Baton Rouge Coffee House

[cajun]

Mayor Broom released the names of confidential BRAVE clients/informants to every media outlet in town....which could legitimately risk the personal safety of a number of paid CI's.  

Supposedly this was done by accident in response to a FOIA request by WAFB and The Advocate.  They were researching misuse of funds by the Broom administration - which is already an epic embarrassment on its own.   

D.A. Hillary Moore naturally went berserk when Broom's office released this confidential information to the media.   He is begging every journalist in town to delete the confidential information they received from the mayor.     

WBRZ

I have no words to describe how totally screwed up this whole situation is.   

Edited August 10, 2017 by cajun

[Mr. Burnham]

2 hours ago, cajun said:

Mayor Broom released the names of confidential BRAVE clients/informants to every media outlet in town....which could legitimately risk the personal safety of a number of paid CI's.  

Supposedly this was done by accident in response to a FOIA request by WAFB and The Advocate.  They were researching misuse of funds by the Broom administration - which is already an epic embarrassment on its own.   

D.A. Hillary Moore naturally went berserk when Broom's office released this confidential information to the media.   He is begging every journalist in town to delete the confidential information they received from the mayor.     

WBRZ

I have no words to describe how totally screwed up this whole situation is.   

Can we recall her? Her administration is a mess and paired with a weak economy it is hurting the city and the track of success Holden put us on. She's barely been in office for a year and already her government has hurt this city dramatically. We should kick her out before she causes more damage.

[dan326]

That's a shame. I know that man has enough to deal with already. Hmm, yeah it was an accident alright. They probably figured they'd release the names so the news could go bother those people instead but didn't consider all the consequences.

[cajun]

11 hours ago, mr. bernham said:

Can we recall her? Her administration is a mess and paired with a weak economy it is hurting the city and the track of success Holden put us on. She's barely been in office for a year and already her government has hurt this city dramatically. We should kick her out before she causes more damage.

I am starting to think that she won't be finishing her term.  This combination of corruption and incompetence often leads to jail time.   

I cant find anything that she's done that isn't damaging to the city and herself in one way or another.  

3 hours ago, dan326 said:

That's a shame. I know that man has enough to deal with already. Hmm, yeah it was an accident alright. They probably figured they'd release the names so the news could go bother those people instead but didn't consider all the consequences.

Even people that thought Broom had the IQ of a carrot are shocked that she'd reveal confidential CI's.  Her biggest supporters are wondering what the heck she was thinking. 

Her first 8 months in office summed up in one picture:

Edited August 10, 2017 by cajun

[Mr. Burnham]

On 8/10/2017 at 7:36 AM, cajun said:

I am starting to think that she won't be finishing her term.  This combination of corruption and incompetence often leads to jail time.   

I cant find anything that she's done that isn't damaging to the city and herself in one way or another.  

Even people that thought Broom had the IQ of a carrot are shocked that she'd reveal confidential CI's.  Her biggest supporters are wondering what the heck she was thinking. 

Her first 8 months in office summed up in one picture:

The picture is a little inaccurate...the dumpster isn't rolling. 

And in case anyone is wondering, it only takes roughly 92,770 signatures from registered voters for her to be recalled. Given that nearly 100,000 voters voted against her in the election, and the dumpster fire her first eight months have been, I don't think it would be too difficult to get her recalled. Someone just has to organize everything. 

It's really a shame too. I will say that I had hopes her administration would prove to be effective in uniting and improving the city. At the very least I hoped she'd be able to continue the hard work of Kip. 

If a recall election happens I hope Darryl Gissel runs. He would make a great mayor.

Edited August 11, 2017 by mr. bernham

[cajun]

I think Holden can legally run again next term.   I think he is working with more intellectual horsepower and had a demonstrated history of working with a wide cross section of voters. 

Maybe him losing the Lt Governor's race can be a net gain for Baton Rouge.  

Edited August 14, 2017 by cajun

[dan326]

2 hours ago, cajun said:

I think Holden can legally run again next term.   I think he is working with more intellectual horsepower and had a demonstrated history of working with a wide cross section of voters. 

Maybe him losing the Lt Governor's race can be a net gain for Baton Rouge.  

I sure hope so, lol!

[Mr. Burnham]

16 hours ago, cajun said:

I think Holden can legally run again next term.   I think he is working with more intellectual horsepower and had a demonstrated history of working with a wide cross section of voters. 

Maybe him losing the Lt Governor's race can be a net gain for Baton Rouge.  

I actually ran in to Kip a few weeks ago. I fan boyed way more than I should have. 

[cajun]

11 hours ago, mr. bernham said:

I actually ran in to Kip a few weeks ago. I fan boyed way more than I should have. 

I didn't agree with it at the time, but had his ALIVE initiative passed, we probably wouldn't be having a discussion on where to put the zoo today.  

[Mr. Burnham]

2 hours ago, cajun said:

I didn't agree with it at the time, but had his ALIVE initiative passed, we probably wouldn't be having a discussion on where to put the zoo today.  

We wouldn't need a zoo. I wish ALIVE had happened. I wasn't here when it happened, but I've found some articles and documents online about it and it seems like it would've really added some life to downtown north and the city as a whole. 

Edited August 15, 2017 by mr. bernham

[cajun]

33 minutes ago, mr. bernham said:

We wouldn't need a zoo. I wish ALIVE had happened. I wasn't here when it happened, but I've found some articles and documents online about it and it seems like it would've really added some life to downtown north and the city as a whole. 

It was pretty elaborate and costly.  Not the building itself, but prepping the land for construction would have costs tens of millions on its own.   

The bond proposal floated by Holden was bigger than anything the parish had ever seen.   ALIVE was attached to a massive list of projects that were actually needed.   I believe the entire bond was over $1 billion, with $300 million going to ALIVE.   Keep in mind that this was at the height of the recession and a lot of people in Baton Rouge were worried about paying rent.   This was a risky way to spend the area out of the recession.  

About $500 million in total was for major infrastructure overhauls like sidewalks and cross walks in north Baton Rouge, a new (larger) prison, syncing traffic lights all over the parish, widening roads, burying power lines, etc.   I think that may have passed had it not been tied to ALIVE.  Even the local TEA Party people said that they'd have backed it if the two were split up (ALIVE and the Infrastructure enhancements).   

Edited August 15, 2017 by cajun

[cajun]

On 8/14/2017 at 9:59 AM, dan326 said:

I sure hope so, lol!

I honestly don't have any confidence in current leadership.   Even if she wasn't corrupt and incompetent, she seems bent on only being the mayor for some of the parish.   That's something Holden avoided not only in appearance but in practice.   

He is a huge cheer leader for Louisiana, and would have made a great Lt. Governor.  Hopefully he considers stepping back in to be mayor.  I think he'd have to run as a republican.

[richyb83]

I have met Kip Holden on a few occasions(4)...very personable....he actually remembered me from a year ago...impressive stuff!   Told him i'd "miss him being Mayor" when he was almost done....wish he'd run again too!  Feel like BR is on the verge of being on the  Titanic with the current leadership in place.

I try to stay away from politics on this site...

Edited August 15, 2017 by richyb83

[dan326]

I guess BR has some pretty loyal citizens. I guess since we're second fiddle to NO which is itself a lower tier city we don't take things for granted as much. i was just bringing that up cause I went to the Houston thread to see if anyone was discussing the disaster and most of it hasn't been touched in years. The only active thread is photo thread with one poster and some of our residents. Kind of sad in a way. 

\/ Reply: I agree.

Edited August 31, 2017 by dan326

[Mr. Burnham]

4 hours ago, dan326 said:

I guess BR has some pretty loyal citizens. I guess since we're second fiddle to NO which is itself a lower tier city we don't take things for granted as much. i was just bringing that up cause I went to the Houston thread to see if anyone was discussing the disaster and most of it hasn't been touched in years. The only active thread is photo thread with one poster and some of our residents. Kind of sad in a way. 

I've noticed that our little BR sub-forum is more active than other places on this site. It's a little sad, but it's also kinda cool. 

[cajun]

6 hours ago, mr. bernham said:

I've noticed that our little BR sub-forum is more active than other places on this site. It's a little sad, but it's also kinda cool. 

Baton Rouge is one of only a handful of areas in the state that has seen consistent growth for the past century - and that is despite the very best efforts of state government to ignore the infrastructure needs. 

 

[Antrell Williams]

They will lose one of us come 2018!

[dan326]

This is good news for wherever it goes but obviously it'd been better if it could have been nearer to us. It'd be nice if they could sell the zoo to them and use that money to build a new one. The explanation is kind of strange though. New Orleans is the only one with a bigger airport but I'm guessing their school aren't good either.  I'm guessing our traffic is the same. I have a hard time seeing them in Shreveport since they're near Dallas and I'm sure Dallas has several distribution centers. Maybe Lafayette? I looked on google maps and i don't see any large plots of land that don't look like nature preserves, but I guess they could work around that if they had the will.

https://www.businessreport.com/article/amazon-build-regional-distribution-center-louisiana-edwards-says

Amazon to build regional distribution center in Louisiana, Edwards say

  

Amazon is planning to build a new regional distribution center somewhere in Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced on his monthly “Ask the Governor” call-in show on WRKF Wednesday afternoon.

The governor had few details about the announcement and would not disclose where the new facility will be.

But site selection consultants for the online retail giant have been scouring the state for more than 18 months. Howell Place developer Richard Preis confirms consultants reached out to him in the spring of 2016 about a potential site for a facility that needed to be more than 300 acres and was within 5 minutes of the airport.

Preis worked with the site selectors for months, eventually learning the company in question was Amazon, and says he thought they were making good progress. Eventually, however, the deal went dark. Preis says he believes the area’s infrastructure issues, troubled school system and relatively small airport were among the reasons.

The regional distribution center is separate from Amazon’s efforts to find a city for its planned second North American headquarters. 

[dan326]

Naw ain't this some ____.

Edwards concedes he goofed in saying Amazon coming to Louisiana

STEPHANIE RIEGEL

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

  

Gov. John Bel Edwards says he misspoke Wednesday, when he said on his monthly radio show, “Ask the Governor,” that Louisiana has landed a regional Amazon distribution center.

In a written statement this afternoon, Edwards says, “In fielding a call from a listener on my radio show this week concerning a possible distribution project in Louisiana, I spoke from memory regarding such a project. While Louisiana has had discussions with Amazon about this project there is presently not a definitive project in the works for the company.”

Baton Rouge developer Richard Preis told Daily Report this morning he was contacted by a site selection consultant in 2016 about a possible location for such a facility, which he later learned was Amazon.

[Mr. Burnham]

18 minutes ago, dan326 said:

Naw ain't this some ____.

Edwards concedes he goofed in saying Amazon coming to Louisiana

STEPHANIE RIEGEL

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

  

Gov. John Bel Edwards says he misspoke Wednesday, when he said on his monthly radio show, “Ask the Governor,” that Louisiana has landed a regional Amazon distribution center.

In a written statement this afternoon, Edwards says, “In fielding a call from a listener on my radio show this week concerning a possible distribution project in Louisiana, I spoke from memory regarding such a project. While Louisiana has had discussions with Amazon about this project there is presently not a definitive project in the works for the company.”

Baton Rouge developer Richard Preis told Daily Report this morning he was contacted by a site selection consultant in 2016 about a possible location for such a facility, which he later learned was Amazon.

So now our governor is thoroughly incompetent too. He just lost reelection. 

[richyb83]

Too bad there was not enough room by the airport...but sounds like it wouldn't have mattered...mentioned airport is too small(too close to NOLA Int'l) ....inadequate infrastructure(lack of Loop / By-pass; etc) ......poor schools(though EBR Magnet/STEM schools are emerging)

Interesting to see Richard Pries name come up...glad he developed Howell Park...only wish his River Place high rise tower had come to fruition.

Will try to be nice...but Leadership is definitely lacking

 

[Antrell Williams]

Why would schools matter? 

[Mr. Burnham]

32 minutes ago, Antrell Williams said:

Why would schools matter? 

You need a high skilled workforce that can do at least basic programming. Baton Rouge doesn't have that kind of population and it's because of our schools. 

[dan326]

^You need to program to pack boxes in a warehouse?

I don't know about that school argument though. It's not politically correct or pleasant to question but are the school bad because of the school system or the students? 

[Antrell Williams]

For a distribution center? There are IT departments all around in every city. I can't imagine they would have any higher salary positions.

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