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Monthly Archives: March 2010
Cuckoo for Coco Puffs 13
Rapides Parish Police Juror Steve Coco isn’t happy with me. Today, he “challenged” me to produce documentation about his employment with Cenla Broadcasting, the parent company of KSYL. You see, he is angry that I described his position at the radio station as “unpaid.”
I’m always up for a good “challenge.”
One of the major planks of my campaign for mayor will be reducing the ludicrous number of mayoral assistants allowed by the City Charter, ELEVEN! One of the current assistants drawing a handsome stipend from YOUR tax dollars continues propagating lies about my previous employment at KSYL Radio.
This is a lie. This blog is not supported by taxpayer dollars. I operate it on my own time from my own computer. So regardless of whether or not Mr. Coco believes I am “propagating lies,” I am not drawing a “stipend” to operate a blog. By the same logic, considering he receives an income from the Police Jury, I suppose I could accuse Mr. Coco of using taxpayer dollars to operate his website, but that would be ridiculous, right?
Lamar White Jr. continues spewing untruths about me without evidence, facts, attribution or knowledge of events. If the uno termino mayor has ANY intention of reducing expenses, mayoral assistants should be the FIRST to go, including Lamar White and Ken Juneau. They serve no useful purpose to the PUBLIC, but eternal adoration of their benefactor is guaranteed, at least until there’s a new mayor.
Let me save you some time, Mr. Coco. You don’t have to run on a platform of firing me. It’s a moot point. I’d never work for you. But if you insist on running on a platform of firing mayoral assistants who would never work for you anyway, perhaps you should do a little homework on the actual number of mayoral assistants and whether or not your platform is significantly undermined by the fact that you are disingenuously counting all unclassified division heads as “mayoral assistants”: Public Works, Finance, Community Services, Utilities, Planning and Engineering, etc.
There’s another glaring problem with your platform: In order to eliminate those positions, which, as you point out, are prescribed by the City Charter, you would have to rewrite the City Charter. When you open up the City Charter to revisions, you can’t just pick and choose which portions should be under review; the entire Charter would be subject to change.
White writes in his delicado, retrasado blog that Tee Boy Roy had nothing to do with my firing from KSYL, because that’s the diminuto mayor’s psicotica tale of events. White has no other option but to spread the propaganda, that’s his job.
You insult people in Spanglish? Impressive.
White also continues to perpetuate the widely broadcast misinformation that I was unpaid while working at KSYL. That is a bald face lie and I challenge White or anyone else to show proof. There is legal documentation and witnesses of my compensation. But proof and facts aren’t known by unprofessional writers when they’re blinded by loyalty to their benefactor who funds their endeavors from City coffers. But Steve Coco is a threat and must be attacked, even at taxpayer expense. Just continue collecting your tax/money salary while authoring falsehoods about citizens who challenge maniaca policies. All mayoral assistants should be looking for another “gravy train” to ride when the election is over.
Mr. Coco, if you were paid as an employee by Cenla Broadcasting, then I look forward to reading about it in your financial disclosure documentation. Remember, it’s due on May 15th!
As you know, according to your 2008 disclosure forms, which is the only documentation you have provided thus far, Cenla Broadcasting was not listed as a source of your income. You worked for Christus, Thompson Home Health, Real BBQ by Steve Coco, Sabine State Bank, and, of course, the Rapides Parish Police Jury. (I suppose your gig with the radio station didn’t begin until 2009, right?). If the link to Coco’s disclosure reports doesn’t work on your browser, click “Disclosure” and then search reports for Coco; Mr. Coco is listed as Samuel Stephen Coco.
I am most interested in definitively finding out whether or not you received a salary for hosting a talk radio show in which you expressed your own personal political opinions on a daily basis. I am unaware of any other elected official being paid by a media outlet to host a morning talk radio show that provides them with an unfettered venue in which to advance their own political agenda. Typically, elected officials have to pay for their own air time, or they’re invited guests. (Honestly, Mr. Coco, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt on this).
I have to wonder what the good people at the FCC and the Louisiana State Ethics Board would think about this.
A few questions:
1. Will you list your salary from Cenla Broadcasting as a source of income?
2. Or will you list it as an “in-kind” contribution?
3. Do you intend on making any mention of this compensation on your campaign finance reports?
4. If you received radio ads for your website, for example, would you consider this a campaign contribution?
5. Did you receive a salary or were you paid “in-kind”?
To be honest, one of the main reasons I referred to your position as “unpaid” is because your friend Greg Aymond posted:
It is my understanding that Steve was remunerated for his service by a payment in kind. That is enough for his getting fired.
Either way, he was told not to come back.
I suppose, technically, an in-kind payment is a payment for services, though, according to your friend, you were not being paid a salary. That’s the distinction I was attempting to make, and if it is incorrect and you did receive a salary as a talk radio host, I will gladly retract my previous statements and make it abundantly clear to my readership here that an elected member of the Police Jury received a salary to host a talk radio show. That is a much more interesting story.
On a related note, if you were, in fact, compensated by in-kind payments, as Mr. Aymond claimed, then what were those “in-kind” payments?
Were they commercials for your blog site? What about your barbecue business?
Will we all have to wait until May 15th or will you go ahead and make these disclosures now?
Buffalo Wild Wings to Open in Alexandria 6
I haven’t heard anything about this, but there is an ad on Craigslist for employment with Buffalo Wild Wings which is “Coming Soon to Alexandria”.
Take a Deep Breath, Guys. 10
Bobby Jindal’s Repeal of Stelly Plan Was Previously Predicted to Cause Serious Budget Problems 3
He can’t say he wasn’t warned.
When Governor Bobby Jindal decided to sign off on the repeal of the Stelly Plan, a plan that had previously been approved by the majority of Louisiana voters, he knew that many experts predicted that this repeal would result in the loss of at least $350 million in revenue in Year One.
From the Louisiana Budget Project, a nonpartisan research group, January 2009:
The first of 2009 initiates is the Stelly tax repeal. The Stelly Plan eliminates sales tax on food, drugs and household utilities, and replaces them with income tax. The Stelly Plan was approved by voters in 2002. During the 2008 legislative session the Stelly Plan was repealled, which reduced the two highest income brackets to the level they were prior to the implementation of Stelly.
This new tax cut begins the first of 2009; however, the state revenue department will not alter the withholdings on individual income tax tables until July 1, 2009. Essentially, individuals will not receive more in their paychecks until July 1, 2009; unless individuals have their employers adjust the withholdings prior to July.Due to the repealling of the Stelly Plan the state is expected to lose $358 million dollars in taxes for the next budget year, with continued losses in following years.
Guess what?
Our budget shortfall is now estimated at… quoting The Advertiser:
February historically is a big month for income tax receipts. Instead, for the first time in 27 years, more money went out in refunds than came in from paymentsThe sucking sound set off alarm bells in the halls of government, with the prospect of $250 million to $400 million in cuts having to be made in the last three months of the fiscal year.
Bobby Jindal can’t pretend like this is a surprise. It had been predicted well over a year ago.
He gave a tax break to the wealthiest Louisianans, a tax break that economists predicted would lead to a budget shortfall, and in so doing, Bobby Jindal repealed a law that had been passed, through a referendum, by the majority of Louisianans. Now, we all have to pay for the predicted consequences: Cuts in education, health care, and discretionary spending.
Meanwhile, Jindal’s drained the State’s economic development fund on ridiculous projects; he’s spending precious dollars to prop up businesses that support the Arkansas economy. Seriously.
You’d be hard-pressed to name one thing that Bobby Jindal has ever done for Central Louisiana. He’s appeared at a few church functions and rolled out laws against sex predators. Bold stuff, right? Particularly when you consider the powerful lobby behind sex predators. (Clancy, I know you’ve made the same claim, but ask my friends: I’ve been saying the same thing about Jindal’s crusade against a non-existent lobby for over a year; great minds, right?).
The funny thing is: Jindal was against the Stelly repeal, until he was for it.
Now, I’m sure, he’ll claim that the whole subject is irrelevant… ancient history.
It’s too bad Louisiana Public Broadcasting won’t be able to report on the issue. Jindal is effectively forcing them off of the air on Mondays and Fridays.
Budget cuts.
A Victory for Alexandria 4
It has been an incredible honor to work on the Downtown Hotels Initiative, on a daily basis, for the last year.
To be sure, we’re not quite there yet. There aren’t any shovels in the ground, and the ink isn’t dry. But we’ve made significant strides in ensuring that one of Alexandria’s most recognizable historical landmarks, the Hotel Bentley, is, once again, restored to commerce and that, for the first time ever, the City-owned assets- the Alexander Fulton Hotel and the Alexandria Riverfront Center- are finally joined in unified management.
I’ve been writing about the Hotel Bentley since I created this blog, over four years ago. It’s an exceptionally beautiful building with an incredible history.
Throughout the last several months, I have worked with the principals of Hospitality Initiatives Partnership- the group that won the City’s Request for Proposals- every single day. They are talented, accomplished, and highly-skilled professionals who believe in the potential of this project and the future of our community; it’s refreshing.
This project will result in the creation and retention of nearly 250 jobs. It will contribute over $500 million in economic impact throughout the next decade. And, in my opinion, it has the potential to completely reinvent the landscape of urban Alexandria.
Some folks may suggest that, because of the City’s involvement, this whole project is an exercise in socialism; somehow, the public is wholly subsidizing this deal.
Let me be clear: I know this particular deal better than any other blogger or any journalist, and I know, without any doubt, that this project is being completely driven by the private-sector. Completely.
Anyone who suggests otherwise doesn’t know any better or simply has their own personal, political agenda. Period.
We, the taxpaying citizens of Alexandria, own a hotel and a convention center, which is directly connected to another privately-owned hotel. The privately-owned hotel closed more than five years ago. The publicly-owned hotel’s former management group went bankrupt and, in the process, lost their affiliation with Holiday Inn. And as a result, our publicly-owned Riverfront Center has struggled. There’s no doubt about it.
We could have chosen to give up, to allow those assets to bleed out their value, and to augment disinvestment. To do so, in my opinion, would be malfeasance and a complete dereliction of duty to the public, who, throughout the last two decades, has invested tens of millions of dollars to construct and manage these assets.
Instead, we elected to look to the private-sector for a solution.
I expect that at least a couple of people may say, “But Lamar, you lying liar, the newspaper says you guys agreed to build a town square and a parking garage. It says you all want to make renovations to the Riverfront Center.”
True, but there’s one problem: The vast majority of the public’s expenditure will be on permanent and publicly-owned infrastructure enhancements, all of which were previously planned and on the books well before this initiative was launched. The parking garage, which is years away, requires an objective certification of need and was first pitched to the City years ago. Same thing with enhancements at the Riverfront Center and the town square. None of these are ideas unique to this project, but rolling them out in concert with a massive private-sector investment better ensures for their sustainability.
For every dollar the City spends on enhancing its own infrastructure (excluding the parking garage, which is a contingency that is years away), the private-sector will spend over $6. Six to one.
The Riverfront Center has been operating for more than a decade, and in that time, both the Bentley and the Fulton have undergone numerous ownership/management transitions. At no time has the management of all three assets ever been directly tied to one another. Never. Alexandrians should really think about what this means.
Again, I am proud of what this project means to the City of Alexandria. I, personally, have faith in the people of H.I.P., but I also believe that, regardless, as a result of this process, we are now the beneficiaries of at least a million dollars worth of schematic design, planning, and due diligence, at no cost to the taxpayers. To me, that is incredible, and it adds immediate value.
I welcome any questions that are posted on this blog.
I believe this is an amazing opportunity for our community. This represents a victory for Alexandria.
Update: Today’s Town Talk editorial was incredibly misleading. The editorial “board” relied on baseline numbers provided by the term sheet in order to approximate the entire private-sector investment. That’s just poor journalism, plain and simple. The truth is: Nothing has been “scaled back;” their entire thesis relies on an inaccurate assumption.
Well Said, Representative Richmond Reply
NOLA Master Plan Reply
The city of New Orleans has released their NOLA 2030 masterplan. It’s really worth a look as it takes a very holistic approach to restoring the green urban qualities of our largest city in a very responsible and attainable manner.
I think paying attention to such a project for New Orleans is very good for Cenla, as our community actually has much more in common with NOLA than most people think.
So why is Louisiana opposing the Health Care Plan? 15
I wasn’t actually out looking for this, but found this summary in a state-by-state comparison (which has nothing to do with the Health Care Plan) — From Insureme.com:
Health Insurance
Louisiana has taken great care to ensure that its residents have access to health insurance.Here are some facts you may not be aware of in your state regarding health insurance:
- If you receive coverage from a group plan, Louisiana’s nondiscrimination policy prohibits you from being denied or receiving limited coverage because of your health status.
- If you become ill, guaranteed renewability ensures that your health insurance plan won’t get cancelled.
- If you are a small-business owner purchasing group coverage, the guaranteed issue ensures that you cannot be turned down for medical insurance on account of your group’s age, gender or health status.
- If you lose your group coverage and meet other qualifications, you may be able to purchase individual Louisiana health insurance through the Louisiana Health Plan (LHP). You won’t face a pre-existing condition period unless you have been previously denied coverage by two or more insurance companies.
Your coverage will depend on what kind of Louisiana health insurance you carry. If you receive coverage through a group plan, your coverage may provide more extensive coverage.
Individual health plans vary in benefits covered, so you’ll want to confirm what’s mandated by your state’s department of insurance before purchasing your policy.
The State of Louisiana has implemented some remarkable programs to help its 576,000 uninsured residents receive coverage. If you make a low or modest income, you may be eligible for free or subsidized health care through Louisiana Medicaid. Louisiana Medicaid offers coverage for pregnant women, families and the elderly and disabled.
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program provides full health benefits through Louisiana Medicaid for women who are screened through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
If your children are currently without Louisiana health insurance, you may receive full health benefits through the Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Plan, or LaCHIP.
Is it just me, or does what our legislature has already set up sound a LOT like most of what’s in the Health Care overhaul that they are all so adamantly opposed to?
Health Care Round-Up 2
Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana:
After decades of dashed hopes and a year of very contentious debate, Congress has produced a bill that will deliver meaningful health care reform to Americans of all ages and all walks of life. Through tough negotiations, we struck an appropriate balance between private and public approaches to reduce cost, expand coverage and increase choice for Louisiana families and small businesses. And we have done so without a government takeover of health care.
For too long, small businesses have struggled with skyrocketing premiums and the tough choice between providing health insurance for their employees or cutting jobs. Those days are over with the passage of this bill. Families who have had a child denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition or who have lost their insurance because they changed jobs will now have access to insurance they can count on. And by shoring up the Medicare trust fund and eliminating the program’s waste and fraud, our seniors will have the care they need for years to come.
It is now time to move this effort across the finish line. I look forward to the Senate’s up-or-down vote this week to approve the House’s target improvements to this historic legislation.
Cedric Richmond, candidate for United States Congress, Louisiana’s Second District:
“I am deeply disappointed that after being thrown a fundraiser by Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner the week before the vote, Congressman Cao went against the will and health of his district by joining Congressional Republicans in voting against this historic and urgent legislation to reform our country’s health care system,” Richmond said in a statement last night.
Hateration, Pt 2: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing 8
“And how do you think you were made? By who? What made you?” A man in a lime green polo and khaki shorts is standing alone on one side of a barricade, shouting to a teenager amid a crowd of hundreds on the other side.
The teenager, without even stopping to think, shouts back “Energy!”
“It doesn’t work that way,” the poloed man says. ”You can’t get something from nothing. Where did that energy come from? Who made that energy?”
The answer he wants, of course, is “God.” But the angsty students aren’t going to give it to him, and he knows it. He smirks as he asks his questions. One by one, he takes on individual students who are standing at the front row of the barricade on the lawn of Dutchtown High. They come to the front to shout at him because they think they are ready. But they aren’t. What they were ready for was this. They were ready for Fred Phelps. They weren’t prepared for a man with a seemingly kinder, gentler version of the same story. They weren’t prepared for someone who was ready to actually discuss things with them. They weren’t ready for a skilled manipulator.
Why Bother? Reply
(For the record, this was the only non-karaoke version of the song I could find; I don’t know anything about anime).
Recently, a couple of my close friends, whose opinions I highly respect, have pulled me aside and asked, “What’s the point of engaging someone you’re never going to convince? Why bother?” Their line of logic, which is sound, goes something like this: By discussing someone else’s bone-headed opinions, you’re calling attention to them. By calling attention to them, you’re giving them credibility. And by giving them credibility, you’re providing them with an equal platform. Why do that?
I understand their point, and I suppose if I lived in a larger community with a broader public square, it would be a lot easier and much more convenient to completely ignore those who cobble together a series of disjointed statements and reports in order to create an air of suspicion and mistrust. But for better or worse, Alexandria is a small city with a limited media: one daily newspaper that, as of today, employs only one person who, among other things, reports on Alexandria political news, two television news channels that attempt to cover all of the day’s news, weather, and sports in less than 25 minutes, and two or three weekly and monthly journals, which are often primarily concerned with social news.
JacquesBarack, Here You Go: 4
This would be the perfect banner for your ambivalent, ambiguous, and anonymous website:
Originally posted on the US Conference of Mayor’s website: The President admiring the Mayor’s Mardi Gras tie.
Merchant of Hate 5
Greg Aymond, a local blogger and attorney who was once a member of the Ku Klux Klan and recently represented a group of white nationalists during the Jena Six fiasco, (apparently) recently discovered Microsoft Paint or CorelDraw.
A week after publicly suggesting that African-Americans were, by and large, ethically challenged, quoting:
…Ethics among Blacks is usually a lacking character trait.
Mr. Aymond called the majority African-American City Council a “pack of monkeys”:
It’s difficult to believe Mr. Aymond is truly committed to a “colorless” society, as he claims to be, when he refers to African-Americans as “monkeys,” “n***a(sic) street thugs,” and unethical, despite whatever his friends may say about his credentials as an “expert” or an “investigative journalist.”
And it’s even more difficult to believe in Mr. Aymond’s objectivity and, for that matter, his patriotism, whenever he posts stuff like this:
Hateration 5
Tonight and tomorrow night, The Westboro Baptist Church, home of America’s most enraged bigots, will be in my neck of the woods. I am not pleased.
Perhaps you’ve never heard of Westboro Baptist Church. If so, let me give you a quick primer. Here they are at a protest that I think had something to do with the Oscars. Or possibly Obama. Or both? It’s hard to tell. Here they are hating on a Jewish community center in Seattle. Here they are somehow managing to make children WAY less cute. And I probably don’t need to tell you that they were also here protesting the first gay marriages in D.C. You get the idea. They really don’t like Jewish people, Catholics, gay people, Obama, kittens, or happiness. Oh, and Lady Gaga. They are so busy being angry that they have an actual protest schedule posted at their website, and frankly if you are a living breathing human being I would double-check just to make sure you aren’t on it. Because if you are not, in fact, a “fag” or a “Jew,” then you just might be a “fag enabler.” Or maybe you’re an American hero. Remember, even dead soldiers and astronauts are not immune.
