THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA TAKES A TRIP TO PHOENIX

Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy, City Attorney Chuck Johnson, Finance Director David Crutchfield, Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority Executive Director Clifford Moller, City Councilman Harry Silver and possibly Assistant City Attorney Trey Gist are leaving today for Phoenix, Arizona, and will return late Tuesday, to try to close a deal on the city's downtown hotels initiative. (See: "Downtown Alexandria hotel deal may be settled in Phoenix").

"Dudley Ventures Development, an investment and advisory firm based in Phoenix, and Historical Initiatives Partnership, which includes Phoenix-based Creative Analytical Solutions as one of the three partners, have emerged as the leaders to land the deal." id.

"The two firms are working with the city regarding the bankrupt Alexander Fulton Hotel, which sits on city-owned property and is being kept open with taxpayer money; the Hotel Bentley, owned by Baton Rouge developer Bob Dean and closed since Dec. 12, 2004; and the city-owned Alexandria Riverfront Center, which is connected to both hotel buildings." id. "The administration's original timeline called to have a memorandum signed by Nov. 30." id.

Mayor Roy said that the deal all boils down to money, and that "he wants public funding to be as close to zero as possible". id. But what the two ventures want from us, the taxpayers, is:

"Dudley Ventures wants $6.5 million in public money for its $23 million project.

Hospitality Initiatives wants about $11 million in public investment, including the donation of the Alexander Fulton Hotel, $1.5 million in upgrades at the Riverfront Center and the construction of a $7.5 million parking garage downtown. Its project would cost about $60 million. id.

I agree with what mayor Roy says in part. But I would go further. How about we not spend a single dime on a private for profit venture to buy some downtown hotels? If they want to buy it and make money off of the hotels, let them pay for it themselves. That used to be the American way.

And will this trip to cater to the ventures that want something from us cost us taxpayers anything? I thought that they way things are supposed to work is that the buyers would come to us begging for a public handout.

And, "Workers with FirePro Inc. of Monroe work on the fire protection systems at the Hotel Bentley, one of three downtown properties for which city of Alexandria officials are seeking a “global” management deal". id. What the Town Talk should have reported on is who is paying for that work, we taxpayer or the Bentley's owner Bob Dean?

See Also:

THE DOWNTOWN HOTELS and the posts linked thereunder

WHAT EXACTLY IS OBAMACARE?

Many Republicans, health care insurance companies, and the people who refuse to look at the national health care debate and carry on with their preconceived notions and lies, including some uneducated bloggers who lack the sense to delve into the issue, refer to the health care initiatives as "Obamacare" or "Obama Care".

President Obama came up with the general notion of health care reform, but it is the members of Congress who crafted the 2 competing bills in the U.S. House and the Senate.

President Obama did not write the 1017 page version of the House passed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 HERE.

Nor did President Obama write the Senate's 2,074 page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

What these truly are is the U.S. House of Representatives health care and the U.S. Senators health care bills. They are 2 conflicting bill, one not passed yet by the Senate and neither passed by the full U.S. Congress.

See Also:

THE U.S. SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL MOVES ON

U.S. HOUSE PASSES HISTORIC HEALTH-CARE BILL

SENATE GETS 60 VOTES TO MOVE HEALTH CARE REVISION TO FLOOR FOR DEBATE

"The Senate voted on party lines Saturday night to overcome a Republican filibuster and bring to the floor a bill that would overhaul the nation's health-care system." (See: "Senate Democrats vote to bring health bill to floor for debate; Split is firm along party lines Majority leader Reid hopes for passage before Christmas").

"After days of indecision, the two final Democratic holdouts -- Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (La.) -- voted with the rest of the 60 members of their caucus to support a procedural motion to begin debate." id.

"Democratic leaders said the Saturday vote provided a jolt of momentum that vastly improved prospects for a completed Senate bill before the Christmas break, leaving January for negotiations with the House." id.

See Also:

LANDRIEU TO VOTE FOR SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL'S FURTHER DEBATE

THE U.S. SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL MOVES ON and the posts on this blog linked thereunder

LOUISIANA'S CHIEF JUSTICE SAYS COMMENTS BY CONGRESSMEN A "SLAP IN THE FACE"

Comments Wednesday by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's non-voting representative, about possible corruption in Metro New Orleans, have been called a "slap in the face of these courageous and dedicated public servants in both the federal and state judiciary" by Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Kitty Kimball, originally from Alexandria, Louisiana. (See: "Louisiana chief justice exchanges blindfold for rose-colored glasses").

Chief Justice Kimball said that:

"Let me assure you that New Orleans state judges, as well as judges throughout the entire state of Louisiana, operate under a very strict Code of Judicial Conduct and are subject to some of the most stringent financial disclosure rules in the country.

The Louisiana Supreme Court's record of imposing appropriate discipline is outstanding," Kimball wrote. "I also note that the very case (the Porteous impeachment matter) is presented due to the referral by the federal judiciary internally.

it is true that, as with any profession, there are a few incidents of alleged misconduct," the vast majority of Louisiana judges work hard and do their jobs well. The truth is that local judges in post-Katrina New Orleans as well as their colleagues from all over the state, worked countless hours at great personal sacrifice and expense, to get the judicial system up and running again after the worst natural disaster in our country's history and its horrific aftermath." id.

Say what you want to, but the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel does far more than any other profession to police the practice of law and judges in this state. To the writers that say that Louisiana is full of crooked judges, they need to look at the vast majority of our judges who are not crooked and compare the numbers.

See Also:

TELEPHONE CALL FROM JUSTICE "KITTY" KIMBALL

&

CHIEF JUSTICE KIMBALL IS FROM ALEXANDRIA and the posts linked thereunder

LANDRIEU TO VOTE FOR SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL'S FURTHER DEBATE

In a Senate floor speech just before 1 p.m., "Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) declared Saturday she will support a key procedural step to advance President Obama's health-care legislation". (See: "Landrieu to vote yes on key health-care test").

"Landrieu's move leaves just Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) as the only undeclared Democrat, with the other 59 senators in the Democratic caucus backing this early step." id.

"My vote today to move forward ... should in no way be construed" as signaling what her final vote will be, Landrieu said, indicating that she wants to work on amending the bill on the Senate floor. "Much work needs to be done." id. "Her support was garnered in part by a provision in the bill that would deliver higher Medicaid payments to Louisiana health-care providers." id.

"In line with Lincoln's demand for a 72-hour period to read the legislation, the key vote is expected at 8 p.m. Saturday, exactly 72 hours from the point Reid unveiled his health-care proposal Wednesday night." id.

Despite the potential benefits for many in her state, polls show Sen. Blanche Lincoln's support weakening, and constituents are expressing doubts about the proposed overhaul. (See: "A centrist in health-care debate, Lincoln hears it from all sides; GOP and liberals put pressure on Democrat as Senate vote nears").

See Also:

THE U.S. SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL MOVES ON and the posts on this blog linked thereunder

ISAWTHAT ATTACKS A LOCAL BLOGGER

ISawThat's Ed Hooper once again attacks a local blogger. I certainly am glad that he is not attacking me, although one might think he was since he did not name the blogger and I would think that he would not want to commit any further defamation since my defamation lawsuit against him is still pending. (See: "H.R. 3590 .pdf patient protection and affordable care act").

And yes Ed, despite your feeble attempts to keep me from seeing your blog, I still have my sources to your writings and will call you to task on any lies that you post.

For example, I know that was not me you were writing about when you wrote that "one local "blogger" who has been shamelessly promoting obama care, once revealed to us that he didnt even pay income taxes. what he does every year, he told us, is fill out his tax return but leaves out the payment check". I currently pay my I.R.S. taxes through withholdings on my Social Security Disability check, so I know that isn't me that he is talking about.

Hooper also wrote that "he told us that was no problem since he had previously transferred all his assets (home, car etc.) into someone else's name and that there is nothing the irs can do to him since he has no money and nothing in his own name". id.

Once again, a simple check of the property records, which we all know that Hooper rarely check his facts, will show that I own both a house and a car. In fact, I recently cancelled my auto insurance because I can no longer drive since my stroke and so notified the Department of Motor Vehicles. And as to my home, I recently recieved my parish and city home taxes, and will be sending them off next week to my home mortgage company for payment as I have done every year since I bought my home 21 years ago.

Whoever that blogger that Hooper is writing about is, that has absolutely nothing to do with with the health care debate. Hooper shamlessly posted his Democratic health care bill just to write about that blogger, not to say anything meaningful about the health care bill. Does Hooper realize that the health care bill he is referring to is actually the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representative several weeks ago, and the Senate version of the bill has yet to come up for a vote? Once again, that is beyond Hooper's understanding and thought processes.

But since Ed Hooper brings up a person's finances, I may publish Hooper's to this blog once I have won my lawsuit against him and discovered that information. I believe that Hooper still has no full time job and lives at home with his mother. I would think that Hooper would be in favor of a health care reform act, since he is in, to the best of my knowleged, such a precarious finacial position. Of course, his finances have nothing to do with the dribble and ill informed facts that he publishes on his blog.

I am sure glad that Ed Hooper was not writing about me. I will continue, whenever I see fit, to bring the light upon Ed Hooper's lies and lack of understanding of the subect matter of the issues he writes upon.

See Also:

ED HOOPER CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT

ISAWTHAT GIVES HIS UNEDUCATED TWO CENTS ABOUT THE COLFAX POLICE CHIEF
ISAWTHAT CANNOT EVEN READ

AYMOND VERSUS HOOPER: A TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP !
&
WESAWTHAT'S ED HOOPER'S ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER and the posts on this blog linked thereunder

THE U.S. SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL MOVES ON

In a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, 58 Democrats and two independents whose votes Majority Leader Harry Reid and the White House must have to overcome the Republicans' attempt to strangle the bill before serious debate can begin. (See: "Moderates hold key in health vote; Senate to decide if bill will be debated").

The vote, which is expected around 8 p.m. tonight, will determine whether debate can go forward on the bill. (See: "Senate Health Bill Faces Crucial Vote; Democrats' Procedural Move Would Advance Bill Expanding Health Coverage for Americans; GOP Seeks to Kill Plan").

See the U.S. Senate's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The bill "mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state of Louisiana". (Moderates hold key in health vote; Senate to decide if bill will be debated; supra.). But the bill does provide, in section 2006, deliver $100 million or more in federal funds to the state. id.

Landrieu has been clear about her intentions, and her interests ranged beyond health insurance to the oysters for which Louisiana is famous, and when the Food and Drug Administration proposed banning sales of raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico during warm weather months, Landrieu and others objected. id. In a Senate speech and statement, she noted that Louisiana has the highest breast cancer death rate in the country and the lowest female life expectancy of any state, and she said, "Unless something is done, annual health care costs for small firms over the next 10 years are expected to more than double to reach $339 billion in 2018." id. The Senate bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will send an additional $100 million to Louisiana to help it cover costs for Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. id. So if Landrieu votes against the bill's further debate in the Senate, she will, in effect, be voting against Louisiana by denying the Medicaid funds. id.

The Republican backed, with business and the health insurance lobby, have been pushing hard for Sen. Landrieu to vote against the health bill. We should know tonight if she will vote against it, or for the people of the state of Louisiana.

See Also:

THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN IN AMERICA

BUSINESSES AND INSURANCE COMPANIES DON'T WANT AMERICAN PEOPLE TO HAVE HEALTH CARE

WHAT HEALTH CARE MEANS FOR EMPLOYERS and the posts linked thereunder

U.S. HOUSE PASSES HISTORIC HEALTH-CARE BILL

&

JUST SAY NO TO PUBLIC HEALTH CARE? and the posts listed thereunder

FORMER BATON ROUGE PROSECUTER SUSPENED FROM THE PRACTICE OF LAW

The Louisiana Supreme Court suspended the law license of the former Baton Rouge City Court prosecutor, Flitcher Bell, 43, on Friday who, along with six other people, has pleaded guilty in a federal corruption probe of the local criminal justice system. (See: "Court suspends Bell’s law license").

Bell was "suspended on an interim basis pending further orders of the Supreme Court". id. That means a possible disbarment.

"On Oct. 30, Bell pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges in the scheme that involved the fixing of criminal and traffic violations in Baton Rouge City Court." id.

See Also:

FORMER BATON ROUGE POLICE OFFICER INDICTED FOR BRIBERY

A GULITY PLEA TO BRIBERY IN BATON ROUGE

BRIBERY IN BATON ROUGE

ED HOOPER CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT

Well Ed Hooper, of ISawThat fame. apparently cannot take the heat I have been putting on him lately.

Here is a screen shot of a message I got last night when I tried to log onto Ed's blog.


I guess that the poor dumb uneducated Ed, in my opinion, decided to pick up his marbles and play somewhere else because my post about him finally got to him.

I really thought that my lawsuit against him for defamation would have provoked some action from him, but it apparently took my recent posts to do the trick.

Despite all of his talk, Ed really doesn't like the notions of freedom to write what I like and for me to read his blog.

Rest assured that I will continue to get information on what Ed posts from others, and will continue to point out to you Ed's lack of fact checking, lies, and overall ignorant rants.

See Also:

ISAWTHAT GIVES HIS UNEDUCATED TWO CENTS ABOUT THE COLFAX POLICE CHIEF

ISAWTHAT CANNOT EVEN READ

&

WESAWTHAT'S ED HOOPER'S ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER and the posts on this blog linked thereunder

PRES. OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS FOR NOVEMBER 21, 2009

In an address recorded in Seoul, South Korea, the President discusses his trip to Asia. He talks about his push to stop nuclear proliferation in North Korea, Iran, and around the world. He talks about promoting Americas principles for an open society in China while making progress on joint efforts to combat climate change. And talks in-depth about the primary objective of his trip: engaging in new markets that hold tremendous potential to spur job creation here at home.

See Also:

Obama's Weekly Address on this blog

BURRIS IS REPRIMANDED BY THE U.S. SENATE

"A Senate ethics committee issued a mild reprimand to Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill) on Friday after an investigation into his appointment to the U.S. Senate revealed he had been less than candid and, at times, misleading about his appointment to the seat." (See: "Roland Burris Reprimanded By Senate Ethics Committee").

"On Friday, the Select Committee on Ethics issued a Public Letter of Qualified Admonition to Burris after months of investigating the circumstances of his appointment by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich." id. "Their verdict is more a shaming than a punishment of the Illinois Democrat. The committee found that Burris's sworn affidavit and testimony before the Illinois House of Representatives as to how he was appointed "were inconsistent, incomplete and misleading." id.

See Also:

BURRIS GETS HIS SENATE SEAT

BURRIS GETS SNUBED BY THE SENATE

ISAWTHAT CANNOT EVEN READ

Today, in ISawthat's post entitled "steve coco: court house crowd robbin' em blind", Ed Hooper claims that the "court house crowd is robbin' em blind".

But when you read what Steve Coco actually wrote on his Cenla News blog, nowhere does Steve mention the that anybody is "robbin' em blind", when talkng about the economic downturn in Rapides Parish. (See: "Hard Times in Rapides Parish").

What Steve was writing about is that certain people keep saying that the Rapides Parish economy is just fine while at the same time we are experiencing a rise in Accounts, Judgements, Evictions, Promissory notes and seizure of Homes and property. That rise is not caused by any courthouse crowd, it is, rather, due to the defendants not paying the people the money that the owe. What Hooper could have perhaps written on is the causes for those people not being able to pay their debts.

To the readers of blogs, Ed Hooper is a nut that puts his own convoluted slant on the things that he writes about. Hooper saw a recent Town Talk story on Israel as a "rest of the liars over at the town talk allowed to exploit their status as so called "journalists" to propagandize americans as agents of a foreign power to support what would be another illegal war?" (See: "mike rivero responds to gannett/the town talk's jewish anti-iran propaganda"). Hooper also claimed that the Jews are behind the Obama birth certificate movement. (See: "russia today: jews behind the obama birther movement"). And finally, among many of his numerous anti-Jewish writings, Hooper refers to the historical fact of the Holocaust as the "holohoax". (See: "shooting at the holohoax museum"). You can also see some of Hooper's anti-semitic diatribes at his postings on Jews and Zionists.

Ed Hooper writes a blog that should be on home crafts, the weather, how to grow marijuana, and things of general interests. He is too insane and uneducated, in my opinion, to write on politics or complex social problems. Let the readers of blogs beware of Ed Hooper.

See Also:

THE TRUTH ABOUT MAYOR ROY AND SAM SANSING and the posts on this blog linked thereunder

THE CRUX VATICANA UNVEILED

"One of the gems of the Vatican's priceless religious art collection — a 6th century reliquary containing what is revered as fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — has been restored to its Byzantine-era glory." (See: "Golden cross in Vatican's collection gets new look").

The Associated Press was given an early look at the piece, and Byzantine art experts said the restoration rendered the cross much closer to what it would have looked like at the time the Byzantine Emperor Justin II gave it to the people of Rome, and most significantly, the restoration corrected a botched 19th century restoration that threatened to corrode the piece. id.

"The cross will be on public display inside St. Peter's Basilica through April 12." id.

CONGRATULATION TO NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MARCUS CLARK

"Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Marcus Clark took his oath of office Thursday much the same way he campaigned for the seat — with a display of his experience as a deputy, prosecutor and judge." (See: "New state Supreme Court justice lauded at ceremony; Hundreds witness event at Civic Center").

Justice Clark was sworn into office by retired Judge William Norris formerly of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal. id. "Hundreds of people attended a ceremony at the Monroe Civic Center's Jack Howard Theatre to watch Clark sworn in to the state's highest judicial office and listen to former colleagues voice their praise and congratulations." id.

Those speaking at Justice Clark's swearing in included: Ouachita Parish Sheriff Royce Toney, Fourth Judicial District Attorney Jerry Jones, 4th Judicial District Court Judge Sharon Marchman, and Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Catherine Kimball. id. All of the current Louisiana Supreme Court Justices were also in attendance.

See this KALB video on Justice Clark's swearing in:



I offer my sincerest congratulations to Justice Marcus Clark, and wish him much wisdom and success on the Louisiana Supreme Court.

See Also:

CLARK TO TAKE OATH IN MONROE

JUDGE CLARK WINS THE LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT DIST. 4 RACE

ALEXANDRIA MOVES FORWARD WITH CHANNEL 4

In its continual efforts to dribble out a story from the Tuesday City Council meeting and Mayor Roy's administrative briefing on Wednesday, the Alexandria, Louisiana Town Talk today reports on the discussion of Channel 4 governmental access channel from both of those meetings.

City Councilman Roosevelt Johnson and Lisa Harris, the director of community services for the City, both former employees of KALB TV, have been designated by the City Council to revamp Channel 4 and the City's website.

"Harris said the purpose and goal of Channel 4 should be "to provide citizens with information on city services and the promotion (of) city-sponsored and co-sponsored events, (and) to give citizens greater accessibility and an understanding of the most accurate and current information on government policies, services and activities." (See: "Alexandria's government-access channel closer to makeover"). "One of the most important aspects of the upgrade that Johnson and the entire City Council have focused on would be utilizing Channel 4 as an economic development tool to drive tourism in Alexandria." id.

"Some of the immediate goals to be met in the next two months are assessing the city's equipment and current programming schedule, developing an internship program with Peabody Magnet High School, beginning production of city-services segments and developing a 12-hour and 24-hour schedule." id. "The city also would give entities such as the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, Alexandria-Pineville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority the opportunity for economic development programming." id.

The City Council also authorized the expenditure of $100,000 on equipment for upgrades to Channel 4 and the website and to develop a plan for their use.

I have a few questions though for the Council and the mayor:

1. Will they develop rules and procedures for the operation of Channel 4 as was suggested by Councilman Everett Hobbs and avoid the non-showing of the Bridgett Brown controversy from a City Council meeting of June 12, 2007? (Alexandria City Council Declares Open War on the Citizens and the Mayor! Part One);


2. Why all of the emphasis on the Peabody High School programs, which when I called its teachers I was given a one word answer to my request for information, "No". While Peabody has the best production equipment, I also hear that ASH has a media production program. I have also heard that Peabody cannot do the job without some supervision from a private media company or a dedicated and qualified City employee;


3. Why should a private club such as the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce be given air time on Channel 4, when that is sort of like the advertising that is not allowed?


4. Will Channel 4 have some servers to allow the retention of City Council meetings videos for a period of time to allow the citizens to look at them at their convenience on the City's website?


5. Will there be any access to Channel 4 by the other public entities in Rapides parish, such as the Police Jury, School Board and the City of Pineville?

I plan to have more posted about Channel 4, including some comments from Glen Parker of Suddenlink, which actually grants the use of the governmental channel, and information on the channel from the viewpoint of the Rapides Parish Police Jury in the near future.

See Also:

ALEXANDRIA CITY COUNCIL INTENDS TO EXPAND CHANNEL 4 and the posts linked thereunder