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Our city, state, country, and the world are facing an unprecedented challenge in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As many Americans are still coming to grips with the seriousness of this global pandemic and the need for action, we first hope that you and your family are safe and healthy. New Orleans is dealing with one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the nation, and the vigilance and compassion of every citizen will be necessary to slow the transmission of the disease and avoid overwhelming our hospitals with critical cases. The Louisiana Legislature has voted to suspend the session until at least March 31. We agree with the decision, which will protect public health and ensure that all legislation under consideration has the opportunity to be considered in a public forum. However, the economic impact of the necessary steps to combat this public health emergency will be dire for the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans. Our economy thrives on tourism and our vibrant service industry. We are asking all citizens to contact our federal Louisiana Senators and urge them to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This legislation passed the House of Representatives late last week and is currently awaiting a Senate vote. CONTACT SENATORS Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy> The Families First Coronavirus Response Act will provide assistance to Louisiana residents impacted by the novel coronavirus in the following ways:
Nutrition Supports:
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is likely the first step in the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will also be state and local legislation that requires your support, as well as action steps we must all take to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect our fellow citizens from this public health emergency. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans will continue to provide information as we receive it. Please encourage others you know to subscribe to our email distribution list to receive this information. There is no city or region better prepared for tackling a problem as large as the COVID-19 pandemic than New Orleans. We will get through this together.  Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans is a proud Forward New Orleans (FNO) member, and today, FNO issued its First Progress Report on the 2018 Municipal Elections Platform. The Progress Report is an assessment of our elected officials’ work towards achieving the Platform’s objectives in six priority areas: public safety, infrastructure, economic opportunity, city services, city finance, and civil service.
Since 2010, FNO has developed issue-based platforms to shape the policy priorities within municipal elections. FNO seeks pledges of support for the Platform from mayoral and city council candidates, with those pledges becoming mandates for post-election action by elected officials. FNO issues regular progress reports that assess the City’s advancement towards fulfilling the Platform’s objectives, and this is the first report to measure the achievements of the Cantrell Administration and the current City Council since the 2018 municipal elections. One of the most important issues facing the City of New Orleans is the need for repair and maintenance of critical infrastructure, specifically our streets, water, sewer, and drainage lines.
Improving our infrastructure will require significant funding, a difficult task for any community. Before raising taxes, perhaps we can identify existing funding sources that could be reallocated towards critical infrastructure. One such suggestion is explained in this op-ed from Janet Howard, a former President and CEO of BGR and long-time advocate for reform in the City of New Orleans. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans will be studying this issue carefully in 2020, and we will share information and calls to action with you as they arise.  Today, we mourn the loss and celebrate the life of John Martin, beloved member of our education committee. John was a passionate advocate for education reform in New Orleans. He always spoke truth to important matters and never wavered in his commitment to reform. He was our trusted chauffeur to Baton Rouge and often our sole representation at OPSB meetings. Our organization and the city of New Orleans will miss him dearly.
Obituary for John Clinton Martin, Jr. Earlier this week, Louisiana State School Superintendent John White notified the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) of his decision to resign effective March 11, 2020, after eight years in the office.
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans extends immense gratitude to Mr. White for his dedication to improving education in the state of Louisiana and we wish him well on his next endeavor. Our organization worked alongside Superintendent White to raise educational standards, increase funding for early childhood education, and secure the future of charter school reforms that have been instrumental in improving schools in New Orleans and across the state. As we turn to the next chapter for Louisiana schools, we know that challenges remain. Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans will continue to monitor important policy decisions at BESE and developments in the legislature. We thank you for your commitment to public education, and we will continue to need your voices as matters arise this spring and beyond.  The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) expresses its gratitude to the nearly 800 supporters who attended its 2019 Annual Luncheon featuring bestselling author Michael Lewis on November 7th at the Marriott.
This year’s luncheon invited our guests to observe and participate in A Conversation with Michael Lewis. Lewis displayed his storytelling prowess as he captivated the audience with behind-the-scenes insights into his bestselling books, his process for choosing material, his pipeline of work and his thoughts on New Orleans today. Gordon Russell, managing editor of investigations for The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, thoughtfully guided the conversation in an interview format. Following the interview, BGR board member and former WWL-TV anchor Dennis Woltering moderated a question-and-answer session with the audience. Following the Annual Luncheon, The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate published this editorial, reflecting on the event. Hancock Whitney Bank and Canal Barge sponsored BGR’s Annual Luncheon, which is a local fall tradition in its twenty-third year. The presentation, A Conversation with Michael Lewis, was part of the Janet Howard Speaker Series in Governmental Research.  Early voting ends October 5, 2019. Take time to review and prepare with the links below.  Please email Mayor Cantrell and legislative officials on TODAY's vote and tell them to amend Senate Bill 110 to remove New Orleans Schools or to support referring the bill to House Education Committee for further debate.
If this legislation passes without amending OPSB out of the bill, schools would lose $3.2 million ($75.00) per student, while doubling the city’s collection to $6.4 million. The City of New Orleans has created this legislation to circumvent the Louisiana Supreme Court Ruling and Attorney General’s Office opinion that “local governments are not allowed to use property taxes for expenses not approved by voters”. We cannot allow millions of dollars designated by voters in support of classrooms to be used in fulfilling the city’s pension obligations! SB 110! |
| Mayor Latoya Cantrell (504) 658-4900 mayor@nola.gov Walt Leger III (504)556-9970 legerw@legis.la.gov Neil C. Abramson (504)275-8051 abramson@legis.la.gov Joseph Bouie (504)286-1033 bouiej@legis.la.gov Jimmy Harris (504)243-1960 harrisj@legis.la.gov Royce Duplessis (504)-568-2740 duplessisr@legis.la.gov John H. Bagneris (504)243-7783 bagnerisj@legis.la.gov | Stephanie Hilferty (504)885-4154 hilfertys@legis.la.gov Gary Carter (504)361-6600 carterg@legis.la.gov Christopher J. Leopold (504)393-5649 leopoldc@legis.la.gov Raymond E. Garofalo (504)277-4729 garofalor@legis.la.gov Cameron Henry (504)838-5433 henryc@legis.la.gov Nancy Landry (337)262-2252 landryn@legis.la.gov |
 | Michael Hecht, the president and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., shared a letter for Commissioner Goodell, composed by local businesses. He said in an email that the letter would be FedEx’d to Goodell’s attention at two locations: the NFL Headquarters in NYC and Goodell’s Super Bowl hotel in Atlanta. Hecht ended his email by writing: "Thank you for your partnership, and for being part of this advocacy. It is another good opportunity for us to flex our collective muscle as business and civic organizations, and I do believe that we will help spur a rule change, so that, in the words of Coach Payton, 'no team ever has to lose like this.' We dat!" The full letter is below. |
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Commissioner Roger Goodell
National Football League 345 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10154
Dear Commissioner Goodell:
On behalf of the business and civic community of the New Orleans region, we are writing to you to express our deep disappointment with the handling of the NFC Championship game on Sunday.
Simply put, the ending of the game is being decried around the country as highway robbery: brazen, indefensible, and, some even speculate, deliberate.
The Saints players were robbed of an appearance at the Super Bowl. The Who Dat Nation’s fans were cheated of their commitment and money. New Orleans lost an invaluable economic and civic boost. America was deprived of a classic duel between the two greatest quarterbacks of our generation. And the NFL – a brand already under severe duress - was further robbed of its credibility.
There is no question that the no-call was an officiating crime. “Oh, hell yeah,” the Ram’s Robey- Coleman said upon being shown the play on a reporter’s phone. “That was P.I.”
And this pass interference was compounded by a second illegal act, a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit that sent the Saint’s Tommylee Lewis sprawling.
How did the NFL let this happen in such a crucial game?
First, inadequate rules. In a pass-happy NFL, pass interference is an increasingly consequential and high-impact call. No other penalty can change field position as dramatically.
Why, then, doesn’t the NFL allow pass interference to be reviewed, as the Canadian Football League has since 2014? And, given the league’s professed concern over player safety, why isn’t helmet-to-helmet targeting reviewable? It is in the NCAA.
Then, negligent oversight. Incredibly, three of the seven referees were from the Los Angeles market! (Zero were from New Orleans or even Louisiana.) At a minimum, the NFL should have seen the terrible optics of playing L.A. refs in an L.A. championship game. There is speculation now that Cavaletto – the ref who reached-for-but-didn’t-throw his flag – hesitated due to sub-conscious home-town bias, or worse. Maintaining rules which forbid real or perceived conflicts of interest amongst officiating crews should be a no-brainer.
Finally, there is the basic question of training and competence. How could the supposed best officials in the league be blind to what millions saw?
In total, the situation is so grossly unfair that a sportsbook in New Jersey is refunding bets on the Saints “due to the widespread belief that the team was victimized by a blown call by referees.” It says something when New Jersey bookies are acting more honorably than the NFL.
The right thing for the NFL to do, of course, is to replay the game. As of this writing, over 700,000 fans across the country have signed a petition demanding a replay as the only fair solution. In fact, Rule 17, Section 2, Article 3 says that you can do exactly this, in “extraordinarily unfair” circumstances that have “a major effect on the result of the game.”
Of course, money and logistics dictate that there will be no replay. Rather, Super Bowl LIII will be forever known as “Super Bowl LIE.” But going forward, the NFL can make changes so that, in the words of Saints coach Sean Payton, “No other team ever has to lose like this.”
It is simple: the rules should be changed. Pass interference and targeting should be challengeable and reviewable. Further, any potential conflict of interest amongst officiating crews should be eliminated. Above all, Commissioner Roger Goodell should be held accountable to deliver a product of sporting excellence.
At the end of the day, if the NFL does not provide fairness and integrity, fans will lose interest, and it will die. New Orleans will be fine. We have come back from far, far worse. But will the NFL?
We look forward to hearing your response.
The business and civic community of the New Orleans region:
Commissioner Roger Goodell
National Football League 345 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10154
Dear Commissioner Goodell:
On behalf of the business and civic community of the New Orleans region, we are writing to you to express our deep disappointment with the handling of the NFC Championship game on Sunday.
Simply put, the ending of the game is being decried around the country as highway robbery: brazen, indefensible, and, some even speculate, deliberate.
The Saints players were robbed of an appearance at the Super Bowl. The Who Dat Nation’s fans were cheated of their commitment and money. New Orleans lost an invaluable economic and civic boost. America was deprived of a classic duel between the two greatest quarterbacks of our generation. And the NFL – a brand already under severe duress - was further robbed of its credibility.
There is no question that the no-call was an officiating crime. “Oh, hell yeah,” the Ram’s Robey- Coleman said upon being shown the play on a reporter’s phone. “That was P.I.”
And this pass interference was compounded by a second illegal act, a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit that sent the Saint’s Tommylee Lewis sprawling.
How did the NFL let this happen in such a crucial game?
First, inadequate rules. In a pass-happy NFL, pass interference is an increasingly consequential and high-impact call. No other penalty can change field position as dramatically.
Why, then, doesn’t the NFL allow pass interference to be reviewed, as the Canadian Football League has since 2014? And, given the league’s professed concern over player safety, why isn’t helmet-to-helmet targeting reviewable? It is in the NCAA.
Then, negligent oversight. Incredibly, three of the seven referees were from the Los Angeles market! (Zero were from New Orleans or even Louisiana.) At a minimum, the NFL should have seen the terrible optics of playing L.A. refs in an L.A. championship game. There is speculation now that Cavaletto – the ref who reached-for-but-didn’t-throw his flag – hesitated due to sub-conscious home-town bias, or worse. Maintaining rules which forbid real or perceived conflicts of interest amongst officiating crews should be a no-brainer.
Finally, there is the basic question of training and competence. How could the supposed best officials in the league be blind to what millions saw?
In total, the situation is so grossly unfair that a sportsbook in New Jersey is refunding bets on the Saints “due to the widespread belief that the team was victimized by a blown call by referees.” It says something when New Jersey bookies are acting more honorably than the NFL.
The right thing for the NFL to do, of course, is to replay the game. As of this writing, over 700,000 fans across the country have signed a petition demanding a replay as the only fair solution. In fact, Rule 17, Section 2, Article 3 says that you can do exactly this, in “extraordinarily unfair” circumstances that have “a major effect on the result of the game.”
Of course, money and logistics dictate that there will be no replay. Rather, Super Bowl LIII will be forever known as “Super Bowl LIE.” But going forward, the NFL can make changes so that, in the words of Saints coach Sean Payton, “No other team ever has to lose like this.”
It is simple: the rules should be changed. Pass interference and targeting should be challengeable and reviewable. Further, any potential conflict of interest amongst officiating crews should be eliminated. Above all, Commissioner Roger Goodell should be held accountable to deliver a product of sporting excellence.
At the end of the day, if the NFL does not provide fairness and integrity, fans will lose interest, and it will die. New Orleans will be fine. We have come back from far, far worse. But will the NFL?
We look forward to hearing your response.
The business and civic community of the New Orleans region:
