Thanks to Ryan, I am an early adopter of GoogleWave, which, as I posted a couple of weeks ago, looks like it could be the death of e-mail.
I don’t have invite privileges yet, but if Google rolls this out the same way they did with Gmail, I should soon. And if they give me 100 invites, like they did with Gmail, I will let all of you know, and I’ll give them all away quickly.
Anyway, if you are an early adopter, look me up. lamarw at googlewave dot com.
Update: After just a couple of hours of using GoogleWave, I am even more convinced in its potential to replace your e-mail client within the next six months, at least the client you use at work.
Update II: Here’s a screenshot:
Even though I absolutely love my job, I don’t like to blog about it.
This website has never been a personal diary; it’s primarily concerned with media criticism and progressive policies in the State of Louisiana– though, occasionally, I may publish something about the accomplishments of a friend or neighbor of mine or a new album, and Drew may discuss Eastern European urban planning or the most accurate way of calculating American unemployment rates.
Either way, the point is: This blog is not and has never been about the day and life of a 27-year-old, disabled, unmarried white guy who works as an assistant to the Mayor of his hometown. Believe me, if I were writing that blog, it would be much more interesting.
Remember the post featuring Jared the Subway Guy in the Mayor’s Office? Just a typical example of the day in the life.
In all seriousness, I don’t like to call too much attention to my job, because I’ve learned, sometimes, people who disagree with the opinions I express on my blog will quickly suggest that I am speaking in an official capacity, as if everything posted on this blog was directed and endorsed by the Mayor. Such an assumption is not fair to me, and it is particularly unfair to the Mayor, who is uniquely skilled and brilliantly adept at challenging me about practically everything.
I’d like to believe I present my opinions honestly, earnestly, and fairly, and I don’t expect or even hope readers will always agree with me. I believe the main reason this blog has sustained visitors and contributors for the last three and a half years is because it encourages discussion. Since I created this blog, we’ve published 1,412 posts and 8,333 comments.
I created this blog to spark a conversation on the future of Alexandria and the State of Louisiana, and since then, we have also had conversations on a number of other issues.
I say all of this in order to provide the context for why, exactly, I am going to take the bait.
You see, a couple of days ago, on the online Town Talk, a blogger named “councilwatch” criticized a private developer’s proposal to demolish City Hall as a part of a plan to privately purchase and renovate the Hotel Bentley and the Fulton, suggesting that such an arrangement would necessarily involve “kickbacks.” Incidentally, the proposal criticized by “councilwatch” considers the demolition of City Hall as an ancillary action that would not affect anything currently being considered. According to this particular proposer, this is just a Phase 2 or Phase 3 “concept,” which I guess means we must also be dealing with conceptual kickbacks. Believe it or not, as it turns out, sometimes, you can’t learn everything from a headline.
A few months ago, I heard that the handle “councilwatch” belonged to Gayle Underwood, a frequent and outspoken presence in Alexandria City Council meetings. Ms. Underwood, who owns and rents out a handful of single family homes in inner-city Alexandria, has always been incredibly kind and gracious to me, and after reading her criticisms of the downtown hotels project and her accusations about kickbacks, I decided to send her a personal e-mail, assuring her that I was happy and willing to directly answer any questions she may have.
As a rule, I never publish on my blog personal e-mails that I either send or receive, but considering Ms. Underwood shared my e-mail with another local blogger, Greg Aymond, who then published my letter on his website, I think Gayle Underwood has confirmed any correspondence with her is not personal. Fine by me, too.
Gayle Underwood never responded to my e-mail. Instead, she forwarded it to Greg Aymond. I am not sure why she decided it would be more effective to forward my letter for publication on Aymond’s website than simply engage in a discussion on a subject about which she ostensibly cared. But either way, since Gayle Underwood would have rather had my e-mail to her published on a blog site before she could honestly respond, I will give her another opportunity to respond publicly.
Of course, I will reply publicly.
Here is the letter I sent to Gayle Underwood, offering to answer any questions she had after she pseudonymously implied an illegal kickback scheme in the Downtown Hotels project:
Ms. Underwood:
A few months ago, someone (I honestly don’t remember who) told me that you blog under the name “councilwatch,” which I thought made sense considering you are a frequent Council “watcher.” I never had the opportunity to ask you if this was true, but in light of some comments made tonight on the Town Talk, I am writing to let you know I am more than willing to answer any questions you may have about the Downtown Hotels Initiative.
If councilwatch is not your online handle, then please forgive me and disabuse me of my presumption. As you know, I am an active blogger, and I’m always interested in the things people are saying online about our fair City.
And if, in fact, you are the blogger expressing concerns about the hotels initiative, I remain more than happy and willing to answer your questions.
I think this could be an incredible project for our City– a project that creates at least two hundred jobs and contributes significantly both to our tax base and our quality of life, and I wouldn’t want one of Alexandria’s most engaged citizens to form an opinion of the project’s merits without being afforded the opportunity to learn about the details.
I’m sure you would agree: It is impossible to describe a 100+ page proposal in a 500 word article (however well-written), particularly when the headline is somewhat inaccurate (headlines are usually not written by the writer of the article).
Again, I am more than happy to answer any questions, regardless of whether you’re a blogger or not.
This is my personal e-mail address, and unless you instruct otherwise or e-mail moed@cityofalex.com, I will not enter our correspondence into the public record.
I hope you had a great weekend.
All the best,
Lamar
PS: I was also saddened to hear about the sudden loss of one of Alexandria’s best champions, Mike Redman. Council meetings won’t be the same without him.
Almost immediately after Joseph Cao became the only Republican in the House of Representatives (and the only Louisiana Congressman) to vote for health care reform, he was bombarded with some incredibly vicious vitriol, ostensibly from fellow Republicans who felt betrayed. The Washington Independent offers us a sampling of remarks made to Cao on the newly-formed Bye Bye Joseph Cao Facebook group:
A few observations: First, I cannot wait to see how John Santoro will “go broke” by supporting a dog for Congress; it should be a campaign for the ages.
Second, I also would love to see how a Todd Sharp-endorsed candidate would fare in Cao’s district, even in a Republican primary. Perhaps he and Mr. Santoro should pool their resources and invest in a dog (I would suggest a golden retriever) who could run as a more conservative candidate. Stranger things have happened in Louisiana politics.
And finally, I call on all Louisianans to immediately boycott Cynthia Reed; I imagine that if you’ve ever met Ms. Reed, it won’t be hard.
Avid readers of this blog know that I am an outspoken supporter of the ongoing efforts to restore the old Cotton Brothers Bakery building on Bolton Avenue in Alexandria. The building, a massive art deco structure and one of Bolton Avenue’s primary anchors, has remained vacant for well over two decades.
A couple of years ago, it was purchased by a local demolition contractor, which, obviously alarmed our local preservationist community. They quickly sprung into action and successfully applied to have the Cotton Brothers Building placed on the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list of the Top Ten Most Endangered Properties in the State. Unfortunately, the Alexandria area has more than its fair share of “top” endangered buildings; the Hotel Bentley, Mount Shiloh Baptist Church, the Dairy Barn on the grounds of Central State Hospital, the Armour Building, and the Thompson-Hargis Mansion, among others, have all recently made the list.
Shortly after it was designated as one of the State’s most endangered properties, the Red Cross, with the help of a generous donation from Magna International, announced their intention to purchase and renovate the building. If you have driven by the building in the last few months, you know renovations are well underway, and already, the building looks transformed. (If you’ve passed by it at night, you may have also noticed that the lights are on for the first time in a long time).
Last month, the project was featured in the national trade publication Public Management, which, in an extensive article titled “Saving Part of One City’s History,” praised the effort as an excellent example of a successful public/private partnership. Renovations are not complete, yet this project is already achieving national attention and praise.
The author of the article, Cory Fleming, does a great job explaining the details of the collaboration:
Members of the Red Cross board of directors and CEO Leann Murphy approached Alexandria’s mayor to request the city’s assistance in finding a facility there. The city recommended the Cotton Brothers Building as one possibility. Initially, the Red Cross eliminated the building from its list of potential new sites because of possible environmental problems stemming from the building’s original construction as well as its subsequent use as home to Continental Trailways.
A local corporation, Petron LLC, together with AHPC convinced the Red Cross to reconsider the building. Steve Ayers assured the nonprofit that Petron was willing to renovate the building for the Red Cross at cost-plus-zero.
The results of the phase 1 assessment did indicate that a phase 2 assessment was needed, but the efforts to clean up the site following the closure of the bus terminal had been advanced, and the presumption was that environmental contamination was unlikely to be extensive. The contaminants of concern included asbestos, lead-containing paint, PCB, mold, and groundwater contamination along with an underground storage tank (UST) no longer in use. A phase 2 environmental site assessment was performed in 2008 as part of the Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) Program.
Through this program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides free assessment services to support communities’ brownfields cleanup and reuse projects. The state of Louisiana, through the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), required additional sampling to evaluate enclosed space for vapor intrusion issues related to a potential reuse plan for this site. EPA went extra steps and funded additional sampling.
In July 2008, a TBA phase 2 report was prepared to relieve the prospective purchaser of concerns about site contamination. EPA went the extra step again in 2008 by providing a phase 1 update to assist a new owner in satisfying liability protection criteria for a bona fide prospective purchaser.
EPA also obtained concurrence from the state historical preservation officer to ensure that planned TBA work would not adversely affect any cultural or historic resource; this is a requirement of the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106, which involves a review of any federal undertaking. EPA spent more than $91,000 on TBA assessment work, saving the Red Cross expenses that it would not have been able to justify to its board of directors and its donors for the building project.
It is worth noting that in addition to attracting assistance from the City’s Targeted Brownfields Program and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Red Cross was also supported by a number of local foundations and benefactors, including Coughlin-Saunders, the Martin Foundation, and the Huie Dellmon Trust.
Another critical factor in convincing the Red Cross to move forward with renovation plans was the state of Louisiana’s historic preservation tax credits. With the help of the AHPC’s Melinda Anderson and Allied Design Group’s Bill Tudor, parts 1 and 2 of the Red Cross’s application for Louisiana historic tax credits have been approved.
Once the project is completed according to the plans as approved, the Red Cross will receive tax credits that can be sold, giving the nonprofit additional funds to support ongoing expenses. The Red Cross can sell the 25 percent tax credit for as much as 80 to 90 cents on the dollar, meaning more than $240,000 will come back to the nonprofit.
It is important to note that numerous local properties easily qualify for the same tax credit program, and a handful of those, due to their placement on the National Register of Historic Places, would also qualify for an additional 20 percent tax credit. These programs are not grants, however; they must be purchased and then sold.
The article ends by praising the collaboration and offering three “key practices” underscored by this project:
Thanks to the cooperation of the city of Alexandria and the AHPC, the Louisiana Trust for Historical Preservation, the state of Louisiana, the Canadian Red Cross, the American Red Cross, and the EPA and its brownfields grants, a magnificent structure has been preserved for an important community use.
1. Talk to all of the stakeholders at every step of the process. Since early in the project, the Red Cross has had discussions with all the different stakeholders, explaining what its needs were, learning what resources were available, and understanding what constraints might or might not exist surrounding the potential project. In particular, the nonprofit took time to meet with neighborhood groups and community foundations to explain its ideas regarding the project; this helped build community support and raised more than $400,000 in additional funds necessary for the property acquisition and renovation.
2. Ask for help. The overwhelming community support—from both the private and the public sectors—for this project was instrumental in fast-tracking it through the various federal and state processes required for the building’s renovation.
3. Communicate often and keep the information flow going back and forth. Leaders in the effort identified e-mail as being critical for ensuring that all the steps in a complicated process were taken. Clear and constant communication was necessary in order to adhere to the environmental assessment and historic preservation processes necessary for this project.
Although the renovation of Alexandria’s Cotton Brothers Building is a unique project, the fundamental organizing principles the community implemented in bringing the project to fruition can be applied by most communities to brownfields projects in their own backyards.
On a personal note, while I know there are some who may question the wisdom of investing on Bolton Avenue, a corridor that has been plagued by blight, crime, and disinvestment for decades, I believe the Red Cross, particularly their Executive Director Leann Murphy, should be praised for their vision and their commitment to restoring one of Central Louisiana’s most important and unique buildings.
During the last couple of years, in large part because of the City’s S.P.A.R.C. initiative, I have had the opportunity to serve as a tour guide for a handful of nationally-recognized architects, developers, and urban planners. Nearly all of them, almost immediately, were impressed by the potential of Bolton Avenue. The Cotton Brothers Building may be the largest and most significant art deco building on Bolton, but it isn’t the only one. The Don Theater, for example, is only a block away and, nearby, there are a number of remarkable old storefronts and service stations. “It’s got ‘good bones,’” is something about Bolton Avenue that I have heard more than once.
Make no mistake, the overall revitalization of Bolton Avenue is a challenging project, but as the Cotton Brothers restoration proves, it is a project that requires support and collaboration from numerous people throughout the community. In some instances, it may also require creative financing, the use of tax credits, and targeted improvements to public infrastructure. But, clearly, we cannot afford to do nothing or to remain complacent.
Thanks to the Red Cross and others, we have made an important first step.
By Jim Brown:
The accolades for former Louisiana Governor Dave Treen have been pouring in, and rightly so. He has been called a lot of nice names and everyone quoted has pegged him as a “good guy.” He was “an inspiration,” said Governor Bobby Jindal. “A wonderful, sweet guy” lauded Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu. “A gracious man” wrote columnist Smiley Anders. All these accolades are right on the mark. But Dave Treen’s legacy will not be based on what a friendly fellow he was. We all know lots of friendly political figures. History will treat him well, and acknowledge him as the first and, perhaps only, true conservative Louisiana Governor in the past century.
His philosophy was simple. Have state government provide basic public services, keep up the infrastructure, and provide public protection. No meddling in private business, No political deals to benefit supporters. He just wanted to create a healthy business climate, run the state efficiently, and then tell government to “just get out of the way.” See that the trains run on time. Nothing creative or entrepreneurial. That wasn’t the job, according to Treen, of state government.
Governor Dave Treen
Dave Treen was elected Louisiana Governor in 1979 in a close election against then Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert. Voter fraud had been alleged in both the first primary where Lt. Governor Jimmy Fitzmorris had been nudged out of the runoff, as well as the general election itself. I joined the statewide fray having been elected as Secretary of State at the same time. Shortly after taking office, the new Governor suggested we meet to talk over the election process. He wanted a full investigation into any of the election fraud allegations, and we both agreed on creating an Election Integrity Commission, the first such investigative body by any state in the country.
The Governor candidly told me his first election try for congress in 1968 has been stolen from him due to voter fraud and he wanted it stopped. Republican officials seemed convinced that fraudulent votes in some Orleans Parish precincts benefited incumbent Hale Boggs and that Treen may have actually won the election. There were rumors of election officials who cast votes for people who did not show up at the polls and signed for them in the precinct registers. Treen did not contest the election because he believed that a challenge before the majority-Democratic House would be futile.
I never saw anyone so enmesh themselves in the details of government. Some criticized Treen for being so deliberative and slow to make a decision. He would be ridiculed unmercifully by Edwin Edwards in their future election confrontations when Edwards accused Treen of taking an hour and a half to watch 60 minutes. But that was his strength. He did not jump head first into some quick fix financial boondoggle expecting immediate results. Treen knew it would take years to dig the state out of the hole left by short-range thinking administrations going back many decades.
I tagged along on a helicopter trip with the Governor when we were both invited to speak to a Chamber of Commerce meeting in New Iberia. He read over a request on a budget matter the whole way over and back, something Edwin Edwards might have spent 4 or 5 minutes with. “These decisions often set precedents that are followed by years,” he said. “I want to be sure I get it right.” Too much time spent? Not for Dave Treen.
Treen never would have allowed spending billions of dollars to attract and bribe new businesses to the state. He agreed with now deceased Senator “Sixty” Rayburn who said: ‘Give em’ money to come and they’ll be your sweetheart for awhile. But you know darn well they’ll head to another state when all the tax credits are used up and there’s no more money for the takin’.”
I talked this week with Greg LeRoy, author of JobsScam, about state giveaways to bribe out of state businesses to move in. He recognized Dave Treen as a solid conservative who knew that the best way to attract new companies was with lower business taxes and a healthy business climate rather than dangling subsidies. And, according to Greg, Louisiana has still not learned Dave Treen’s lesson.
He observed: “Louisiana, like other Southern states, has tried for decades to improve its economy by granting enormous subsidies to individual footloose factories relocating from the Northeast and Midwest. All too often, those businesses showed little loyalty when their tax breaks expired, moving onto Mexico or China. And in the case of its petrochemical industry (which isn’t going anywhere), Louisiana has granted costly property tax exemptions that have also undermined parish and board budgets. By impoverishing their tax base in the name of jobs, the state’s public officials have perversely harmed the “business climate.” They have depressed the state’s ability to deliver on the things that really matter for economic development: rising educational attainment and efficient roads and other infrastructure. Instead of putting so many eggs in a few corporate baskets, Louisiana would prosper by investing in skills and infrastructure that benefit all employers — and stay put no matter which companies come or go.”
Unfortunately for Louisiana, the results bare out Leroy’s conclusions. Site Selection Magazine just last week released their annual state rankings of overall business climate. Louisiana dropped from ranking 22nd last year to 25th this year. What’s even worse is that every other southern state is ahead of Louisiana. Even Mississippi. Dave Treen would have been dismayed.
And the former Governor was certainly a strong conservative in courageously raising his objections when he felt there was government oppression. Treen wrote the forward to the new biography of Edwin Edwards due out in early December. Here’s what he had to say about the Edwards conviction. ““I believe the federal government, and by that I mean Judge Frank Polozola, doubled his (Edwards’) sentence from the prescribed five years purely out of vindictiveness,” Treen wrote in the foreword.”They didn’t like him. That’s not a good reason to double someone’s sentence and is, I believe, a misuse of power.”
Any conservative worth his salt would certainly object to blatant misuse of power. Dave Treen had strong feelings about what government should do and not do. He eloquently expressed a litany of conservative values and ideas in a book he wrote back in 1974, while in Congress about conservative principals and pursuing what you believe in. It was called Can we afford this House? “Ideas have consequences,” he wrote.”They need to be implemented.” Dave Treen wanted to have government help in a number of ways, but knew there were costs to consider and “consequences.”
Yes, Dave Treen was a nice guy. But history will remember him as having core beliefs and sticking to his guns. We could use a lot more like him in public office today.
*****
“I’m not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.”
Thomas Jefferson
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
