Friday, June 19, 2009
The Gamblers Never Sleep
Monroe-The Monroe Downtown Development group currently run by city employee Myra Gatling held a triple-secret meeting yesterday, June 18, 2009 at Wayne Williamson's Office, WilStaff. Revealed at the meeting was a revised plan by Wayne Williamson, devoted member of First Baptist Church of West Monroe, to bring a gambling boat to Monroe. This time it's the Isle of Capris from Shreveport. During the meeting Mr. Williamson, who is reportedly mending fences with his current wife, stated flatly that every elected official was in favor of his idea except State Senator Bob Kostelka. Williamson said also that he planned to have the legislation that exempted the Ouachita River from the list of navigable waterways in Louisiana and written by former Speaker of the House Jim Dimos declared unconstitutional. That would lower the flood gates so to speak for high stakes gambling in Monroe.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
V-Vehicle: Smoke and Mirrors So Far
East Ouachita Parish-Piyush Jindal showed up at the old Guide Plant today around 11:30 am to announce that the taxpayers of Louisiana and these United States would be paying $82, 000,000 real dollars to GNF Architechs and Gray Construction to remodel the plant and to build a new one beside it to manufacture an as of yet undiscribed concept car called the v-vehicle, in three years!
Friends this is the new economic investment model. The State of Louisiana and these United States of America builds a turnkey-ready company and hands it over to a private investment group for about 10 cents on the dollar.
Does this remind you at all of the Alaskan bridge to nowhere? The Louisiana bridge to nowhere? A pig in the poke is what we used to call it. Betting on the come is another phrase for it. Most recently build it and they will come covers it.
Shades of there’s a sucker born every minute. What is it granddad used to say, “If it sounds too good to be true; it is” The last person to offer turnkey businesses was EWE: the gambling boats and the nursing homes. He’s still in jail. So who is going to jail on this deal? It won’t be the concept peddlers from San Diego, that’s in California you all.
Friends this is the new economic investment model. The State of Louisiana and these United States of America builds a turnkey-ready company and hands it over to a private investment group for about 10 cents on the dollar.
Does this remind you at all of the Alaskan bridge to nowhere? The Louisiana bridge to nowhere? A pig in the poke is what we used to call it. Betting on the come is another phrase for it. Most recently build it and they will come covers it.
Shades of there’s a sucker born every minute. What is it granddad used to say, “If it sounds too good to be true; it is” The last person to offer turnkey businesses was EWE: the gambling boats and the nursing homes. He’s still in jail. So who is going to jail on this deal? It won’t be the concept peddlers from San Diego, that’s in California you all.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Walter Abbott Announces A New Lincoln Parish Political Blog
Long-time anti-gambling force in Louisiana, Walter Abbott, has announced the formation of a new political blog in Lincoln Parish Louisiana. He says he will cover city council meetings, police jury meetings, Sparta aquifer meetings, Louisiana Tech public relations bashes, and the like. He will be a healthy competitor for John Hays, Publisher of the Morning Paper. Good luck Walter!
Cofer Secretly Applies For Another Job Away From North Monroe
BREAKING NEWS-COFER SECRETLY APPLIES TO BE COMMISIONER OF EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI
Cofer has done it again, applied for yet another job in higher education, commissioner of education in Mississippi. He probably only told one person in north Monroe that he had applied, the chairman of the University Foundation whose step-son he has given a $100,000 plus salary while he is dismissing tenured faculty left and right. And guess what, he didn’t get the job. Cofer is now 0-3 in getting jobs away from north Monroe.
One little fact has leaked out about his application. Seems a retired Mississippi State University business professor showed up to talk with decision makers about Cofer getting the job and told them how Cofer had tried to use political influence to get his doctorate in business from Mississippi State. He didn’t get it though. He’s got and EdD from University of Arkansas Little Rock.
Oh, why did he tell the Chairmn of the University Foundation what he was up to, why so that chairman could go out and get him some more money from the Foundation account. And for what? Cofer promised when he got his current job he would increase enrollment to 10,000; it’s 8754 and ever falling; and he promised a 60% graduation rate. The American Enterprise Institute reports that his school has a graduation rate of 32%.
Cofer has done it again, applied for yet another job in higher education, commissioner of education in Mississippi. He probably only told one person in north Monroe that he had applied, the chairman of the University Foundation whose step-son he has given a $100,000 plus salary while he is dismissing tenured faculty left and right. And guess what, he didn’t get the job. Cofer is now 0-3 in getting jobs away from north Monroe.
One little fact has leaked out about his application. Seems a retired Mississippi State University business professor showed up to talk with decision makers about Cofer getting the job and told them how Cofer had tried to use political influence to get his doctorate in business from Mississippi State. He didn’t get it though. He’s got and EdD from University of Arkansas Little Rock.
Oh, why did he tell the Chairmn of the University Foundation what he was up to, why so that chairman could go out and get him some more money from the Foundation account. And for what? Cofer promised when he got his current job he would increase enrollment to 10,000; it’s 8754 and ever falling; and he promised a 60% graduation rate. The American Enterprise Institute reports that his school has a graduation rate of 32%.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
February 20, 2009 (Ran In www.thenewsstar.com February 22, 2009)
Dear Editor:
Presidential candidate Jindal has announced that he might not take the federal stimulus money available for Louisiana; yet at the same time Mr. Jindal announces that Louisiana is nearly $2,000,000,000 in debt. Clearly Mr. Jindal is not concerned about the people who elected him to office. Mr. Jindal is more concerned about attracting a perceived national voting base important only to someone running for president.
Mr. Jindal came into office with a $2.000.000.000 surplus. Where has all the money gone? Mr. Gingrich one of his presidential campaign managers states on national television that Mr. Jindal is doing a wonderful job; that in spite of the difficult economic times Mr. Jindal has created new jobs in Louisiana. But the only jobs Mr. Jindal has created are 4,500 state jobs. So much for capitalism.
First of all Mr. Jindal has never held a real job. He has lived off of taxpayer’s money from start to finish: first for Congressman McCrery, then for Governor Foster, then for Senator Breaux, then as a Congressman, and now as a Governor. Mr. Jindal has never received a real check and never paid any real income taxes. A word for someone like Mr. Jindal is opportunist
If you want to see your governor Louisiana, then you had better be in North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, or Florida. And you had better bring money!
Dear Editor:
Presidential candidate Jindal has announced that he might not take the federal stimulus money available for Louisiana; yet at the same time Mr. Jindal announces that Louisiana is nearly $2,000,000,000 in debt. Clearly Mr. Jindal is not concerned about the people who elected him to office. Mr. Jindal is more concerned about attracting a perceived national voting base important only to someone running for president.
Mr. Jindal came into office with a $2.000.000.000 surplus. Where has all the money gone? Mr. Gingrich one of his presidential campaign managers states on national television that Mr. Jindal is doing a wonderful job; that in spite of the difficult economic times Mr. Jindal has created new jobs in Louisiana. But the only jobs Mr. Jindal has created are 4,500 state jobs. So much for capitalism.
First of all Mr. Jindal has never held a real job. He has lived off of taxpayer’s money from start to finish: first for Congressman McCrery, then for Governor Foster, then for Senator Breaux, then as a Congressman, and now as a Governor. Mr. Jindal has never received a real check and never paid any real income taxes. A word for someone like Mr. Jindal is opportunist
If you want to see your governor Louisiana, then you had better be in North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, or Florida. And you had better bring money!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Dear Editor:
Well there he goes again; Governor Jindal flew off for two days to North Carolina. While Louisiana “burns” up in debt, Governor Jindal goes off a “fiddling” around for presidential campaign contributions in Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham. What will it take to get our governor.to sit at our desk and work day in and day out to turn our economy around?
For example, it seems there is a company, NUCOR, in North Carolina that was considering building a steel manufacturing plant in Louisiana. It would seem logical to visit North Carolina to seal the deal and get NUCOR to come to Louisiana. But logic is not politic. Now it has been reported that NUCOR will probably go to Brazil instead.
A KNOE straw poll taken after the governor’s junket was reported by the AP showed that well over 60% of those voting thought Governor Jindal should not have made the trip. The last time polls were that bad was when Governor Jindal went AWOL on the legislative pay raises. Maybe Governor Jindal will stop all the gallivanting around for the same reason he stopped the pay raise, his election poll numbers are tanking.
Well there he goes again; Governor Jindal flew off for two days to North Carolina. While Louisiana “burns” up in debt, Governor Jindal goes off a “fiddling” around for presidential campaign contributions in Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham. What will it take to get our governor.to sit at our desk and work day in and day out to turn our economy around?
For example, it seems there is a company, NUCOR, in North Carolina that was considering building a steel manufacturing plant in Louisiana. It would seem logical to visit North Carolina to seal the deal and get NUCOR to come to Louisiana. But logic is not politic. Now it has been reported that NUCOR will probably go to Brazil instead.
A KNOE straw poll taken after the governor’s junket was reported by the AP showed that well over 60% of those voting thought Governor Jindal should not have made the trip. The last time polls were that bad was when Governor Jindal went AWOL on the legislative pay raises. Maybe Governor Jindal will stop all the gallivanting around for the same reason he stopped the pay raise, his election poll numbers are tanking.
Friday, January 16, 2009
U.S. States Losing Bets On Casinos, Other Gambling
from my friend ms. berlin:
U.S. states losing bets on casinos, other gambling01.15.09, 05:09 PM EST By Karen Pierog and Jim Christie CHICAGO/SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A number of U.S. states this decade bet the house on winning a share of legalized gambling's swelling jackpot. Industry revenues reached $91 billion in 2006, the latest year for which data is available from the American Gaming Association, thanks to a spree of casino openings beyond Nevada and New Jersey, states that long ago opted to sanction casinos. But with the U.S. economy in a year-long recession and consumers hoarding cash should hard times continue, casinos may no longer prove cash cows for state coffers -- as Kansas can attest. Kansas enacted a law for the first state-owned casinos in the U.S. in April, 2007, betting that $200 million could be raised annually for debt reduction, capital improvements and property tax relief. Now nearly two years later, private casino developers such as Penn National Gaming, LLC, and International Speedway Corp have dropped their plans for three out of the four casino sites, citing ailing economic conditions world wide. The Kansas Lottery, which is overseeing the state's foray into gambling, has reopened the bidding process but Keith Kocher, the state's gaming facilities director, doubts Kansas will meet the $200 million estimate. 'We feel certain we'll have bidders but probably for more scaled-down projects than before,' he said. With the U.S. economy in recession, consumers are reining in spending, including dollars many would have feverishly gambled in better times. States that had bet on the casino boom earlier this decade helping fill their coffers may be in store for a losing streak. 'This is not a long-term budget balancer,' said Robert Ward, deputy director of the Rockefeller Institute, which studies state and local government. 'There is a danger that the big growth period (for casinos) may be coming to an end.' ILLINOIS CASINO BIDS MISS TARGET In Illinois, officials had planned on pulling in $575 million from the sale of the state's long-dormant 10th casino license to help balance its fiscal 2009 budget, which is at least $2 billion in the red. But none of the three bidder finalists offered that much and the Illinois Gaming Board last month tapped the lowest bidder, Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC. It bid $125 million for a casino in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, along with a pledge of $10 million annually over 30 years. None of that money is expected to flow to the state in time to help the current budget, according to a legislative financial commission. Meanwhile, state tax revenue from the nine existing casinos dropped 32 percent to $46 million in December compared to $67.6 million in December 2007. California is likewise collecting weaker-than-expected revenue from the state's Indian casinos. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger early in his administration touted tribal casinos as an important source of new revenue for the state government. Today, however, tribal leaders fear hard times are in store for their casinos. One tribe recently wrote to Schwarzenegger to inform him it would halt an expansion of its gambling operations, which had held the promise of additional revenue for the state. 'Tribal casinos and other casinos nationwide are experiencing a lot of issues with relation to the pullback in consumer spending,' said Jason Dickerson, gambling policy analyst at the California Legislative Analyst's Office. 'There seems to be a broad consumer pullback on gambling,' Dickerson said. 'There was among some a view that casino gambling was this endless source of revenue that would never stop growing. But what we've seen in this recession is that that's just not true.' The recession has also deflated expectations in Ohio, where the state introduced Keno in August to raise money for primary and secondary schools. So far the wagering game has generated $45.6 million in sales, raising about $11.4 million for education. That is below projections it would achieve $292 million in sales its first full year with $73 million earmarked for schools. 'Those initial projections are high considering what the economy is at this point,' said Marie Kilbane, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Lottery. (Reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago and Jim Christie in San Francisco, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Keywords: MUNICIPALS CASINOS/ (karen.pierog@thomsonreuters.com; 1 312 408 8647; Reuters Messaging: karen.pierog.reuters.com@reuters.net)Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
U.S. states losing bets on casinos, other gambling01.15.09, 05:09 PM EST By Karen Pierog and Jim Christie CHICAGO/SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A number of U.S. states this decade bet the house on winning a share of legalized gambling's swelling jackpot. Industry revenues reached $91 billion in 2006, the latest year for which data is available from the American Gaming Association, thanks to a spree of casino openings beyond Nevada and New Jersey, states that long ago opted to sanction casinos. But with the U.S. economy in a year-long recession and consumers hoarding cash should hard times continue, casinos may no longer prove cash cows for state coffers -- as Kansas can attest. Kansas enacted a law for the first state-owned casinos in the U.S. in April, 2007, betting that $200 million could be raised annually for debt reduction, capital improvements and property tax relief. Now nearly two years later, private casino developers such as Penn National Gaming, LLC, and International Speedway Corp have dropped their plans for three out of the four casino sites, citing ailing economic conditions world wide. The Kansas Lottery, which is overseeing the state's foray into gambling, has reopened the bidding process but Keith Kocher, the state's gaming facilities director, doubts Kansas will meet the $200 million estimate. 'We feel certain we'll have bidders but probably for more scaled-down projects than before,' he said. With the U.S. economy in recession, consumers are reining in spending, including dollars many would have feverishly gambled in better times. States that had bet on the casino boom earlier this decade helping fill their coffers may be in store for a losing streak. 'This is not a long-term budget balancer,' said Robert Ward, deputy director of the Rockefeller Institute, which studies state and local government. 'There is a danger that the big growth period (for casinos) may be coming to an end.' ILLINOIS CASINO BIDS MISS TARGET In Illinois, officials had planned on pulling in $575 million from the sale of the state's long-dormant 10th casino license to help balance its fiscal 2009 budget, which is at least $2 billion in the red. But none of the three bidder finalists offered that much and the Illinois Gaming Board last month tapped the lowest bidder, Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC. It bid $125 million for a casino in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, along with a pledge of $10 million annually over 30 years. None of that money is expected to flow to the state in time to help the current budget, according to a legislative financial commission. Meanwhile, state tax revenue from the nine existing casinos dropped 32 percent to $46 million in December compared to $67.6 million in December 2007. California is likewise collecting weaker-than-expected revenue from the state's Indian casinos. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger early in his administration touted tribal casinos as an important source of new revenue for the state government. Today, however, tribal leaders fear hard times are in store for their casinos. One tribe recently wrote to Schwarzenegger to inform him it would halt an expansion of its gambling operations, which had held the promise of additional revenue for the state. 'Tribal casinos and other casinos nationwide are experiencing a lot of issues with relation to the pullback in consumer spending,' said Jason Dickerson, gambling policy analyst at the California Legislative Analyst's Office. 'There seems to be a broad consumer pullback on gambling,' Dickerson said. 'There was among some a view that casino gambling was this endless source of revenue that would never stop growing. But what we've seen in this recession is that that's just not true.' The recession has also deflated expectations in Ohio, where the state introduced Keno in August to raise money for primary and secondary schools. So far the wagering game has generated $45.6 million in sales, raising about $11.4 million for education. That is below projections it would achieve $292 million in sales its first full year with $73 million earmarked for schools. 'Those initial projections are high considering what the economy is at this point,' said Marie Kilbane, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Lottery. (Reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago and Jim Christie in San Francisco, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Keywords: MUNICIPALS CASINOS/ (karen.pierog@thomsonreuters.com; 1 312 408 8647; Reuters Messaging: karen.pierog.reuters.com@reuters.net)Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
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