Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Old news worth remembering
The following will appear somewhere in tomorrow's Picayune:
I hope the Picayune isn't getting back into the old habit (that Adrastos* and I used to scream about) of emphasizing Morial connections and downplaying Nagin connections:
That little tidbit was buried deep in a story about Morial pals -- like Nagin business associate Roy Rodney.
The Nagin administration also engaged in some convoluted reasoning to defend the landfill's operation:
Also worth remembering, Cynthia Willard-Lewis was a forceful advocate for the New Orleans East Vietnamese Community's demand that an eastern New Orleans landfill be closed. But that was the Chef Menteur Landfill, owned by Waste Management, not the Old Gentilly Landfill, owned by AMID/Metro.
*Couldn't find the post that I had in mind. One thing that I will say for blogger, I'd rather search for a vaguely remembered post on blogspot than on some of the other blog services.
In 2001, Stumpf and Woods formed a joint venture and submitted the only proposal to operate the new facility. In the final days of the Morial administration in early 2002, they signed a deal under which -- provided the landfill received a state permit -- they would keep 97 percent of the proceeds, with the city getting the other 3 percent.
I hope the Picayune isn't getting back into the old habit (that Adrastos* and I used to scream about) of emphasizing Morial connections and downplaying Nagin connections:
Morial pals fail to clean up in deal
By Gordon Russell
(scroll down, until you reach)
Officials with the Nagin administration would not respond to questions about whether they have sought to renegotiate the Old Gentilly landfill deal.
Bob Brickner, a Virginia consultant who often helps governmental entities negotiate landfill deals with private firms, said he would have pushed for the city to receive a substantially higher share had he been hired for negotiations.
That little tidbit was buried deep in a story about Morial pals -- like Nagin business associate Roy Rodney.
The Nagin administration also engaged in some convoluted reasoning to defend the landfill's operation:
(yet another)Nagin spokesman David Robinson-Morris said it's the city's position that the landfill "was never technically 'closed.' "
The argument apparently rests on the fact that the landfill was ordered closed -- and stopped accepting trash as a result -- but had not completed the closure process required by the state, which involved placing a layer of clay atop it. During the 1990s, New Orleans voters approved a bond issue that in part was to pay for the clay cap, but the work was never finished.
But for the purposes of zoning, city law offers definitions of "open" and "closed" that have nothing to do with state environmental law.
Times Picayune
Also worth remembering, Cynthia Willard-Lewis was a forceful advocate for the New Orleans East Vietnamese Community's demand that an eastern New Orleans landfill be closed. But that was the Chef Menteur Landfill, owned by Waste Management, not the Old Gentilly Landfill, owned by AMID/Metro.
*Couldn't find the post that I had in mind. One thing that I will say for blogger, I'd rather search for a vaguely remembered post on blogspot than on some of the other blog services.
Labels: AMID/Metro, Cynthia Willard-Lewis, Landfills, Metro Disposal, Nagin morial connection
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Still smelling a rat
In a recent post, I wonder whether there was a connection between the Siege of Bienville and Nagin's unexplained proposal to move the VA hospital. The connection does seem tenuous, but this is interesting:
Is it possible that Gordon Russell got that wrong? Russell's a top notch reporter, but the article was about a counter letter.
At any rate, that January article is worth re-reading for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it reveals that Morial administration officials had been the subject of wire taps as far back as 2001. If it took that long for sentences to be handed out, don't expect Nagin to go down anytime soon -- even if the FBI is interested.
Also, it's a reminder of of the insistence of Times Picayune writers on referring to Roy Rodney as a close Morial ally. As Adrastos and I pointed out at the time, Rodney's ties to Nagin are at least as strong as ties to Morial. Of course, Barre was also a business partner of Nagin's. Hell, Nagin and David White were once Nagin supporters*.
Correction: the last line should read, "Nagin and White were once Morial supporters."
*If you don't want to read the lengthy article, skip down to about fifth-to-last paragraph.
It's not clear how many of the nine arrangements spelled out in the document came to fruition. Some clearly did not, such as a plan to buy the shuttered City Hall annex at 2400 Canal St. from the city, and a plan to redevelop some property across Loyola Avenue from the civil court complex.
Is it possible that Gordon Russell got that wrong? Russell's a top notch reporter, but the article was about a counter letter.
At any rate, that January article is worth re-reading for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it reveals that Morial administration officials had been the subject of wire taps as far back as 2001. If it took that long for sentences to be handed out, don't expect Nagin to go down anytime soon -- even if the FBI is interested.
Also, it's a reminder of of the insistence of Times Picayune writers on referring to Roy Rodney as a close Morial ally. As Adrastos and I pointed out at the time, Rodney's ties to Nagin are at least as strong as ties to Morial. Of course, Barre was also a business partner of Nagin's. Hell, Nagin and David White were once Nagin supporters*.
Correction: the last line should read, "Nagin and White were once Morial supporters."
*If you don't want to read the lengthy article, skip down to about fifth-to-last paragraph.
Labels: counter letter, Nagin morial connection, Roy Rodney
