“…The Department is not in possession of any public record(s) responsive to the above-written request.”
—Letter from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) to LouisianaVoice in which LDOE denies that it has any records showing that Superintendent of Education John White actually cancelled an agreement with inBloom to “park” sensitive personal student information in a data bank controlled by NewsCorp. CEO Rupert Murdoch. White announced on April 19 that he had rescinded the agreement between LDOE and inBloom.
LouisianaVoice made the request for the records on April 22 but did not receive a response until Thursday, May 9.
Louisiana Voice 
To me, that just suggests the document is in possession of another allied entity. Smoke and mirrors.
If they can’t produce then contract is not cancelled. They signed an MOU contract which require some form of paperwork/email at least, to cancel. Therefore if they don’t have White lied. This response unequivocally confirms that. Nothing he says or promises carries any weight. Apparently Chas Roemer and Jindal are OK with that in their chosen leaders. It speaks volumes about their character.
Is that activity called “e-shredding?”
They pulled out an old one on you this time, Tom. Now, you could, at your own expense, litigate this. . .
If you are following this website then you must have a good reason. With lots of information and limited time there was a moment when you decided perusing this site was a good use of your time and energy.
That being said, why does fighting crime and exposing lies by elected officials and in many cases appointed officials become at Tom’s expense, time and energy. Tom, I haven’t heard that Murdoch or Gates or the infamous Koch brothers are paying you for your investigative work. If anything you may have had to pay fees for even filing for requested documents. Let’s not even go into legal fees. Everything is billable!! I appreciate everything you are doing to expose the truth to Louisiana citizens. Our newspapers wouldn’t dare do what you are doing because if the advertisers don’t like it then you know it never gets printed. You are keeping it honest by not using those advertisers and therefore your character is the driving force behind this site. It is the Louisiana Voice but it is really The Louisiana Secret, the investigative reports you will never see in mainstream media. You are not alone in this. Many people read your articles but way too fearful for a response. Since our attorney general and other law enforcement agencies refuse to get involved and laugh out loud if you ever thought Jindal’s appointed Ethics Board will do their job then funding is needed for attorneys, if you can find one who is willing to put their neck on the line in holding these appointed and elected politicians accountable for ethics violations and criminal activities. Ask and you shall receive. Hopefully it won’t turn out like the Jindal recall by the teachers last year who were so threatened when a decision was made to print all names who signed the recall petition. That was the moment when I most felt fearful and vulnerable like the people who reside in countries which are ruled by a dictator. Let’s keep this rolling and everyone give and do your part. Tom cannot fight this force alone. Thank you!
I agree with every word ! I’am willing to donate what I can to help. Tom continue to shine the light and expose what these cockroaches are doing to the people of this state.
I sure wish I had a clue as to why our newspapers won’t do a little digging themselves.
Thank you Mis. Bera for hitting the nail on the head:
Two weeks ago, the interim LSU hospital hosted its annual ceremony to honor volunteers across all departments of the hospital. The luncheon was held on Gravier Street, just a floor below New Orleans’ largest public emergency service center.
The volunteer coordinator thanked everyone present: “Thank you all for coming to the last volunteer appreciation event for the Interim LSU hospital, MCLNO (Medical Center of Louisiana, New Orleans) and Charity Hospital.”
It struck me that this event was a milestone for more than the 30 people in the room. Children’s Hospital, a private provider, is scheduled to complete its takeover of the interim hospital by this July. Dr. Peter DeBlieux, a speaker at the volunteer ceremony, assured the audience that the CEO of Children’s Hospital promised to continue running “a safety net hospital” for uninsured patients. Yet staff members are being encouraged to leave or reapply to their current jobs, thus increasing competition and anxiety in an already stressful job market.
I’m not an expert on anything related to health care, but it seems wrong to abandon an illustrious history that so many New Orleanians have taken pride in shaping. Charity Hospital may now be empty and abandoned, but its physical presence is a testament to a promise made centuries ago to serve the population of New Orleans, employees included.
As part of MCLNO, the LSU interim hospital continued to fulfill that promise. At Friday’s celebration, Dr. DeBlieux explained, “[LSU Interim hospital’s] commitment to serve the underserved, and its commitment to train physicians who serve the underserved is rich, and deep.” If Children’s Hospital wants to serve others, shouldn’t it support the current LSU employees and the families that rely on them? Why should it seek to remove experienced staff from the workforce, when they often teach the best lessons in clinical care?
I’m hopeful that the current interim staff will find fulfilling employment in the future, at Children’s or elsewhere. But it’s worth mentioning that while changing the name of a great public hospital, the higher-ups forgot a valuable lesson that any tourist knows: that New Orleans is the way it is, because its residents have made it that way.
Risha R. Bera
New Orleans