Understanding Garbage

I’m not a genius or anything and some things confuse me because they go against what I see for my own two eyes. However, I’m not afraid to ask for an explanation from someone with better understanding. I have tried my best to understand the issues with the city’s sanitation contract. I have read the issues with the contract itself. I understand the concerns of the city council. I think I have a good idea of what’s going on. The problem I have is this. With the free for all state of the city’s recovery, how could anyone negotiate a contract for sanitation pickup to begin with? How can anyone possibly know how many people are really living here and where they are going to live to sign into any long term deal? Couldn't we have avoided all of this drama and not signed anything long term for a few years?

In the last few months I know five people personally that have moved back into the city. There are three houses on my block that will be moved into any minute. There’s two major apartment complexes almost completed in New Orleans East. What about all the mixed income housing that is being built in place of the projects? Surely many of those displaced families will be moving back into the city. How could the city or any of the sanitation companies that were rewarded a contract know what they were getting into? These contracts were written up in 2006. The difference in New Orleans between 2006 and now is night and day. It could actually be possible that one of these companies is not billing us for enough collection instead of too much. I can’t see any possible way that someone could have possibly estimated the future amount of trash collection in 2006.

Wouldn’t the best thing for everyone have been to award a six month contract to the best proposal and then re-opened everything for bidding after we seen how many people actually came back to the city? Then, if the recovery was still in the same condition it is now we could have extended it another six months. I can’t imagine not finding any companies to take that six month contract knowing that if they did a good job they would be under high consideration for a longer one.

Shouldn’t we have had a separate contract just for debris pickup since the Road Home process was so slow that some people are just starting to repair their homes?

I don’t understand how a city with a sporadic recovery like we have could make any guarantees on things like sanitation for more than six months at a time.

Can someone who reads this please clear this up for me?

It Takes A Village

My back and legs are killing me. That’s because today I participated in the playground build at KIPP Central City Academy. The build was led by a great organization called Kaboom. We remodeled the entire courtyard. I didn’t know they were planting gardens and painting the basketball court. As far as days in New Orleans go, it was a pretty good one. On behalf of all the parents whose kids will be the first ones to play on it next week I just want to say thanks to all the volunteers. I can’t remember every group but I want to recognize St. Michael Family Missions, the folks from California working with Common Ground, the kids from Newman High School, Country Day High School, and the small army of students from Xavier University. We never would have gotten through those 140 cubic yards of mulch without you.

My allergic reaction to being corny will keep me from saying something really mushy. Let’s just say that with all the things going on around the world and this city it was good to see that many people from all different walks of life having a good time and helping the kids. I do have a few observations from the day.

• Black DJs have to get a more diverse set of records to play. I don’t know why I found the fact he was playing Lollipop by Lil Wayne in front of all those volunteers so funny. The funniest part of the day was later in the day when Wild Wayne from Q93 told all those kids singing some rap song that it was time to recite their multiplication tables.
• Whenever you volunteering for something always wear over size clothes so people can’t see your size and ask you to pick up on everything heavy.
• The site of pretty college girls shoveling mulch and pushing wheelbarrows warms your heart inside.
• Always find out ahead of time what the colors or symbols on your name tag designate. This could be the difference between mixing concrete and re-painting the map of America on the blacktop.
• I sure wish the mayor and city council would have stopped by and carried a few loads of mulch or drilled a few holes. I guess they were busy exchanging emails.
• There was an old white lady from somewhere in the city. She was shoveling mulch next to an 8 year old little black girl from the neighborhood. They were both filling up the loads for me and a white teacher from California with a Mohawk to carry together. I won’t say anything corny but I will dedicate this song to the entire group.

It was a good day and that school is full of great people.

The Same Old Routine

Councilwoman Stacy Head was right to be upset if our Sanitation Director Veronica White was lying to her about information she wanted to see. I don’t have a problem with her being upset and I am tired of departments in this city not being open about what we are actually paying for. This is not about who's right or wrong. My only concern is that it seems like every few weeks there’s some argument in council chambers and afterward nothing seems to get resolved.

I wish they would just call one another on the phone or walk to each others office and blow off this steam in private. After that they could come out together and have a press conference announcing this great change to the sanitation contract that will save the city millions that we can spend on something else around town. That would be a welcome change from the public bickering. When you argue like that everyone loses sight of the real issue. We have enough anger and outrage already. Just get things done. I know one thing, if my street starts stinking because everyone was too busy fussing to approve the sanitation budget I am going to be pissed and it won’t matter who was right or wrong. If we don’t take the anger and bitterness out of this city we are headed for another election with votes based on anything but competence.

Neck on Neck Crime

Sometimes I feel like we can’t do anything right in Louisiana. Take our local KKK faction for instance. Here we have the first black president energizing racists to such a high level that it could possibly be a resurgence in activity that would make David Duke proud. What does the leader of the Dixieland KKK go and do? He killed a potential female recruit and threw her body in the woods. That’s total incompetence at the highest redneck level. The original grand wizards are rolling over in their grave. Now he and seven of his comrades including his son are headed to the pin. Let this be a valuable lesson going forward for the rest of the KKK out there. Killing your potential members is not a good recruiting tool. I am afraid that with such a major portion of the Dixieland group gone, someone’s wife/cousin is going to have to pick up the pieces. For all you folks that think racism is something practiced by older people who grew up in the 40’s 50’s and 60’s, pay close attention to the ages of the people arrested.

Mental Note : Find Sun, Louisiana on the map and never stop for gas or directions.

Good Credit For The Heroes

I have an idea since it’s Veterans Day. These people leave their families, communities and careers for months at a time and have no control over how long they have to stay there, why don’t we create a law that says whenever they come home and go back to civilian life everything on their credit is cleared and their kids get to go to a public college if they choose to. If you put your life on the line you shouldn’t have to deal with a bill collector calling when you come back. I wouldn’t mind my tax dollars going towards that. If we can buy into private companies then we can take care of these cats.

I would like to give some shots out to all the veterans especially my dad, my grandpa, Shawn, Steve, Ronald, Mr. Henry, and the late Taft Williams.

That guy in the picture is one handsome soldier.

A Visit To The Neighborhood

For the first time in awhile I spent some time down in the Lower Ninth Ward this weekend. I saw a few family members. I had a few bowls of gumbo. I went to see my family house for one last time since someone told me there was a demolition sign on it. I ended up standing next to the big oak tree outside of it talking to my childhood best friend for a few hours. He was visiting his mom who’s back in her house on the block. When you spend almost everyday with someone for over 15 years you can start talking and lose a few hours easily. He’s the only guy that shares every memory from that block. That was a much needed reunion as I was slipping into one of those after Katrina feelings of detachment. I was amazed at how many people drove by and blew their horn at us. It’s like hardly anyone lives where they used to but they just drive down there to check on the neighborhood. I thought I was the only fool who did that. It felt like 1988 without our neighbors or businesses.

While I was down there I drove over to Tennessee Street and checked out some of the homes honorary Lower Nine Soldier Brad Pitt has built from his Make It Right Foundation. I took a few pictures and posted a few with this blog (My pictures suck because I didn't get out of the truck. I know those folks living right there get tired of people taking pictures of their houses all day.) The first thing I thought to myself is that if houses that look this cool would have been around back when I was growing up every kid in the Ninth Ward would have known who lived in there and been jealous. Then I thought to myself how they have the cheapest energy bills in the city since there are solar panels on each house. There’s even a playground that has solar panels to power the lights.

Brad Pitt had a radical idea for hurricane recovery. He presented a plan, people gave him money to do it, and then he did what he said he was going to do. Sometimes great plans are very simplistic. I was wondering. Has the city council or the mayor recognized this man for this work? Has he gotten a key to the city? Does he get to ride in the Zulu parade? What about a good pot of red beans? Maybe we can give him and Angelina a second line in their honor when they are in town. I would like to nominate Mr. Pitt for a new position in the city. He should be the Director of Doing Exactly What You Said You Were Going to Do.

504 Ward

When folks think enough of me to promote their good ideas I have to do it. I received this information from Jessica White. She's the Director of 504ward, an initiative designed to retain the 23 to 35 year old demographic in New Orleans. Please check this out and visit Idea Village as well. If anyone wins money after seeing this on my blog please don't worry. I won't ask for a cut. Gifts are always appreciated.


504WARD IS CALLING FOR BUSINESS IDEAS THAT
RETAIN YOUNG TALENT IN NEW ORLEANS!

THE CURRENT VALUE OF THE PRIZE PACKAGE HAS WELL EXCEEDED $200,000
Through generous funding from local venture philanthropist Leslie Jacobs, we are seeding the competition with $100,000 in cash and the local business community has contributed over $100,000 in office space, legal, marketing, website optimization, web development, advertising, staffing, event production, communication planning, networking facilities and data center storage services. A team of Google employees also joined to help launch the competition.

A single winner will be selected out of five nationwide finalists in March 2009. Ventures in the finalist round who operate or intend to operate in the New Orleans region will also be eligible for professional support.

FIRST ROUND APPLICATIONS ARE DUE at 5:04pm CST on Thursday, December 4, 2008.
Ventures MUST:
• Be for-profit
• Demonstrate ability to retain 23-35 year-olds in New Orleans
• Have a high potential for long-term sustainability

Business Week just named New Orleans
"Among the Best Cities to Ride Out the Recession."

HAVE A GREAT IDEA?!?
Email us at businesscompetition@504ward.com to receive the short, informational application.

Interested applicants will be required to submit the following:
* Informational Application
* Executive Summary (Maximum of 3 pages)
* Action Plan, including timeline, of steps for Applicant Venture to become operational
* Appendix A, Describing Conflict of Interest and Disclosure of Relationships to 504ward and The Idea Village
* Optional: Resume for Applicant and Management Team, if applicable
* Optional: YouTube video pitch of Applicant Venture (Maximum of 54 seconds)

Executive Summary Guidelines - maximum of 3 pages typed in a minimum 10 point font, including the following:
* Venture/company summary
* Customer/market analysis
* Product or service description
* How the product or service retains the 23-35 year old demographic in New Orleans
* Competitive advantage
* Management team and/or advisors, including bios and/or resumes
* Budget and relevant financial highlights
* Current status of the business idea

Please visit 504ward.com for additional information or to donate resources to the entrepreneur(s).

Sitting On My Porch Part Seventeen

I love Leonard Pitts. He summed it up best.

Since Hurricane Katrina I have been a very pessimistic person. I don’t carry myself that way. It’s an internal thing. I have been detached mentally. It's the reason I spend more time alone than I ever thought I would. I figure I must be insane because as detached as I feel I continue to stay engaged. In spite of that I have to say that the sight of a man who looks like me win the presidency feels pretty good. Even the bitter racists couldn't spoil it. I think it’s fascinating because so many things happened that I didn’t think Americans had in them. The question now is just how deep this new feeling goes.

Is anyone ready now to get on board with me and say that Oprah Winfrey was the unsung most valuable player in this whole scenario? I said it back in February. When a brother is trying to get a job in a certain environment, the easiest way for that to happen is for someone who’s already there validates him. Oprah already had the status in America that Obama needed to be to win. It's the ultimate reaching back to pull up another one. These are the kinds of things that have to be replicated on a small level.

The fact that William Jefferson could possibly be headed back to Washington is the reality check that things haven’t changed locally. Here’s a guy that didn’t feel the need to debate the issues or really campaign at all. He rode the uninformed black vote to victory. The black community of New Orleans is now the Jefferson family and their well connected cronies’ chick on the side. They get what they want from us and all they have to do is show up every now and then to tell us something sweet. That applies to all the bishops, prophets, elders or whatever they call themselves that stood up there with him at that press conference yet you don’t hear a peep out of them when we have teenage girls carrying guns to school to protect themselves from a savage beat down or having to wear a bulletproof vest to attend a high school football game.

I have bad vibes about this city master plan decision. Everyone keeps saying the citizens will have input. It will be interesting to see what citizens they are talking about. Everyone knows there is a neighborhood pecking order. I’m begging someone in the city to please promote the day and times of these meetings at least two weeks before they happen. I think something this important deserves a few dollars in advertising.

Technology has been very good to me. Between the Internet and my career it has really enhanced my life. The negative about technology is useless communication. The worst form of this next to spam e-mail is chain text messages. You know when you are sitting at work and your phone starts making noise. You stop working to look at it and it's yet another joke, or something inspirational you are supposed to send to 10 people. I hate those. Well, this week has broken the record for chain text messages about the election. This goes out to everyone who reads this blog and has my cell number. I know you guys are inspired and excited but the next time I get the same text message ten times from ten different people about Barack or Michelle Obama I am going to send out a group message cussing everybody. Stop jamming up the information highway and do some work.

In my last post I said I decided to no longer read my local newspaper website. That did not apply to Big Red Cotton. Stay strong over there. I know those comments got a little rough.

Red State Paranoia

There's a lot of unnecessary tension and fear around the south. I'm afraid that for the first time in 20 years I will no longer be listening to any talk radio. I had already decided to stop reading my hometown paper's website because of the comment section at the bottom. Some of those comments come right out of the KKK recruiting pamphlet. I am not going to sit here and pretend that some of you are not just racists who are used to minorities knowing their place. That’s a real thing but I’ll be fair and say that not all of you voted for McCain just because of that reason. Some of you think McCain was the best candidate and that’s fine. Some of you however are real ignorant with a backwards and dangerous way of thinking. One of my close friends called me pissed off after listening to a talk show the day of the election. I calmed him down and thought how sad that was he felt that way since he’s a veteran and a model citizen. One of the things that makes life down here so confusing sometimes is that I have seen white guys come up to him and shake his hand to thank him for his service. We even got some free seafood one night because of it. We know it's not everybody but its enough to make you pay attention to everybody.

One guy called a local talk show and said people had a right to be scared since they were about to lose 200 years of freedom. I found that amusing since A. America is more than 200 years old. B. My people haven't been free that long. and C. I don't remember anything in Civics class that said if anyone of color gets elected president reverse slavery is automatically instituted. That was ignorant and I hope there aren't too many people living around me who think like this. Your isolated suburban area was still the same Wednesday morning just like my neighborhood was.

Listen, we are just as American as you. As a matter of fact, even if we wanted to leave we wouldn’t have a homeland to go to. There are black people from the south in the Middle East right now fighting. Don't you all cheer and pamper big black men that play football at your colleges? When 9/11 happened I cried just like you. When the Olympics were taking place this year I watched Michael Phelps and the other American athletes and cheered for them just like you. We were fighting and dying for this place when we couldn't vote, shop, work, or sit and eat in certain places. Obama winning does absolutely nothing to your freedom. It just makes me feel better about mine. That’s why most black people got emotional. We know the words to the Star Spangled Banner. It just sounds a little different when we sing it. That’s nothing to be afraid of. Just try to keep the beat, keep living your lives and hope the next president makes it even better. Calm down before something crazy happens.

A Few Days To Feel Good

I don’t live in a fantasy world. There are some areas of this country where things are not right and in most of the areas the faces and color resemble my own. It’s been hard the last few years to maintain that optimism. You turn on the news or pick up the paper and see story after story of the worst of your community. You start getting beat down by it and think that things are never going to change. That's why I never really jumped on the bandwagon.

As I walked out of my house this morning and saw my half abandoned flood damaged neighborhood and drove to work this morning passing the familiar areas of trouble I knew the circumstances were still there even after the first African American president was elected. There is lots of work to do. That kind of ignorance and pain isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Yesterday morning I got up and stood in line for more than an hour with all kinds of people in my community from different backgrounds. They all had a look in their eyes like they were about to experience something special. I stood in line in front of three guys who on any other day would scare people by the way they look. They were actually making space for the old ladies on the walkers to get through and fussing at one another for cussing in line in front of all the people. There was the family there and I watched a mother and father coach their teenage sons who were voting for the first time on how the voting machines work. That was the first moment I realized that it didn’t matter if Obama won. As far as I am concerned he had already delivered for me what I needed. I needed to know that there is still a possibility that these brothers and sisters out here that are doing things in the wrong manner can be motivated to try and do the right thing. I needed to see that in the voting line yesterday. I’m glad the final payoff happened too.

Barak Obama won’t be sworn in until January. There are some local issues that I am not too happy about that were on the ballot yesterday. I am sure somewhere in the country today there are some pissed off people. There is also much real work to be done. We can discuss all that later. I don’t feel like debating and listening to all of that. I just want to soak up that hope I got yesterday. I need as much possible for the grind that’s ahead of us. Enough dues were paid by a whole bunch of people to enjoy this one for a few days. I want to experience what endless possibility feels like without people jamming my thoughts.

WOW!!

I have no words for this right now. All I can do is cry. For now I just want to be happy and proud.

It's Almost Time

I'm waking up early in the morning. I am getting dressed for work. Before that I am going to stand in this line and exercise my right to vote because people died for that. Maybe about this time tomorrow night history will be made.

I am 34 years old. When my grandfather was my age he couldn't vote at all. I am sure no one during that time thought they would get a chance to vote the way we will be tomorrow. I did my best to down play that idea for months but now that we are on the eve of election night I can't do it any longer. Most black people probably know someone whom they wish were still alive to be a part of this thing. Anybody in America who really loves it should be proud of the fact we have gotten to this point. Things may not be perfect but this scenario means the system might work the way it's supposed to. I can't see how that's bad for anyone going forward.

No one really knows what's going to happen. All I can say is that no matter what happens you have to stay engaged and pay attention. Like I said before, change is going to come from everyone. It's too bad the potential sight of Congressman Jefferson winning is going to put a damper on my evening. I'm optimistic about this one turning out the right way too. It's going to be a big night.

There's A Whole World Waiting

Every morning I drive my daughter to her school and I get out and walk her to the cafeteria. I see those little boys and girls with their bright and innocent eyes and I think to myself those kids could be anything they wanted to be if they get the opportunity and someone to believe in them. Everything great is potentially ahead of them. Then I remember being a little kid at McDonald #19 Elementary School and how none of us had any idea what life had in store. I think about how many of the kids I grew up with were being raised with the fact that no one really expected much out of them and they behaved that way. I remember my daddy always dancing around like a crazy man and singing “You are the trailblazer! You are Number 1!!” He used to give me that cheer when I was sitting at the table doing my homework and didn’t feel like doing it. I remember thinking to myself "Why is this big man dancing because I don't want to look up my vocabulary words? Isn't he supposed to be grabbing me by my shirt?" He made me take my name and responsibility to it seriously even as a kid. I think about how that shaped my work ethic to this day.

Believing that your kids are wonderful and gifted may not make them a millionaire but it might keep them out of the penitentiary and help them live a long full life. We have to tell them that they are somebody so they will expect more of themselves and not embrace being less than what they should be. That's just my opinion. If one of my babies tell me they want to fly a spaceship I will help them pick out the planet they are flying to first.

I would like to dedicate Donny Hathaway to the babies.

The City of New Orleans has a proposition on the ballot Tuesday that would automatically put the new “Master Plan” for the city into law as soon as it’s completed. That would be a good idea if anyone had actually seen the action plan already or if anyone in this city had proven it was really concerned about the whole city instead of the small group of people they represent. Considering the first plan after Katrina had my neighborhood set to become green space, I will not be voting for anything I haven’t seen becoming a law. The bottom line is that I don’t trust the system. That will be a "NO" vote from me.

I just watched a District Attorney debate that had real complicated questions and just enough time for the candidates to never finish with a complete answer. It felt like watching the bonus round of 25,000 Pyramid. I was just thinking that with all the cries over violent crime, the city should have bought a few hours on every local channel so everyone could have taken their time. I wouldn’t have mind watching Criminal Minds at midnight to let these guys have a open discussion about the DA’s office and this crime problem.

Since crime is the issue and murder is the most serious part of that, I would like to dedicate this video to end of young brothers murdering each other. A special shout out goes to my friend Renaldo (1974-1993). He was a good and loyal friend with some messed up circumstances. I miss your crazy ass and I still tell people the laser beam joke.

Enough Talking.......I Just Want to Vote

I take this blog very seriously. I think I am a blog addict. I try to keep it fresh and thought provoking. In six days we have a presidential election as well as other local contests. That’s all people want to talk and read about until then. Personally, I am bored. I’m just ready to vote and move on to the next chapter. No one has anything new and fresh to say about this election. Even the candidates are out of talking points. Joe Biden is so bored he started talking about his own running mate causing the country to be attacked by terrorists. We need to end it now before he makes one of those comments about how articulate Obama is like he did before. I have about ten things I want to talk about but who’s going to pay attention to it before Tuesday? Nobody will. That’s why until the election is done and everybody gets back to normal, I am posting nothing but videos because next to my own blog, YouTube is my other addiction.

Did I ever mention to anyone that my dream job would be a radio DJ? It would have to be at one of those independent stations where I could play what I wanted. I couldn’t see playing Mariah Carey’s new song 20 times a day and pretending like someone actually called and requested it the last 15 times. This song is dedicated to Joe Biden, conservative radio hosts, everybody on MSNBC, and a few of my co-workers.

How Real Change Is Coming

It’s a beautiful day outside today. After a long week of working this is the time to relax and get away from bills, politics, and all that other junk. I’m about to watch someone else work the grill (not everybody gets to use my baby) drink a few cold ones, watch a little football and play some music. If all goes well I will wake up with a stomach ache and a hangover. Here’s some of New Orleans’s own Chocolate Milk to get your weekend in the right groove. This is prime lakefront music.