What is the deal with these people from New Orleans?
“Angst” doesn’t do justice to how residents there are feeling about every move Baton Rouge makes these days.
We open our homes to displaced New Orleans residents following the horrific Hurricane Katrina. We’re told our traffic stinks [really?], our restaurants are garbage and we need to cease our double-secret plot to convince the best and brightest evacuees to remain here.
We offer to partner with New Orleans on an economic recovery plan. We are told New Orleans can solve its own problems and to quit muscling in on their economic turf.
We do nothing, but restaurants founded in New Orleans, like Galatoire’s, open up bistros here. We’re trying to steal the culture of New Orleans.
We join with Lake Charles, Lafayette, Hammond, Covington, Mandeville and Slidell to form an economic development corridor. We’re orchestrating a conspiracy to finish what Katrina did not.
We do nothing but live our life, focusing on the future. We’re called smug.
We go to the bathroom. Somehow the sewage ends up dumping in New Orleans.
Not since Pavlov got interested in canines has the world seen such conditioned responses.
I’m not saying the fine folks of New Orleans are paranoid, but there’s an awful lot of them walking around Tchoupitoulas Street with aluminum foil on their heads.
Here’s a thought: Instead of conspiracy theories, New Orleanians could focus on saving their once wonderfully charming and historic city.
New Orleans, without question, has always been this state’s only internationally visible city. It is the historic and cultural center of the state and the Deep South. And it’s an absolutely fabulous place to visit, assuming, of course, you don’t disappear into a pothole or fall victim to a gunman’s bullet.
Another reality is this: New Orleans was economically dying long before Katrina threatened to wipe it off the map. And it started decades before another Katrina—and her Waves—were “Walking on Sunshine” back in 1985.
Baton Rouge, for better or worse, has been on track to replace New Orleans as Louisiana’s most economically important region for 20 years. And people have been fleeing the Crescent City for the Northshore and elsewhere for even longer. The hurricane has only accelerated the pace of these trends.
And to those, like New Orleans Magazine, who say two of Baton Rouge’s biggest industries—LSU and state government—“belong to all of Louisiana,” I say the same thing about the Superdome and the sprawling convention center. Yet where do surplus funds, if there are any, go from those entities? Trust me, it ain’t leaving New Orleans.
The people of New Orleans need to stop playing the arrogant card long enough to find a mirror. What they see won’t resemble their self-perception.
What New Orleans was doing before Katrina wasn’t working, and most evidence, like Ray Nagin’s re-election, suggests the city simply wants to recreate its failed past. If New Orleanians don’t want to hear such tough love from someone in Baton Rouge, fine, but at least listen to your neighbors from Jefferson Parish.
We’re told we should all sacrifice to help New Orleans recover. That’s tough to accept, especially in the Legislature, when the New Orleans delegation has bullied its way to whatever it wanted for years, leaving places like Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria and—yes—Baton Rouge to fight for the financial scraps. New Orleans doesn’t need to recover, it needs to become something new.
The 10/12 corridor wasn’t formed to diminish New Orleans. It was launched because 33% of Louisiana’s population lives along the corridor—a percentage that will only increase with time—and it’s imperative that cities from Slidell to Lake Charles harness their resources to help grow the economies of all. It has zero to do with squeezing New Orleans into oblivion.
Working together for the betterment of everyone. Now there’s a concept New Orleans should embrace.
Comments
Posted by billynola on April 8, 2008 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I just went for a drive through Pontchartrain Park at lunch today. I was humbled before the destruction and immense need. I then went back to work. We all do this every day in New Orleans. We work. We struggle. We try and make things better. We could use a real partner to help us recover. I'm sorry you feel bullied. I feel really tired.
Posted by shiloh on April 8, 2008 at 3:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I can assure you Baton Rouge isn't in the top 100 concerns of the average New Orleanian. You're simply not on our radar. Sorry.
Posted by pantywad on April 8, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Baton Rouge aint got nuttin on New Orleans.
Posted by isleoforleans on April 8, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Baton Rouge for you hospitality after the storm. When we needed a hand you were there, and New Orleans appriciates it. Unfortunately, we have not rebounded as strongly as we would have liked and we could still use some help. Mr. Ball's smugness, and uncaring attitude does nothing to further the State of Louisiana or her citizens who are suffering be they in the red stick or the big easy. Peace.
Posted by doctorj2u on April 8, 2008 at 7:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am sorry but I have to say Mr. Ball is a sad excuse of a human being. I live in Hammond, but I have volunteered many times in the clean up of New Orleans. I cannot imagine a human being seeing the devastation and coming up with an article like this. I am sadly disappointed that the Business Report chose to publish it.
Posted by jlbr on April 8, 2008 at 10:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Baton Rouge aint got nuttin on New Orleans."
I'm a fan of New Orleans. Grew up on the Northshore. No real ties to Baton Rouge before LSU and now that I have moved back here.
But this statement is hilarious. At the present, actually, yes, Baton Rouge does have something on New Orleans.
That something includes a vision, plan, and thriving economy. And the right leadership has been elected. BR has failed in re-electing poor leaders, that I will admit.
Posted by dashes on April 9, 2008 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know what is more disappointing, the idea that this over-generalized and ignorant opinion was written and published because it's something Mr. Ball and your publication actually believes, or that you were willing to publish such a vitriolic piece, which complains without offering any solutions, without any sense of responsibility for its message purely because you knew it was divisive enough to garner that highly coveted ad view revenue with the traffic such flames generate. Either way it's disappointing, though AdBlock ensures you're not making a dime off the time I wasted reading it. While I never had a strong opinion on the integrity of your publication to begin with (I find that online you mostly just link off to other people's news stories, which doesn't really make for strong journalism), you certainly haven't improved your position with at least one Baton Rouge resident who spends enough time in New Orleans and with its people to know that Mr. Ball's opinion, while he is certainly entitled to it, is wrong and useless.
Posted by amr2008 on April 9, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As a Northshore native, I never did understand the relationship between B.R. & N.O. The mutual distrust (hatred?) has been around since long before hurricane Katrina. WHY?
From this now Baton Rougeian's point of view, there are two groups of people in New Orleans: those that work their you-know-whats off to improve their current situation and those that sit on their you-know-whats expecting to draw every penny of government "entitlements" without lifting a finger. Unfortunately, but for good reason, the two groups can't seem to get along. That, along with incredibly poor leadership makes the situation even worse.
In Baton Rouge, we are not exposed to those hard-working New Orleanians on a daily basis. Instead, we must deal with the riff-raff that fled to our precious city after the storm and refuses to leave. Our school children still must deal with "225-504" gang rivalries on a daily basis, two-and-a-half years after the storm. Often, those disputes spill over to the streets and wind up in our courtrooms. This makes our patience wear even thinner.
I admire those New Orleanians who have the courage to return to their beloved city and move on with their lives. I don't know if I would have that strength. But ENOUGH with this rivalry. Who cares where you're from? All of us were impacted in some way by those hurricanes. At least have empathy for those who lost everything they ever worked for and are having to start from scratch. This article makes us as bad as those "225/504" gang members. GROW UP!!!!
Posted by mellyann16 on April 9, 2008 at 2:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks for saying what I've been thinking for a long while now! Couldn't have said it better myself!
Posted by CrescentCityRay on April 10, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Reality? Ours is rough. In just a few weeks after evacuating (before Katrina hit) to Houston, we realized that we New Orleanians would quickly wear out our welcome in Houston and other places where we clustered. We returned home to NOLA to a rental in October 2005. Being that we and everyone we knew and all our relatives had lost our homes & everything we ever had, rebuilding our family home was much more difficult than we expected. Nevertheless, we, and many of our neighbors, managed to return and rebuild our homes in Lakeview. It has been very difficult and we have been severely mistreated by LRA/RHP/OCD/ICF - all operating out of Baton Rouge with little apparent concern for citizens from New Orleans. Your most major corporation profited highly from our 'recovery' and gave us no lagniappe - i.e. most of our recovery money went to B.R.
I reckon the point of your article was to try to make New Orleanians feel bad. I guess you want to rub it in that we are disliked, have a lot of problems and many undamaged communities are benefiting as a result of our losses. I wish we had your gang and public education problems rather than our reality. BTW, it worked, I feel bad. I feel discouraged. I am further disenfranchised. People like you should lobby to force the succession of coastal Louisiana parishes.
Thanks. Your compassion is about what we expect from your community's representatives.
Posted by Kermit on April 11, 2008 at 12:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes there are many good hard working people in New Orleans, they are my friends. However, the generalities written about in Mr. Ball's piece are real and show quite readily to others outside of New Orleans, like it or not it is the truth.
My wife and I are tired of New Orleans' ineptitude and now selling all property owned there (in Uptown) and getting our money out of that place. It is just not working for us.
I grew up visiting New Orleans often. My parents had some friends there. However, when I became an adult and entered the business workplace I began to see something different. To a per everyone I met, via work, from New Orleans had the a very arrogant air about them as if everyone else was a dumb hick who wasn't from there. They all had the "seen more and done better" opinion about everything and you did not even have to ask about it.
Sorry New Orleanians, this is no secret to ANYONE who is not from New Orleans.
Posted by BR_Businessman on April 11, 2008 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Baton Rouge is now the dominant force in Lousiana, like it or not. New Orleans is a dirty, smelly, crime infested city with people that dont care about it's future and has been that way for a long time. some of you may be offended by that comment but lets face the facts...the majority of the people in new orleans continue to elect city leaders like Ray Nagin who are completely incompetent and have no business running a city. as long as that continues to happen, the city will never regain hold the status it once had decades ago. I used to love to visit New Orleans but after the last few times i have just driven through there i have no desire to go back. The "Woe is Me" attitude there is just terrible. At some point in your life you have to pick yourself up and stop relying on other people to do everything for you. For the people left in new orleans that have a good head on their shoulders and understand this, you are welcome to leave and head up to Baton Rouge. for the rest of you that want to keep electing leaders like your mayor and receiving government handouts, please stay put.
Posted by mike on April 11, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
JR, JR, JR -
As a Baton Rouge native for 30 years, I moved to the New Orleans area with the intent of moving back to my beloved BR as soon as possible. But something happened. I was able to see Baton Rouge for what it truly is. A nice southern suburban type city with a lot of sprawl, a nice mall or two, and good collegiate sports. So that's quaint and nice.
But unfortunately it got a bit worse - I've found it to be often small minded and parochial. Many leaders (elected and not) are so incredibly small minded it is actually humorous. Sometimes - I'll even say - Baton Rouge representatives (small r) behave like petulant children. But really, that is not surprising, nor a fatal flaw - just what one would expect from a small southern town.
Then the final nail in the coffin occurred. It got really bad for me when I evacuated to my parents' house for the storm. That small mindedness had people all over town telling their children not to go outside because "New Orleans people might be walking the streets and are dangerous." That small mindedness shut down downtown after two "New Orleans" - read "Black" people got into a fight on near the governmental complex. That small mindedness caused me to realize I no longer was welcome, because I was causing "horrible traffic." That small mindedness made friends of mine whose homes were still underwater cry because the BR kind people wanted to know "When are Y'ALL going home?" After those three weeks 'back home' I vowed I would NEVER live in Baton Rouge again.
And you know, New Orleans isn't perfect, but it is a great city. Baton Rouge can't ever be New Orleans - nowhere can. At best, it can hope to be a small Houston.
Oh and to your point about the danger down here - amazingly enough I've never been shot or shot at. Nor do I know anyone who has been shot at. Hmmmm. Come to think of it no one I know knows anyone who was shot at. However, in Baton Rouge I did know one of the victims of Dereck Todd Lee, as well I know a Baton Rouge man that I grew up with who is in prison for murder. And, now that I think about it, I knew Yoshi Hattori, who was shot by a Central white guy who was acquitted of killing Yoshi - because the jury understood that this man shot someone because "Someone darker than me was standing at my door."
So let's just say neither place is perfect, but your attitude is very reflective of what I'd expect from a small suburban southern town with smaller child syndrome. The good news is that the attitude you exhibit while trying to bring forth potentially valid issue only validated my decision never to return.
Lastly - reading the very cold hearted replies to your editorial from your BR citizens makes me wonder if there is any decency left there??
Posted by whodat on April 11, 2008 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Both cities are crime infested...violent crime and dirty politicians co-exist in both places. Until we do something about both, this state will still be the laughing stock!
Posted by mikeebr on April 11, 2008 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeez. Cut it out. You sound like a couple of teenage siblings on a long drive. I feel helplessly stuck between representatives from BR like JR Ball, who I respect and often agree with, and the NOLA contingent led by Ray Nagin, who I also respect for the way he's handled the one of the most difficult terms of public office.
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, I've taken advantage of nearly every reason to visit New Orleans. To the vast majority of us Baton Rougeons, we have long accepted NOLA as being the 'cooler' of the two cities with its rich history and architecture, modern museums and attractions, and many excuses to party.
I don't know who is trying to screw who nor do I know what in-laws gobbled up all the lucrative contracts. But two neighboring cities getting along and supporting each other sounds more like common sense rather than impossible. I aplogize for showing my Gen-X age and lack of a knack for prose but both sides suck for the low blows and baseless claims of superiority.
Posted by BR_Businessman on April 11, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To Mike and whodat,
Quoted from another article...
"Per capita, New Orleans has by far the most murders of any city in the country. And that's not likely to change until authorities get a grip on the situation.
Its 161 homicides last year translate to 70 murders per 100,000 people, reports CNN. This year, the murder rate probably will climb even higher—a total of 200 killings is projected. The city with the next-highest homicide rate, Gary, Ind., had 48 murders per 100,000 last year. New York City, by comparison, had 7.3, according to FBI statistics."
Hmmm. i dont see BR on this list. I base my arguments on facts, not speculation, personal experience or opinions of people i know. Do we have crime in BR..Yes. Are our politicians the best in the country...No. i do live in a city, however, that has an attitude of change and growth. the people here for the most part invest in making the community a better place and work hard to grow the economy by making it advantageous for new businesses to locate here. And as far as "Baton Rouge will never be New Orleans", that comment just cracks me up. we have no desire to "be" new orleans or houston or whoever. we just want to be Baton Rouge, a great place to live, raise a family, and grow a business.
Posted by blue_ink_pin on April 11, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Baton Rouge will never be able to re-create the downtown of New Orleans nor the uptown environment. That is special to New Orleans and is one of the things that makes the city a tourist destination. New Orleans will never be able to re-create their business community. It has been a service sector oriented community driving away business to neighboring Houston, Tampa, Mobile, etc. for the better part of the last thirty years. The storm hasn't helped matters as businesses have left and don't plan on returning. As evidenced by the last few years following the storm, it seems as though the tourism industry is the only business New Orleans is concerned about keeping. And that's fine, but the economic benefits to your city will remain limited.
So we have two situations. A tourist destination and en emerging business center. It seems to me that both sides need to swallow their pride and any petty squable and work on capitalizing on there proximity to one another and each communities respective competitive advantage.
Someone earlier posted that Baton Rouge will become a small Houston. This statement is evidence of the difference between communities. For myself, a Baton Rouge person, the chance to become a small Houston is a wonderful compliment as I can only hope our city can possess a tenth of the economic success found in Houston. His statement was meant as a negative but for most Baton Rouge residents, that statement is our goal. So maybe that is the biggest difference between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. New Orleans would rather keep their cultural integrity than have economic success. Baton Rouge would like to have both.
Posted by superbeefinder on April 11, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
JR,
Please ask your readers that rush to the defense of New Orleans if they actually live in New Orleans. I've got friends and family that I say are from the Big Easy, but in fact they all live in Jefferson,St. Tammany, and St. Bernard Parish. Don't act you are from the Irish Channel when your address is Mandeville.With that little trip across the Lake, you might as well live in Gonzales.
Stealing the economy of New Orleans? Unless we haul the French Quarter up to Baton Rouge, there isn't much left to steal. New Orleans lost it's title as the premier city of the south. I don't know why, ask Atlanta, Dallas, or Houston,they might know.
Rumors? Here's a good one, Ray Nagin sayng we need 10,000 body bags. Or how about the explosions where the levee was blown with dynamite. Rumors are just that,rumors. Please excuse Baton Rouge for being a little jumpy when it was beseiged by a rather large influx of out of towners(even more than an LSU game)
Let's just leave it at this. New Orleans goes it's way, Baton Rouge will go it's way. When the next store comes, we all know which way the interstate goes.
Posted by Kermit on April 11, 2008 at 2:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well the problem is one city is moving ahead while the other has squandered being the leading city in the South. Instead it focused its energy on being an entertainment center. Any competition between the cities is long over. New Orleans decided to invest its energy in other areas than to attract investment and growth a long time ago.
Now I do love visiting that quaint place with great cuisine and wonderful cultural events, but it is not the place to do business.
Posted by whodat on April 11, 2008 at 2:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Both cities are way above the national average in crime, both have dirty politicians, and both have disastrous school systems. THESE ARE FACTS!!! Neither city will be ANYTHING on a national level until you get these problems fixed.
Posted by thompke on April 11, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Ball does have a point. It's way past time for New Orleans folks to be pissing and moaning about the aftermath of Katrina. I believe I'm entitled to my opinion in that I am a former New Orleans resident (nearly 30 years) and my wife and I lost everything we owned except the clothes we had on our backs and a few treasures she so thoughtfully packed into our car.
We've been in BR for almost 3 years now. We did not look back and never really entertained the idea of trying to go back into Lakeview. Our lives have moved on and we've accepted the change. Those who decided to return seem mired in self pity.
I believe most of the blame lies at the feet of the New Orleans' city leaders. With no real plan in hand, they encouraged people to return home...as if they could just come on back and pick up where they left on on Saturday afternoon just before Katrina hit. Those guys just want to re-establish their political base so they can continue to hold public office and ride around in their fancy limousines and wear their fancy duds! Ray Nagin, Oliver Thomas, Marlin Gusman et. al. are all alike in my view. In Texas they have a saying, "All hat and no cows". New Orleans is being led by some real lightweights. Baton Rouge should be thankful for the leadership we have.
Go JR. Tell 'em like it is!!
Posted by gokayak on April 11, 2008 at 3:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know why so many from New Orleans say to us in Baton Rouge, "YOU'LL NEVER BE A NEW ORLEANS" as if that hurts our feelings or as if we ever wanted to be like New Orleans. Many New Orleaneans seem to have the attitude that that New Orleans is ALL THAT. Most residents of Baton Rouge seem to now have the attitude that "We haven't been all that we can be, but we have what it takes to make our city better than it's ever been." I recall attending a few meetings sponsored by the BR Downtown Development District concerning the Entertainment District in Baton Rouge and one of the questions that came up the most was, "How to we keep Baton Rouge from becoming like New Orleans." So relax New Orleans, we are doing everything we can to prevent Baton Rouge from becoming the next New Orleans.
Posted by gokayak on April 11, 2008 at 3:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
By the way it wasn't that long ago that crime ran wild in New York. Tourist were affraid to visit the city, Times Square was the armpit of the city with prostitutes working the streets and sleezy strip joints and porn shops on every corner. The city was broke and seemed to be on it's last leg. The citizens of New York threw out many of the crooked politicians, elected leaders with vision, a love for the city and a determination to make things better. Today, tourism florishes in New York, the city is safer than it's ever been, the citizens have pride in their city, and Times Square is a must see for any family traveling to that wonderful city. I want New Orleans to be great once again as much as anyone, with a strong New Orleans, the whole state stands a better chance of becoming a greater state. But it has to happen from within, with a determination and a vision like that city has never seen before. Please New Orleans, don't view Baton Rouge as the enemy and don't by into the lie that Baton Rouge wants to become the next New Orleans. We in Baton Rouge are simply working hard and positioning ourselves to become the next great southern city where the American Dream is unstopable. Competition is the greatest motivator, and I believe New Orleans sees Baton Rouge putting on it's work cloths and making things happen. Don't get mad at us, strap em on and make it happen for your city as well. There's enough room in this state for two powerful cities. THIS....IS....OUR....TIME.
Posted by whodat on April 12, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To BR "Businessman" (trailor park owner) Please educate yourself on what the definition of violent crime is before you post a rebuttle- violent crime includes (in addition to homicide) armed robbery, rape, battery, etc. Please check the FBI index on crime, and you will see that BR is twice the national average. Please get your "facts" straight.
Posted by Curtiselwood on April 13, 2008 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
JR BALL. As his name almost states, what a Jr. Ballsack. I have lived in both cities and they both have there positives and negatives, but a business reporter writing this kind of dribble is pathetic. New Orleans is great despite its economy for the wonderful culture, history, and neighborhoods. Baton Rouge is great because it is a growing city and for the average person the suburban lifestyle is much better than what you will find on the south shore of Nola. If you combined the two you might just have the best overall city in America. But the last I checked Baton Rouge was in Louisiana, the worst state in the United States, which is why I left both cities. So have fun Ballsack criticizing New Orleans. Your kicking Nola when she's down is pretty bold. Instead of writing something constructive you write this destructive B.S. Who exactly are you calling out in this article? Should Nola and Jefferson Parish have joined in the Economic Development Corridor? Quite simply, Yes. Why dont you point out how much better the corridor would be if NOLA was included. But just as short sighted is your lack of understanding that without NOLA the state would have no pulse, even post Katrina. New Orleans will always be the International Draw to this state. That is not a bad thing if the rest of the state would get over that fact and from the State level try to push Nola to maximize its status as that distinction which would only benefit the State as a whole. And do your homework before criticizing New Orleanians for voting Nagin back in. If you have any clue you know what happened in that election and you know who he was running against and the history behind it. And the election was only 6 months after the fact. Go Look at the makeup of New Orleans city council now. Go talk with Letten, Bernazzani and Cerisoli and see if the city's corruption outlook isn't changing. Crime in BR is nothing to stick your nose in the air about. Does New Orleans need to pick itself up, yes. But with a little cooperation (as your article so bluntly puts it) from everyone it will rebound. Your article is a complete contradiction, Ballsack.
Posted by BR_Businessman on April 14, 2008 at 8:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To whodat,
Before you go off on a rant you may want to hit that spell check button. The surest sign someone is from a trailer park is when they cant even spell "trailor" park. hahahha
Where in my post was i comparing Baton Rouge to the rest of the nation? I think it was pretty obvious I was comparing it to New Orleans. Isn't that what this article is about anyway?
Posted by whodat on April 14, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To BR_"Businessman" Is a single or double wide that you live in? Why don't you review the rules of proper punctuation as it applies to sentences, as you have broken the same rule in every single one of your posts. (You are supposed to capitalize I) My original post stated that both cities have high crime rates; and you go on a rant regarding the murder rate in N.O. The truth of the matter is that BR has a crime rate that is twice the national average, as does N.O. Put down the hungry-man TV dinner, get out of the recliner, and do some research!
Posted by fourx5 on April 14, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JR:
Baton Rouge is a large conservative suburb on the edges of the real city - the refinery and the state capitol.
"something includes a vision, plan, and thriving economy. "
A thriving economy built largely on the economic boomlet fostered by taxpayer-funded aid to New Orleans. Come on - you don't believe Baton Rouge would be where it is without the billions poured into the state by the rest of the nation?
Out here in California, we're only a little annoyed that year after year, Louisiana gets more federal tax dollars than it pays into the system (like most Red States, Louisiana has a chronic presence on the federal tit) while we pay far more into the federal system than we get. But hey - keep complaining about how New Orleans is a sucking sore on the state, and we'll keep reminding you that Louisiana is New Orleans writ large when it comes to the nation as a whole - backwards, needy, and seemingly unable to be rehabilitated.
Posted by BR_Businessman on April 14, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Whodat,
"I" am not going to respond to the comments in your last post because you keep going in circles, but wanted to ask you this question...Do you have any suggestions for the problems you bring up on crime and dirty politicians in LA? Anyone can say, "Lets get rid of crime and dirty politics!" In fact that sounds a great deal like Barack Obama. It is a very general statement that makes people feel good but has no action or substance behind it. What is your stance on these issues?
Posted by fourx5 on April 14, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"As a Northshore native, I never did understand the relationship between B.R. & N.O. The mutual distrust (hatred?) has been around since long before hurricane Katrina. WHY? "
Ball says it all in his screed. His "friends in Jefferson parish"...you know, where David Duke came from. If I didn't know better (and I"m not accusing Ball of overt racism in any sense) I'd think this was a veiled hit piece on the culture of opportunistic and failed black leadership in New Orleans.
JR, did you stop to think for a minute that if New Orleans had had a decent school system, decent public housing, or decent leaders at all in the past fifty years, that it could have been a great southern city?
BR-Businessman: You must not have read any of Obama's position papers. I'd urge you to do so - they're available at his web site and give very pointed and detailed solutions to crime, education, and other issues, unlike "McSame" who would continue the proven policy failures of George Bush.
Posted by fourx5 on April 14, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JR: You guys at the Business Report still working on that expose about ICF international and their failure to meet their contractual obligations, the "lucky" timing of their IPO just after closing the deal with Louisiana, and their failure to even start looking for* qualified personnel until they were already behind in "processing" Road Home applications?
No, I didn't think so. Still, I was hoping you'd do a story on something that actually matters.
*ICF didn't even have anyone in their HR department qualified to vet resumes for positions listed on the website through most of 2006 and 2007. The lazies at the Advocate and Business Report preferred to write stories about sports instead of looking into this.
Posted by fourx5 on April 14, 2008 at 11:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"For myself, a Baton Rouge person, the chance to become a small Houston is a wonderful compliment"
Are you kidding? You want to be a sprawling, inefficient, dirty, gridlocked city populated largely by s_itkickers driving trucks that are three sizes too large?
Trust me, pal. I travel to Houston on a regular basis for business. You don't want to become Houston. Successful, yes. Houston, no. Part of being a successful city is realizing that you can be a success without emulating the crushing sprawl and inefficiencies of Houston and Atlanta - although with zero support for public transit, smart growth, and meaningful adult education, Baton Rouge looks set to try it's darndest to be another sprawling mess on the map.
Maybe you've already got what you wished for.
Posted by jrball (JR Ball) on April 14, 2008 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To Fourx5: For the record, Business Report wrote a cover story last year on the ICF situation. We uncovered numerous problems, including the timing of the contract and ICF's IPO. So in that respect, your comment is inaccurate. Thanks.
Posted by fourx5 on April 14, 2008 at 11:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JR: Thanks for correcting me. I'll have to check the archives. Sorry for going a bit offtopic, but can you tell me what penalties or other repercussions ICF had to face because of their inept handling of Road Home resources?
Posted by blue_ink_pin on April 14, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
fourx5, my comment about being Houston rests in their economy. I like Louisiana and all of the cultural differences our state affords us compared to others. But it's tough to argue with a person that wants an economy that is similar in any way to Houston. They have many aspects, as do many cities not limited by their geography that I do not care for. I don't want to live in Houston, Dallas, or Atlanta. But I would like to have their economy. That's what I'm working towards here in Baton Rouge. And I think that is the greatest problem in this debate. Baton Rouge is moving forward with plans of becoming an economic center in the state. I don't think New Orleans has ever been concerned with wanting that same position.
Posted by Satchmo on April 14, 2008 at 7:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
JR- If Baton Rouge didn't rank at the bottom of every quality of life and economic development survey out there I might actually think you were worth listening to. But since Baton Rouge, like New Orleans, is perennially on the bottom of all the good lists. I'll ignore you as just an idiot of the same caliber as Ray Nagin and his crew.
Posted by surfdog1958 on April 15, 2008 at 9:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't like this rivalry or see what good can come of it. On the other hand, I agree that New Orleans is not what it used to be, even before Hurricane Katrina. I visited a few months before the hurricane and noticed that the buildings in the French Quarter were not being kept up as they had been when I was a frequent visitor in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. That night I decided to walk back to the Greyhound station as I had always done, but got disoriented when I couldn't see the lights of the International Trade Mart building, which I realized was vacant when I finally got back on track. I had to spend the night at the Greyhound station when I missed the 11:00 p.m. bus, and the air conditioning was turned up so high that everyone was going outside to keep from freezing to death. The employees claimed they didn't know how to turn the AC down and were wearing heavy coats, a luxury most travellers didn't think to bring along in mid May. After that long, sleepless night, I had to endure an overpowering Lysol-like smell on the ride back to Baton Rouge. In hindsight, I think there must have been a lice problem at the Greyhound station and all the buses leaving New Orleans were being fumigated. I swore I would never go back, but I love the New Orleans I remember and would certainly visit again, although not by bus. New Orleans is a great city, a unique world-class tourist destination that no other city in the South can match. We need to all work together to get New Orleans back on track and stop all this petty rivalry.
Posted by mdavis03 on April 27, 2008 at 2:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Everybody knows that Baton Rouge isn't the least bit interested in being the next New Orleans - it's too busy trying to be the next Austin...or Portland.
A "precious" city? Baton Rouge? You've got to be kidding.
New Orleans: crime ridden, dirty and smelly? Yes. But crime in Baton Rouge is no better and there is just as much litter here as well. The only real difference is that New Orleans has history and culture; Baton Rouge has...Town Centre.
And your claims of Baton Rouge being progressive and interested in growth...listen, you've gotten Perkins Rowe and you're getting Rouzan so you can drop the tired rhetoric. Or at least save it for the next "smart growth develpment" to come along.
I was born in Metairie but raised in Baton Rouge. Nevertheless, I will continue to save my allegience for the Crescent City.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)