Alan Gutierrez

At the Neighborhoods’ Planning Network, Oliver Thomas, our Council-man at Large, said that this was the time for neighborhoods to advocate for one another. That by pitting neighborhoods against each other, the Council is able to couch our common interests and competing interests. He said that if we were to join a distant neighborhood in a rally for their needs, and they were to reciprocate, we’d find that we would diminish the ability of the Council to divide and rule. Fortunately, we retained Councilman Thomas in the last election, by a landslide. We’re not stupid.

Christian Roselund hosted an Independent Media Crawfish Boil two Sundays ago. I’m finally getting around to posting the photographs. (My PowerBook is but a spectre now.) This photoset makes for an entertaining slideshow, so click on Becky and join us as we attend.

We arrived as Christian was headed out for potatos, so he turned around and led us to the backyard, where there was an assortment of revolutionaries, sipping beer, and waiting on potatos.

I was leery, as always, of Common Grounders, Pacific-NorthWesterners. Carpetbaggers of all stripes annoy but non so much as the upper-middle trash with ideals lifed from the back of a box of organic corn flakes. Saving the world with their disposable income.

Or so I’m told. One of the attendees informed me that I was looking everyone askance upon entry. I don’t doubt it. All you need is one shlub suburbanite with exaggerated sensibilites to lead the team in compulsive, politically-correct mirth squeltching. Choose your words carefully, or else have them chosen for you.

These were locals, however. Christian Roselund is not one to suffer fools gladly. It was a crowd of locals.

There was one ex-Common Grounder, but he went native. Took a job, no less.

Otherwise, when Katrina came, everyone in attendance took a bite. I dipped into my own carpetbag to chip in for longnecks and get settled. I showed deference. I’ve been showing deference since.

Why? Because, I’ve been practicing non-sense avoidance. It was a watershed meeting for me.

Then and since, I’ve my litmus test. It is, simply, do you work here?

We’ve been washed in a wave of pity since Katrina. There has been an outpouring of useless sentiments. We are not OK. Not by any means. But we are still a city, we are still Americans, and best of all, we still eat crawfish, expensive though they may now be.

This is a group of people who put their stake in the ground years ago. They have been very active since Katrina at the New Orleans Indy Media website. This website, like NOLA.com, became a clearning house during Katrina.

In this crawfish boil, people discussed independent media going forward, while I discussed Think New Orleans and civic information systems. There was a disconnect, since their focus is on producing indigenous media, while mine is the clerical side of the Internet.

Here I learned more about differences, where the line should be drawn. It clarifies my focus, toward civic groupware, away from recordings. Recording town hall meetings is a task for those with a background in radio production, while my focus should be scheduling those meetings, say, or helping to both post and print the accompanying documents, the agendas and minutes.

I know my place. It’s a do unto others revelation. I was fortunate to have a seat at this newspaper and crawfish covered table. It was six months of uncertianty and unpaid bills to earn a seat at this newspaper and crawfish covered table.

It was a crawfish Thanksgiving.

(An untimely post, sitting in my drafts.) Shortly after the election day whollop, Rebecca Houtman whisked me away for a retreat from politics. We snuck off to watch a candy coated movie in Harahan, then to sleep. In the morning we went in search of breakfast foods. Bacon! Then to CompUSA to paruse the new MacBook. It should do nicely. Won’t be doing much photo blogging until the Powerbook is replaced. I have photographs of a great many things. The retreat became a liquid at Bachaanal on Sunday evening. Gourmet food served in styrofoam clam shells. We had enough wine that we were dancing and not thinking much of it. We crawled down Frenchmen and Decatur. Margaritas. A bender. Spent today sorting through the email that accumulated. Getting back into the swing of things. Web publishing workshop, remember? Nathan Shroyer keeps emailing me about it.

Naked or not, conversations are exclusive. If they are not exclusive, they are not conversations.

I’m going to acquire a MacBook. With it I will return to programming. Thunderbird Tagging, WordPress hacks, and an offering to the City of New Orleans.

The Wifi network in New Orleans is clever and crucial. A spiffy plan. A long time coming. Dear to our city, because so much business takes place out of doors. We’ll not adopt technologies that keep us tethered, away from the people and the conversations. (The real conversations, punks.) It’s uncivilized.

Ouch.

Some of you have asked me, why Nick Varrecchio?

The Times-Picayune ran an article today, by Susan Finch, where she describes a contest for an important office, that has long been mis-managed, and wonders why such why race for the Clerk for Criminal District Court has not received the coverage it deserves.

This is an office that has been run into the ground by Kimberly Williamson Butler. We dearly need to restore and reform the office of Clerk of Criminal District Court. The criminal courts are stuggling with a backlog of criminal cases, and elections are only being held because Nick Varrecchio has done the job of Kimberly Williamson Butler, by training poll commissioners so that that she had no more excuses to delay the elections.

Nick Varrecchio has an impeccable record of ethics and comptence in his 17 years of practice.

The best Nick Varrecchio’s opponent can do, is question Nick Varrecchio’s experience, but the experience that Arthor Morell brings to the Clerk of Criminal District Court is the kind of experience we want to put behind us.

Clerk of Court’s Race Takes a Backseat by Susan Finch

Earlier this year, the state ethics board ordered Morrell to pay a $1,000 fine after finding him guilty of improperly using his elected office in an attempt to benefit his private legal clients. Morrell said that as soon as the written decision is issued, he’ll ask the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to reverse it: “What they said I did, they never produced any evidence to prove that I did it,” he said.

Arthur Morell recently repealed what was “one of his worst ideas”, according to New Orleans City Business.

Boneheaded Morrell bill hopefully buried - New Orleans City Business Editorial

Morrell’s bill to repeal a major ethics reform was scheduled for a hearing Wednesday before it was pulled. It is unlikely to reappear. Good riddance.

But it bears asking why Morrell, or any other legislator for that matter, would roll back this reform. Louisiana law now prohibits campaign contributions to all legislators, including the governor, during regular legislative sessions.

Nick Varrecchio has a reform agenda for the Clerk of Criminal District Court. Nick Varrecchio will get to work to restore the integrity of evidence and restore the day to day operation of the Criminal Courts in Orleans Parish.

Nick Varrecchio has pressured Kimberly Williamson Butler into holding elections after Katrina.

When Kimberly said that there were not enough poll commissioners to conduct the elections, Nick Varrecchio launched a campaign to train poll commissioners, removing another excuse for the current Clerk’s incompentence.

Nick Varrecchio has been in New Orleans, working to return Orleans Parish to normalcy, while Arthur Morell campaigns from Batton Rouge. Arthor Morell’s message is confused.

Arthur for Clerk

Arthur understands that the Clerks office is underfunded.

True. Arthor Morell says that he has the connections in Batton Rouge to obtain new funding for the Clerks office, but if that’s the case, why hasn’t he obtained the funding already?

Arthur for Clerk

As a state legislator I have been a sitting member of the committee which most greatly affect the funding of the clerks office.

Doesn’t it follow that Arthur Morell has seen to it that the Clerk’s office is underfunded?

Please vote for Nick Varrecchio for Clerk of Criminal District Court. Nick Varrecchio will get right down to work and clean up the office of Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal District Court.

This is why Nick Varrecchio has received the endorsement of every major newspaper in New Orleans, as well as the endorsements of both politcal parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, and numerous civic and church organizations, and State Senators and Representatives.

Everyone who talks to the candidates comes away saying that Nick Varrecchio is their choice for Clerk of Criminal District Court.