{"id":6982,"date":"2017-12-07T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=6982"},"modified":"2017-12-06T14:08:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-06T20:08:00","slug":"barely-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2017\/12\/07\/barely-running\/","title":{"rendered":"Barely Running"},"content":{"rendered":"

What with all the murder and weather problems, you\u2019d think you\u2019d want a steady hand at the helm in the New Orleans mayor\u2019s office. But as the race for mayor wound down, two commentators for the Times-Picayune suggested it \u201chas been perhaps the blandest mayoral campaign season in New Orleans history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSnappy dresser\u201d Desiree Charbonnet<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The biggest issue in this crucial, historical race was the use of a City Council credit card. As the campaign began, leading candidate LaToya Cantrell paid back the city for $4,000 she\u2019d charged to her city gubment card.<\/p>\n

Only strident supporters of Cantrell\u2019s opponent Desiree Charbonnet think that Cantrell did anything illegal. The only worthwhile debate that might arise out of all this is that of why members of the N.O. City Council have a $30,000 expense account to begin with.<\/p>\n

As if she were determined to find an even more inconsequential issue, Cantrell responded to credit card questions by saying that Charbonnet was getting a homestead exemption she wasn\u2019t entitled to. But Charbonnet\u2019s ex-husband lives in the house in question. So, again, there was absolutely nothing illegal \u2014 or even unusual \u2014 about the matter.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, people kept on getting killed in New Orleans. Were voters expecting to hear some new ideas about how to reduce the murder rate? No such luck. At a debate, the candidates were asked to say something nice about each other. Cantrell conceded that Charbonnet is a \u201csnappy dresser\u201d (in the words of the Times-Picayune).<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s what New Orleans needs right now. A snappy dresser.<\/p>\n

Not to worry. The political party system will no doubt work it all out.<\/p>\n

Tough Day In The Parole Dept.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As November began, WBRZ-TV correspondent Natalia Verdina reported that a Parole Board officer in New Orleans was instructing \u201cnewly released inmates in Louisiana.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the photo I saw, there was a total of six people in the audience. \u201cAs long as we know where to find you, you are good,\u201d said the parole officer. I don\u2019t guess I\u2019m any kind of expert on where you\u2019re going to find paroled prisoners, but I think I have a pretty good idea of where you were not able to find them on one particular day.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d think that at least one or two more people would have shown, given that Louisiana gave nearly 2,000 prisoners early release (90 days) the very day the meeting was held. The release was meant to target nonviolent offenders.<\/p>\n

Of course, that\u2019s bound to mean more work for parole officers. WAFB in Baton Rouge reported that even before the release, a parole officer in that city handled \u2014 on average \u2014 146 cases. The ideal number is 100. High turnover among parole officers is one consequence.<\/p>\n

Good news for parole officers? A state raise will kick in in December.<\/p>\n

In an interesting side note, Gov. Bel Edwards proved you don\u2019t have to be a Trumpist to do a slash and burn condemnation of the media rather than directly address your problem. In an interview with the Times-Picayune, Edwards launched out in surprisingly hostile language:<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, part of [the negative reaction to the early release] is you all [the news media] presenting the information. All of these individuals are serving sentences for non-sex and non-violent offenses.\u201d Then Edwards went through some number salad; he wound up the remarks with this: \u201cMany of the news accounts lead people to believe that these are people who were going to be released who were not otherwise going to be released \u2014 and that is just not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now really. I followed this story from the get-go. And I knew from the get-go that it was non-violent offenders who were being released. I\u2019d also note that any time a reporter says someone is being \u201creleased early,\u201d you can take it for granted that the person is scheduled for release. It should go without saying.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t our gubner supposed to be a super-well-educated guy? Is the best he can do with media call them \u201cyou all\u201d?<\/p>\n

Of course, media is not to blame if people hear a few words from a news story and immediately whip themselves into a froth of hysterical fear. On the other hand, media is certainly to be blamed if it plays off the people\u2019s irrational fears. That\u2019s shoddy journalism and a violation of journalistic ethics. It\u2019s not something you\u2019ll ever see in Up Front.<\/p>\n

And gubner \u2014 Democrats can benefit just as easily as Republicans from smooth relations with the media. I thought you knew that.<\/p>\n

Where Is The Love?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ready to have your mind blown? OK. Sit down and read this headline out of Covington:<\/p>\n

\u201cFired teacher charged in biting of 2-year-old student.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The loving and nurturing\u00a0Marty Fontenot on a day when nobody bit anybody.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What was the thought process? How did the teacher get to the first step of thinking, \u201cThere are situations in which it is acceptable for a teacher to bite a student\u201d? Then how did the teacher get to the second step of thinking, \u201cGiven that it is sometimes acceptable to bite students, I can identify situations in which it is acceptable to bite a 2-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somebody might say the teacher bit the toddler \u201cwithout thinking.\u201d But that\u2019s the way we talk about dogs and cats. We like to think we\u2019re different from them.<\/p>\n

The teacher in question, 28-year-old Heather Marcotte, worked at Covington\u2019s Northlake Christian School, which says it is a \u201cspecial place where your child will be loved and nurtured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Really? That special, huh? School head Monty Fontenot responded to the outrageous biting incident by saying, simply, \u201cWe\u2019ve handled it internally and there\u2019s no further comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up there a second, Agnes. First, you\u2019re telling me you\u2019re loving and nurturing; then, when my kid gets bitten in the face, your loving response is to tell me \u201cno comment\u201d? I\u2019m looking all up in here and I\u2019m not feeling the love. How am I missing it? Where is the love?<\/p>\n

Marcotte has been fired and arraigned under a charge of felony cruelty to a juvenile. Let\u2019s hope she gets the help she needs \u2014 and that it truly is loving and nurturing.<\/p>\n

Wanna See Some Litter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is all the interesting news for this issue from New Orleans? Don\u2019t you believe it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An actual Tumblr post of litter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

From LSU\u2019s The Reveille newspaper comes this: \u201cThey have started a movement where people pick up litter, take a picture and upload it to their app.\u201d And I thought it was boring when people posted pictures of their lunch, their coffee drink and their new grandchild.<\/p>\n

What Do You Mean \u2018What If\u2019?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if La. had an election and nobody cared?\u201d \u2014 Nov. 3 headline from the Shreveport Times.<\/p>\n

The story concerned a run-off for treasurer between John Schroder (R) and Derrick Edwards (D) (as well as, presumably, other races and issues being decided in this November\u2019s Louisiana election).<\/p>\n

Ha! Ha! Ha!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Somebody in New Orleans has gotten concerned about the effects of those silly \u2014 I mean, educationally beneficial and community-building \u2014 school uniforms. N.O.\u2019s The Lens is distributing a simple flyer that asks, \u201cHas your student ever gotten in trouble for uniform violations? What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know whether Lens reporter Marta Jewson would be interested in SWLA horror stories, but if you want to check it out, the number is 504-517-3210.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Not Going To The Funeral<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Houston comes word of the latest nail in the coffin of print periodicals. The long-revered Houston Press just announced that it will no longer have an in-house staff of writers. In the future, all Houston Press stories will be written only by freelancers.<\/p>\n

In addition, these freelancers will be overseen by only one editor. If I\u2019m reading it right, there will be a total of one editor on the premises of the Houston Press.<\/p>\n

Gee, if a periodical as well-loved as the Houston Press can\u2019t make it, who can? Well, I\u2019m not quite sure. Lagniappe is still doing well and growing. That\u2019s a fact. Half our issues this year have been at least 112 pages. That\u2019s not at all bad for a place with a metro population of 200,000. I guess it makes sense to take your blessings where you find them.<\/p>\n

Who Do They Think I Follow?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On one day, the two selections in my \u201cWho to follow\u201d box on Twitter were Roshini Bakishi, founder of \u201cThe Sanskrit Appreciation Hour\u201d and FC Spartak Moscow, which I can\u2019t describe, as the description on Twitter was written in Russian.<\/p>\n

Maybe Twitter thinks I want to follow folks who write in languages I can\u2019t read. Twitter bros \u2014 I may be eccentric, but I\u2019m not that eccentric.<\/p>\n

Thanks For The Heads Up, Son<\/strong><\/p>\n

BetterWorld Books offers for sale a volume titled The Greatest Disaster Stories Ever Told. The one consumer review \u2014 written by \u201cC\u201d \u2014 says only, \u201cThis book is incredibly depressing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The News<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cScience Says Regularly Attending Concerts Makes You Happier. If science says so, it must be true.\u201d \u2014 Headline from Noisey Vice, Nov. 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne person has been taken to the hospital with a severe arm injury after car overturns\u201d \u2014 WBRZ (Baton Rouge) headline, Nov. 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait! How did I miss that?<\/p>\n

\u201cQueen Bey joins \u2018The Lion King\u2019 and other things from this week\u201d \u2014 CNN headline, Nov. 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cLSU fans boost team with paint, prayers, Tiger trailers, \u2018Guice\u2019 shirts, colorful cocktails.\u201d Daily Advocate, Nov. 1. What was just as newsworthy as the headline was the photo that went with it \u2014 that of a man painted in purple and yellow pushing a push mower. Wow. Do you mean that in Baton Rouge, men still mow their own lawns with push mowers? It\u2019s amazing how different things can be in a city that\u2019s so close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What with all the murder and weather problems, you\u2019d think you\u2019d want a steady hand at the helm in the New Orleans mayor\u2019s office. But as the race for mayor wound down, two commentators for the Times-Picayune suggested it \u201chas been perhaps the blandest mayoral campaign season in New Orleans history.\u201d The biggest issue in [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[38,1621,1622,37],"yoast_head":"\nBarely Running - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2017\/12\/07\/barely-running\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barely Running - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What with all the murder and weather problems, you\u2019d think you\u2019d want a steady hand at the helm in the New Orleans mayor\u2019s office. 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