Thursday, May 28, 2009

One step forward

House Bill 780 was passed by the committee yesterday.


This is one small step forward for those who want to preserve Charity
Hospital and save Lower Mid City from being decimated to make way for an unnecessary hospital complex desired LSU and requires them to to show that they could finance the construction of the new hospital complex before seizing land from residents and business owners of Lower Mid-City.

The bill will now pass out of the committee to be debated before the entire House of Representatives.

Thanks to those who emailed, called or faxed their reps. Be ready to do it again.

Scuzzbuckets of the Week

I don't know whether I want to cry or throw up regarding this story.

Metairie parents arrested for cruelty to juveniles and desertion.


In one of their headlines, nola dot com described the two children as "feral" due to
the fact that they can't speak.



Nicolette Brady, 35, and Chad Lee, 34, were jailed on charges of cruelty to juveniles and child desertion. Brady also was booked with resisting arrest. The children were placed in the custody of their grandmother.

The Sheriff's Office received an anonymous telephone complaint about children in the apartment Sunday afternoon. Neighbors, who would not identify themselves, confirmed that the children often were left unattended in diapers and had no language skills.


The agency's incident report said Deputy Shenandoah Jones found the boy and girl "hanging" out of an open window about 1 foot off the ground. He tried to talk to the children but noted "neither would speak" and "they apparently didn't understand" what he was saying. Jones also watched as the boy began rocking a dresser that almost fell on him.

the one-bedroom apartment's floor soaked with water. Jones described a swarm of gnats and flies in the kitchen and cockroaches throughout the apartment, the report said. A layer of black mold covered most surfaces, including the water in the toilet. Jones noticed no food in the refrigerator and several exposed outlets with electrified wires in the kitchen.
The children were covered in small scabs and cuts that paramedics later identified as bites from mosquito and mites, the report said.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hurricane preps tax holiday

Hurricane preps tax holiday scheduled this weekend.

In 2007 House Bill 225 was passed that designated the last weekend in May as a sales tax free holiday for the first $1,500.00 of the sales price for the purchase of the following hurricane preparedness items:


Any portable self-powered light source.

Any portable self-powered radio, two-way radio, or weatherband radio.

Any tarpaulin or other flexible waterproof sheeting.

Any ground anchor system or tie-down kit.

Any gas or diesel fuel tank.

Any package of AAA-cell, AA-cell, C-cell, D-cell, 6-volt, or 9-volt
batteries, excluding automobile and boat batteries.

Any cell phone battery and any cell phone charger.

Any nonelectric food storage cooler.

Any portable generator used to provide light or communications or
preserve food in the event of a power outage.

Any "storm shutter device". The term "storm shutter device" shall
include materials and products manufactured, rated, and marketed specifically for
the purposes of preventing window damage from storms.

Any carbon monoxide detector.

Any blue ice product.

So go save yourself 4% this weekend and get ready for storm season.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day

Mark Folse over at Toulouse Street has written a must read post about the citizens of New Orleans.

An excerpt

These are a people who have seen death and devastation, known loss and disappointment that is painful to catalog and still they get up on certain days and march down to the appointed place and eat and drink and dance and are happy. They are at once not that different from my parents sitting out on Memorial Day and at some deep level they are profoundly transformed. As we approach the fourth anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Flood they are people who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and made the case for why we should be here. Few people since the days of the pioneers have a stronger claim to a place.

A True Champion

Former boxer Gregory Davis, who lives in Eastover in New Orleans East has done what the City of New Orleans under the "leadership" of Nagin could not do:
He has opened a medical center in the East
.

From the T.P.
he built a 1,600-square-foot primary health care clinic from scratch at 9890 Lake Forest Blvd. It opens Tuesday.


The Champion Medical Center, which stands literally in the shadow of the shuttered Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital, has an internal medicine specialist, a family practice doctor, a nurse practitioner and a medical assistant on staff to handle routine check-ups and a host of basic medical ailments.

It boasts three examination rooms, a doctor's office, a waiting room lobby and a small triage area for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, coughs, colds, the common flu, stomach aches and minor cuts, said Cynthia Kudji, the staff nurse practitioner. The clinic also will perform Pap smears, breast exams, childhood immunizations and school and employee physicals, she said.

The clinic will handle up to 40 patients a day, Kudji said. It is open on Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Champion Medical Center addresses the shortage of medical care that has plagued the neighborhood since Hurricane Katrina, said Davis, a boxer who was born in Chicago and moved to Eastover when he was 9.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ray Nagin's administration has been working to buy Methodist Hospital since 2007, but the city and the hospital owners haven't agreed on a price. (sounds like 6 Flags debacle, doesn't it?) Both Nagin and outgoing recovery czar Ed Blakely have said a deal between the city and the hospital's handlers is close, though no one has predicted an exact date.

Pointing at Methodist's building from outside his clinic on Saturday, Davis said: "There wasn't time to wait for all that. We needed something now."


Bless Mr. Davis.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Preserving Charity

From the National Trust for Historic Preservation:


On Wednesday, May 27th, the Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee will consider House Bill780. Sponsored by the committee’s Vice Chair, Representative Rick Nowlin, this measure would require LSU to have a financial plan for the proposed New Orleans medical center approved by the state legislature before being allowed to acquire any property.

Fiscal responsibility during a difficult economy means making sure that LSU has a sound business plan to operate its proposed $1.2 billion hospital before being allowed to buy or seize land in the New Orleans Mid-City neighborhood.

Fiscal responsibility also requires evaluating less expensive options. For instance, a state-of-the-art hospital could be built inside the gutted shell of Charity Hospital -- saving $283 million over new construction and opening years earlier, while avoiding the expropriation of private property.


Contact the Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee members and ask them to support HB780 when they consider it on Wednesday, May 27th. I have provided each member's phone, fax and email address below.


Abramson, Neil C. 365 Canal Street Suite 2740 New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 275-8051
fax (504) 568-3342 abramson@legis.state.la.us

Barrow, Regina 3552 Monterrey Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70814 (225)362-5837
fax(225)362-5839 larep029@legis.state.la.us

Burford, Richard T. 671 Hwy. 171 Suite E Stonewall, LA 71078 (318)925-9588
fax (318)925-9590 burfordr@legis.state.la.us

Doerge, Jean M. 732 Main Street Minden, LA 71055 (318)371-3092
fax (318)371-3093 larep010@legis.state.la.us

Hill, Dorothy Sue 529 Tramel Road Dry Creek, LA 70637 (800)259-2118
fax (337)639-4045 hilld@legis.state.la.us

Hines, Walker 5500 Prytania Street #626 New Orleans, LA 70115 (504)756-4675
fax (504)553-5324 hinesw@legis.state.la.us

Jackson, Michael 660 N. Foster, Ste. A-214 Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225)342-0774
fax (225)922-1060 larep061@legis.state.la.us

Johnson, Robert A. P.O. Box 467 Marksville, LA 71351 (318)253-8891
fax (318)253-6377 johnsoro@legis.state.la.us

Katz, Kay 207 C Louisville Avenue Monroe, LA 71201-5823 (318)340-0800
fax (318)340-0911 larep016@legis.state.la.us

LaBruzzo, John 3331 Severn Ave., Ste. 204 Metairie, LA 70002 (504)833-7788
fax (504)212-7644 larep081@legis.state.la.us

LeBas, H. Bernard 115 Southwest Railroad Ave. Ville Platte, LA 70586 (337)363-0152
fax (337)363-0179 lebasb@legis.state.la.us

Mills, Fred H. Jr. 1010 Martin Street Parks, LA 70582 (337)845-4240
fax (337)845-4095 larep046@legis.state.la.us

Nowlin, Rickey L. 816 University Parkway Suite C Natchitoches, LA 71457 (318)357-7048 fax (318)357-7044 nowlinr@legis.state.la.us

Pope, J. Rogers P.O. Box 555 Denham Springs, LA 70727 (225)667-3588
fax (225)667-3590 poper@legis.state.la.us

Simon, Scott M. P.O. Box 1297 Abita Springs, LA 70420 (985)893-6246
fax (985)893-6247 simons@legis.state.la.us

Williams, Patrick 609 Texas Street 1st Floor Shreveport, LA 71101 (318)676-5990
fax (318)676-5992 larep004@legis.state.la.us

Willmott, Thomas P. 2002 20th Street Suite 204-A Kenner, LA 70062 (504)465-3479
fax (504)465-3481 willmott@legis.state.la.us



Here's an example of an email to send to the members, provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation:


A homeowner shouldn't expect a home renovation to go well without an architectural plan. A small business owner wouldn't expect his new business venture to succeed without a business plan. Common sense dictates that the same should be true of LSU's proposed $1.2 billion medical center in New Orleans.

Therefore, we urge you to approve HB780 when it comes up before the Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday, May 27. HB780 precludes LSU from proceeding with land acquisition for its proposed $1.2 billion Health Care Center without a plan.

In these difficult financial times, it is fiscally responsible to ensure that a sound business plan exists before LSU is allowed to move forward on property acquisition for its $1.2 billion Medical Center project. It is also fiscally responsible to look at alternatives incorporating the reuse of Charity Hospital, which could be faster and cheaper while requiring significantly less expropriation of private property.

New information is emerging about LSU and its plans on a regular basis. Recently it was revealed that LSU plans to take twice as much land as needed for the $1.2 billion proposal. We need to get all the facts on the table before you make a decision and before you allow LSU to take people's property for proposed future commercial development.

Please approve HB 780.

Mistruths abound

Lawsuit Aims to Prevent Razing of New Orleans Historic District
From Architectural Record, a story about a lawsuit that is attempting to stop the deconstruction of the Mid City Historical District to make way for a politically motivated project to build a new VA Hospital and an LSU Teaching Hospital.

Within the article is this statement
"The LSU facility would replace the university’s former teaching hospital, Charity Hospital (1939), designed by Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth. The Art Deco-style building suffered severe flood damage during Hurricane Katrina and never reopened. "


However, a visit to savecharityhospital dot com
tells us that the hospital was cleaned up by September 21, 2005 but then boarded up, probably by the crew who want the shiny new hospitals.


While Charity sustained serious damages due to Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failure, only the basement took on flood waters. Within weeks of the storm, teams of doctors and guardsmen had pumped the building dry, decontaminated the first three floors, and readied the hospital to provide care to returning residents.


In a sworn statement by Dr. James Moises, an ER doctor at Charity Hospital and clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine for LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans at the time of the storm

"It took ten days to pump all the water out of the basement, while most of the workers, including me, were cleaning and decontaminating the first three floors, removing biodegradables from the first 14 floors, boarding windows and weatherproofing the building in a preliminary way. Specifically I recollect that the Navy Seabees boarded up every broken window in the building.

The cleanup was essentially complete by September 21. I observed at that time that the first three floors were spotless. Electric power had been restored, and the air conditioning was functioning..."

Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré ordered some of his troops from the 82nd Airborne division to assist in those cleanup efforts. Honoré has been outspoken about this and has written previously that the storm was "used as an opportunity to close the doors of Charity Hospital," a pretext or justification not based on the actual condition of the building. Just last week, Honoré went on the record again, excoriating LSU for continuing to base it's FEMA appeal on the false claim that Charity was beyond repair, "LSU needs to pay for its own damn hospital."

Staff Seargent James A. Johnson is a 20-year veteran of the United States Army in the 205th Engineering Battalion. A specialist in electric power systems and the restoration of electricity in disaster situations, Johnson served three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan before being called in to restore order to New Orleans in 2005. Johnson has received military awards for his service here.

He has also given a sworn affidavit about his work to reopen Charity Hospital.

"Between September 7 and September 19, 2005, I personally witnessed and participated in the complete restoration of the first and second and parts of the third floor of Charity Hospital."


And recently, Congressman Joseph Cao sent a letter to President Obama stating

"Charity Hospital was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina..."

I'm not sure why a Congressman would make such an inaccurate statement unless he's in cahoots with the "let's build shiny new hospital" krewe. Shame on him if he is.

Go here to read why saving Charity Hospital and Mid City matters .


-

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Scuzzbucket of the Week



from metroblogs:


State representative Jonathan Perry (R-Abbeville), is sponsoring a bill that insists children’s birth certificates can only include the names of married parents or single individuals. It is targeted directly at GLBT couples, who obviously can’t marry in the great state of Louisiana.

Not only is the legislation mean-spirited and homophobic, but it’s also an endangerment to kids. For example: if a kid and one of his GLBT moms were in an accident, the other GLBT mom would have to go through a fair chunk of legal maneuvering to ensure visitation and other rights to care for the child. And that’s just one of many unpleasant scenarios.


Here's a list of all those who voted FOR this bill

The vote now goes to the Senate.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Evacuee Quote

From the Good Children blog, a quote from a California evacuee that - if said by a New Orleanian - would be front page news.

Hmmm

Friday, May 08, 2009

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Redneck cajun judge Timothy Ellender.

You'd think that this person would've learned something from the diversity and sensitivity training he was probably ordered to attend during his suspension as a result of this incident: click on photo for larger version




Apparently judge Ellender was never taught to shut up when he has nothing nice to say. He seems to have a history going too far bad mouthing people.

In his most recent loss of civility was directed at a battered woman
looking for a restraining order against her spouse



Judge Timothy Ellender refused to keep in place an emergency restraining order obtained by Eula Smith Warren, telling her she could get a divorce but not a restraining order. He also congratulated her husband, Charles Warren, for threatening to make his 2-year-old daughter’s “booty bleed” if she didn’t behave herself....


This scuzzbucket has been brought before the Louisiana Supreme Court to answer allegations. Let's hope - based on his history - he gets more than a slap on the wrist.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Thanks, Syracuse

A big southern thanks goes out to Syracuse New York.
Operation Southern Comfort hosted its second annual Crawfish Festival to help build a house in the 9th Ward.



There was twice as much crawfish at this year's festival, totaling 3,000 pounds.

Their mission statement:

to restore hope to the people of the Gulf Coast by rebuilding homes one at a time.


Thank you all for not forgetting and for continuing to think of the victims of Katrina. It does my heart good to know there are caring people out there.

Monday Morning Smile