A Letter to the Newhouse Family

Found on the Gambit website, here is a letter sent to the Newhouse clan regarding the Times Picayune's future. Read the whole story here.


TO: Robyn A. Newhouse, Mark Newhouse, Peter C. Newhouse, Jonathan E. Newhouse, David Newhouse, Si Newhouse Jr., Pamela Newhouse Mensch, Joseph Mensch, Samuel Newhouse III, Samuel Newhouse IV, Donald Newhouse, Katherine N. Mele, Michael Newhouse, Steven O. Newhouse, Julie B. Lobel, Amy B. Bermant-Adler, Robert J. Miron, Steven A. Miron, Nomi Bergman, Caroline D. Harrison, Alison Levasseur and Richard E. Diamond Jr.:

Dear ______ :

Nearly a half century ago, your family invested in the future of New Orleans by purchasing our daily newspapers. Norman Newhouse came to New Orleans, raised a family here, and was welcomed by our community.

Your family has been a blessing to our city. You built one of the greatest local newspapers in the United States, became one of our most respected employers, grew with us as our people spread out across seven parishes, and stood selflessly with the citizens of New Orleans when a vicious storm knocked us down.

In return, our city has supported your family. The Times-Picayune, a recipient of four Pulitzer awards, likes to boast that it has the best readership of any major metropolitan market. And that makes us proud too, because it shows how our community is loyal, engaged and dedicated to civic discourse. In other cities, newspapers were hemorrhaging money but The Times-Picayune remained profitable and loyal to the employees who have served New Orleans so well.

Unfortunately and sadly, the considerable goodwill your family enterprise has created in New Orleans in the last 50 years has dissipated in just a few short months because of the decision that took our entire community by surprise. Advance Publications and its leadership have lost the trust and credibility of a significant segment of the community. Citizens have publically protested the proposed new format; prominent civic and business leaders and advertisers have stepped up to speak out against the plan, and an online petition is climbing toward 10,000 signatures, including celebrities like Ed Asner and Garrison Keillor and ordinary New Orleanians whose comments are a tribute to the towering impact of the newspaper you built. Clearly, the voices of our community are strongly opposed to what you are doing.

It is painful to report that right now it is nearly impossible to find a kind word in these parts about your family or your plan to take away our daily newspaper. Our community leaders believe that your decision is undermining the important work we continue to face in rebuilding New Orleans. Whether you intended to or not, you have already created the impression that our recovery is so tepid that we cannot support an important civic institution like a daily newspaper.

In the end, we fear our community has already made its judgment on the three-day publication plan and the damage already realized cannot be undone. But the relationship between your family and our community does not have to end sourly. If your family does not believe in the future of this great city and its capacity to support a daily newspaper, it is only fair to allow us to find someone who does.

If you have ever valued the friendship you have shared with our city and your loyal readers, we ask that you sell the Times-Picayune. Our city wants a daily printed paper, needs a daily printed paper and deserves a daily printed paper

RIP Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine has passed.

Although he won an Oscar for "Marty" , I'll always remember him from that 60's show "McHale's Navy".

His acting career is detailed here.

Ernest was 95 years old and brought many, many smiles into lives. Thank you and R.I.P. Mr. Borgnine.

RIP Uncle Lionel

New Orleans lost another legend today. Lionel Batiste. He entertained till the day he died. We last saw him at French Quarter Fest this past April.

NOLA blogger Lance Vargas eulogizes Uncle Lionel here. Read it, it rocks.

here's a link to Uncle Lionel's history

R.I.P.

EXCELLENT photo montage in honor of "Unc" here.

Noladefender has a perfect tribute here.

From "My New Orleans dot com", another sendoff post, where you can buy a poster of Uncle Lionel and support his funeral expenses.

Windows Wednesday (on a Thursday)

Taken from the second floor of the Yak and Yeti Restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom .

We liked the food so much we ate there twice. Sigh, I wanna go back!

Olympics for Animals

UrtheCast

UrtheCast (pronounced “EarthCast”) is a company created around a unique vision: to provide the world’s first ever, live HD video feed of Earth from space.

Working in an exclusive relationship with world-famous Russian Aerospace giant RSC Energia, UrtheCast is building, launching, installing, and operating two cameras on the Russian module of the International Space Station. Starting next year, video data of the Earth collected by our cameras will be down-linked to ground stations around the planet and then displayed in near real time on the UrtheCast web platform.




Here's a link to their website.

For the last of the Creole Tomatoes

One of my favorite chefs Michael Ruhlman tweeted this recipe tonite and now I know what I'm going to do with the last batch of creoles I purchased. Enjoy!

Death on an Indian Reservation

I will never understand why some people are allowed by nature to procreate. Just last week a precious 4 year old boy suffered at the hands of a sociopath who happens to be the boyfriend of the child's mother.

Carnel Chamberlain

According to the two-page criminal complaint, Jaimee Chamberlain told the FBI that she saw her son with a bruised and swollen face as well as a cut lip in late May or early June. She said he had been struck by Bennett when she was away from the home.

A few days later, she saw Bennett pick up her son by the neck and drop him before dragging him into a room by his foot, according to the court document.

It wasn't known why Jaimee Chamberlain allowed her son to be in her boyfriend's company if she believed he was abusing the boy. She answered her phone when contacted by The Associated Press but hung up without commenting.

Listen to this telephone interview. The mother sounds a bit on the "duh" side.


Here is the murderer, Anthony Bennett



In a statement made to the FBI, Jaimee Chamberlain admits to witnessing prior incidents of abuse by Bennet.

I certainly hope that he faces the death penalty and the mother is prosecuted for failing to report child abuse.

Sunday Smile

Windows Wednesday

In anticipation of attending Our Lady of the Gulf Church's annual Crab Festival this weekend, I looked back to my post of last year's fest. In the post was this picture of stained glass found in Century Hall where you can shop and enjoy the art gallery in air conditioned comfort.