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HUD announces waiver of duplication of benefits for flood victims: scammers immediately start telephone campaign

May 2, 2019 by tomaswell

On Thursday, WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge posted a story that was welcome news to the August 2016 flood victims, yours truly included.

The gist of the story was that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had waived the duplication of benefits provisions, clearing the way for flood victims who had to settle for SBA loans to rebuild their homes to receive compensation from FEMA through Restore Louisiana.

Until that provision was waived, anyone who did not receive FEMA funding was forced to accept the SBA loans. In some cases, as with me, victims were directed by FEMA reps to the SBA table to apply for loans. This was done without FEMA’s bothering to tell flood victims that if they accepted—or if they were even offered and declined—an SBA loan, they were automatically ineligible for other federal assistance.

So, as you might surmise, news of the waiver of the duplication of benefits stipulation was welcome news.

That story by WAFB-TV was posted at 8:41 a.m.

At 5:57 p.m., a scant eight hours later, I received my first scam call about my eligibility for federal assistance.

The call from Morgan City, my caller ID said. I know no one in Morgan City, but I answered anyway, thinking perhaps it may be someone with a tip for a story for LouisianaVoice.

Instead, it was a woman asking for me by name, although it took me about three or four tries to understand whom she was asking for. Then she launched into her spiel about my application, saying she need to confirm certain information. It took several times for that information to get through, which was just as well as it gave me time to wonder why someone would be calling from Morgan City about my FEMA application.

After asking her to repeat herself several times, the call was suddenly disconnected. When I tried to call back, I got the usual message on robo calls that the call could not be completed.

So, there you have it, folks. The scam artists are already busily scheming to prey on flood victims, some of whom still are not back in their homes and some, like me who, at 75, is saddled with a brand-new 30-year $125,000 mortgage.

The purpose of this is not to whine about my misfortune because to be honest, we fared better than many flood victims: we got an excellent general contractor who did everything he promised to do at the price he quoted—and he did excellent work.

The purposed of this is to put other victims on notice that the scammers are actively trying to steal your identity to bilk you out of anything you may have coming to you. You need to be alert to these people and NEVER divulge any personal information, including your Restore Louisiana application number, your social security number or anything else.

And just because my call showed up on caller ID as being from Morgan City (Area Code 985), that doesn’t mean diddly. They steal numbers so that it appears you are getting a local call. Your call may be from Hammond, Lafayette or anywhere, and from any area code.

DO NOT BE A VICTIM!

 

Posted in Corruption, Ethics, Finances, Fraud, Grant, Grants, TV News | 6 Comments »

Emails from two OLOL execs attack Baton Rouge Business Report article—full day before story’s April 24 publication

May 2, 2019 by tomaswell

Emails sent to the medical staff by the CEO of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (OLOL) Scott Wester and the CEO of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health Systems (FMOL) Dr. Richard Vath attacked what Vath described as “a troubling article” by the Baton Rouge Business Report which Wester said included “a number of negative allegations about Our Lady of the Lake, and me in particular.”

The Business Report article, by Editor Stephanie Riegel, was published on April 24 and described in detail administrative and financial problems encountered by OLOL and FMOL and hinting at a connection between the firing of former FMOL CEO Michael McBride and the embezzlement of $810,000 from the foundation involving its former chief fundraiser John Paul Funes.

McBride, brought in to shore up FMOL, lasted a year. An outsider, he attempted to oust local power Wester but was himself shown the door.

If all that isn’t confusing enough, consider this: the two emails by Vath and Wester went out on April 23, the day before the article’s online publication.

Damage control isn’t unusual but damage control in advance of a “troubling article” is less common, to put it mildly. Especially in light of a paragraph in Riegel’s story: “Attempts by Business Report to reach Wester for comment were unsuccessful and OLOL officials declined to make him available for an interview for this story.”

It just seems to me that if you’re not going to avail yourself to an opportunity to tell your side of the story, you waive any rights to attack the messenger—especially the day before the story’s publication.

Which, of course, raises the question of just how did Vath and Wester get their hands on an advance copy of the story?

Something about the timing of all this just doesn’t pass the smell test.

For those who might need a refresher or for those living out of the Baton Rouge media coverage area, FMOL and OLOL were rocked late last year by the revelation that $810,000 had been embezzled from a foundation, established by OLOL to raise funds for projects like the new OLOL Children’s Hospital.

Chief fundraiser Funes, whose salary was listed at $283,000, subsequently fired.

But Riegel’s story went further by quoting McBride as saying the Funes scandal “was a symptom,” not the cause, of bigger problems at OLOL. McBride was quoted as attributing low OLOL employee morale to the “good ol’ boys’ network,” adding, “It is no coincidence that seven-plus years of stealing went unreported until new senior leadership was in place.

She described inroads into the Baton Rouge market by Ochsner Health Systems of New Orleans, quoting sources as implying that OLOL’s fees are currently about 25 percent higher than its competition at Ochsner and Baton Rouge General.

Those were the points with which the two emails obtained by LouisianaVoice appear to disagree, although neither email addressed any specific errors in the story, both choosing instead to deliver a “feel good” message aimed at lifting morale and deflecting from points made by Riegel.

“I believe the article paints an inaccurate picture,” Wester wrote. “I could easily make the case about why the ministry is strong and how the Sisters and System’s leadership have us on the right path. Instead, I want to apologize.”

Vath took a similar approach, writing, “The article is misleading and inaccurate in several ways and attempts to use recent leadership transitions as the starting point for several lines of attack against our ministry.”

“When reading the emails, it was impossible to know what Mr. Wester and Dr. Vath were talking about unless one received the Baton Rouge Business Report in published form,” said one OLOL employee.

“Both of the emails are camouflaging and obfuscation, and don’t address any facts or specifics of the article—nor of anything going on at the hospital.

“Just from the form and tone of the two emails, I was pretty confident that I’d agree with over 50 percent of the article even before I actually read it the next day,” the employee said. “Now that I’ve read the article, I agree with almost 100 percent of it—at least the parts I know about from working at OLOL.

“I’d love to have Mr. Wester and Dr. Vath tell us which parts of the article are not factual and/or untrue.”

 

Posted in Audit Reports, Corruption, Ethics, Finances, Fraud, Health Care, Media | 8 Comments »

Minimum wage, equal pay for women on legislative calendar: it’s past time for lawmakers to show integrity and pass both

April 30, 2019 by tomaswell

If Louisiana’s working citizens—particularly those struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, pay for their children’s educational needs, clothe their families, buy gasoline and pay insurance premiums—are paying attention, they will soon know who their legislators represent—the aforementioned working people or the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

State Sen. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) cartert@legis.la.gov has introduced SB 155, backed by Gov. Edwards, to raise the state’s stagnant minimum wage from an incentive-choking $7.25 to $9.00, effective July 1, 2020. If approved, it would go to voters in the form of a constitutional amendment.

It’s time. In fact, it’s way past time.

The same goes for the long overdue equal pay for women legislation. Louisiana currently pays women about 60 percent of what men earn for the same job. That’s unthinkable.

Equally unfathomable is that similar bills have failed to gain traction in past legislative sessions.

Gov. Edwards is on record as supporting both measures.

Women are not second-class citizens and should not be treated as such.

HB 289 by Rep. Barbara Norton (D-Shreveport) nortonb@legis.la.gov provides equal pay for women and HB 63 by Rep Joseph Bouie, Jr. (D-New Orleans) bouiej@legis.la.gov would require any contractor who enters into a contract with a public entity to comply with the Equal Pay for Women Act. Both bills are pending before the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee.

That committee membership is weighted 9-6 in favor of Republicans. Members include Reps. Patrick Jefferson, Chair (D-Homer) jeffersonpo@legis.la.gov, Kenny Cox (D-Natchitoches) coxk@legis.la.gov, Royce Duplessis (D-New Orleans) duplessisr@legis.la.gov, Ted James (D-Baton Rouge) james.ted@legis.la.gov, Ed Larvadain, III (D-Alexandria) hse026@legis.la.gov, Vincent J. Pierre (D-Lafayette)  pierrev@legis.la.gov, Blake Miguez, Vice Chair, (R-Erath) miguezb@legis.la.gov, Beryl Amedee (R-Houma) amedeeb@legis.la.gov, Larry Bagley (R-Stonewall) bagleyl@legis.la.gov, Raymond Crews (R-Bossier City) crewsr@legis.la.gov, Reid Falconer (R-Mandeville) falconerr@legis.la.gov, Dodie Horton (R-Haughton) hortond@legis.la.gov, Jack McFarland (R-Jonesboro)  mcfarlandj@legis.la.gov, Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport) seabaugha@legis.la.gov, and Scott Simon (R-Abita Springs)  simons@legis.la.gov.

The federal minimum wage hasn’t been adjusted for a decade and anyone who thinks even a single person with no dependents can survive on $7.25 per hour is woefully out of touch with reality.

Anyone who believes that is spending far too much time on the golf course.

Anyone who believes that, you can bet, has never had to do so.

LABI President Stephen Waguespack, a alumnus of the Bobby Jindal administration, will throw all his organization’s resources into an all-out effort to defeat Carter’s bill just as he has with past efforts to raise the minimum wage.

Waguespack can afford to do so, too, because he’s being paid a comfortable six-figure salary to represent the interests of big business over those of working stiffs.

His condescending comment about a minimum wage being being a “one size fits all” approach is both arrogant and deliberately misleading.

Waguespack will be in the State Capitol corridors every day. Legislators are forbidden from accepting campaign contributions from any of the four LABI political action committees, but they know if they vote the way he wants, those contributions will flow in once the legislative session adjourns.

In the meantime, nothing prevents him from wining and dining key members of the legislature. Key members like, say, certain members (read: Republican) members of the Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee, which will decide whether or not Carter’s bill moves forward to the floors of the House and Senate.

That committee is chaired by Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia), risern@legis.la.gov

Riser should (but likely won’t) be all-in on raising the minimum wage. After all, it was he who tried to slip that amendment onto a rather benign bill back in 2014 that would’ve given then-State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson a healthy six-figure increase in his yearly retirement.

Carter is vice-chair and he should have allies in Sens. Regina Barrow (D-Baton Rouge) barrowr@legis.la.gov, Wesley T. Bishop (D-New Orleans) bishopw@legis.la.gov and Jean-Paul J. Morrell (D-New Orleans) morrelljp@legis.la.gov.

Republicans on the committee include, besides Riser, include Sens. Ronnie Johns (R-Lake Charles) johnsr@legis.la.gov and Barrow Peacock (R-Bossier City) peacockb@legis.la.gov

Other southern states that have held the line at $7.25 include Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Arkansas has already raised its minimum wage to $11. Shoot, even West Virginia has a state minimum wage of $8.75.

Altogether, 26 other states have a minimum wage higher than Louisiana and 19 of those are already at $9 or above.

The U.S. has an income disparity that should be embarrassing—and it’s only getting wider. The haves keep getting richer and the have-nots keep sinking in poverty and the Stephen Waguespacks of the world couldn’t care less as long as they can keep corporate board members fat and happy.

And many legislators couldn’t care less as long as they can keep the campaign contributions coming in.

So, fight back. The average worker can’t take time off to go to the Capitol to lobby legislators. Stephen Waguespack can because that’s precisely what he’s paid to do. It’s an uneven playing field.

But you can contact your legislator—early and often—and let him/her know that this is an election year and you have a lethal weapon—the ballot.

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Contracts, Corruption, Economy, Elections, Ethics, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Jobs, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, PACs | 7 Comments »

New Orleans businessman says with smart infrastructure reforms, Louisiana can overcome its poor business image

April 29, 2019 by tomaswell

By William Khan, guest columnist

New Orleans business owner

Republicans and conservatives, especially in Louisiana, generally claim to support and rally around three principles: self-sufficiency, fiscal responsibility, and local decision-making—as opposed to edicts from detached levels of government, bench legislators, or bureaucrats. When it comes to Orleans Parish’s fight to fix its infrastructure and pull itself up by its bootstraps, support for Mayor Latoya Cantrell’s initiative should come from all corners of the state and across the political spectrum in the Louisiana legislature.

Louisiana can do tremendous things when people look past party labels and work toward the common good. Our state should not underestimate what we can accomplish when we work together. In fact, Louisiana must work together to tackle massive challenges like restoring our coastline and protecting vulnerable communities.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our state worked hard to bounce back. If we want to preserve what we have painstakingly recovered and continue moving forward, Louisiana lawmakers should support communities trying to address their flooding and water risks with modern infrastructure and smart funding policies.

Louisiana and the Who Dat Nation got the attention of the entertainment, media, and sports world when they unified, spoke up, and convinced the NFL to revise its rules for the upcoming football season. Officials who are usually polar opposites like Steve Scalise, Cedric Richmond, Bill Cassidy, and Helena Moreno found common cause, mobilized, and achieved results. If our state’s diverse and proud representatives can come together to demand action after a sports gaffe, surely they can put aside labels to address a growing, tangible, and existential danger to Louisiana’s largest city and its economic engine.

When New Orleans and Louisiana landed a new office from DXC Technology despite intense competition, the company ranked Louisiana high on a number of metrics but it suggested that the state could improve on regional cooperation, multi-parish collaboration, and a reputation for self-centered political thinking. In the past, Louisiana has struggled with a perception of politicians asking companies, “What’s in it for me?”

To those companies, families, and investors thinking of relocating to Louisiana, our state can send them a powerful message. By voting in favor of smart, sustainable solutions for infrastructure improvement in New Orleans, Baton Rouge legislators can make a strong statement about Louisiana’s potential for regional—even statewide—cooperation, its openness to innovative public policy, and its ability to set aside special interests for the long-term common good.

Posted in Politics | Leave a Comment »

Guest columnist explains why he will no longer bash POTUS and why he hopes the campaign will be on issues—not Trump

April 27, 2019 by tomaswell

By Stephen Winham

Guest Columnist

Inspired by U. S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and introspection, I have decided it is time for my daily bashing of the current POTUS to end.  His life and his almost 2 ½ years in office speak for themselves.

A recipient’s request to be removed from my email blast list this week made me see something I had obviously repressed – I would ask to be removed from a list of daily email blasts supporting the actions of the POTUS and would not have read them anyhow. The request made perfect sense.

I believe 2 immutable (and often mutually-exclusive) things explain the current support of the POTUS by 30-40% of our population:

  1. The belief that any means justifies the end – MAGA – and that he is the secular messiah who will fundamentally change our country in the direction reflected by his words and deeds. The wealthy and powerful in his base see this one way, the underachievers quite another.
  2. Ignorance, or selective dismissal of daily headlines, radio and television stories, easily verifiable facts about his life and his own direct statements and actions – and a general ignorance of history – blind faith.

These two things are apparently not going to change and there is little point in trying.  All I have really been doing so far with my blasts and conversations is simply preaching to the choir – nobody else is paying attention.

Active protests, letters to Congress, diatribes detailing facts readily accessible via other means, and even impeachment are not the answers, but protection of the free press is essential and must be preserved at all cost.

At this point, the only thing that makes sense is to begin now to find an acceptable 2020 candidate and get fully behind her or him.  Party does not matter.  Among the things that should matter are:

  1. Demonstrated deliberation, altruism and honesty
  2. A belief in basic human dignity
  3. A background that includes enough relevant leadership experience in the public sector to enable immediate effectiveness
  4.  A belief that international diplomacy is critically important and that both sides must win for lasting results – coupled with the recognition that the leaders of some countries are despots who cannot be trusted and whose actions cannot be condoned
  5. Fair tax policies – i. e., those that adequately fund a stable government and do not benefit the wealthy to the detriment of everybody else
  6. Recognition that strong environmental regulations are important not just to our personal well-being, but to our long-term economic health

Many other things, like a much-needed transportation infrastructure plan, can be added to this list, all with a positive rather than negative outlook.  A national infrastructure plan, for example, would provide tremendous economic benefits.

Most 2020 candidates will find it necessary to attack the current POTUS.  I now believe that to be unnecessary.  What is necessary is to limit criticism of their fellow candidates.  To the extent the reputations of each of these people are destroyed, we will move toward an election like the last one.  That happens all too often of late and it must stop.  The focus should be on what positive actions can lead to a positive future.

I am asking the 60+% of our people who believe we need new leadership to vote and encourage like-minded people to vote in 2020 in record numbers to prove it so we can move toward uniting this country again.  Hopefully, a good candidate will emerge and be successful, once elected, due to a solid, incontrovertible victory.  In the meantime, we will have one thing in our favor – hope.

FYI:  BELOW ARE THE MAIN TEXTS OF MY LAST 2 EMAIL BLASTS.  I STILL BELIEVE THESE THINGS, BUT NO SENSE BEATING A DEAD HORSE. I AM PROVIDING THEM HERE FOR CONTEXT, BUT FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THEM:

Swinham Blasts:

4/22

I agree 100% with Nancy Pelosi that impeachment is a no-win scenario.  I’m beginning to accept that Trump will not go crazy enough or do enough crazy things for the 25th amendment to work and, though my best outcome would be him resigning and issuing a totally childish rant endearing him to his base in perpetuity – the same rant he will make when he is not re-elected which we have to do EVERYTHING possible to prevent and the only thing I know to do in that regard is get out every vote of like-minded people I can.  

  1. S.  I thought the newspaper article about Admiral Mike Rogers’ phone call from Trump reported in the Mueller report was among the most damning things in there, but I realized it would have NO impact on Trump’s base, or if it did, it would be positive since they seem to love everything he does.  Meanwhile, this and everything else in the report, or that Trump says and does, is becoming for the rest of America, “Ho Hum, nothing to see here” – and there’s the rub.  If his behavior is accepted as the norm will enough people wearing our jerseys get out there and vote for his opponent or will this, combined with the Democratic candidates’ attacks on one another as they vie for the nomination, make it impossible for the rest of us to aggressively support the ultimate nominee, poisoned as s/he will have been by her own party members?  In other words, will we again face 2 candidates we don’t like?

4/23

The most significant thing Trump said after the release of the Mueller report, when told his own people had to refuse his orders, was, “Nobody disobeys my orders.”  Putting aside the obvious reflection of his innate persona, the clause “…and gets away with it” is implied and reflected in the number of resignations and firings during his tenure.  Therefore, the people working for him (clearly including the Attorney General) can only remain if they are willing to agree with him on everything and follow his every order without question.  What an unhealthy environment for the rest of us – and what a picture this paints of how people in powerful positions in our government can either lack  moral fiber, or put it completely aside for their own benefit – and that includes Congress and all but one member of our own delegation – maybe 2 if we count Garret Graves – so let’s say 1 1/3.  Whether Trump has violated the U. S. Constitution may be debatable.  The fact Congress is refusing to exercise its own powers to provide checks and balances is not.

 

Posted in Politics | 21 Comments »

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