Friday, April 24, 2009

Tom Benson To Buy Downtown Building If State Signs On As Top Tenant

Apprehension. That’s the word that comes to mind as we hear more of this plan of New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson buy the downtown Dominion Tower office building so that he can turn around and rent it to the state.

State Sen. Ed Murray and state Rep. Karen Carter are right in their hesitation to this plan.
First, that no one has disclosed important details of a deal described as “pretty close” to an agreement is troubling. And we’re talking about some pretty important details.

How much would the state have to pay to rent office space from Benson were he to buy this building? How long would the state have to be stuck with this deal to make it worth Benson’s while? Who would pay for this buildout? In other words, how much is this going to cost us? The people of this state have a right to know. And we’ve grown tired of closed-door power plays that involve our money.

If Tom Benson wants to invest in downtown real estate and find private occupants to lease space in it, well, that’s one thing. To ink his deal on the basis of being able to turn around and rent the facility to the state is another. To be clear, that is the prerequisite here. It seems Benson only wants to buy the building if he knows the state of Louisiana will be his primary tenant.

The state of Louisiana certainly benefits from having an NFL team in New Orleans, but dangling the Saints card like a carrot any time he wants more is just getting old. And it seems to us that Benson, a Jindal supporter and fundraiser, also has a special relationship with this Governor that makes any favor he gets from the state appear questionable.

With all of the hoopla being made over a trip Mayor Ray Nagin took, we are wondering why no one has dared to questioned this so-called deal.

If the state needs office space to reopen some of the downtown facilities lost in Katrina so that residents can receive the services they need, why not just buy the building from the current owner? It seems he’s willing to sell.

As we see it, nothing about Benson’s deal would help the state. It’s about making Tom Benson richer using state money. Let’s hear from you. What cha say? Should the state deal with Benson on the Dominion Tower building or not?  
Posted by The New Orleans Tribune at 18:01:52 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, April 20, 2009

A CITY FULL OF CRIME FIGHTERS

We are all concerned about crime. We want safe neighborhoods and safe places for our children to play. The idea of anyone—let alone a 15-year-old girl—killed in a drive-by shooting on OUR streets, troubles us, indeed.

But when City Councilwoman Shelly Midura recently climbed on top of her soap box to call out Police Chief Warren Riley about crime in the city, demanding to know what he’s doing about the problem, his long term and short term goals, etc., it got us to wondering.

What is she doing about the problem?

What community development programs has she supported? How has she spurred job creation, especially for young African American males, in her district? What has she done in her powerful and influential role to help those released from our state and local prisons get education and job training opportunities to reduce recidivism? What programs has she helped implement to keep the youth in her district active, involved, engaged and out of trouble?

Yes, our law enforcement officials have an obligation to actively investigate crime, search for and arrest perpetrators and patrol our neighborhoods in an effort to deter criminal activity.

But if gun-toting police officers could make and keep our streets safe alone, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Murderers, drug dealers, robbers and rapists would yield to the police, throw down their weapons and become law-abiding citizens at the very thought of the police arresting them, the district attorney prosecuting them and a judge or jury convicting them and sending them to prison.

To anyone who still thinks that crime is just a police department issue or that Warren Riley can actually be a one-man crime fighting machine ridding New Orleans of all of its ills, we ask that you rejoin on the little blue sphere we call Earth.

So Councilwoman Midura, what are you doing? What’s your plan?

For that matter, what are any of us doing?

Are you a part of your neighborhood watch? When was the last time you saw suspicious activity or had some information that might help police solve a crime and actually reported it to the authorities?

Do you support youth programs in your community with time or money? What cha say? What are doing to be a part of the solution in your community and what would you like to see your elected representatives do to improve the conditions of our communities so that crime cannot thrive?
Posted by The New Orleans Tribune at 04:12:49 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Friday, April 3, 2009

Michelle Obama’s First Fashion Disaster!

Huffington Post article by Bonnie Fuller

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/michelle-obamas-first-fas_b_182362.html

Touching the Queen wasn’t the only major misstep Michelle Obama made yesterday at Buckingham Palace. April 1, 2009 will now forever be remembered as the day the First Lady wore her first fashion DUD!

Yes, there were debates about her upholstery-like Inaugural dress suit and her wedding cake-ish Inaugural ball gown BUT each choice had arguable merits. However, the black and white silk satin crepe Isabel Toledo sleeveless dress worn with a shapeless black Azzedine Alaia cardigan, was just WRONG,WRONG,WRONG!

2009-04-02-michellebi.jpgWRONG because it looked too casual for a momentous royal visit. One does not meet the Queen every day. The Toledo dress LOOKED like a skirt and top worn with a casual cardigan — an outfit more appropriate for a fundraising cocktail night at her daughters’ school than for meeting the woman whose profile still appears on the coins of numerous countries. Why the First Lady bothered to spend big bucks on an Alaia cardigan, I have no idea. It could have been any old cheap schmatte, it appeared so shapeless.

WRONG because in almost every way for Michelle, the outfit was a figure DON’T. At 5′10″ Michelle has a strong statuesque figure that is striking in outfits with clean, long lines. This black and white dress cut her length in half, making her suddenly appear short-waisted. Then to add injury to insult, the big flaring bell skirt ballooned out over her curvy pear-shaped hips adding feet to her width. Yeah, Michelle looked like a bell all right from her wide base all the WAY up to the tippy top of her new disaster do.

2009-04-02-michoh.jpgWRONG because that new hair do made our gorgeous First Lady join the mile-high club — the mile-high forehead club, that is. Had you ever noticed that Michelle had a landing strip across the top of her head? Me neither, until now. But exposing her huge forehead wasn’t the only thing wrong with this 4 inch hair pullup — the world now thinks we have a conehead for First Lady.

Then as if the First lady’s outfit wasn’t disappointing enough for her debut on the world stage — boy, Carla Sarkozy must wish she had come after all, it would have been a no-brainer fashion contest — Michelle dragged her husband into one of the style world’s worst crimes: clone couple-itis! The Obamas totally coordinated their black and white outfits. We had two presidential penguins and not just one.

Why couples think they need to dress in matching colors when appearing in public, I have no idea. But it is a highly disturbing thing. And in this case, in the photos of the enormously tall Obamas towering over the tiny royals, they looked like two funeral directors accompanying an elderly couple to a wake.

2009-04-02-obamasqueen.jpg


A wake is what should be held for this first dud outfit. Michelle, it’s time to own your good looks and striking figure. Sleek, sophisticated lines, bold colors, clean, fitted shapes - that’s what will make you look best. And now that we’re over the election, you can wear a suit or even just a short, fitted suit jacket. You don’t need to fear looking too powerful. Disguising yourself as a bell, will not do America proud!

Sadly, the First Lady’s first fashion messup wasn’t a random event. It now appears she’s on a losing streak. New photos of her in an argyle cardigan and hip-extending blue prom skirt on her second day in London indicate we have a much bigger problem on our hands.

Michelle, it’s time to get out Jackie Kennedy books out, hire a stylist — do whatever you have to do to get back on the style icon path.

Posted by The New Orleans Tribune at 20:27:42 | Permalink | No Comments »

JUSTICE . . . HEALING . . . RECOVERY

Details of yet another incident involving alleged misconduct and possible criminal behavior of NOPD officers in the days that followed Hurricane Katrina are beginning to emerge. The available information is telling. 
According to Algiers resident William Tanner, he tried to help shooting victim Henry Glover by putting him in the back seat of his car and driving him to a local school where NOPD SWAT officers had set up. When he arrived, he was greeted with anything but help. For his trouble, Tanner says he was handcuffed and beaten by police. Then—and here is the most horrific part—an officer took Tanner’s keys and drove . . .  toward the levee . . . in his car with the injured man still in the backseat. Tanner didn’t find his muddy, burned and broken car until months later . . . by the levee. Even more revealing, what remained of Henry Glover was found in a burned car . . .  by the levee. 
This story was not broken until late last year by The Nation magazine. And to the best of our knowledge, it was not investigated until after that report. 
QUESTIONS: Who shot Henry Glover in the first place? Where did this officer take Tanner’s car with Glover inside? Did this officer burn the vehicle with Tanner inside? How did Glover really die? The gun shot wound he sustained before Tanner tried to help him or was he burned to death? Where is this officer now? And is the public just learning of this questionable, if not criminally depraved act, of some law enforcement officers? 
Some of these questions may never be answered. All of the answers seem to beat a path to NOPD.
We watched as the officers involved in the Danzinger Bridge shootings were not held accountable for the shooting deaths of two people. It left a bitter taste. 
What the people of this city need is recovery. For true recovery, there needs to be a healing. For a healing, there must be justice. 
It just seems to us that no one in the justice system has an interest in restoring public trust so deeply marred in Katrina’s wake by incidents such as this one. And we say that is unacceptable. We want to know what you think. Sound off here. Share your own story. What cha say?
Posted by The New Orleans Tribune at 20:23:23 | Permalink | No Comments »