According to Louisiana Attorney General, Buddy Caldwell,General Motors Corp. has agreed to discuss issues whether the now-bankrupt automaker is treating its Louisiana dealers unfairly with new rules that bar dealerships from suing the bankrupt company, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office said Monday.
Caldwell last week said he believed the new GM rules - which require approval from the company's bankruptcy judge - violate state laws regarding unfair trade practices.
BGR Raises Concerns about New Orleans Master Plan Legislation
Today, BGR has posted to its web site a release on proposed legislation that would require a referendum for approval of the city's Master Plan.. The release focuses on three bills, all introduced by New Orleans legislators, that attempt to undermine a charter change approved by New Orleanians seven months ago.
There must be a coordinated national effort to produce healthier housing. That was the central message from U.S. Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Ron Sims and Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson as they issued a national 'call to action' to confront the prevalence of home-related preventable diseases such as lead poisoning and asthma.
During a news conference at the National Building Museum, Sims and Galson unveiled HUD's Healthy Homes Strategic Plan and the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes as a coordinated effort with other public and private partners to stimulate a national dialogue about creating healthier homes.
"Our homes ought to be a place where we can raise our children without fear of making them sick," said Sims. "As a nation, we must think smarter about how we design, build, renovate and maintain our homes in a way that protects the health and safety of those who ultimately live in them."
Galson, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, said "The home is the centerpiece of American life. We can prevent many diseases and injuries that result from health hazards in the home by following the simple steps outlined in this Call to Action."
HUD's strategic plan stresses comprehensive healthy homes principles including the need to keep homes dry, clean, well-ventilated, pest- and contaminant-free, safe, and well-maintained. HUD's strategy envisions a future where homes are both affordable and supports the health and safety of occupants. The Department's Healthy Homes mission seeks to reduce health and safety hazards in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner, with a particular focus on protecting the health of children and other sensitive populations in low-income households. HUD's Strategic Plan focuses on four key goals:
Building a National Framework: Foster partnerships for implementing a healthy homes agenda.
Creating Healthy Housing through Key Research: Support strategic, focused research on links between housing and health and cost-effective methods to address hazards.
Mainstreaming the Healthy Homes Approach: Promote the incorporation of healthy homes principles into ongoing practices and programs.
Enabling Communities to Create and Sustain Healthy Homes: Build sustainable local healthy homes programs.
The Call to Action outlines the next steps of a society-wide approach to healthy homes that will result in the greatest possible public health impact and reduction of disparities in the availability of healthy, safe, affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly homes. The Call to Action also offers a consumer-friendly punch list of things every family can do to make their home healthier and safer including:
Check gas appliances, fireplaces, chimneys, and furnaces yearly and change furnace and air conditioning filters regularly.
Keep children safe from drowning, lead poisoning, suffocation and strangulation, and other hazards.
Improve air quality in their homes by installing radon and carbon monoxide detectors, eliminating smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, and controlling allergens that contribute to asthma and mold growth.
Improve water quality by learning to protect and maintain private water wells.
The announcement of The Healthy Homes Strategic Plan and Call to Action are part of the national Healthy Homes Initiative led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U..S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with support from such organizations as the NationalCenter for Healthy Housing, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.
The state of Louisiana recently approved $4.3 million for the purchase of the Gentilly Woods Shopping Center by the New Orleans Redevelopment Agency, which allowed the city's Office of Recovery and Development Administration to use federal funds to make the acquisition.
NORA's purchase of the decaying structure is the first step toward bringing the property back into service as a commercial center.
The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a $700 million pool of federal Community Development Block Grant money set aside by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.
When the levees at the Industrial and London Avenue canals failed after Hurricane Katrina, the Gentilly Woods Shopping Center and surrounding area was submerged in up to eight feet of water. Serving as the gateway to the Gentilly Woods and PontchartrainPark neighborhoods, this now-vacant and deteriorating shopping mall stigmatizes the area as being permanently damaged.
The property will be rehabilitated or torn down, depending on market conditions and interest from potential tenants. In either case, the commercial center, which serves residents and businesses in this predominantly low-to-moderate income neighborhood, will be put back into commerce, removing a highly visible impediment to the area's overall recovery.
LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "The redevelopment of blighted commercial and industrial sites, particularly in the more devastated neighborhoods, is a critical step in promoting the return of businesses and mixed-use corridors that support our recovering communities. The use of disaster recovery funds for this project will help bolster confidence in the rebuilding efforts already under way in this area."
Mayor C. Ray Nagin said, "The Gentilly Woods Shopping Center was a central shopping facility for Gentilly, PonchartrainPark, Desire and the surrounding communities. As we move forward with our recovery, especially in the Gentilly area, a designated target recovery zone, the city's dedicated focus on infrastructure repairs and now, NORA's purchase of this storm-damaged structure, will help clear the blight in the neighborhood, and pave the way for new businesses to emerge. Gentilly Woods is an example of all city entities working together to restore our neighborhoods and fully rebuild our city for all of our citizens."
The state's LTCR program supports implementation of local governments' long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in the state. In 2008, the U..S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved LRA's request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In total, the LRA has allocated $410,720,016 of CDBG funding to the city of New Orleans for LTCR projects.
Army Corps
On Tuesday, June 9, the Corps of Engineers released the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) Final Technical Report for comment by federal agencies, the state of Louisiana, non-governmental organizations, and the public.The report is now available to the public and comments will be received for a 45-day period.
The LACPR Final Technical Report provides a description of a variety of alternatives for increased levels of risk reduction through coastal protection and restoration throughout five planning units across the coast.Plans include one or more of three types of risk reduction measures: structural, nonstructural, and coastal restoration.
The information contained within the June 2009 LACPR Final Technical Report has been reviewed by technical experts within the Corps, and is currently completing a technical review by the National Academies.
Once the comment period is completed, a supplemental document may be produced to outline any further actions needed.The Final Technical Report would then be submitted to the Chief of Engineers office in Washington, DC, and forwarded to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
To review the LACPR Final Technical Report, please visit http://www.lacpr.usace.army.mil.Comments may be submitted, and copies of the report requested, through the website. Comments may also be submitted, and copies of the report may also be obtained, by contacting:
USACE New Orleans District
P.O. Box 60267
Protection and Restoration Office
Coastal Restoration Branch
New Orleans, LA70160
Attn: Tim Axtman, PM-OR
Louisiana Schools
(Dept. of Education Press release)
Since 1996, Louisiana's high school graduation rate has dramatically increased, and the growth outpaced the national average over a 10-year period, according to a report issued today by Education Week. From 1996 to 2006, Louisiana's graduation rate improved by 7.8 percentage points, from 54 percent to 61.9 percent. During that same time frame, the national average increased by 2.8 percentage points, the report states. Louisiana's percentage gain was the sixth highest in the nation over the last decade.
Also, while the nation's graduation rate decreased by more than 1 percentage point from 2005 to 2006, Louisiana's graduation rate increased by 7.2 percent in that same year. However, Louisiana's graduation rate of 61.9 percent is still significantly lower than the national average of 69.2 percent.
"We are pleased to be showing progress, and I think these findings are the result of some of the initiatives that have been put in place over the last several years," said State Superintendent of Education. "But when we consider that about 100 of our students drop out of school each day and we are still ranked 44th in the country, we recognize a compelling need to focus our attention on providing! student s with the resources they need to graduate from high school prepared to thrive in their college and career pursuits."
The 2009 report, Diplomas Count, is based on information collected by Education Week's Editorial Projects in Education Research Center (EPERC), and the most recent data is based on state reports from the 2005-2006 school year. While the report shows favorable growth for Louisiana, the calculation technique used by EPERC to determine state graduation rates differs from the method the state uses to calculate its graduation rate. Therefore, the report assigns Louisiana a rate of 61.9 percent, which is lower than the state's self-reported rate of 64.8 percent.
To determine the state's graduation rate, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) uses the cohort method, which is based on the number of students who enter 9th grade and graduate in the traditional four-year time frame. Twenty-two other states also use this method to calculate their graduation rates. State graduation rates in the Diploma Counts report are based on the Cumulative Promotion Index (CPI), which is calculated through grade-to-grade promotion ratios. The CPI captures the four key steps a student must take in order to graduate: three grade-to-grade promotions and ultimately moving from 12th grade to earning a diploma. Although the state and EPERC use different methods to calculate graduation rates, the discrepancy of 2.9 percent between the Louisiana's reported rate and the Diplomas Count report is the fourth lowest.
Based on the report, Louisiana's success at graduating Hispanic students is the highest in the country. While the national average is 55 percent, Louisiana's state average for graduating Hispanics is 73.5 percent. Also, the percentage of Hispanic females who graduated from Louisiana high schools in 2006 was 78.3 percent, compared to the national average of 59.2 percent. Louisiana's state average for Hispanic males is 59.0 percent, a! lso high er than the national average of 49.9 percent.
Louisiana's graduation rate for blacks (non-Hispanic) is 51.2 percent, which is equal to the national average. However, the state is fairing better in the graduation of black females compared to the national average. The percentage of black females who graduated from Louisiana high schools in 2006 is 59.5 percent, compared to the 57.5 percent national average for that year.
Additionally, nine parishes have increased graduation rates by more than 15 percent, and 22 parishes have increased graduation rates between five and 15 percent from 1996-2006.
"In total, these kinds of double digit increases over the last decade represent thousands of students who would otherwise not have graduated from high-school and would likely have struggled throughout their lives to earn a living wage," said Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Keith Guice. "Our hope is that with the focus we are seeing in supporting our students with improved programs and enriched resources, we will see these kinds of gains across the entire state and in a short time frame. When even one of our students drops out of school, that's one too many."
The Diplomas Count report, which examines high school graduation rates and policies, is part of an annual three-part special series published by Education Week. The other special projects are Quality Counts, an annual report card and state-by-state summary of public education and its governing policies, and Technology Counts, a state-by-state examination of issues related to technology and schools.
The Technology Counts report, released in April ranked Louisiana No.1 in its application of technology to enhance both teaching and learning. The 2009 Quality Counts data gave Louisiana an overall grade of C.
Other state highlights in the Diplomas Count report include:
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Louisiana is one of 48 states with a single standard diploma.
The state is one of 24 states that offer advanced recognition, such as endorsements beyond the diploma.
Louisiana's standard diploma requirements are higher than the national average in all areas.
Louisiana and 20 other states offer an appeals process and alternative routes for students who do not meet all standard requirements.
Louisiana is one of 24 states with a required exit exam.
Louisiana is one of 20 where the graduation exam is based on 10th grade standards or higher.
Louisiana is among 38 states that offer industry-based certificates or licenses.
Louisiana is among 17 states that finance remediation for students who fail exit exams.
