SOURCE

###

NEW ORLEANS - TOMORROW (Oct. 18) at 5:30 p.m., Mayor Mitch Landrieu, NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison and other City officials will kick off the 2016 New Orleans Night Out Against Crime at A.L. Davis Park, located at 2600 LaSalle Street.



The event is free to the public and will feature free food and drinks from Coca-Cola , CC's Coffee, Walmart and Domino's Pizza, music by Q93FM DJ Wild Wayne , a drum circle performance by Ashe Cultural Arts Center, free basic health screenings from the LSU Health and Sciences Center, NOLA FOR LIFE Midnight Basketball Tournament, youth soccer games from Young Leadership Council, a job fair and more.



Night Out Against Crime brings together citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials to raise crime prevention awareness, reduce crime and increase the support of local, state and federal law enforcement. With over 200 events registered with the NOPD, the effort works to strengthen neighborhood engagement and police-community partnerships, and sends a clear message that our neighborhoods are organized to fight crime.



Participants are encouraged to post photos from their events on social media using the hashtag #NightOutNOLA. The NOPD's official Twitter handle is @NOPDNews.



WHO: Mayor Mitch Landrieu

NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison

FBI New Orleans Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey Sallet

Sheriff Marlin Gusman

City and state officials



WHAT: Kick-Off Event for the 33rd Annual Kelly Marrionne Night Out Against Crime



WHEN: TOMORROW, Tuesday, October 18, 2016

5:30 p.m.



WHERE: A.L. Davis Park

2600 LaSalle

###

Praise for Counting Descent

Editor's Note: Clint Smith is the son of Clint and Sheryl Smith of New Orleans.

http://www.clintsmithiii.com

###

NEW ORLEANS -  Today, the New Orleans Book Festival presented by First Lady Cheryl Landrieu announced dozens of critically acclaimed local, regional, and national authors will be featured at the Festival. The free event boasts readings, food, music, and a full schedule of book themed fun.

• Jeff Abbott, "The First Order" (Sam Capra Series #5)
• Alys Arden, "The Casquette Girls"
• Ann Benoit, "New Orleans Best Seafood Restaurants"
• Jean Cassels, "Two Bobbies" 
• Colin Dickey, "Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places"
• Johnette Downing (author) and Heather Stanley (Illustrator), "Petit Pierre and the Floating Marsh"
• Nancy Dixon, "N.O. Lit: 200 Years of New Orleans Literature"
• Kathy Finn, "Tom Benson: A Billionaire's Journey"
• Simon Hardeveld, "Simon of New Orleans"
• Emile Henriquez, Sr., "Mr Okra Sells Fresh Fruit and Vegetables" (kids art demonstration)
• Bobbi Hess, "Merry the Christmas Witch"
• Greg Iles, "The Bone Tree"
• Happy Johnson, "Backyard Bayou"
• Mike Kimmel, "Scenes for Teens"
• Fred LeBlanc, "Fred the New Orleans Drummer Boy"
• Stephen Maitland-Lewis, "Botticelli's Bastard"
• Denise McConduit, "The Boy Who Wouldn't Read"
• Grace Milsaps and Ryan Murphy, "What the Sleepy Animals Do at the Audubon Zoo"
• Robert G. Mueller, "Coast Guard Heroes of New Orleans"
• Michael Murphy, "Hear Dat New Orleans; Fear Dat New Orleans"
• Jenn P. Nguyen, "The Way to Game the Walk of Shame"
• Nancy Parker, "The Adventures of Yat and Dat: Superdome!"
• Yvonne Perret, "Simon of New Orleans"
• Kat Pigott, "Green Dinosaur Pancakes"
• Ralph Presley III, "Can We Get Back?"
• Stephen Rea, "Finn McCool's Football Club"
• Laura Roach Dragon, "The Bayou Bogeyman Presents Hoodoo and Voodoo"
• Willie Robertson, "The American Fisherman: How Our Nation's Anglers Founded, Fed, Financed, and Forever Shaped the U.S.A."
• Jack Roth, "Ghost Soldiers of Gettysburg: Searching for Spirits on America's Most Famous Battlefield"
• Peggy Scott Laborde (author) and Louis Hodges Jr (Illustrator), "The Fair Grounds Through the Lens"
• Whitney Stewart, "Meditation is an Open Sky"
• Linda Thurman, "Hollywood South: Glamour, Gumbo and Greed"
• Freddi Williams Evans, "Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans"

Proposed Amendment No. 1 - Registrar of Voters

Act 677 (2016 Regular Session) amends Article XI, Section 5. Full text of amendment

"Do you support an amendment to provide that the manner of appointment for the registrar of voters in each parish is as provided by law and to require the qualifications of the registrar to be provided by law?"

	Click for  SAMPLE BALLOT

House bill 459 (Act 677) sets forth minimum professional qualifications that Registrars of Voters appointed by the governing authority of the parishes must meet. It requires the governing authority to publish notice of the upcoming appointment, take applications and offer interviews to all qualified candidates. Current statutes require the appointment be made within thirty days of the notice. In the meantime, the Deputy Registrar of Voters is designated to temporarily fill the office. Currently, the only qualifications for an appointment are that the applicant be a resident and registered voter in the parish.

The standards for applicants are listed in Act 414, separate enabling legislation adopted in the past regular session of the Louisiana legislature. Act 414 will become effective only if Amendment No. 1 passes. The standards apply to future appointments and will not affect any current registrars. The actual terms are:

A. Each applicant to fill the office of registrar shall be a registered voter. If appointed to fill the office of registrar, the applicant shall become a resident and registered voter of the parish in which he is to perform his duties prior to taking the oath of office. Each registrar shall be remain a resident and qualified voter of the parish in which he is to perform his duties.

B.

Registrars of Voters across the state are opposed to this legislation. They are concerned that this Amendment will take away the discretion and power of the parish governing authorities. Qualifications for other offices, which are filled by elections rather than appointed, such as clerks of court or assessors only require that the office holder be a resident of the parish and a registered voter.

1. It will place pressure on parish authorities to treat the appointment as an employment application and to meet the short deadline.
2. Current statutes do not require that an appointee be experienced in the duties of the office of the Registrar of Voters and neither does this amendment.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 2

Amendment No.2 (Act No. 680) proposes that post-secondary education management boards shall establish the tuition and mandatory fee amounts charged by the Board of Supervisors for Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, the Board of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System, and the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges without legislative approval. Currently, Louisiana is one of only two States where the legislature sets post-secondary tuition rates. In addition, Louisiana is the only state which requires a two thirds vote of the legislature to make any changes. The universities and colleges have no power to make those decisions.

The Louisiana institutions of higher education have experienced drastic cuts to their state funding over the past several years and more cuts are expected. Higher education will need to look elsewhere for funding and this may exert pressure to raise tuition and fees. That can also affect enrollment. In more affluent circumstances, allowing the institutions to set their own tuition and fees could allow for reductions.

1. This proposal could allow market forces to set the best tuition rate and make the schools competitive with others both in state and nationally.
2. The universities and colleges would be free of lobbying the state legislature for tuition increases.
3. It will enable the schools to efficiently plan their budgets.

PRO:

CON:

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 4

Proposed Article VII, Section 21(M), adopted without opposition as Act No. 678 by representatives in both the House and Senate, would enable an unmarried surviving spouse of a person who died while on active duty as a member of the U.S. armed forces or the Louisiana National Guard or performing duties as a State Police officer or law enforcement or fire protection officer to apply for an exemption in addition to the homestead exemption from ad valorem property tax due in 2017 and afterwards for the total assessed value of their homestead.

According to a procedure established by each assessor, the surviving spouse who has not remarried may apply annually, providing evidence of eligibility by producing documents and certifying information.

The procedure to be established by each assessor is not sufficiently explicit. To clarify the procedure, a statute would need to be adopted stating that property tax bills would include information detailing how an unmarried surviving spouse could apply for the exemption and specifically what documents and information the surviving spouse would be required to submit to the assessor to be determined eligible. In the initial application the survivor must show evidence of the death of the deceased spouse as provided by the military service or the employer and evidence that the property was the residence of the deceased and is eligible for the homestead exemption. How the surviving spouse could provide evidence that he or she has not remarried is difficult to determine. The evidence must be provided to the assessor annually. The statute would need to specify some form of certification of that fact.

1. Favoring the granting of the exemption is an expression of the public's gratitude for the sacrifice of the deceased's life in the line of duty.
2. Relief from paying property tax on the residence of the surviving spouse represents a form of recompense for the loss of the deceased spouse and the deceased's earning power.
3. The loss of property tax revenue resulting from the small number of successful applicants would be small in comparison to the total amount of property tax revenue.

1. The exemption is not retroactive. The exemption shall apply beginning in the tax year 2017 or the year in which the deceased died, whichever is later. If the person who died while on active duty in the military service or law enforcement or fire protection service prior to 2017, the unmarried surviving spouse would not be eligible to apply for or benefit from the property tax exemption for the years prior to 2017.
2. The unmarried spouse must voluntarily apply and provide the necessary documentation annually.
3. The procedure to be established by each assessor is not sufficiently explicit.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 5

Proposed Article VII, Section 10(F)(4)(h), 10.15, and 10.16, adopted by both the House and Senate with minimal opposition as Act 679, would establish the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, into which the State Treasurer would deposit a portion of mineral revenues and corporate income and franchise tax revenues above a certain threshold. Interest income generated from the Trust Fund would be allocated to the General Fund, providing substantial revenue to the state over time. Analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which supports the amendment, points out that dedicating traditionally unsustainable revenue to a long-term trust fund has the effect of smoothing revenue volatility, ensuring that recurring expenditures are funded at a level sustainable at any point in the revenue cycle. Seven other states have already established such a fund. Pew's analysis concludes that this could improve Louisiana's credit worthiness,

Appropriations from the Fund may be made only when at the beginning of any fiscal year the balance of the fund exceeds five billion dollars. Then the Legislature may appropriate no more than 10 percent of the fund balance for projects in the state capital budget or for transportation infrastructure or in an emergency only after consent of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature. A separate portion of mineral revenues is allocated for payment of state employee retirement debt.

1. This is not a tax on residents or businesses.
2. It makes sense to place income from mineral revenues and business franchise taxes above an established threshold into a trust fund to provide a source of income into the general fund for future budgets from the earned interest.
3. It would be a stabilizing factor for the future.

1. Due to the current depression in mineral revenues it is unlikely that income from this source will be available for the trust fund in the near term.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 6

Budgeting practices in recent years coupled with reduced revenues have resulted in a large and growing deficit in the State budget; the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana estimates the shortfall for the current fiscal year as $750 million, and, for the next fiscal year, as $1.9 billion. Consequently, the State must consider ways of cutting expenses.

Typically cuts have been made primarily to the discretionary portion of the State budget, as this can be done without special legislative action: only about $2.9 billion of State funds are in this category, which includes funding for higher education and for Health and Hospitals. A significant portion of the State's budget is "locked up" into programs that are protected, either by statute or by the Louisiana Constitution.

Statutes have established a number of programs with an aggregate budget of about $2.2 billion; and while these programs or budgets can be changed or eliminated by the Legislature, it may be extremely difficult to reach agreement on doing so.

Other programs, which include funds for K-12 education and for road maintenance, with an aggregate dedicated budget of about $3.8 billion, are part of the State Constitution and changes to them would require amending the Constitution.

Although the Constitution already includes a provision to allow budget cuts of up to 5% in programs protected either by law or by the Constitution, the conditions under which this can occur are so restrictive that they are not met, even in the present budgetary crisis. The proposed amendment provides less stringent criteria for when cuts to protected programs may be made. Finally, the proposed amendment exempts several programs from such cuts; these are: Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund; healthcare provider fees in Hospital Stabilization Fund or Medical Assistance Trust; Oilfield Site Restoration Fund; Conservation Fund; and supplements to salaries of law enforcement or fire protection officers.

1. Unlocking even a small part of the dedicated funds will help reduce the deficit;
2. If dedicated funds cannot be cut, cuts to unprotected programs, such as higher education and hospitals, will be even more damaging.

SOURCE Link

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.  The League is dedicated to ensuring that all eligible voters - particularly those from traditionally underrepresented or underserved communities, including first-time voters, non-college youth, new citizens, minorities, the elderly, and low-income Americans - have the opportunity and the information to exercise their right to vote.

###

Early Voting: October 25th - November 1st

Election Day; Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Endorsements Come Pouring In for Judge Regina Bartholomew-Woods

	Judge Regina Bartholomew Woods

Bartholomew-Woods is the clear choice of many New Orleans leaders and community organizations. Those endorsing her campaign include: Congressman Cedric Richmond, State Senator and Democratic Party Chair Karen Carter Peterson, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, former Senator Mary Landrieu, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, Clerk of Court Dale Atkins, Coroner Jeffrey Rouse, Clerk of Criminal Court Arthur Morrell, Clerk of Second City Court Darren Lombard, Sheriff Marlin Gusman, Constable Lambert C. Boissiere, Second City Court Constable Edwin Shorty, Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere, III, State Senator J.P. Morrell, State Senator Wesley Bishop, State Senator Troy Carter, State Representative Joseph "Joe" Bouie, State Representative Jimmy Harris, State Representative John Bagneris, State Representative Gary Carter, State Representative Christopher "Chris" Leopold, New Orleans City Councilmember Jared Brossett, New Orleans City Councilmember Latoya Cantrell, New Orleans City Councilmember James Gray, New Orleans City Councilmember Nadine Ramsey, Former State Senator & Councilmember Diane Bajoie, Former Councilmember Jacquelyn Clarkson, Former Councilmember Cynthia Hedge Morrell, Former Councilmember Kristin G. Palmer, Former Councilmember Cynthia Willard Lewis, Former School Board Member Lourdes Moran, Former School Board Member Dr. Torin Sanders, Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee (OPDEC), the AFL-CIO, Independent Women's Organization (IWO), United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO), New Orleans Fire Fighters, Regular Democratic Organization (RDO), SEIU, ILA Local 3000, IDEA, BOLD, LIFE, TIPS, APAC, NOEL, LAVA, the New Orleans Coalition, and more.

       

Click to Download Model Casting Form

          

###

NEW ORLEANS - Veteran Hollywood actor, writer and producer Harold Sylvester will star in the world premiere of Tour Detour, a play written by award-winning playwright Harold Ellis Clark, during a six-performances-only-run, November 11-20, 2016 at the Ashè Power House Theatre, 1731 Baronne Street in New Orleans, LA. The play, a co-production between Ashè Cultural Arts Center and HEC Communications, also stars acclaimed stage actor Kenneth Brown, Jr. Award-winning theatrical director John Grimsley will direct the production.

Tour Detour surrounds a son, who prior to traveling to Afghanistan for his fourth tour of duty as a U.S. Air Force explosives ordnance technician, visits his father, who's serving a life sentence at a central Louisiana prison. They haven't seen each other in more than 20 years.

"As it lays on the page, unproduced, Tour Detour seems to be about what might happen, to all involved, when fathers separate from mothers and children. But, as we start down the trail of discovery, it is becoming apparent that Harold Ellis Clark has written a play that demonstrates that separation, even from those you love, may be a part of the natural order. And, that we all have the ability to abandon one another without ever leaving the room," said Sylvester.

For several seasons, Sylvester, a graduate of both Tulane University and St. Augustine High School (Kenneth Brown, Jr.'s also a St. Aug grad), starred as "Griff" on FOX-TV's Married with Children, and in the classic film An Officer and a Gentlemen, starring Richard Gere. Sylvester's other acting credits include CSI: Miami (CBS-TV), Cold Case (CBS-TV), NYPD Blue (ABC-TV), A Different World (NBC-TV and Hill Street Blues (NBC-TV).

As a screenwriter, Sylvester penned scripts for NYPD Blue, and the critically acclaimed TNT movie Passing Glory, starring Andre Braugher (FOX-TV's Brooklyn Nine Nine). Tickets for Tour Detour are available now at www.ashecac.org . 

For more information, please call 504-569-9070 or 504-957-2743. 

###

Online Voter Registration is now AVAILABLE

For more information please call 202.659.4929 or email blackyouthvote@ncbcp.org

   

What's At Stake

About Unity'16

###

The New Orleans Agenda  newsletter is the leading local alternative for information on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Region.  A provider of turnkey Web-Based Internet Marketing Services, we specialize in servicing community and faith-based entities, corporate, governmental and professional organizations, as well as arts & cultural events.

We have access to thousands of permission-based email addresses, thus providing us the unique ability to gain direct access to a targeted audience through the use of automated and coordinated email campaigns and social media.

	Join Our Mailing List!

Through a partnership with NOLA Beez, we are part of an online collaboration of ethnic media organizations featuring hyperlocal news content covering the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area.  A project of New America Media, the NAM Digital Divide Initiative aims to assist ethnic media in improving coverage of their communities through citizen journalism and online multimedia development.  

This partnership includes the publications of Louisiana Weekly, El Tiempo New Orleans, Jambalaya News, Louisiana Data News Weekly, Ngoc Lan: The Vietnamese American Association, New Orleans Agenda.com, New Orleans East.com, and NOLA.TV.

The New Orleans Agenda  newsletter has received more than  10 Million Page Views!   Let us introduce you to our audience.

Click here to Sign Up for our Newsletter!