarily about contraception and reproductive health. And if Planned Parenthood loses funding, what will mainly happen is that cancer screenings and contraception and STD testing will become less available to poorer people. Folks with more money, of course, have many other ways to receive all these services, and tend to get them elsewhere already. The fight also isn’t about cutting spending. The services Planned Parenthood provides save the federal government a lot of money. It’s somewhat cold to put it in these terms, but taxpayers end up bearing a lot of the expense for unintended pregnancies among people without the means to care for their children. The same goes for preventable cancers and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.”
From Planned Parenthood; I stand with Planned Parenthood; https://secure.ppaction.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=pp_ppol_urgent
From US Dept of Health and Human Services; http://www.hhs.gov/opa/familyplanning/index.html
From the New York Times; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/us/politics/09fiscal.html?_r=1&hp
Shutdown Near, No Sign of Compromise; After the nightlong negotiations that ended before dawn on Friday yielded no agreement, Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, went on the offensive. He told reporters and said on the Senate floor that Mr. Boehner, the Senate Democrats and President Obama had essentially settled on $38 billion in cuts from current spending. But he said that Republicans were refusing to abandon a policy provision that would withhold federal financing for family planning and other health services for poor women from Planned Parenthood and other providers.“This is indefensible, and everyone should be outraged,” Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor. “The Republican House leadership have only a couple of hours to look in the mirror, snap out of it and realize how truly shameful they have been.”
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Laura Bergerol is a professional photographer in New Orleans and blogs on Posterous and at Time Captured.net. Laura also was a major contributor to our Katrina Photo Project for the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. This essay was cross-posted from her personal blog.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Shercole and I’m born, raised and educated in good ole New Orleans. I have strong love/hate relationship with this city but overall an undying passion. No matter where I go, there is still nowhere like New Orleans for the good and bad. The food, people, culture, and the plain creativity you can find throughout the city. Where else can I go and meet random people and have a conversation with as if we been best friends my whole life? Where else can I see people with such imagination and creating things beyond your wildest dreams just at local street festivals?
This city has so much to offer us. Something I often ask myself that I hope you will consider asking yourself is what is it that you give to the city that continues to give to you? What can you offer? What talent can be utilized to help in making my city better?
In my heart, I feel all us ladies have a special gift that we may or may not be utilizing. It could be coordination or management skills, or maybe even artistic, but somewhere inside of us all there is some type of gift. Why not use that gift/talent to help your community in some small or big way. It can mean helping an elderly neighbor out, maybe even starting a garden, or it could be you just volunteering and attending city meetings. Whatever it is just be active and don’t just sit on the side line waiting for something to happen. Start making something happen. No matter how small ones action may be, they all can make a huge impact in the end.
Ideas:
Be creative and find something best for you.
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Shercole blogs at Minority Weirdos and GoodNola.com and is one of NOLA’s most prolific and entertaining Tweeters.
If you’re like me, you’re probably asking yourself “What is the Peace by Piece Nonviolence Youth Group?” When I received an email about this event from the Katrina Warriors Yahoo Group and read it I had to know more. After all, these kids are representing our state this summer in South Africa as Young Ambassadors for Nonviolence and will be coming back to teach non-violent techniques and skills in New Orleans schools and communities. I wanted to know more so I emailed the group organizer, Ahmane’ Glover, and she was kind enough to send me all kinds of information which I’m going to share with you here. But before I cut and paste the info (rather than trying to reword it all which wouldn’t be nearly as effective) I want to put this little bug in your ear:
The group needs to raise $1800.00 to cover to the cost of travel for 3 students and 1 chaperone. You can be a part of this by making a donation on their webpage, Peace By Piece In Action. This is the season for giving and what better way to show confidence in New Orleans’ youth than by contributing to this effort.
The students were selected based on the following criteria to participate in the “Young Ambassadors for Nonviolence” delegation from the United States to South Africa.:
The Young Ambassadors will join other high school students around the USA in the study of the struggle from Apartheid to Democracy. Ambassadors will participate in student forums in Johannesburg, Soweto, Durban and Cape Town South Africa.
New Orleans Delegation Student Profiles:
All three of these youth are working with AFSC as Nonviolence Leaders that train middle school and high school students on MLK’s principles of nonviolence using poems, skits, songs, dancing and much more. They are currently working in SciTech Middle School and St. Rita School in New Orleans.
Domonique Triggs (Male, 17)
1. Attends New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School and has a 3.5 GPA.
2. Wants to go to college to study biology pre-med and become an anesthesiologist.
3. At school he is the manager of the robotics team and is the treasurer of the school’s student government.
4. He is a member of The New Orleans Overcomers- a group of high school aged community organizers that formed after Hurricane Katrina. He has been a youth organizer for 3 years.
5. Wants to help other young men change their lives with nonviolence.
6. He believes that, “My life of nonviolence started because my brother was a local drug dealer ever since he was 16 years old. When I was young the only thing that I wanted was to be just like my oldest brother. Now I promised myself that I would never turn to drugs or violence for anything. ”
Rose Gilliam (Female, 18)
1. Recently graduated from New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School.
2. Wants to be a pediatric surgeon. Will attend Delgado Community College and study biology in Spring 2011.
3. Violence was the only relief she found before turning to nonviolence.
4. She is a youth poet that has been a member of a spoken word group called “Creative Forces.” She enjoys singing and using her talents to tell her story.
5. She is a member of The New Orleans Overcomers- a group of high school aged community organizers that formed after Hurricane Katrina.
6. She believes that, “Nonviolence plays a major part in my life because before turning to nonviolence my life was headed down the wrong path.”
Briana O’Neal (Female, 20)
1. She has just won “Youth Change Maker Award” from Operation REACH on Oct. 16, 2010.
2. She is a member of FYRE Youth Squad and Young Adults Striving for Success (YASS).
3. Delivers speeches about the inequities of life in New Orleans.
4. She has been in trouble in the pass for fighting and having a violent lifestyle.
5. She believes that, “Living in the city of New Orleans, that rates number 3 in the highest number of murder rates, we must educate our peers about nonviolence. I hope that one day our city can reach its’ full potential where every young person will have the chance to live past their eighteenth birthday, graduate from high school on time and where most of the jail cells will be empty of our youth and closed for good. “
Ahmane’ Glover (Female, 24) Group Organizer & Trip Chaperone
1. She is a community activist with the American Friends Service Committee, a human rights non-profit, working with the youth peace building program.
2. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a B.A. in Communications. She received a community service and academic scholarship.
3. She believes that, “after my cousin was murdered for his jacket and my best friend’s brother was murdered for less than $30, the fight for the lives of our youth became real to me. Nonviolence is a saving grace and it transforms lives.”
Cocktails For A Cause is the first of 10 planned events leading up to the South Africa trip. Watch this space for continuing information.
“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
~~~Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964.
Art for Art’s Sake is rolling this week-end and one of NOLAFemmes favorite sisters is participating in a photo show on Magazine Street. New Orleanian Laura Bergerol is a world-renown professional photographer who contributed to our Katrina Photo Project this year with several of her beautiful and haunting photos of homes in the city. Laura and Boise based photographer Stacy Ericson created Images Without Borders in the wake of the Haitian earthquake in an effort to supply humanitarian aid through their talent as photographers. They enlisted other photographers to join the cause and now you can view and purchase their stunning photographs this week-end at a showing at The Shop of the Two Sisters, 1800 Magazine Street during Art for Arts Sake. All proceeds with be donated to Doctors Without Borders, less the cost of printing, and are limited edition prints that will be retired after purchase.
Laura was kind enough to give NOLAFemmes access to the photographs in the show so we could share a few of them with our readers. So, if you’re out and about for this event Saturday evening, be sure to stop by The Shop of the Two Sisters to catch Laura’s show between the hours of 6 and 9 p.m. Here is a listing of participating Magazine Street merchants.
I thank my lucky stars that I live in one of the most celebrated and evocative neighborhoods in the world; who wouldn’t want the Vieux Carré to be safer for residents and visitors alike? I am also well aware of the risks I face living here: From my balcony, I can easily see the location where Wendy Byrne was murdered and it’s a rare day when I don’t pass by that spot during my meanderings.
As a resident of the French Quarter, I whole-heartedly support the creation of a French Quarter Security District — but not for self-serving purposes of the French Quarter elite and not without representation for the Average Joes and Janes that breathe what’s vibrant into my neighborhood on a day-to-day basis. There’s a class war being waged in the French Quarter right now, and it should not go unnoticed.
While the recent changes in the Administrative structure of New Orleans have been welcomed (Mitch Landrieu’s mayoral victory and the subsequent appointment of Chief Ronal Serpas as the Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department), this changing of the guard has also given rise to an alarming bid for power in the city’s oldest neighborhood. The campaign for change is further aided by the election of Kristin Gisleson Palmer as the District C Councilperson; for the French Quarter, the degree of change has been particularly significant.
At the July 2010 NOPD 8th District New Orleans Neighborhood Police Anti-crime Council (NONPAC) meeting, a prominent officer on the Board of the Lower Quarter Crime Watch organization identified herself as being the complainant regarding the street musicians’ ordinance enforcement issue. Her reason for making the complaint was concern for her ability to consistently rent two properties located in the Marigny Triangle on Chartres Street (properties not located in the French Quarter).
For the benefit of this individual’s financial concerns, one of the most poignant aspects of what makes my neighborhood so very unique is being jeopardized in a most forceful and calculated manner. For more than two years’ time, this “issue” was never brought up at these meetings, nor has this individual attended NOPD 8th District NONPAC meetings with any notable frequency. Instead, enforcement of the noise ordinance regarding recorded music (not live performances) blaring from bars and clubs in the French Quarter nightly has been a recurring motif at these meetings, an issue that has yet to receive equal concern or effort with regard to its resolution.
The parcel fee/security district tax measure on the October 2nd ballot is equally disingenuous. If passed, a tax would be levied against property owners in the French Quarter to fund a security district to be administered by the French Quarter/Marigny Historic Area Management District (FQMHAMD). Although the FQMHAMD was created by an act of the Louisiana Legislature in 2007, it has struggled since that time to secure a consistent source of funding; what the Louisiana Legislature has failed to provide it is now seeking under the guise of managing a “security district.”
Here’s the thing: From the time of the FQMHAMD’s creation in 2007 through 2009, improving safety was only one item on a laundry list of priorities for this district, which are detailed as follows: “The statutory purpose of the District is to strengthen the area within its boundaries as a vital component of Louisiana’s tourism industry; aid in the preservation of the District’s architecture, quaint charm and tout ensemble; beautify its appearance; improve public safety, foster quality experiences and quality of life within its boundaries; and improve commercial and residential vitality. ” (Source: http://www.fqmhd.com/what-we-do.html)
“Improving public safety” did not become the FQMHAMD’s raison d’etre/rally cry to make a bid for funding until after Wendy Byrne’s murder on January 17, 2009. I wonder if any of the individuals serving on FQMHAMD’s 13-member Board of Commissioners actually knew Wendy; its members aren’t people I would expect to see at Aunt Tiki’s on Lower Decatur or to run into at Starlight by the Park on North Rampart Street. And yet, they’ve not hesitated to seize this opportunity to seek funding… Not for benefit of all who live or work in the Vieux Carré as an act of altruism, but as means of inspiring fear that “It could happen to you, too!” hand-wringing amongst the more affluent within this community.
While three members of the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners are appointed from citizens’ groups [the Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents, and Associates (VCPORA); French Quarter Citizens, Inc. (FQC); and the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association (FMIA)], it is my understanding that all of these groups require an annual dues and are not, in general, representative of the taxing district’s population as a whole. And while there is also one “resident representative” on the Board of Commissioners who was appointed by former Mayor C. Ray Nagin, this individual is not someone I’ve seen at various neighborhood meetings I’ve attended. It is also worth noting that none of the 13 Board of Commissioners members attend the NOPD 8th District NONPAC meetings regularly.
Residents of the French Quarter have no role whatsoever in selecting the FQMHAMD’s appointed Board of Commissioners members, nor is there any requirement that these individuals be responsive or accountable to the community they serve as a whole. If you don’t pay membership dues to VCPORA, FQC, or FMIA, you are effectively disenfranchised (assuming that these organizations actually act in a manner that is representative of the actual viewpoints of their respective memberships, which has recently been questioned). The same is true if you’re not on the invitation list for the cocktail parties or dinners where you’re most likely to run into at least a few of the members of the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners (unless you’ve been hired to mix the drinks or serve the meal).
The “Management and Operations Plan” approved by the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners on 9/7/10 includes a one-page “3 Year Budget.” If approved, the security district parcel fee would be non-revocable (it would remain in effect until the district’s term expiration in 2014) and will cost a projected minimum of $2,996,982 in levied property taxes. As stated publicly by the Vice Chair of FQMHAMD on 7/12/2010: “It’s a three-year experiment funded with tax dollars.”
What will the tax-paying general public receive for this $3 million expense? Two FQMHAMD paid staff positions (an Executive Director and an Executive Assistant), 900 sq. ft. of office space and parking for these two employees for 28.8% of the projected annual budget or $863,345 over three years’ time, plus the FQMHAMD will “be able to afford an average of three officers patrol each shift” for three eight-hour shifts each day. It is disconcerting that FQMHAMD “Management and Operations Plan” creates, on an average day, a 1:1 ratio between desk-based positions (the Executive Director and Executive Assistant positions for FQMHAMD, plus the contracted security firm’s Operations Manager) and the three patrolling security officers who will be responsible for enhancing the safety of the French Quarter Security District.
While the FQMHAMD states one of its guiding principles is to “maximize return on investment for taxpayers, investing resources wisely and keeping overhead costs to a minimum,” the proposed budget provides little reassurance in this regard.
Likewise, while improved security is identified as a priority, it takes a back seat to ordinance enforcement, nuisance abatement, and the reporting/observation/documentation duties to be performed by patrolling security personnel. “The public safety program will provide direct benefits in the service area, ensuring the consistent, reliable enforcement of ordinances” and by helping to relieve “the burden placed upon the 8th District and the 1st District of the New Orleans Police Department by the high volume of public nuisance and quality of life violations,” such as “panhandling, public urination, graffiti, loitering, public disturbance, blocked driveways, non-violent disputes, and disruptively loud music.”
(What’s next? Going after Mr. Okra for his use of amplification as he drives through the neighborhood, calling out, “I have oranges and bananas…”?)
When patrolling security officers observe “Violence and/or Felony” situations, per the “Management and Operations Plan” approved by the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners on 9/7/10, they are to respond as follows:
Will the French Quarter truly be any safer when the patrolling security officers are tasked with addressing instances of public urination and documenting graffiti, while being limited to acting defensively only in circumstances where an “offender has physically assaulted or attempted to assault the Patrol Officer or Patrol Supervisor?”
If the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners doesn’t believe that the NOPD is getting the job done with an average of 35 officers on the street during each shift, how will the addition of an average of three glorified mall cops in spiffy uniforms magically tip the balance in favor of me walking home safely at night?
The FQMHAMD makes an unvarnished bid for support by selling the appeal of so-called “Escort”/Accompaniment Services, the only direct benefit for the tax-paying residents of the security district, but with limitations:
“Security officers will accompany, or ‘tail,’ individuals who feel unsafe walking from one location to another within the security district. Officers will not provide ‘rides’ in their vehicles to such individuals, but rather will provide security and comfort of a watchful eye as an individual walks.” Because the FQMHAMD has deemed foot patrols to “not be practical given the size of the service area,” this means that the security officer in a motorized vehicle or on a bicycle is limited to traveling at the speed of the walking person(s) being escorted, and the person being escorted must travel a route dictated by the direction of the flow of traffic.)
As the FQMHAMD realizes that the demand for such a service will likely be significant, it notes the following: “If providing the [escort] service to all who request it would sacrifice the overall benefit provided by the patrolling security officer, then the service will have to be rationed.”
The FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners is nothing more than an elite oligarchy; it is appalling to me that our Honorable Councilmembers Kristin Gisleson Palmer, Arnie Fielkow, and Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson have expressed support for the parcel fee measure on behalf of this group. Those who are not part of the moneyed class that are voting against this tax on October 2nd should remember this when the next opportunity to vote for city council representation rolls around.
This emphasis on so-called “quality of life” issues, such as enforcement of the noise ordinance as it applies to street musicians or public nuisance abatement, is the true agenda of these individuals who are seeking to improve property values over genuinely improving public safety.
While aggressive panhandling, public urination, and “disruptively loud music” (usually of the top-40 karaoke variety) are occasional-but-brief annoyances I experience while walking in my neighborhood, they aren’t the issues that make me careful to communicate my whereabouts to close friends when I’m out and about in the night.
It disgusts me that those who are pushing for these so-called improvements play on the fear of how Wendy Byrne’s life ended to make a bid for power to further this agenda, a woman who was likely faceless to them in life (except possibly as a rental tenant).
The French Quarter/Marigny Historic Area Management District “Management and Operations Plan” as approved by the FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners for your consideration: http://bit.ly/cVG0md
My Opposition Statement published 9/22/10: http://bit.ly/OppStmt-9-22-10
Coda (5-27-2010): Over the weekend, a “Make the Quarter Safe — Vote Yes” sign appeared on my block at a neighbor’s home.
One of the owners of this residence was the physician who rendered medical assistance to Wendy Byrne, who kept her breathing during the last minutes of her life (before the EMT vehicle arrived). Shortly after the fateful events of that night, the owners of this home spoke enthusiastically of enhancing the lighting on their property, and of adding security cameras to their corner location where they’d be of particular value.
Adding lighting to private property in the French Quarter is not a simple matter. The Vieux Carré Commission (VCC) controls alterations to structures in the French Quarter in the interest of historic preservation. During the summer of 2008, it was proposed that a small number of light fixture options might be pre-approved by the VCC as a means to allow property owners to enhance lighting at residential properties (thereby expediting the VCC’s permit approval process). While reasonable and appropriate light fixture options were identified, the VCC has, to date, not acted to support this effort; it’s ironic that the VCC’s Chair is one of the 13 FQMHAMD Board of Commissioners members.
Almost two years later, the lighting at this home remains unchanged; if cameras have been added, they are unobtrusive (their presence cannot be visually confirmed). It seems that putting up a sign and leaving the task of defining improved public safety to the Board of Commissioners for the FQMHAMD was determined to be the easier option.
It’s a very difficult time for us down here in Southeastern Louisiana. Between trying to get viable options to stop the oil from spilling into the gulf, to the profane, black sludge reaching shore – the uneasiness in the air that is a combination of bad memories, distrust, anger, fear and insecurity. We look towards our leaders in local, state and national government to offer to us honest answers, yet they remain elusive, hidden away on a need to know basis for everyone but the people who have to live here and endure the impacts the oil spill is going to have as it kills our sea life, wrecks havoc on an ecosystem still trying to stabilize from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, enters our water system as it slowly works it way to shore. Families feel lost, having passed this tradition of shrimping or commercial fishing down generation to generation, afraid that the tradition and culture will die with their generation. In a job market where there are already too many searching, the financial impacts this has on everyone in this region is not only a frightening thought, but seems to now be inevitable.
The father that has to go home to tell his child that work is not there, the single mother that barely gets by finding that things are going to get harder now as hotels are being called for cancellations and not reservations and beaches close, for us in Southeastern Louisiana, this isn’t just about a corporate responsibility or about company oversight. This is our lives that hang in the balance, out of our control, leaving us filled with an uncertainty that no one in one of the superpowers of the world should have to feel. Our environment here is apart of us, from the marshes in Plaquemines Parish to the Mississippi to Lake Pontchartrain to the Honey Island Swamp to the beaches of Grand Isle, these places make up our communities and homes, our neighbors, our memories.
The political is always personal, but this is especially personal.
As I sit writing this, gallons of oil stream into the Gulf of Mexico, poisoning part of the 40% of the seafood that comes from the state of Louisiana. The husbands, fathers, grandfathers and sons that fish this area sit at home, wondering if all hope is lost. Unsure whether or not to file a claim with BP for $5000.00. Part of signing a deal with the devil, however, is that you sign away the devil’s responsiblity in this mess, giving him a get-out-of-jail free card, allowing the bad practices that helped cause this mess go unpunished. What is better, they question, the money now – which for many will barely pay their bills for a month – or holding out, waiting to see what will come as more information becomes available about cause, effect and damages.
In a city known for its food, surrounded by beautiful bodies of water, questions now weigh heavy on the minds of servers, bartenders and chefs. Some are finding their hours cut, businesses cutting back because sales simply aren’t what they should be this time of year while others begin trying to figure out what else they can do in a city where jobs aren’t many. Serving in New Orleans isn’t like serving in high school or college. It’s a tourist city. In this city, it is a career – and a well-paying one at that. Teachers, lawyers and accountants have left the industries they chose to educate themselves in to give a smile to the family that travels down from the mid-west, excited to see what all the noise about New Orleans is really all about.
As five years separates those here for Katrina from the anxiety that horrific time caused, we face another tragedy. I know we are strong. We are family. No matter the strength, the what-ifs and the how-comes can make even the strongest fall.
It is said that ignorance is bliss and perhaps there is truth to that. Being here, we are living this tragedy. It isn’t a sound bite on CNN or Fox or an article in the New York Times and the Washington Post. We know what isn’t being reported. We know what is happening behind the scenes – scenes that include journalists being prohibited from filming damaged areas and threatened with arrest, survivors of the explosion being held in seclusion and brow-beaten until they sign no liability clauses for BP, politics as normal in Washington – – giving $205 million dollars to Israel in aid for missiles systems as oil spews, pollutes and kills — and a great majority of people telling us to shut up, to stop having our hand out for money from the government, to accept what has happened without question because, after all, accidents happen even though protocols were not followed and safety equipment wasn’t all that safe.
While people are telling us that being hard on BP is ‘un-American’ we question what America we belong in when corporations become what matter and the consequences of their bad behavior become our consequences, forced upon us without choice. The us that are good, hardworking people of character and strength that simply want to live life, celebrate it and share it with all those who travel here from around the world for just a little taste of it. Don’t confuse our living out loud as acceptance or our humor as not caring. We are an involved, passionate bunch as can be witnessed on any number of blogs that were created since Katrina when we felt that media left us behind. There comes a point in tragedy, however, where you have to find humor in it or all you are left with is tears. We’ve cried enough tears.
It is my hope that people in other places of this country feel overwhelmed and unable to help because they are not here, instead of being apathetic to the situation. There are many things you can do. Collect non-perishable food items for the shrimpers who are impacted most by this. For a time, they couldn’t even receive food stamps from the state because they made too much money, even though their livelihoods had been lost. Sign petitions asking for stricter regulations in off shore drilling or for development of alternative energies. Contact those in your states and ask them to care about ours. Buy t-shirts made by local vendors, where profits go directly towards animal rescue efforts. Pass on news about what is happening here. In the age of twitter and facebook, you tell one person and they tell another and perhaps, maybe enough pressure can be generated for our government to stand up and see us reaching out for them to help, perhaps they will reach back through legislation or even a tougher approach with those companies involved in this disaster. Stay aware of the situation. Contact BP and express your outrage and your ire.
We aren’t asking the rest of the country to rescue us. We are, however, asking you to care.
We’ve taken a beating down here. Some question why we live here, knowing the potential of loss. It is an argument that often used after Hurricane Katrina and it is an argument being recycled now. The levee failure in Nashville shows that the disasters we have faced can happen anywhere, even in middle America. Although at times it can feel like we live in our own third world country down here, a reference we make jokingly, please dont’ treat this as such. This impacts you, too.
Don’t watch from afar as disaster tourists. Don’t make us tragedy porn.
If it were you, we would be there, doing what we could with what we had, opening our hearts and telling you we too know tragedy and we understand.
Like most people in the area right now, my attention has been focused on the oil that is leaking in the Gulf of Mexico, traveling towards Louisiana and dirtying up the Louisiana shoreline with its seductive corruption. My concern is not only for those directly impacted by the oil contaminating the seafood and taking away from them the way they make a living, but my concern falls for the wetlands that act as a protective barrier for Louisiana and the impact this is going to have on an already fragile eco-system. My concern also comes from the federal governments promises of being pro-active, working on behalf of the many, many individuals that will be impacted by this horrible man-made disaster when we all know how helpful the federal government was during the last man-made disaster this area survived five years ago.
My feelings on what is happening are far and wide. I feel empathy for all of the people who live in the area most directly affected by this – those that work in horrible conditions and brave the dangerously seductive waters to pay their bills, support their families and live because this is what they and their people have been doing for many, many years. I feel sadness for people who are just settling back into life in these areas, now having their lives uprooted once more. I feel betrayal that although we in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are expected to accept the environmental risks of off-shore drilling while the federal government enacted rules that keeps our states, some of the poorest in the US, from profiting from the oil they take from us.
Above all, though, I feel anger.
President Obama, who recently signed an off-shore drilling bill that expands where the drill can take place, can’t be bothered to come down here now when we need him to see for himself the impact this is having on people, communities and eco-systems. For me, sending his people to see the damage first hand isn’t enough for me. I want to see him here. This is already being dubbed the worst oil spill of this kind by talking heads like CNN, Fox News and the like – to me, that is worthy of a Presidential visit. Not doing so only reinforces bad experiences people had during Katrina with the lack of attention not only not given by the federal government iself, but by the head cheesd of the federal government. Distaste still exists in the mouths of many on the lack of action, compassion and visibility of George W Bush during Hurricane Katrina, and I am starting to develop a distaste of my own in my mouth now.
I am angry that we, in Louisiana, are expected to just take man-made disasters like this with a forced smile on our face while carrying a hurricane in our hand and screaming “Let the Good Times Roll” as we party on, despite the devastation we are feeling. I love that New Orleans is looked upon as a place to go, to have fun, to lose yourself and we have some of the best people in the world here – we really do. I am sick of this area being treated like a cartoon character, without any consideration given that we are real people, with real families that will be facing real economic hardship due to an oil company’s greed and negligence. (Those not from here, despite many beleifs that the city flooded because of Hurricane Katrina, the city flooded because of the levees made and taken care of by the Army Corp of Engineers and the failure of those levees, which is why while you think we are selfish and lazy for demanding the federal government to take responsibility for what happened with Hurricane Katrina, it IS their duty to take responsibility for what happened)
I am angry that in a day or two, no one will care what is happening here unless their gas prices go up. At the point, in some way, this will become our fault instead of the fault of greedy oil companies, negligent government regulations and people who profit off of our suffering.
