[...]
I've recently been critical of the secrecy surrounding Gov. Jindal's fundraisers and fundraising hosts, asking in my last post, "why the secrecy, Gov?" Now we know:
Scott Rothstein, who is accused of running a Ponzi scheme and was recently disbarred by the Florida Bar, contributed $10,000 to Jindal's 2011 re-election campaign' [...]
[Guest post contributed by JMC]
Note: Numbers represent percent that voted "yes."
A final note on tax issues in East Baton Rouge Parish -- by looking at a sample of parishwide tax votes since 2002, some patterns clearly emerge that any politician would be wise to note:
Central is anti-tax. Period. [...]Gov. Jindal is off to Texas and Michigan to beg for money. Once for himself, and twice for the Michigan GOP. The "Where's Bobby?" map has been updated.
Once again, Jindal mouthpiece Kyle Plotkin refused to answer any questions about the events' sponsors, saying that information would be available [...]
From The Advocate yesterday:
[Kip Holden] did not respond to the Advocate’s requests for an interview Saturday night, made through his aides.
And from today:
Holden’s spokesman, Scott Dyer, and his chief administrative officer, Mike Futrell, did not respond to telephone calls and e-mails Sunday seeking an interview with the mayor and the [...]
I'd like to take a minute to give a special thanks to JMC Enterprises, the local consulting firm that has generously provided me with all of the hard numbers I've been able to share on The Old River Road re: the bond results, particularly the color-coded precinct map and [...]
The Advocate made a halfhearted attempt at analyzing the bond results in this morning's paper. However, they made a number of lazy assumptions and relied heavily on flawed logic.
According to their analysis, the reason why the bond failed was because white suburbanites turned out in greater numbers than those' [...]
1. Progress Is... organizer Todd Teepell at a press conference last month:
"We wanted to make sure people knew the voices against the bond or to delay the bond are not the community sentiment. That's a minority that happens to be very loud."
That "minority" wasn't just loud, Todd -- it was deafening.
2. [...]
I'm putting together my final thoughts on yesterday's vote. In the meantime, a good friend who is a numbers genius sends along a graphical representation of the vote broken down by precinct.
Today's vote won't even be close. I'm thinking the no vote is going to be around 60 percent. So be prepared for the backlash.
They're going to tell us we're anti-progress and small-minded. They'll say we're stuck in the past and tied to a small-town mindset. And they'll bemoan the fact [...]
Kip Holden's Bond PAC has raised over half a million dollars so far, and it has come from primarily two types of individuals: 1) those who stand to benefit financially from the bond's passage (i.e. architects, engineers, contractors, etc.) and 2) those on the cocktail circuit (i.e. the downtown crowd).
Some [...]
From The Times-Pic:
While the New Orleans Saints storybook season has made them the hottest ticket in town, it also has driven up demand for the governor's private suite in the Superdome....
And while the tickets to the governor's box are free -- as opposed to the scalped variety that are going for as [...]
Justifying their help in rushing through Barack Obama's pork-filled $789 billion stimulus, Charlie Melancon told us:
With our economy in freefall and millions of Americans losing their jobs, doing nothing is not an option. We must act now to turn our economy around, or we will slip even deeper into recession.
Mary Landrieu promised:
The bill' [...]
From The Advocate:
Mayor-President Kip Holden picked up support Tuesday for his proposed $901 million capital improvements bond package from U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, two state representatives and several Baker officials....
Two Democratic legislators in Baton Rouge, state Rep. Avon Honey and state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, announced support for the package.
As I mentioned [...]
When Bobby Jindal addressed the inaugural meeting of the Streamlining Commission he told them, "everything is on the table." He continued, "...it would be irresponsible as state leaders to simply continue spending like business-as-usual in Baton Rouge and pass the bill on to our people. We must root out every opportunity" [...]
Kip Holden says we need ALIVE to keep the Baton Rouge economy strong. But funding ALIVE entirely with tax dollars necessitates a 9.9-mill property tax that will burden local businesses with millions of dollars in new, yearly taxes.
As reported in the Sunday Advocate, the 9.9-mill property tax accounts for 38 [...]
In selling his $2.175 billion tax, Kip Holden has pointed to the Tennessee Aquarium as proof that ALIVE will work. Many believe Chattanooga's investment in the aquarium to be the catalyst that sparked the redevelopment of their entire riverfront.
But Kip has conveniently left out a crucial detail (he sure' [...]
If this wasn't so sad and pathetic it would be funny. There's no question that East Baton Rouge Parish schools rank among the state's worst. Unfortunately, our School Board decided it would be easier to change the public's perception of our schools rather than the schools themselves.
And they're spending' [...]
Gov. Bobby Jindal spent last night in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida raising money for his re-election campaign. In response to questions about the organization sponsoring the event, Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said:
"That info will be available on the campaign finance reports" when they are filed next year.
Last night Bobby Jindal [...]
In selling ALIVE and its ability to generate revenue, Mike Futrell said, "Alive will use the same model that Audubon uses in New Orleans at the zoo and the aquarium." Here's an interesting tidbit about that model buried in today's Advocate article about Audubon's deficit:
[Audubon spokeswoman Sarah] Burnette' [...]
Earlier this month members of the House and Senate Governmental Affairs Committees -- those tasked with redistricting -- met in Alexandria to learn from state and national experts about the procedures, court cases and laws related to reapportionment. Seven of them forgot to take notes:
Some Louisiana lawmakers have [...]
The worst run campaign in the history of politics just got worse:
Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden...and others will provide information on the proposed parishwide proposition in a half-hour television program entitled, “Our Future. Our Vision.” on Wednesday, October 28th at 6:30 p.m. on WAFB-TV....
After the program airs on Wednesday, it will replay once [...]
Ray Nagin and a host of New Orleans area officials have been on a fact finding mission in Cuba since Friday. After getting a closer look at Cuba's disaster-response system, Nagin liked what he saw:
"...one of the biggest weaknesses we had during Hurricane Katrina is it wasn't clear" [...]Despite a new state law aimed at reigning in the ATC, Herr Painter and his brownshirts are at it again. You'll remember Painter began targeting restaurants that had cover charges, live entertainment and drink specials, specifically Chelsea's. The Legislature responded to his aggressive new tactics with a law that permits those things so [...]
Bobby Jindal is compiling quite the endorsement record. His latest victim, Jimmy Faircloth, managed to lose 53-47 despite being up 13 points in a SMOR poll two weeks ago and despite running against a guy who was suspended for 30 days without pay by the Supreme Court for habitual [...]
State Rep. Hunter Greene on the lack of private investors for ALIVE:
“Is there anybody at risk other than the taxpayers with this project?” asked Greene, R-Baton Rouge.
The city-parish taxpayers should not be taking all the risk should the project’s economic forecasts not pan out, Greene said. He said other parties, such [...]
Only in government are bureaucrats rewarded with bonuses for just doing their job. Last night the EBR School Board -- without discussion -- approved an $8,369 bonus for recently retired Superintendent Charlotte Placide.
And what did Ms. Placide do to deserve her bonus? According to The Advocate the "biggest factor" [...]
The Bond PAC's 30P is up. Read it here. Some highlights:
$354,250 was raised from 67 entities (as of October 5th) $154,741 on hand at the close of the reporting period. 57 percent of donations were $5,000 or more. Shaw Environmental donated the most -- $50,000. The Baton Rouge Area Chamber donated a total' [...]In response to questions about how the state would chip in $40 million for the ALIVE project despite a $1 billion budget shortfall, Walter Monsour explained the state had already committed $36 million for renovations to the River Center. Since the bond issue would cover those renovations, the Holden administration [...]
Reading this Advocate article, you might have been impressed with the number of groups throwing their support behind Kip Holden and his bond -- the Downtown Development District, the Convention & Visitor's Bureau, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Progress Is, etc. However, what you probably don't know is how [...]
Regarding a morning press conference with pro-bond organizations, Progress Is... organizer Todd Teepell channeled Baghdad Bob:
"We wanted to make sure people knew the voices against the bond or to delay the bond are not the community sentiment. That's a minority that happens to be very loud."
Teepell's ignorance is indicative of Baton Rouge's' [...]
Charlie Melancon was forced to choose between party loyalty and doing what's right -- he chose party loyalty. He joined with Nancy Pelosi and other democrats to let tax cheat Charlie Rangel keep his job as Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee. So for the foreseeable future,' [...]
Citizens Against Government Waste has released its 2008 Congressional Rankings showing which Members of Congress are friends of the taxpayers and which are enemies. Charlie Melancon -- that "fiscally conservative Blue Dog democrat" -- scored a 6 percent. No, I didn't forget a zero, he got six.
If you're keeping [...]
Yesterday while speaking about the ALIVE land dispute issue, Mike Futrell referenced an agreement that had almost been worked out between the railroad company and Mike Foster's administration, saying:
It is extraordinarily simple to pull that agreement off the shelf and keep going.... The railroad’s always said they’d be willing' [...]
Kip Holden's continued arrogance has forced me to make "The Curse of 71" a regular feature of The Old River Road. This time, Kip has picked a public fight with the League of Women Voters. Only a complete jackass picks a fight with the League of Women Voters.
For the' [...]
From The Advocate:
The leaders of two civic organizations say they canceled plans for a forum this week on the city-parish’s $901 million bond proposal because Mayor-President Kip Holden refuses to participate if tax opponents are part of the program.
The Federation of Greater Baton Rouge Civic Associations and the League of Women Voters were [...]
Kip Holden's use of our law enforcement as political pawns is just disgraceful. These men and women put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, and they deserve better.
If Kip really cared about backing the badge he would have split his' [...]
When Stephen Moret was hired away from BRAC in 2008, his salary was set at $320,000 -- a $75,000 increase over his predecessor and higher than his counterparts in North Carolina and Alabama ($117,000 and $156,000 respectively). To justify the pay hike, Angèle Davis cited Moret's level of experience and' [...]
Charlie Melancon in February 2009:
Today, we are facing an economic crisis more serious than any since the Great Depression. Last month alone, almost 600,000 Americans lost their jobs and unemployment in Louisiana has risen to 5.9%.
With so many people hurting, we can’t afford to sit back and wait for the perfect solution to come [...]
On his recent fundraising swing through Washington, Gov. Jindal took time to sit down with POLITCO:
Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal urged his party Tuesday to shift to offering health care solutions instead of just rejecting what President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress are proposing....
Jindal urged congressional Republicans to go [...]
Metro Councilmen Joel Boé, Chandler Loupe and Trae Welch have called a special Council meeting to discuss pulling the bond issue off the ballot until next spring to allow time for the ALIVE issues to be resolved. Kip Holden responded by accusing the three of "trying to remove democracy" [...]
Remember the Kip Holden "Curse of 71?" It was on full display at yesterday's news conference in the Council chambers. Although at this point, I can't tell if this administration is arrogant or just stupid.
We were assured that the ALIVE land dispute isn't as big as it's made out [...]
Sources tell me that Kip Holden will announce Monday that a deal has been reached between the state and the Illinois Central Railroad Co. regarding the long-standing dispute over ownership of the 16 acres where ALIVE will be built.
-Charlie Buras
[...]Charlie Melancon had this to say in response to Obama's health care address:
...And we need reform that protects individual choice and maintains competition within the marketplace so every person can get the quality treatment they need, when they need it and from the doctor they choose.
Finally, health-care reform must strengthen the doctor-patient relationship [...]
