I’ve been having some technical difficulties but finally knocked those out yesterday afternoon. I’ve also spent some time lately improving technical back office issues here at Slabbed including a better security perimeter as Slabbed has been subject to at least one denial of service attack in the past 6 weeks. The streets of information dissemination aka the news biz are mean indeed.
That has worked out OK though since the local news cycle has been slow but today the dam has broken and we have links galore. In the interest of time I’ll do this in one post so let’s start with Margie Seemann of the Jefferson Parish Citizens for Good Government. Margie, her sister and the gang at CFGG are true public servants and today the issues with campaign finance so often highlighted by CFGG go front and center in the NOLA.com series Louisiana Purchased. Let’s start with a video interview of Margie:
Companies seeking no-bid contracts dominate Jefferson Parish campaign contribution list ~ Manuel Torres
Campaign finance transparency not enough to fix Jefferson Parish’s contracting problems, groups say ~ Manuel Torres
Who to believe? The likes of Chris Roberts and Mark Spears or our own lying eyes? It’s not even close folks.
Next up in that pesky FBI investigation into former St Charles DA Harry Morel, a story Slabbed pioneered beginning over 2 years ago.
Boyfriend of Destrehan woman in FBI’s Harry Morel probe admits drug charge ~ Littice Bacon-Blood
Man that whole deal in St. Charles is FUBAR. On the lighter side local business luminary John Georges provides some comic relief:
Advocate owner: Newspaper will out-compete Times-Picayune ~ Koran Addo
Georges is bucking literally decades of print industry consolidation and market declines and those problems and the challenges they present have nothing to do with the Times Picayune per se. Georges has spent big money buying in and even bigger money trying to establish the Advocate as a viable media alternative in metro New Orleans. As Errol points out almost weekly on WYES the difference in weights between the Sunday Picayune and Advocate tells the tale to this point. Given the money Georges has poured into this foray into the media biz, this New Orleans Advocate deal is only going one of two ways.
Now we have some hometown news:
Hancock County Board of Supervisors attorney to resign post ~ Dwayne Bremer
Massive amounts of chatter have accompanied that news.
DMR reviewing comments on offshore drilling ~ Anita Lee
Ernie was sworn in as the newest member of the CMR at yesterday’s meeting. Next up DMR joins Jefferson Parish with a Hotline.
DMR sets up ethics hotline ~ Anita Lee
Finally we end with some football and what I think would be the dream matchup for the Class 4A South State Championship in a rematch of the week 7 game between Vancleave and the Rocks.
Vancleave seniors chart their own history, reaching third round for first time ~ Creg Stephenson
Rockachaw defense, special teams have come up big in 2013 ~ Doug Barber
The TP photo editor really has it in for Roberts. Those pictures are great.
I heard John Georges speak to a group last week. He remarkably stated that papers, like the TP, are not going bust and that there are good margins to be made in the paper biz. He pointed to Bezos and Buffet’s recent purchases of papers; he poked fun at himself as giving them pointers on their purchases.
I do not know Georges personally, but I think he is one of those polarizing, black-or-white type of people. All I can say is that I commend him for trying to fill the huge void left by the bozos at the TP. I also learned from a fellow Slabbed aficionado that NOLA.com is really set up like a blog. The writers do their stories, then when a new one is put up, the old story gets pushed to the bottom automatically; so, there is no real editorial supervision. I guess that explains my huge pet peeve of five stories on the Pelicans the night after a game.
Even worse, lad, is when USA Today came out, the beat newsmen were told to follow suit with respect to the article size. This I know from my newspaper days with competitors doing shop-talk with Tipsy staff. Arguably the only time you see any informative stories are the “special” news series (in some respects, like a wave of hit pieces) which are primed to garner some dust collecting newsprint award.
The ethics hotline for the DMR is most interesting. Wonder if they are going to give a phone number to the public for it? The first calls made should be about the employment of consultant friends. This type of conflict of interest has been carried over from the Walker decade of plundering. Will all of the calls be made public or do they choose which ones to delete?
OK, I answered my own question. The Ethics Hotline phone number is 1-855-729-4275. I called the number to see that it is a working number and it sure sounded like Jamie Miller answered the phone. Just kidding. As stated it is being administered by a third party so it is being answered by another consultant.
This “CONethic” Plan is probably just a diversion to throw attention off of the CONProfit ongoing scandal. Why would any manager put the heat on his staff if he was truly trying to make it a solid workplace? Why would any manager encourage employees to “rat out” their fellow employees? That is just not good policy in my opinion. It appears that someone is trying to put the heat on the working employees (technical staff) that is the only thing left to hold things together down there. Maybe if some of the top-heavy upper echelon were thinned out and given salaries compensary to what they actually do, instead of what they think they are worth, it would make for a happier place to work.
I really feel sorry for the lower tier of everyday employees there. What they must go through for the few pennies thrown at them and watch their promotions go down the drain. It reminds me of “Let them eat cake”. At least, that is what the heirarchy of this Agency acts like, in my opinion.
If this Coastal Legislative Delegation does not get together and clean out that bunch in the penthouse, then shame on them!! Put the deserving, working employees who have been with that Agency in those positions! They have worked for them and earned them!! We do not need any transplants from other political organizations and States robbing our Coast residents of opportunities to prosper. The State Hiring Authority needs to be revamped if they are allowing this to continue. Teachers earn tenure. These poor slobs earn a swift kick in the rear!
Miller is attempting to make South Mississippians believe he is doing a good job by making people rat on each other. Miller is looking out for Miller and his high paying job. He answers to Governor Bryant and former Governor Barbour. How do you think he landed this job with his limited experiences? Charlene, you have him down pat!
My Fellow Americans,
I couldn’t help myself but when I first started reading the article and saw the word “hotline” my first vision was that it was another cooked up operation for Frontier to run. So, my sincere apologies for having such an outrageous thought.
As for the good in this idea, I think that it will be beneficial if concerns and complaints are taken and investigated in a serious manner. I am one not to think that it was created to simply rat out other employees. After all, a good steward of the government should report wrong doing. I am not talking about Internet usage or an extra 10 minutes for lunch but blatant fraud, waste or abuse. I am still a major advocate that the DMR should be fully unionized to keep their management in check.
All in all, I think the hotline is probably a good idea but it would have had higher credibility if it were installed when Miller was first inaugurated. Since it was an after thought I am leaning more to thinking its a simple hick-town political move to give the impression of integrity. Hell, if the hotline was up in January it probably would have been overloaded with complaints regarding the BS Audit, the Frontier ploy, and the multiple questionable hiring actions. I would have envisioned a telephone operator frantically taking notes from a caller while the switchboard was flashing like a Christmas tree with all others on hold.
I think everyone concerned should call about all that has been wrong since Miller took charge. He has been less than transparent to say the least. The most egregious act in my opinion was to see that his buddies at Frontier Gulf Coast got a piece of the action for helping him get the position he now holds . Second would be the mysterious cloud hanging over his hiring for the position which we all know did not go thru the process as stated until after he was selected by Bryant. They all think the public is a pile of mindless dumb asses .
Lately I have been seeing a lot of coverage for an upcoming TV series regarding the FLDS wack-jobs in Colorado City, Utah. I wouldn’t say the Mississippi radical republican cult is as bad but I do see a lot of similarities regarding the communities they govern:
1) they both have a sub par or poor educational system.
2) they both have rampant issues with high teen pregnancy rates.
3) they are both dominated by a small sect of white males.
4) they both have a high level of welfare recipients.
Oooooh.
Its actually Colorado City, Arizona. My mistake.
Reads like fill-in-the-blanks for any area run by the Democrap/Repuke Wings of EinPartei.
Holy Paper and Scissors Batman,
The Rocks defense should have crushed any Scissor runs of Lee .Was da’ fog da’ Paper dat covered da’ Rocks and knocked out da’ passing game putting da’ defense on da’ field too long?
As Bum always said- dis’ year we knocked on da’ door, next year we’re going to bust da’ SOB door
down! However, you and Robin better expand yo’ kitchen , add some big Rock-a-chaw ovens fo’ next year cause da’ Rocks be knocking yo’ door down fo’ dem World Famous Handshoes’ Pizza Rolls.
Congrats to Batman, Jr for an outstanding season!
Way back when I was a greenhorn CPA, FCAHS was the first K-12 Audit I performed. Because of the proximity of the school to Wiggins, through time I’ve met many people that live in southern Forrest County that send their kids there. It is a very good public school located in the sticks with a very loyal and active alumni base. The school itself is a relic from the old days as there only 3 Agricultural High Schools left in Mississippi. The majority of the Agricultural High Schools, since they all had dormitories, morphed into Mississippi’s Community Colleges. Back in the day, Ms Gulf Coast Community College was Harrison County AHS for instance.
Going into the season from the jamboree game against D’Iberville it was clear the secondary needed the most improvement on the defense. After that D’Iberville preseason game, it was not until we played FCAHS that we encountered a team that could throw the ball on the level that we did. The touchdown FCAHS snagged just before halftime on a play where their receiver executed a textbook double move coupled with a perfect throw was the difference in the game.
The 0-9 team was mostly freshmen and sophomores. This year those kids were joined by a very talented class of Freshmen, a couple of whom got regular playing time. We lose a very dedicated, talented but small group of seniors, most significantly our QB. His backup was a freshman this year and from what I can tell the young man has a stronger arm. There are many reason to be excited about the prospects for the 2014 team.
I’ve hunted round them Wiggins woods with a past friend Arthur Browning who had an Aunt MiMi living in Wiggins for many a year.
“There are many reasons to be excited about the prospects for the 2014 team”-
Just look how LSU’s previously lost secondary performed against Johnny Football and if Miles, eatin’ mo’ grass, can do that, just think how much more the Rocks , eatin’ mo’ Pizza Rolls , can do.
Have you thought about a commercial kneadin’ machine and buying yo’ flour in bulk?
My wife’s kitchen aid stand mixer makes short work of the dough.
I don’t know if this link has been posted on Slabbed yet but its worth reading:
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/23/5139294/maxine-ramsay-is-jamie-millers.html
I am not sure if Maxine Ramsay reads Slabbed or not but I would like to personally thank her for this letter to the editor. She is right on target. Unfortunately, it may not get a whole lot of attention on the SH due to the new commenting policies that went into play a while ago.
It is well worth reading. Mac is a friend to Slabbed.
JP CAMPAIGN FINANCE RACE UPDATE ALERT
Tomorrow at the JP Council meeting the CFGG Sistas will report some startling campaign finance contribution numbers. The report will indicate Councilman Lagasse is tired, running poorly on low campaign hay, now in last place and no longer the Prince of Campaign Contributions. Roberts is still King of JP Payola ($150,000) leading next place by $65,000 lengths and Honorable Lee-Sheng has pulled up lame with only $3,500 and headed evidently for the paddocks for a new pair of shoes and a jockey who will tout campaign finance reform in a serious political race for All The Roses.
To Inspector General Mc Clintock : Unfortunately the CFGG reported numbers are not for the year but for only one Councilman for one Council meeting out of approximately 24 annual Council meetings and from only the contractors getting contracts approved at the one meeting who have also contributed at least $1,000 to same Councilman over last 4 years. For approximate yearly campaign hay divide above reported numbers by four years, multiply by 24 meetings then hold on for the approximate yearly horsekick in the ass)