Day: July 19, 2014

Bay High School Stadium a Major Fail: Local Alliance for Good Government drops the “I Bomb”

Early this week good government circles were buzzing here after the Bay-Waveland School Board meeting and the disclosures that were made regarding the renovations to Bay High Stadium.  I pass the field several times daily and noticed the dirt heaps with no activity for weeks.  Thanks to an Hancock County Alliance for Good Government email blast and Dwayne Bremer’s account of the meeting for the Seacoast Echo I have a few things to point out and highlight. This is from Dwayne’s story:

Architect Taylor Guild said problems with the field began because of wet conditions and the water table underneath the field……….

“The excavated soil was wet,” Guild said. “It went from bad to worse.”

Guild suggested a change order to the project, which he said will allow the contractor to finish the field in time for Bay High’s first scheduled home game on Aug. 29.

Guild suggested excavating another 12 inches of soil, overlaying that with cloth and sand, and then adding 12 inches of crushed limestone on top before covering it with the artificial turf……

The school board ultimately approved the change order, but asked why soil samples were not taken before construction began.

No soil samples????? If I had a client of mine tell me such a tale my immediate reaction would be something like “Oh My!!!!” “Hmmmm!!!!” After hearing of the disaster first hand here is the word used by the Hancock County Alliance for Good Government: Continue reading “Bay High School Stadium a Major Fail: Local Alliance for Good Government drops the “I Bomb””

Jim Brown: Why are Property Insurance Rates Going Up in Louisiana?

Thursday, July 17th, 2014
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Why are Property Insurance Rates Going Up in Louisiana?

What on earth is happening out there? Is a major hurricane churning in the Gulf and taking dead aim at Louisiana? Is the Mighty Mississippi on the verge of overflowing its levees and about to flood thousands of acres, driving hundreds of thousands from their homes? Something drastic must be up. After all, State Farm Insurance Company just raised its rates on Louisiana homeowners by as much as 20%.

Note that I said that State Farm raised its rates. In most states, insurance companies are subject to a pre-approval process wherein the insurance department determines if the increase is warranted, so that the property owner can be assured that the increase is both fair and necessary. But Louisiana is different. In the Bayou State, insurance companies are not required to get rate increases pre-approved. So the answer to the question of how come big insurance companies can stick it to homeowners, whether or not such an increase is justified, is simply this — they do it because they can.

Back in the days when I served as Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, I worked with Texas Commissioner Bob Hunter on a variety of insurance issues affecting our respective states. Currently, he’s the Insurance Director for the Consumer Federation of America. I called him to get his view on the dramatically rising property insurance rates in Louisiana. “Puzzling,” he said. “A real outlier. Maybe a slight increase because of inflation. But such a big increase is really questionable.”

The national insurance reporting publications indicate why property insurance rates should be going down, not up. The FPN Insurance Journal reported that natural catastrophes caused less than half the damage this year compared to the past 10 year average. USA Today reports that we are experiencing one of the quietest years for hurricanes and other national disasters in many years. The Insurance Journal reported that insurance companies nationwide have seen rate reductions in the past three years. Continue Reading…………….

Twenty-Five more months bad luck for the former Goatherder in Chief

Actually he has more problems coming than finishing out his prison sentence in Florida but who am I to spoil the surprise. What I can say is Broussard’s claim that his lawyer Robert Jenkins was ineffective fell flat with Judge Head:

Judge refuses to overturn Broussard’s conviction ~ Jeff Adelson

Judge rejects Aaron Broussard’s arguments to overturn prison sentence because of prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective counsel ~ Andrea Shaw

Broussard has spent time at a Federal Pen in North Carolina before being transferred, via Atlanta and the woman’s prison at Tallahassee Florida to Club Fed in Pensacola. Not too many male convicts can say they did time at a woman’s penal institution. Freddy strike up the band!

Jamie Miller hasn’t learned yet that you can’t fire everyone……..

There is always gonna be someone that knows the score that is gonna talk to somebody. Reigning in the political hacks/lightweights that permeated Congressman Palazzo’s staff and managing a state agency are two different things.  DMR Executive Director Jamie Miller may find that out one day.

Everyone remember the sweetheart contract Miller let to Frontier Gulf Coast for Public Relations work that the “Public” never discerned?

Complaint filed against DMR over tracking of agency expenses ~ Anita Lee

Folks Miller is paying mucho money for bean counting and PR:

The half-page “time & expense analysis” listed hours worked by five Horne employees, by title, at hourly rates ranging from $48 to $285 an hour. Hourly fees for Horne totaled $111,973.50 and undocumented expenses were $9,041.45. The sheet also listed an hourly rate of $150 for a Frontier consultant, 286 hours worked and a total charge of $42,900. An EnStrat consultant charged $150 an hour for 234.50 hours, for a total of $35,581.80.

Maybe the reason Miller keeps firing long time employees is DMR can’t afford to pay salaries after they pay for all their no bid professional services contracts. It is good to see others are paying attention too.