Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Comment Bump - Eric Asher

well Asher just responded to your "suggestion" or question of conflict as to the Canal Street property on his show. he did not mention you or you blog by name, but finished by a resounbding "690 is not for sale!" or something similar.
THEN he had Sheriff Noodles normand on and proceeded to give what was a softball, snowball, kittens in mittens interview that might as well have been a pr promo piece.
In fact every time someone from JP government (Young for instance) comes on they get a super-easy walk in the park interview that very much sounds like a free promo or commercial even rather than ask about any of the tough corruption or conflict of interest issues that arise in JP.
In fact Council Chairman Chris Roberts was given 3 HOURS AS HOST and featured as one of his guests (and this is fact as previously reported in the TP) a convicted drug runner. This was when Roberts was running or getting ready to run as Council Chairman (At Large election).
It's almost hilarious how the irony of featuring his diatribe about your daring to question his integrity juxtaposed with the Robinette situation (WHICH ORIGINATED IN JP) followed by his cake-walk interview with Noodles the chief law enforcement officer for that very parish (who has had payroll fraud and allegations of bribery sashay (sp?) by with nary a peep from his office). 

I dared to ask the question?  I "dare" (man, I'm livin' on the edge) ask the question because he stumped the 1031 Canal Street development relentlessly for two weeks straight.  

So he answered with a self-righteous "NO!"  Bully on you, Eric.  I hope he's not because I like his show the best of any talk show in NOLA.  Now that we have his word I hope he can find something else to talk about considering we have a shitload of problems in this city which make that issue pale in comparison.

Some suggestions:

DOJ Consent Decree on NOPD

NOPD in general...is Serpas even in control?

Louisiana Revised Statute 33:2740.3  ...what does this taxing district mean to the city and how is the money being spent?

The proposed "Sports District" which is now being floated by MML.  What is it?  Where is the money coming from to do it?  Who does it benefit and is it a good move for the city? 

I have 20 more I could rattle out of my head but I don't want to do Asher's programming director's job.  Maybe that's the issue....they need a new programming director.  I don't know, I just know 1031 Canal does not deserve two straight weeks of air time.    

16 comments:

bruthas_back said...

i heard a rumor that normand owns a catering business and during the BP spill he was getting paid to cater food to the workers while also getting paid to do security details on said catering business through a security company he owns. i have know idea what the legality is on this issue. but if true it is definitely "feeding at the public trough".

with regards to asher, i like his show and wist's other shows as well. but as is true with a lot of the other media in this town, they only go ape shit when they can put a black face on the corruption.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I like Asher but the moment he signs off I change the channel....Johnson is unbearable. Dude gives new meaning to narcissism.

I don't think it's about black face on corruption as much as it is money and power which flows from JP. Just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

{Same guy here...}

Ok, so *today* Eric Asher has NOPD jefe de policia Serpas on his show.

Much rougher-tougher time than what he gave Normand. That issue aside, Asher makes a crack about how Serpas should check his NOPD credit card spending because Zurik would be on his case. SERPAS however in a monotone not-really-kidding style/demeanor says:

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't break in the door to get the information." (Paraphrasing, something close to that).

Totally serious.

By the way, it's not like I'm driving around all the time listening to Asher's show or any other radio show, I just happened to be in the car for a short while when I heard these two items.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Great! I hope he is reading this, manning up and grilling people. No other radio show host in the city will do it, I hope he does. That makes makes me ecstatic. I was working all day but I'll go back and listen to the archived show if they have it up. Thanks for the heads up.

Anonymous said...

I heard Asher and da Chief today, Friday, and da Chief sounded goofy at times. Too much good old boy or some chemical? Goofy, I tell ya.

Anonymous said...

L.R.S. 33:2740.3

Dang! Dig deeply.

Anonymous said...

chief looks and acts like baby huey. in three years he will resign, mark it on your calendars. the man needs three years to retire at 100% of his salary. mitch will announce his resignation and make look like he finally is making a change.

until politicians don't need money for campaigns there will always be corruption at all levels of politics.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I have reason to believe it may be within 3 months, not 3 years. We shall see.

Jason Brad Berry said...

R.S. 33:2740.3

A special taxing district is what the Admin is throwing out there to finance the proposed sports district. Before we institute yet one more tax in this city, which is already one of the highest taxed places in the country, 9.5% sales....I think we should examine these tax schemes that are already in place like the Hotel/Motel tax which funds the CVB and R.S. 33:2740.3 which funds the DDD. Where is this money going? is it being abused by the organizations?

Understand that if it is instituted under the guises of financing this whole sports district scheme, it will never go away. It's going to create yet one more bureaucratic entity, like the CVB, that will probably then morph into a chimera "public/private" entity with little to no accountability. Whatever they create will be permanent, along with the tax, and the entity will only get bigger over time, need more money....and hence increase the tax.

Every time we need something done in this city they turn to this method....taxing districts or taxing schemes....to fund whatever they envision and it will inevitably turn into a fatted pig, i.e., CCC, CVB....and I would throw in the red light/speeding cameras in that number.

Taxing tourists penalizing our citizens for living here and wanting to come downtown is a pretty shitty way to appease Tom Bentsen in my opinion. And don't be fooled by the "public/private" pitch they're going to throw out there. That's what they're doing with NORD right now and what "public/private" usually turns out to mean in this city is "no accountability".

Hey I've got a pregnant idea. The city wants to raise money to build a sports district? How about fair property tax assessments? Nah....that would just make too much sense.

Jason Brad Berry said...

- Taxing tourists penalizing our citizens

And penalizing our citizens...

Anonymous said...

About Serpas: it was previously reported in the TP that his lineage of cops in his family goes back to nearly the turn of the 20th century, apx. 1900 or just after. His Dad I believe, as reported in the TP, was Moon Landrieu's driver.

Moon Landrieu and John Mamoulides were in the same law firm together near the criminal courthouse at Tulane & Broad; supposedly they were "runners" for Carlos Marcello. Possibly Moon was a [silent] partner in TAC Amusement.

I just say that in case it has not been noted here, but in any case the point being that when folks say stuff goes back in New Orleans it goes WAY, way, way back, further than even they think. Mob infiltration and influence, corrupt practices, hidden secrets and secret societies or cliques. Who knows what you don't know.

On WBOK in an interview recently Serpas said that details were outlawed in 1996. Note (and this was all reported in the TP way back when) that Serpas was in a detail company / LLC with Antoine Saacks and Saacks got caught doing business with mobsters during teh casino gold rush. THAT is how details got "banned" in the NOPD. However, as we all know, here it is 2010-11 and sure enough Serpas comes to power and there are detail companies making $$$$. So if it was banned in `96 what were they doing there in `10-`11? Serpas had no answer.

In that same interview Serpas shrugged off the free parking passes handed out by Hosli to the favored few in the French Quarter, which allow some very, very wealthy people to park ANYWHERE in the city unimpeded (how much is that worth doya think?).

And again, point being, that instead of getting a chief who would start afresh, make a new start, truly "reform", we see a guy born and bred in the very organization he is supposed to overhaul from within. As the above anon poster indicates about the "good ol' boy" and "goofy" attitude evident in the WIST 690 interview with Asher, as Serpas was indeed poorly joking in deflection to Asher's questioning (kidding how Asher went to De La Salle while he Serpas was a dropout from Abramson), this is not the demeanor of a man taking the problem and wrestling it to teh ground. This is a geo along get along guy who it seems is really pretending to do one thing when really doing another.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Antione Saacks...wow....forgot about him. I had a torrid 3 week romance with his niece. This is such a small town....but then again, I did get around.

Jason Brad Berry said...

neice...sic

Anonymous said...

Yup. Stuff goes way back.

Community Improvement Agency

HEAL

Master Plan of 1948

Anonymous said...

Cal. No. 26,934 - By: Councilmember Head (By Request)
An ordinance authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Downtown Development District (DDD), represented by Kurt Weigle, President and CEO, relative to the performance of certain inspection functions and related administrative hearing actions within the boundaries of the DDD as set forth in LA R. S. 33:2740.3, all as more fully set forth in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto and made a part hereof; and otherwise to provide with respect hereto.
--City Council Consent Agenda "Approval of Minutes March 6, 2008 & March 20, 2008."

Cal. No. 26,946 - By: Councilmember Head (By Request)
An ordinance authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into a Cooperative endeavor Agreement with the Downtown Development District ("DDD"), represented by Kurt Weigle, President and CEO, relative to the performance of certain inspection functions and related administrative hearing actions within the boundaries of the DDD as set forth in LA R. S. 33:2740.3, all as more fully set forth in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto and made a part hereof; and otherwise to provide with respect hereto.
--City Council Consent Agenda "Approval of Minutes March 6, 2008 & March 20, 2008."

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