The Fat City food truck festival, a new effort to enliven Metairie's former nightlife district, won approval Wednesday from the Jefferson Parish Council. The event is scheduled April 15 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., organized in part by a restaurateur with deep misgivings about food trucks. With no discussion or dissent, the council exempted Fat City from strict...

The Fat City food truck festival, a new effort to enliven Metairie's former nightlife district, won approval Wednesday from the Jefferson Parish Council. The event is scheduled April 15 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., organized in part by a restaurateur with deep misgivings about food trucks.

With no discussion or dissent, the council exempted Fat City from strict rules on rolling restaurants, permitted Drago's Foundation to host the rally and let Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng erect temporary signs in her 5th Council District to promote the event.

It's the first government-organized attraction for Fat City since the non-profit Greater New Orleans Inc. brought a Times Square booster to town in November to brainstorm improvements for the area. At Lee-Sheng's urging, the council rezoned Fat City in 2010, establishing earlier closing hours for bars and running off "adult businesses." There has been little concrete action since then, however, and a task force is still working on a framework for the future.

"You've got to crawl before you walk before you run," said Tommy Cvitanovich, the Drago's restaurant proprietor who is helping put on the festival.

Cvitanovich balked at a previous Lee-Sheng effort to bring food trucks to Fat City. Afterward, he said Wednesday, he worked with the council member and Rachel Billow of the New Orleans food truck coalition to make it happen.

He said he remains skeptical of letting food trucks operate with little regulation but that he wanted to compromise with Lee-Sheng to improve the area and attract more people. "She has put her political reputation on the line for Fat City," he said. "I need to make an effort."

The festival will take place on a Monday in the parking lot in the southeast corner of the intersection of 18th Street and Edenborn Avenue. Cvitanovich owns the property, about a block west of his restaurant. The site is home to a small retail center that includes two bars and one restaurant, Kanno California Sushi Bar, which is closed Mondays.

The New Orleans food truck coalition expects to send 10 to 15 mobile meal vendors. Cvitanovich said he hopes to secure donations of beverages, the sales of which, along with rent paid by the food trucks, will be used for Fat City beautification.

If the event is successful, Lee-Sheng and Billow said, regular gatherings could be held once a month on Monday nights, possibly with live music.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry came out against Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax plan Wednesday, stating definitively that it would oppose any attempt to raise the tax burden on businesses. In a column released a day after the Jindal administration said the plan would increase taxes on businesses by about $500 million, LABI President Dan Juneau wrote that...

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry came out against Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax plan Wednesday, stating definitively that it would oppose any attempt to raise the tax burden on businesses. In a column released a day after the Jindal administration said the plan would increase taxes on businesses by about $500 million, LABI President Dan Juneau wrote that such an increase would hurt businesses and slow the state's economic growth.

Dan Juneau, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry  

"LABI's policy is clear: If the tax swap proposal is introduced as a net increase in business taxes or is amended during the legislative process to take that form, LABI will oppose it," Juneau said in the column.

LABI is one of the most influential lobbying groups in the state and represents roughly 3,200 firms, with a majority of its funding coming from small businesses. The organization has been a strong ally of Jindal's and supported a number of the administration's policy initiatives in the past, including last year's education overhaul and attempts to change the retirement system for state workers.

Juneau said Wednesday that increasing the tax burden on businesses violated a core element of LABI's mission.

LABI did not seek a tax overhaul this session and Juneau suggested the Legislature should focus on other priorities, including straightening up the state's budget.

"We didn't ask the governor or the legislature to revamp the tax code in a short period of time. I think they've got a lot of other things to work on this session, including a budget with a huge hole in that's being fixed with money that some people don't believe is real," he said, referencing the legislative battles over the use of one-time money in Jindal's budget.

Most who turned out for a City Planning Commission hearing opposed the plans

What's in a name? For would-be Faubourg Marigny wine seller Troy Gant, there is enough symbolism or possibly magic in the name Burgundy -- even though most New Orleanians pronounce the street Bur-GUN-dee and the wine BUR-gun-dee -- that he wants to open a combination wine bar, shop and school in a vacant commercial space at 1938-40 Burgundy St., in the heart of the Marigny Triangle, despite the fact that the current zoning does not allow it.

Gant, who called the coincidence of names "almost like winning the lottery," said he spent 10 years as a state manager for the Remy Cointreau USA wine company. He said his business would take "the corky approach, not the swirl and pinky in the air" approach of other wine shops.

Although Gant produced letters or email messages of support from numerous residents, most of the people who turned out for a City Planning Commission hearing Tuesday opposed his request, including the zoning law change he would need.

As a result, the commission voted 3-2 against Gant's proposal, with four members absent. However, because it takes five votes to express an official commission position, the matter will go to the New Orleans City Council without a recommendation from the commission.

The Marigny is in Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer's district. She will have to decide whether to go along with the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association, whose board voted to oppose Gant's plans, or try to work out a compromise.

Proposals for wine bars and shops, from the Central Business District to Oak Street in the Carrollton neighborhood, have stirred up controversy several times in recent years. In fact, Palmer last year had to craft a definition of "wine bar" to help one open on St. Claude Avenue, not far from the Burgundy Street site Gant has his eye on.

Although businesses calling themselves wine bars have been around for several years, the city's zoning law had never made any provision for them until last fall. They had been legally classified as cocktail lounges, which their supporters said was misleading and created problems when they sought city permits to open, especially if they also wanted to sell wines for off-premises consumption.

The problem for Gant is that his preferred site is zoned HMC-1, a low-intensity commercial zoning for parts of Marigny and Treme. Although most of the popular Frenchmen Street entertainment corridor is zoned HMC-1, the zoning also covers parts of other minor streets that are in mostly residential areas.

Opponents of Gant's proposal said he should have found a site on Elysian Fields or St. Claude with higher-intensity HMC-2 zoning, like the business the council approved last year. He said he wanted to take advantage of the street's appropriate name, but critics said there already are five alcoholic beverage outlets within a block of his site and more than 50 in Marigny. 

One of Gant's backers accused the neighborhood association of "ranting-raving" opposition, and others emphasized that he proposes to close by 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends.

However, Erik Hansen, who lives in the same block of Burgundy, wrote this to the commission: "We already live in a loud, hard-partying area. Crime is commonplace. The last thing we need is another inducement for people to come to our block and misbehave, no matter what kind of nice frippery and trappings they put on it. And where would they park?"

The Planning Commission staff, noting that the HMC-1 zoning already allows cocktail lounges -- which can become far bigger neighborhood headaches than Gant's wine business is likely to become -- as conditional uses, recommended changing the law to allow wine bars and shops on the same basis, meaning each proposed business would need City Council approval and special conditions could be attached. The staff also recommended approving Gant's specific application, though denying his request to have a wine school as well as a wine shop and wine bar.

Commissioners Royce Duplessis and Joe Williams voted to endorse the staff's positions, but Kelly Brown, Pamela Bryan and Chairman Craig Mitchell voted to reject both the proposed amendment to the zoning law and Gant's specific application. Brown cited the "overwhelming" neighborhood opposition and said she thought Gant would do better to find a site where the zoning allows what he wants to do.

• Sheriff Newell Normand took a position at odds with Redflex Traffic Solutions Inc., saying Jefferson Parish's stoplight camera contractor -- not the parish -- was responsible for tracking down motorists who ignored tickets. Normand's remarks to the Parish Council are recounted by WVUE television, WWL television and The Advocate.
• WWL radio has an interview with Jefferson's new inspector general, David McClintock. The former Baltimore IG started work here last week.
• FEMA's new flood map presentation comes to Kenner Thursday afternoon (March 28). The public workshop runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at City Hall.
• Consultants working on Jefferson Parish's master plan for bicycling wrap up a series of public meetings with a session Thursday night (March 28) in Metairie. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Eastbank Regional Library.

Opponents of Crescent City Connection toll renewal used Gov. Bobby Jindal's visit to West Jefferson to urge support for their cause.

Gov. Bobby Jindal carried his proposal to rewrite Louisiana's tax code to West Jefferson on Thursday, telling a crowd gathered for the 26th annual Governor's West Bank Luncheon that eliminating personal income and corporate taxes will benefit everyday people while ridding the state of laws that are "riddled with loopholes and exemptions."

"Our current tax code is complex," Jindal said at the Alario Center near Westwego. "It's unstable. It's unfair."

The proposal, which Jindal's administration announced in January and will push during the legislative session starting next month, calls for raising the state sales tax from 4 percent to 5.88 percent, he said Thursday.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry went on record Wednesday saying it is ready to oppose the plan if it increases the tax burden that businesses carry. And last week a group of clergy members said it opposed the plan.

The annual West Bank Governor's Luncheon, sponsored by the Harvey Canal Industrial Association, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry and Algiers Economic Development Foundation, also serves as a benefit for Cafe Hope, a job training and life skills program in Marrero for underprivileged youth.

Touting statistics he has relied on to stump for his plan, Jindal said opponents include groups with lobbyists who have embarked on a misinformation campaign, saying taxes would be raised for low- and middle-class Louisiana residents. He said the current tax code includes about 480 loopholes and exemptions that benefit those who oppose the plan.

"Our opponents believe the status quo is working," Jindal said.

Jindal said a rewritten tax code would, among other things, create a fairer tax system, close loopholes, protect taxes on food, prescription drugs and utilities and provide more stability for government services.

Countering opponents who say his plan would raise taxes on the low-income and middle classes, Jindal said a teacher earning $45,000 per year would see a reduction in tax burden of $680. He said Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming don't have income taxes, and those states have budget surpluses.

"It's not a coincidence that states without any income taxes have grown faster," Jindal told reporters after the luncheon.

Before the luncheon, opponents of tolls on the Crescent City Connection held a press conference at which Mike Teachworth of stopthetolls.org, called on Jindal, the "anti-tax governor," to go on record opposing the "new tax on the citizens of our area."

Asked about the toll issue, Jindal said only that he would be meeting with toll opponents later Thursday. He said his budget proposal assumes no toll revenue from the bridge, and that the state will take over maintenance.

Teachworth said that in the 23 days since toll collection was halted, taxpayers had "saved" $1,386,000, presumably representing the amount of tolls that haven't been paid.

Two area parish presidents also spoke out in opposition to the tolls.

"I continue to oppose the tolls on the basis that it's an unfair and unnecessary tax," Jefferson Parish President John Young said. He added that the state's three toll bridges: Louisiana 1, the Crescent City Connection and the Causeway, all touch Jefferson Parish.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser added, "It's time for that unfair tax to go away."

A bill that would allow Jefferson Parish Council to lease its two hospitals to outside interests without a vote of the people was filed Thursday (March 28) by state Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, and six co-sponsors. The council requested the legislation Feb. 27.

Lopinto's House Bill 383 has been assigned to the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, which is chaired by a Jefferson legislator, Rep. Girod Jackson III, D-Harvey. Jackson has not endorsed the bill, however.

The co-sponsors are Reps. Robert Billiot, D-Westwego, who is the committee's vice chairman, along with Reps. Christopher Leopold, R-Belle Chasse, and Nick Lorusso, R-New Orleans, and Sens. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, David Heitmeier, D-Algiers, and Danny Martiny, R-Kenner.

That four of Louisiana's 12 representatives with Jefferson constituencies, and three of the parish's seven senators, are backing the bill gives it a bit of head start in the legislative session that begins April 8. The Legislature generally acquiesces to unified local delegations on issues of geographically narrow interests.

East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie and West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero are owned by the parish. Hospital officials say they are in negotiations with three larger health-care organizations about potential partnerships, possibly involving a lease, and they asked the Parish Council to request a change in state law.

Current state law mandates a favorable vote of the people to sell or lease them. "No other public hospitals in the state have these requirements," said Lopinto, whose bill would allow leasing without a referendum.

Lopinto, whose wife works part-time as an X-ray technician at East Jefferson General, said the current law was approved after talks of selling the Metairie hospital in the 1990s engendered a public outcry. "In a perfect world, none of us wants to sell or lease the hospitals," he said. "But times change."

These days, hospitals officials involved in the Jefferson negotiations say, stand-alone non-profit hospitals face fierce competition from privately owned institutions that are part of large networks, pressure from insurance companies to reduce expenses and a federal government that's keeping a lid on Medicare and Medicaid spending. 

"Our public hospitals are at a huge disadvantage," Lopinto said, adding that they are prohibited by law from opening satellite clinics outside their jurisdiction to draw in more patients.

He said a referendum on leasing could doom the hospitals. If the hospitals chose a lease partner then put the question to voters, the hospitals' spurned suitors would campaign against leasing, likely defeating it and leaving the hospitals weakened and less attractive in future negotiations, he said.

WASHINGTON - The Jindal administration, which says it needs more flexibility before it will consider joining the Medicaid expansion created by the federal health overhaul law, hasn't yet asked the people who could provide it. At least that's the word from the Obama administration, which says it is prepared to be as "flexible as possible within the confines of...

WASHINGTON - The Jindal administration, which says it needs more flexibility before it will consider joining the Medicaid expansion created by the federal health overhaul law, hasn't yet asked the people who could provide it. At least that's the word from the Obama administration, which says it is prepared to be as "flexible as possible within the confines of the law, and we support ideas from states that take advantage of this flexibility."

Bruce Greenstein says state needs revamped Medicaid rules to participate in expansion of program under Affordable Care Act. Gerald Herbert, The Associated Press archive  

"While we are not currently in talks with Governor Jindal's office, we welcome conversations with him and other state officials on the expansion of Medicaid in Louisiana," said an official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is overseeing the implementation of the law. The official asked not to be identified.

In January, Jindal put forward ideas for Medicaid reform and requested a meeting with the President, which has gone unanswered, Louisiana Health and Hospitals (DHH) Secretary Bruce Geenstein said. Greenstein rejects any suggestion the state hasn't been up front about what it would need to consider joining the Medicaid expansion, which the Supreme Court ruled must be voluntary.

"DHH has also commented on all major regulations regarding the exchange and expansion, have participated in all conference calls and national meetings looking for more flexibility in Medicaid and expansion -- and we have still seen nothing to show that HHS is willing to engage in meaningful dialogue to reform these programs for Louisiana's population," Greenstein said.

But Fred Cerise, who was ousted last year as the head of the Louisiana public hospital system after clashing with the Jindal administration over spending cuts, said the federal government has long had a policy of having states submit waiver requests if they want to diverge from the standard Medicaid program.

"That's just the way it works," said Cerise, who previously led the state health agency under former Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

Given that DHHS officials said they are giving positive feedback to plans to privatize the Medicaid expansion in Arkansas, he said Louisiana officials ought to put in a request for a waiver and test the Obama administration's promised flexibility.

This week, Cerise joined David Hood, the department's secretary for Republican Gov. Mike Foster, in a newspaper ad that said adding up to 400,000 uninsured Louisiana residents to Medicaid would improve public health and is a good financial deal for the state.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government picks up 100 percent of the cost of expanding Medicaid for the first three years of the program, which would gradually fall to a reimbursement rate of no less than 90 percent. Families with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level would be eligible for the government health insurance.

In a report issued Monday, Greenstein's agency acknowledged for the first time that it is possible the Medicaid expansion might well save the state money over the next 10 years. But the agency also listed some of the changes it would want in Medicaid to make state participation in the expansion viable.

The Jindal administration has said it doesn't want to use traditional Medicaid to expand health coverage because of what it has called major flaws in the program.  HHS has shown a willingness to consider using private insurance carriers for the expansion for Arkansas. But Tennessee officials said this week that they have run into obstacles with its own plan to use Medicaid expansion dollars to buy private health insurance for low-income state residents.

Other "reforms" Louisiana officials say are needed include "flexibility to set Medicaid eligibility limits to less than 138 percent of the poverty level and full control over rates, including presumably the ability to impose co-pays. Those might be difficult to obtain because it would make it harder to reach the Affordable Care Act's goals of near universal health coverage, and co-pays might make it hard for some Medicaid recipients to get the care they need.

The Public Affairs Research Council said the state's new Medicaid expansion analysis, which shows the potential for lower costs than initially projected by the state, should cause the Jindal administration to rethink its opposition.

"If the administration has a good idea and a better way to offer healthcare to people who are currently uninsured than I hope they would approach HHS with specifics and with a spirit of flexibility. That is the process," said Robert Travis Scott, president of the non-profit research group.

But Scott also said that the Obama administration might also be partly to blame for the lack of specific discussion about the Medicaid question. "Both sides might be accountable for a lack of dialogue. In front of the whole nation Gov. Jindal asked the president for a meeting on this. Has there been any response?"

Greenstein said the state will continue to monitor how HHS responds to requests for waivers from Arkansas and other states "to see if the Obama Administration changes its position and complies with our request for more flexible solutions."

But so far, he said, the state isn't seeing much flexibility.

"The bottom line is that expanding the current Medicaid system is too great a risk for Louisiana," Greenstein said. "The expansion would likely move over 100,000 Louisiana residents from private insurance into a government run health care system," Greenstein said. "It is (the administration's) turn to offer true flexibility to all states, rather than playing favorites and making back-room deals."

The new law says that some debris must be removed daily; in other cases, removal must begin within 72 hours

At the request of the Mitch Landrieu administration, the New Orleans City Council recently tightened the city's rules on the removal of construction, fire and excavation debris. The new law says that some debris must be removed daily. In other cases, removal must begin within 72 hours.

The changes were made in a law containing more than 100 pages of local amendments to the International Building Code.

The old law set few specific requirements for how quickly construction and demolition debris had to be removed. The new amendments, passed 7-0 by the council this month , say that all such debris and rubbish taken from buildings "shall not be stored upon the sidewalks or streets, but shall be removed daily as rapidly as accumulated." Materials not removed daily must be stored in containers.

In the case of demolitions, removal or storage of debris must begin within 72 hours of completion of the demolition, although the Department of Safety and Permits can grant waivers for "good cause."

After a fire, removal of debris resulting from the blaze or related demolition must begin within 72 hours of the fire. Property owners must remove all such materials within six days after receiving a notice from the city.

Dry materials that are likely to produce dust when handled must be kept damp or covered to prevent "airborne particulate pollution."

All materials must be handled in compliance with state and federal environmental guidelines, such as by placing barriers around any sites from which materials might get into the city's drainage system.

Debris or rubbish from upper floors must be lowered by elevators in closed receptacles or by closed chutes emptying into containers or trucks.

All uncontaminated debris and rubbish must be "deposited, at a minimum, in a permitted Type III construction and demolition debris and wood waste landfill."

• Four big Kenner road projects will be the subject of a public meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. They are part of Paths to Progress, a $90 million effort to improve 60 roads in Jefferson and Orleans parishes.
• Dog owners in Jefferson Parish must keep their pets on a leash at all times in parks, playgrounds and school grounds, under a law newly amended by the Parish Council. Officials said the change aims at clarifying that dogs are to be restrained in all public areas except designated dog parks.
• State Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, has filed a bill to let the Parish Council lease its two hospitals to outside interests without a vote of the people. The council requested the legislation Feb. 27.

<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7000976/">Should the Legislature let the Jefferson Parish Council lease its two hospitals without a vote of the people?</a>State Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, is sponsoring a bill to let the Jefferson Parish Council lease its two hospitals to outside interests without a vote of the people. The Parish Council requested the legislation last month. Hospital officials say they are...

Hospital officials say they are negotiating with three potential partners, and that a referendum would invite deep-pocketed competitors to trash the idea. Losing a referendum, they say, would leave East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center wounded and less attractive.

Opponents say that substituting the Parish Council's judgment for the people's right to vote is unwarranted on such an important issue.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has reappointed Michael Rooney and Willie Brown III of Harvey and John "Fenn" French of New Orleans to the Pilotage Fee Commission. The 12-member panel, with eight alternates, establishes fees and rates for pilotage services to ships and vessels on the Mississippi and Calcasieu rivers Rooney is president of the New Orleans Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots...

Gov. Bobby Jindal has reappointed Michael Rooney and Willie Brown III of Harvey and John "Fenn" French of New Orleans to the Pilotage Fee Commission. The 12-member panel, with eight alternates, establishes fees and rates for pilotage services to ships and vessels on the Mississippi and Calcasieu rivers

Rooney is president of the New Orleans Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association and vice president of the Gulf Region for the American Pilots Association.

Brown is a captain and the secretary-treasurer of the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association. He is an alternate member of the commission.

French is president of Jos. A. Bank clothiers and a member of the First NBC Bank board of directors.

Jindal also reappointed:

• Al Lippman of Morgan City, a lawyer at Lippman, Mahfouz, Tranchina & Thorguson.
• Anne Trappey of Baton Rouge, president and chief executive of Forte and Tablada, Inc. consulting engineering firm.

Children's Hospital would be allowed to buy the former New Orleans Adolescent Hospital property without having to offer mental health services at the location under a bill filed Friday at the state Legislature. A spokesman said the hospital is close to an agreement with Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration on a price for the land, but wants the change so...

Children's Hospital would be allowed to buy the former New Orleans Adolescent Hospital property without having to offer mental health services at the location under a bill filed Friday at the state Legislature. A spokesman said the hospital is close to an agreement with Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration on a price for the land, but wants the change so they can use the property to expand the services currently offered at their Uptown campus.

Exactly what should be done with the NOAH property is a point of contention between Children's and state Rep. Neil Abramson, D-New Orleans, who wants the hospital to provide more mental health treatment for young people in exchange for the exclusive right to buy the land.

A law passed in 2012 gave Children's preferential status to lease the property, located adjacent to the hospital on Henry Clay Avenue. But, in exchange, the law mandated that Children's expand mental health services for adolescents and kids at NOAH.

On Friday, Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, filed House Bill 546 to allow Children's to buy the property without restrictions. Three other New Orleans area legislators signed onto the bill.

Abramson, in turn, filed competing House Bill 595, which would require Children's to use NOAH as a mental health facility or would alternatively give Ochsner Health System the right to an exclusive lease. If Ochsner declined to offer mental health services there, the property would be put out to bid.

"The likelihood is that we will add beds," he said.

But Children's has indicated the hospital absolutely won't add them at the NOAH facility, which would need a significant amount of rehabilitation. After Hurricane Katrina, Children's purchased DePaul, spending $12 million to renovate that property. If there is an expansion, it would be there, Landry said.

Abramson said he doesn't care whether the services are actually offered at the NOAH facility or somewhere else, but wants to see a firm commitment that Children's will increase treatment for young people. 

Landry noted that Children's parent company is currently in negotiations to run the Interim LSU Public Hospital, and said they will look to reopen adult mental health beds once they are in control of the state hospital. Children's also will run the University Medical Center when it opens in 2015 and plans to open 60 mental health inpatient beds at that time.

Moreno said she is willing to work with Abramson on language about mental health treatment requirements.

"We also want that property to stop sitting blighted and in ruins," she said.

Landry said Children's has been trying to buy the NOAH property for decades. The Jindal administration had estimated in this year's budget that it would sell for $35 million.

The two sides are still negotiating on how much Children's will pay, but are "very close," Landry said. He said the final number will likely be less than the budgeted amount, but "not terribly less."

Gov. Bobby Jindal has appointed Kathryn Steele of Metairie to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. The 11-member panel tests applicants for licenses to be marriage and family therapists. Steele is an assistant professor in psychology and counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and director of clinical practice there.  Jindal also appointed David Legendre of Lafayette,...

Gov. Bobby Jindal has appointed Kathryn Steele of Metairie to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. The 11-member panel tests applicants for licenses to be marriage and family therapists.

Kathryn Steele

Steele is an assistant professor in psychology and counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and director of clinical practice there. 

Jindal also appointed David Legendre of Lafayette, who owns a private practice for individual, couple and family therapy in The Centre for Family Mediation at the Acadiana Addiction Center.

WASHINGTON - Civilian employees at the Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans Division are getting good news. They aren't going to lose pay as a result of the $85 billion budget sequester -- the automatic spending cuts being implemented throughout the federal government. A new directive from the Department of Defense spares the civil works projects -- flood control, harbor...

WASHINGTON - Civilian employees at the Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans Division are getting good news. They aren't going to lose pay as a result of the $85 billion budget sequester -- the automatic spending cuts being implemented throughout the federal government.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says furloughs won't be as bad as first anticipated. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file

A new directive from the Department of Defense spares the civil works projects -- flood control, harbor maintenance, etc. -- done by the Army Corps of Engineers. A corps official said that means the 1,000 employees at the corps' New Orleans office won't be furloughed or given mandatory days off without pay now being scheduled for tens of thousands of federal workers. The explanation for the exemption: The corps projects had been funded before the sequester.

Civilian Pentagon workers won't fare as well, though a new budget approved by Congress means the furloughs won't be long as originally scheduled.

Defense Department officials said the latest projection is that most civilian employees will be furloughed without pay for 14 days this year, not the 22 days originally planned.

"We are going to be able to reduce and delay these furloughs, but not eliminate furloughs, and that right now looks as though we'll be able to go from an original estimate of 22 days to 14," said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. "That, we think, will save the department anywhere from -- I think the original estimates were around $4 billion, and we can probably plan on about $2.5 billion. And these numbers are floating, as you all know, but...it's good news from where we were two weeks ago."

Exempt from the furloughs are employees serving in active combat venues, such as Afghanistan, and doing what is considered essential work affecting the safety of troops and civilians.

Here's other information on the sequester floating down from federal agencies:

• Department of Housing and Urban Development offices will close certain days, rather than schedule individual furlough days for affected employees. HUD will close on May 10, May 24, June 14, July 5, July 22, Aug. 16 and Aug. 30, according to a HUD memo.
• The Environmental Protection Agency is also planning closings, including an additional day off -- without pay -- during the Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day holidays - for most EPA employees.
• The National Finance Center, the largest federal employer in New Orleans with about 1,200 workers, isn't expected to be affected by the furlough because the agency's revenue comes from frees charged other federal agencies to process payroll.

Gov. Bobby Jindal's controversial tax swap plan shouldn't be considered "dead on arrival," the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said Monday. Though the plan has been criticized by a variety of groups, Rep. Joel Robideaux said debate about the proposal is not over. "If the governor is pushing something, it's never dead on arrival," Robideaux said...

Gov. Bobby Jindal's controversial tax swap plan shouldn't be considered "dead on arrival," the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said Monday. Though the plan has been criticized by a variety of groups, Rep. Joel Robideaux said debate about the proposal is not over.

"If the governor is pushing something, it's never dead on arrival," Robideaux said at a Press Club of Baton Rouge event on Monday. "I'm not arguing that there's not hurdles or there's not a lot of fixes to be made."

The tax proposal, which would eliminate the state's income and corporate taxes and replace them with a higher, broader sales tax, has faced criticism on a variety of fronts in recent weeks. Those critiques have come from across the political spectrum, with liberal organizations worrying that the plan would hurt the poor, business groups arguing it would burden Louisiana industry, and other groups questioning whether the numbers in the proposal even add up.

Rep. Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette File photo  

There is uncertainty about how the tax plan could evolve once the Legislature begins digging into its specifics, and Robideaux, R-Lafayette, described two bills he filed on Friday to allow the Legislature to delve into some additional, related issues. Those bills call for referendums on constitutional amendments that would allow gasoline sales to be subject to sales tax, and would exempt bottled water from sales tax.

"Those were filed in an abundance of caution," Robideaux said, "in case the debate went there, and the body decided that was the way they wanted to go."

Last week, House Speaker Chuck Kleckley said he expected the bills to move within the first two weeks of the session, which begins April 8, but on Monday, Robideaux said the debate won't proceed until lawmakers get an analysis from the legislative staff.

"Whenever the governor's bill is ready to be heard, it'll be heard," Robideaux said.

The tax proposal came under criticism again on Monday as the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington think tank that advocates for policies favorable for low-income families, issued a report questioning the Jindal administration's assertions that the plan would not hurt the poor. The report, which takes into account the rebates for low-income residents and retirees that the administration says would offset higher sales taxes, finds that those making $53,000 or less would see their taxes go up by .3 percent to 1.3 percent under the administration's proposal.

The report assumes that a large portion of the new taxes that would be shifted onto businesses would be passed on to consumers, Executive Director Matthew Gardner said.

Meanwhile, the plan would result in significant tax cuts for those making more than $93,000 a year, according to the report.

Department of Revenue Executive Counsel Tim Barfield said that the administration's position remains the same: that all income groups would benefit from the tax swap. He also suggested the proposal would benefit the poor by encouraging job creation. "We want to create opportunities for the poor, we want to create jobs for the poor and low-income," Barfield said.

A key element in legislative debate will be a report by the Legislative Fiscal Office, which analyzes for lawmakers how proposals will affect the state and its residents. That report is expected to differ from the administration's projections, and Robideaux said lawmakers would likely rely on that document, known as a "fiscal note," more than on estimates provided by the Jindal administration.

That report also likely will help legislators determine whether the tax proposal has met the Jindal administration's stated goal of making the plan revenue neutral, which would ensure that the state takes in the same amount of money in taxes under the new system.

"I'm not going to say its revenue neutral until I see the numbers from the Fiscal Office," Robideaux said.

The analysis from the Fiscal Office could prove crucial for lawmakers in other ways, because historically, legislative staff members have disagreed with projections offered by the administration and its consultants. The use of projections developed by a consultant hired by the administration, instead of figures developed by the Legislative auditor's office, led to an ongoing lawsuit over a retirement bill passed last year.

Barfield said Monday that the Jindal administration would support a tax plan only if it is revenue neutral, and said that the administration would not support independent proposals filed by lawmakers that would phase out the income tax without replacing the lost revenue.

"I think the governor's been absolutely clear: if there's not revenue neutrality, he's not going to support the package," Barfield said.

WASHINGTON -- Employees at mail processing facilities in New Orleans and Lafayette, which were slated to close as part of a major Postal Service reorganization plan, received a reprieve, though it may be temporary. Last year, the two facilities were on a list of 222 facilities slated for closing as the Postal Service sought to reduce a multi-billion dollar...

WASHINGTON -- Employees at mail processing facilities in New Orleans and Lafayette, which were slated to close as part of a major Postal Service reorganization plan, received a reprieve, though it may be temporary. Last year, the two facilities were on a list of 222 facilities slated for closing as the Postal Service sought to reduce a multi-billion dollar deficit.

But the facilities aren't on a revised list of about 50 facilities the Postal Service hopes to close later this year, according to John Friess, a Postal Service spokesman.

"We have no facilities slated for closure in (Louisiana)," Friess said Tuesday. But he added that "2014 is still being evaluated."

The original plan was to close the New Orleans and Lafayette mail processing facilities, and transfer the work to the Baton Rouge facility. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, supported by members of the Louisiana congressional delegation, fought the plan, which would have cost New Orleans an 880-job facility.

Many of the workers would have had the option to transfer to other mail facilities, though the new jobs wouldn't necessarily be in New Orleans.

Giovanny Alvarez, seen delivering mail in Washington D.C. last year after a major storm, may not be out on Saturday, if Postal Service officials have their way.

The Postal Service is continuing with plans to eliminate Saturday mail service, except for packages and prescription drugs, despite passage last month by Congress of a 2013 spending bill that requires six-day-a-week service.

The Saturday delivery issue may end up being settled in the courts. Some Postal Service officials said they believe they can act because Congress doesn't directly appropriate tax dollars to the Postal Service, and therefore shouldn't be able to dictate service decisions. That's disputed by some members of Congress who argue that Congress has long set Postal Service policy.

The current plans calls for Saturday delivery to stop on Aug. 5. If it goes through, 20,000-25,000 letter carriers, clerks and mail sorter positions nationally would be eliminated, but most of the job losses are expected to be achieved though attrition, new job assignments, buyouts and reduced overtime.

The Jefferson Parish Council has accepted a $1.5 million bid to install emergency power at the Marrero Wastewater Treatment plant, among other items listed in the minutes of the March 27 meeting

The Jefferson Parish Council has accepted a $1.5 million bid to install emergency power at the Marrero Wastewater Treatment plant. The bid was part of several contracts and other odds and ends the council approved at its most recent meeting.

The bid for the wastewater treatment plant, submitted by M. R. Pittman Group, is listed in the minutes from the March 27 meeting, posted on the parish Web site.

The council also:

• Accepted a $1.2 million bid from Boh Bros. Construction Company for repaving roadways in District 4, as part of the Submerged Roads Program.
• Authorized an agreement with the state Office of Facility Planning and Control to secure $740,000 for drainage improvements in Waggaman.
• Authorized an agreement with the state Office of Facility Planning and Control to receive $50,000 for the Canal 10 drainage improvements in District 4.
• Authorized an agreement with the state Office of Facility Planning and Control to receive $200,000 for drainage improvements in Codifer Boulevard, Homestead Avenue, and Brockenbraugh Court in Metairie.
• Added $66,335 and 60 days to a contract with Dynamic Constructors, LLC, for the construction of the Parc des Familles Pressbox/Concession stand. The parish said the building's electrical system was revised to increase the capacity of panels, requiring the contract change.
• Ratified an agreement with the City of Harahan Police Department for the purchase of police vehicles in an amount not to exceed $60,000.
• Accepted a $42,572 bid from No Fault Sport Group, L.L.C. for labor, materials, and equipment to install a safety surface in the Spray Park at Lafreniere Park in Metairie.
• Authorized an agreement with Catholic Charities to spend $30,000 in state funds for the Catholic Charities Jefferson CARE Center.
• Appointed JEDCO Executive Director Jerry Bologna and Joe Georgusis to the West Bank Master Plan Committee.
• Appointed Ninette Eastman and David Webber to the Old Metairie Commission, representing Parish President John Young.
• Appointed Bob Carnesi and Bryan Landry to the East Bank Carnival Advisory Committee as representative of East Jefferson carnival krewe captains.
• Appointed Latrice F. Sampson, Pastor Barak Cilluffo, Marjorie Hebert and Erika Slakich Dupepe to the Jefferson Parish Children and Youth Planning Board.

The audit is a follow-up to a 2010 report

WASHINGTON - A new federal report says 85 percent of homeowners who received federal grants to elevate their homes after Hurricane Katrina either had not completed the work, failed to respond to a survey asking about their progress, or didn't provide supporting documentation.

HUD Inspector General David Montoya.

The report, completed by the inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said it can't say how much of the $698.5 million allocated to the 24,000 Louisiana homeowners for home elevations went for the designated purpose of making them better able to stand up to future hurricanes.

"What we have is a $700 million dollar failure to meet the intent of a disaster relief program, paid for by taxpayers, that will leave communities vulnerable to the next storm," said HUD Inspector General David Montoya. He said there's blame to go around, but that homeowners who take federal grants for a specified purpose are responsible for using the money as intended.

Of the 28,188 recipients of elevation grants averaging $29,100, only 15 percent had demonstrated that they had used the money for the intended purpose, according to the IG report.

The audit is a follow-up to a 2010 report in which the IG dispatched staff to visit 199 homes that had received elevation funds. The finding: 158 of the 199 homes had not been elevated, though their owners had received $3.8 million to raise them.

The report said that only 18 homeowners in that initial group of 158 had returned grant funds in either full, or in part, to the state.

According to the IG, Louisiana officials had mailed surveys to 28,188 recipients of grants whose three-year timeframe to raise their homes had expired.

Here's what the state reported, according to the IG report.

•  4,132 homeowners elevated their homes in compliance with program requirements.
•  15,027 homeowners were noncompliant with one or more of the grant agreement requirements. Those homeowners received $437.5 million in elevation grant funds.
•  553 homeowners said they complied with the grant requirement to elevate their homes, but didn't provide documentation.
•  8,462 homeowners failed to respond to the state survey.

Since the compliance survey was completed last August, state officials said that 5,454 homeowners, who not been in compliance, have met the requirements of the program. In some cases, it was just a matter of providing one more document to their file, according to Angela Vanveckhoven, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Office of Community Development - Disaster Recovery Unit,.

The unit's executive director, Patrick Forbes, said that compliance efforts continue.

"We are working aggressively with HUD to get the remaining 19,000 homeowners in compliance," Forbes said.

The IG report said that the state should aggressively seek repayment of elevation grants from those who did not elevate them within three years of their grant award - as required under the federal program.

Montoya suggested that in the future HUD ought to consider giving out the elevation grants after the work is completed, though some homeowners and contractors have argued it would be hard to get such work done without at least a down payment.

In a separate report, the HUD inspector general said that the Gulf States had been allocated $24 billion in Disaster Recovery funds from the agency for hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but still have $5.6 billion unspent.

"Some of the delay in budgeting funds could be attributed to the states revising their programs, state delays encountered due to lawsuits, or HUD's reactions of a state Action plan," the report said.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, Wednesday became the first announced Republican challenger for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in 2014. But there's likely to be others, including his conservative congressional colleague and fellow physician, Rep. John Fleming of Minden. Over the next 19 months, Louisiana will have a courtside seat for what likely will be one of the...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, Wednesday became the first announced Republican challenger for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in 2014. But there's likely to be others, including his conservative congressional colleague and fellow physician, Rep. John Fleming of Minden.

Over the next 19 months, Louisiana will have a courtside seat for what likely will be one of the nation's most contentious Senate races. It's a contest that might determine whether Democrats retain their Senate majority or if President Barack Obama must deal during his final two years in office with a GOP majority.

Christine Day, a political scientist at the University of New Orleans, expects Landrieu to continue to strike a balance between support for party positions and political independence.

"She (Landrieu) has little to lose in bucking the party for the state's conservative constituency since there's no viable candidate running to her left," Day said. "Fleming, as the more socially conservative Republican candidate, may be able to turn out more of the party's conservative base; Cassidy may be a more credible candidate in challenging the Senator for the moderate or centrist vote. Either one will be tough, but not impossible, for her to beat."

Already the jockeying has begun to portray the opposing party's candidates as outside the mainstream of Louisiana values. Fleming hasn't announced his candidacy but has issued daily critiques last weeks of Landrieu's recent budget votes. He describes them as "siding with President Obama and Washington liberals." Cassidy said Landrieu gave the president a "blank check for his wasteful spending."

Landrieu said the Democratic budget she voted for "takes a balanced approach to reduce our deficit by targeting smart spending cuts and finding additional revenues from closing loopholes in our tax code." The alternative House Republican budget, and an even more conservative proposal supported by Cassidy and Fleming, Landrieu said, would shift the "entire burden of deficit reduction on the backs of the middle class and working poor," while "lavishing tax cuts to the top 1 percent."

For her nearly 16 1/2 years in the Senate, Landrieu has managed to hold onto her seat, despite growing Republican and conservative trends in Louisiana, by bringing home federal aid to Louisiana, particularly after Hurricane Katrina, and breaking with her own party on notable issues, such as her support for the oil and gas industry. Last week, she declined to endorse same-sex marriage, putting her among only nine Senate Democrats with that position.

Her Republican opponents have the advantage running in a conservative state with a platform that labels government spending wasteful, and against the health overhaul law and other policies of President Barack Obama, who remains unpopular in the state. But to be successful, especially with Landrieu and Democrats accusing Republicans of taking extreme positions and fostering gridlock on Capitol Hill, a GOP Senate candidate might well want to give an example or two where they differ from their party - such as David Vitter's first run for the Senate in 2004 when he promoted importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. That's an idea Republicans generally opposed at the time.

Brian Brox, a Tulane University political scientist, said Landrieu may be helped by having several GOP opponents in the GOP primary. In addition to Cassidy and possibly Fleming, also considering a run are former Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, and Chas Roemer, the son of former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer.

"Even if she's forced into a runoff, the likelihood is that she'll make it into the runoff with a consolidated Democratic vote," Brox said. "Fleming and Cassidy, and (perhaps) Landry, on the other hand, will have to fight amongst themselves for the Republican vote, and that would likely involve trying to out-conservative each other. ...The Republican who makes the runoff would have to defend some extremely conservative stances made when fighting for the Republican base."

Both Landrieu and her GOP opponents have a disadvantage in 2014.

In 2008, Landrieu was helped by a large turnout of Africa-Americans drawn by the chance to vote for the first black president, Barack Obama, though he lost badly in the state.

"She needs to have a sophisticated voter mobilization operation as she won't have the presidential race to energize Democratic voters who often drop out of the electorate in midterm elections," Brox said,.

But on the other hand, Republicans probably won't be able to nationalize the 2014 mid-term election, as they did in 2010, winning a big Republican plurality in the House by running against Obama and his health overhaul bill, while scapegoating Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Cassidy and Fleming will need to overcome a major weakness, lack of name recognition outside of Baton Rouge and Shreveport, their district's population centers, according to Joshua Stockley, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

"In 2008, Barack Obama garnered 782,000 votes in Louisiana, however, Mary Landrieu garnered 988,000 voters, 200,000 more than Obama," Stockley said. "While Mary Landrieu certainly needs her core constituencies, like African Americans, to turnout, her path to victory lies less with African Americans and more with moderates, independents and surprisingly Republicans. She has been very popular with parish level Republicans -- sheriffs, parish presidents, police jurors - because of her ability to get federal spending for important parish-level projects."

Cassidy said that he plans to spend the next few months introducing himself to voters and pledging to continue to work in Congress promoting economic growth, less government and opposition to tax increases.

And he continues to mention at almost every opportunity his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, which really kicks in next year. Cassidy said it hurt small businesses while failing to make the major reforms needed to make health care more affordable and effective.

In his video announcing his candidacy Wednesday, Cassidy noted that he volunteers to provide medical care for the uninsured.

Landrieu said she isn't running away from the health care law that she helped vote into law, even with Gov. Bobby Jindal refusing to implement a major component, an expansion of Medicaid to provide health coverage for hundreds of thousands of Louisiana's uninsured.

"I'm going to do everything I can to see that people in Louisiana - one of the states that has the highest number of uninsured - one of the highest death rates in America from cancer, one of the highest rates of diabetes - have a chance for a decent health care system," Landrieu said in a recent interview with Politico. "If I have to stand up to the tea party and I have to stand up to Gov. Jindal, there is nothing that scares me about that whatsoever."

The Kenner Professional Business Association and the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce have endorsed Mayor Mike Yenni's $47 million proposal to refinance municipal debt and spend $28.6 million on sprucing up major streets and intersections. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the first piece of the plan Thursday evening (April 4), although two council members said they want to...

The Kenner Professional Business Association and the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce have endorsed Mayor Mike Yenni's $47 million proposal to refinance municipal debt and spend $28.6 million on sprucing up major streets and intersections. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the first piece of the plan Thursday evening (April 4), although two council members said they want to postpone the decision to get more public input.

The Kenner association said it is backing the proposal because Kenner's monthly bond repayments would not increase, borrowing costs at at an historic low, "people don't invest in a community based on what they think may happen, inasmuch as they invest based on what they see; visual change leads to emotional change; and today's investment will have a direct impact on the immediate future of Kenner's businesses and residents."

Jefferson Chamber President Todd Murphy said: "We believe this plan will be the beginning of great things to come in the city of Kenner without additional tax burden to its citizens."

Council members say they generally like the proposal. "I can't understand why we wouldn't want to reinvest in our community," Councilwoman Michele Branigan said.

But two members, Gregory Carroll and Joe Stagni, said Wednesday evening they want to delay the vote because the public does not yet understand the details.

"There's some great ideas in it," Carroll said. "But clarity sometimes takes a little longer,"

Added Stagni: "I think it's important that we include all of our citizens. They're just now finding out about this, and we're talking about extending our debt 20 years."