According to various news sources, Rahm Emanuel has agreed to be Barack Obama's White House chief
of staff.Emanuel had worked for Bill Clinton and it has been widely speculated that he would be the top person for the job.Emanuel has been a Congressman from Illinois representing CookCounty. Also, according to ABC news, former Obama chief strategist David Axelrod has accepted the position of Senior Adviser in the White House.
Louisiana Department of Education
The Louisiana Department of Education will release School Performance Scores (SPS), District Performance Scores (DPS) and Algebra I End-of-Course (EOC) test results at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 7
New Orleans Rebuild
Today, The City of New Orleans will provide updates on the progress and status of several recovery projects. During the briefing, Mayor C. Ray Nagin and Executive Director of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) Joseph E. Williams will sign a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) intended to help further reduce the number of blighted properties that exist in New Orleans as a result of the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation announced that $150,000 was distributed from the Louis Calder Foundation’s Central City School Improvement Fund. The grants are for capital improvements to public schools in the Central City area of New Orleans. This is the first of a three-year commitment by the Louis Calder Foundation to improve schools in Central City. A total of $450,000 will be granted over three years from the Central City School Improvement Fund which is administered by GNOF. The following schools received grants:
KIPP Central City Academy will create a mobile computer lab with 30 Apple MacBook laptop computers.
KIPP Central City Primary will create a play space in the interior courtyard of the campus and purchase a Computerized Adaptive Assessment Program.
New Orleans College Prep will rebuild its recreational space, which is in a state of disrepair.
“We welcomed the opportunity to invest in the rejuvenation of Central City schools. These grants continue a longtime tradition of investing in education,” said Peter Calder, a trustee of The Louis Calder Foundation. While on a trip to New Orleans in February 2007, Calder decided that the Foundation needed to lend a helping hand in the city’s recovery. “I took a two-and-a-half hour tour of the neighborhoods with [then GNOF President & CEO] Ben Johnson, and I was astonished that so little had been done in the 18 months since the storm,” Calder said. In keeping with The Louis Calder Foundation’s focus on education, the trustees put his words into action and pledged $450,000 over the course of three years for educational projects in New Orleans. In partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the recommendation was made to concentrate on schools in Central City, thus the creation of the Central City School Improvement Fund for capital improvements and programmatic work in schools. “We wanted our investment to have a direct impact on the schools,” said Calder.
GNOF
Founded in 1983, the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) provides a permanent and growing source of funding to hundreds of nonprofit agencies in the metropolitan New Orleans area. GNOF manages over 700 charitable funds and endowments with total assets of more than $192 million. Through initiatives designed to improve the quality of civic life, GNOF is leading philanthropic efforts with special emphasis on housing, education and workforce training.
What is 504ward? It's simple...a bunch of nonprofit and civic organizations - all focused on retaining young talent in New Orleans - got together to pool their resources an come up with tangible ways to support young professionals who want to live in New Orleans. The YLC (Young Leadership Council) is a founding partner of this collaboration.
Yesterday, Governor Bobby Jindal and the PGA TOUR announced that the TOUR has pledged a continuing tournament presence in New Orleans through at least 2014. The commitment assures the ongoing economic and charitable impact upon the area created by the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
“We believe we have an outstanding situation in New Orleans with the leadership and ongoing efforts of the Fore!Kids Foundation, a longstanding relationship with Zurich and a first-class host venue in TPC Louisiana,” said Rick George, Chief of Operations for the PGA TOUR. “This is a tournament that not only generates more than $1 million annually for local children’s charities, but also means more than $25 million for the local economy each year. We are pleased to guarantee our commitment to New Orleans for at least the next six years.”
Governor Bobby Jindal said, “The PGA TOUR’s continuing commitment to Louisiana and the city of New Orleans is another strong signal that our state isn’t just open for business, we are competing to be the best place in the world for businesses to grow and succeed. Additionally, our partnership with the PGA TOUR is a terrific economic development investment for the state, as it generates more than $25 million a year in revenues for the area.”
In addition to the economic and charitable impact, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans provides national and international exposure for the area through live television and media coverage, plus attracts out-of-town fans and customers for tournament week. In 2008, the event received 18½ hours of television coverage on Golf Channel and NBC, plus had an international distribution of more than 500 million households in 221 countries through live, delayed and repeat telecasts, as well as one-hour highlights, and was broadcast in 35 languages.
Also, in 2006, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was the first nationally televised sports event after Hurricane Katrina. Many of the players committed their earnings to hurricane relief funds.
“We are extremely pleased with the long-term commitment of the PGA TOUR to the city, which assures the continued growth and charitable impact of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans,” said Tommy Fonseca, president of the Fore!Kids Foundation, which produces the tournament.
In a related development to the PGA TOUR’s extended commitment, the State of Louisiana has announced a new relationship with the TOUR regarding the management and operation of the TPC Louisiana golf course.
Under the new arrangement, the PGA TOUR will continue to operate and manage the course for the State through at least 2016 and the State will no longer provide any annual financial guarantees to the TOUR. It also allows the State to share in future net operating revenue. The current lease will be terminated early and the State will have 100 percent ownership of all of the assets comprising the facility (i.e. clubhouse, offices, cart barns and other improvements).
The State’s Division of Administration will pass oversight responsibility to the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED), which plays a similar role with the Louisiana Superdome, the New Orleans Arena, the JohnA.AlarioSr.Center, and Zephyr Field. Ron Forman is chairman of the LSED Board of Commissioners.
“This arrangement allows us to preserve our business relationship with the PGA TOUR, ensure operation of a first-class facility to serve as a venue for the tournament, provide a quality amenity to our community and to visitors to the New Orleans area, and it eliminates the necessity for a ‘rounds guarantee,’” said Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis.
TPC Louisiana is one of only 29 TPC facilities. As with all TPCs that hold PGA TOUR tournaments, it provides rent-free access, which ultimately benefits the tournament’s charitable output.
TPC Louisiana is the fourth course to host New Orleans’ major tournament, which has been played annually since 1958. Previous venues include City Park Golf Course, Lakewood Country Club and English Turn Golf and Country Club. Past winners include Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus, Davis Love III, David Toms and Vijay Singh.Tiger Woods has failed to play in the New Orleans tournament.
