Politics – Page 4 – NOLAmotion Blog

Recruiting Our Way to Success?

Too many folks in economic development overemphasize recruiting. At a time when most admit that Louisiana’s greatest export is our smart, talented, innovative people, highly paid government “leaders” continue to believe they can recruit outsiders to save us.

When I was at the Louisiana Music Commission, we used to joke that to economic development people an expert was someone from out of town carrying a briefcase. Nobody, it seemed, wanted to hear what “we” all have to say. Only the “experts” seemed to know up from down. Though we tried at every opportunity to bring an appreciation for indigenous talent to economic development, and tried our best to be a part of all aspects of the department, nobody wanted to hear anything from us unless it was about music; and, all-to-often only if it involved access to backstage passes.

I recently met with an important person from Louisiana Economic Development who believed that the music director needed to be “working the phones and recruiting.” I said that Louisiana’s music industry can’t recruit its way to success–unless someone has a line on Steve Jobs. I don’t know if I made my point; but I know it’s true. Unfortunately, the folks in charge of music at the state level just don’t get it and remain overwhelmed by the demands of the film industry. Music is still being taken for granted, and the potential of the state to be helpful continues to be untapped.

Our unique music resources, it seems, are still perceived as lacking only what outsiders can bring to it. Well, as far as I (and I’m sure most musicians seeking to make a living) am concerned, the main thing outsiders can bring to our music is their appreciation and their money. And if anyone wants to move their booking or management company here, I’m sure there are incentives that can be utilized. No doubt music could use some help. But what the state is (or rather isn’t) doing is about as useful as a one person sailboat with no rudder on a landlocked pond with no wind or even a paddle.

There are no miracle workers in the music industry anymore. There are no simple solutions to the difficulties of being a musician. The era of the music moguls is long over. And legendary music mogul Clive Davis lost his job (again) this week. Blame whatever you want for the demise of the industry: downloads, supply & demand, competition from video games, all of the above. Whatever you want to call it, the international music industry has changed and the state doesn’t get it. Meanwhile, Louisiana continues to produce some of the world’s best and most interesting music.

But don’t expect the state to fix things anytime soon. Instead of building upon the more than a decade of work that Chairman Ellis Marsalis fostered, the current folks at the LMC continue on their “rebuilding” path by starting from scratch and proceeding at a snail’s pace.

I also learned that nobody at the state’s entertainment office has access to any of the voluminous paperwork we generated in our 13+ years of running the Louisiana Music Commission. The people in charge don’t even know where the ring binders are that hold the reports, plans and the printed version of the (defunct) website. So, again, here is the comprehensive report covering 1992 to 2003, a summary version (bullet text and easy to read) and our last Strategic Plan. And of course anyone can view the old website by visiting Archive.org and typing “louisianamusic.org” into the Internet Wayback Machine.

I know I’m boring some of you with this stuff. But the fact remains that you can’t just erase what we did; and, I won’t let the opinions of openly hostile, manipulative people be the only version of history. I know what I did and I know what we did. And it’s far more than anyone is doing now.

The State of Louisiana continues to neglect its responsibility to nurture our precious music legacy. Our musicians deserve better.

A Letter to the Governor & Staff

Dear Gov. Jindal and Staff:

I write you today about music, an issue connected to both economic development and natural resources. Since 2005, the Louisiana Music Commission has been a broken agency. It was sabotaged by an alteration of its legislation in which it was turned from an independent, dedicated commission to a division of LED with direct oversight/management responsibility shifted from the LMC’s Chairman to the Secretary of LED. The result is that the LMC is now subject to the expectations and directives of people whose lives were and are not immersed in the realities of music.

Since 2005 the LMC has been dismantled, de-staffed, unfunded and purged of 14 years of records. Its websites, established in 1997 and recognized as top sites for information, news and links to Louisiana’s complex and rich musical resources, were eliminated and the URLs lost. There continues to be no office, website or publicly accessible vehicle for our music professionals to access in support of their always difficult calling.

The LMC under Chairman Ellis Marsalis was a leader in transparency via its website. It published every report, press release and plan, complete with links, as soon as such docs were produced. It had an office, a staff and a budget. It had the autonomy it needed to research, define and implement programs and projects. It had the ability to react quickly to needs and situations. It was responsive, effective and accomplished many goals.

The LMC handled literally thousands of calls and emails annually. It developed educational initiatives, radio and television programs, economic development projects, advertising and promotional campaigns, and served as an advocate and voice for the state’s often misunderstood musicians and music professionals.

Today, the LMC budget is part of LED. It must compete with industries that are far more organized and structured. It is dying.

Music is too important to be lumped-in with any other industry, including film; because, in Louisiana, music is complex and unlike any other resource. It is a naturally occurring but fragile component of life. It is a family with four generations of God-given grace and talent. It is a 10 year old with an accordion, trumpet or trombone. It is a crusty street musician in the French Quarter. It is a tenor in the nation’s longest-running opera company. And it is depended upon by every one of us as part of the fabric of our lives, part of what makes us laugh, cry, dance and BE Louisiana.

Today, Louisiana’s eyes are glazed-over by the glitter of Hollywood while its crown jewel, music, is buried in a bureaucracy that cannot and should not be responsible for the future of this complex, beautiful and fragile asset.

The LMC needs to be returned to its status as a proper commission, with autonomy, an office, a budget, a staff, a website and a mission to serve. It needs to be returned to its leadership under Chairman Ellis Marsalis who has generously volunteered to once again, rebuild this badly needed entity.

I ask that you take the bold step of appointing Ellis Marsalis as Chairman of the LMC, that you reinstate the original legislation (LS R.S. 25: 315-317) that gave operational control to the board and that you fund the office, staff and mission of this currently ineffective and misdirected agency.

Thank you for your efforts to restore Louisiana. And it is with a sense of optimism that I submit this letter. I remain dedicated to our great state and look forward to doing my part to help you move us forward into a better future for all.

Respectfully yours,
Steve Picou
New Orleans LA
http://nolamotion.com

Tax Credits Gone Wild!

Kudos to the Times-Picayune for pulling back the curtain (be sure to read the comments) more on the Mark Smith scandal, showing how film tax credits were abused to include 3 of New Orleans’ most popular music events: Jazz Fest, Voodoo Music Experience and Essence. It was revealed that more than $10 million in tax credits are due to be paid to behind-the-scenes entities, notably through lawyer Will French whose connections to Smith, LIFT and the whole credit system run deeper than anyone else in the state. Commercial interests took advantage of this (obvious-to-anyone-with-morals) fraudulent twist in the application of the credits. But it was Smith’s penchant for padding that allowed the credits to be based on the entire budget of the events rather than the actual cost of filming. Thus the dollars are beyond any amounts ever thrown at in-state music events.

Again, not only Mark Smith, but former Louisiana Economic Development secretaries Don Hutchinson and Mike Olivier contributed to this huge stretch in logic and reasoning in signing off on what to most people are outrageous claims. In fact, what this represents is the biggest expenditure for music in the history of Louisiana. The state could’ve released more than 1000 CDs by Louisiana artists for less money, not that the CD market is so hot right now. No doubt there are festival organizers around the state fuming, and rightly so, about how New Orleans seems to get too much. Too bad Hutchinson and Olivier (and Ernest Collins and a few others) aren’t joining Smith at this month’s sentencing.

This scam would not have happened under Ellis Marsalis’ watch. When we ran the Louisiana Music Commission, we couldn’t spend more than $1000 without Chairman Marsalis’ oversight. Maybe that’s another reason why they got rid of us. Not that Mark Smith ever dealt with us truthfully or would’ve included us in this kind of decision-making. He couldn’t afford the scrutiny of anyone with common sense. And had Bernie Cyrus been hired as the Entertainment Cluster Developer back when the state first established the position, these scandals with film and music would not have happened.

This situation gets to the root of how large-scale tax credit systems are manipulated by those “in the know” about government programs. Like the GO Zone credits (a story you can expect to be equally tawdry since these disaster-inspired credits are funding stadium suites in Alabama and myriad projects that fail to address true rebuilding needs), the abuse of the film tax credits goes beyond the mechanics of movie production and deep into the intense world of film (and apparently event) financing. As of now, Mark Smith is a lynch pin but hardly the only perpetrator of fraud. Surely others will soon be doing the perp walk on the evening news. We can only hope.

Unless the FBI or Louisiana Attorney General decides to probe whether fraud took place regarding the music festivals, bending these state regulations apparently has no punitive consequences. And obviously, this isn’t the only state rule so poorly written and implemented. So don’t expect to see the State of Louisiana police its own and exact any punitive measures.

All we can ask is that law enforcement dig deeper into this situation. And hope that the new Jindal administration will do better.

Public Notice? That Doesn’t Mean YOU Should Know

It’s kind of weird being the only “reporter” to cover the attempted regeneration of the formerly amputated government appendage that was/is the Louisiana Music Commission. Since they’re working on a new vision for the agency, commission members, staff and contracted help (Jerry Goolsby of Loyola) recently held a retreat at Dockside Studio in Milton, south of Lafayette, a wonderful place run by my friends Steve & Wishy Nails. Of course, despite my obvious desire to contribute, I wasn’t invited–and neither were you, because the LMC continues to do minimal Public Notice.

It’s not entirely their fault. The law that was so misleadingly called the “Sunshine Law” was passed many years ago to ensure that public bodies make their meetings known so participatory democracy will live up to our expectations. Of course, because politicians crafted the legislation (see it here) they set the “standards” rather low for “open meetings.” To follow the law, a notice must be placed on the door of the “publicly accessible” meeting room 24 hours in advance. So, unless you happen to be in or around the building at which a meeting is to take place, I guess it’s just too bad.

Of course, if you were able to be in the know and actually attend LMC meetings, they’d then be duly bound to give the you the opportunity to speak, for the law says that boards “shall provide an opportunity for public comment at such meeting, subject to reasonable rules, regulations, and restrictions as adopted by the public body.” Evidently the folks in charge only want select input, for few have been invited. And other than commissioners and economic development employees, basically nobody knows about the meetings.

That’s not how Ellis Marsalis, Bernie Cyrus and I did it. We posted notice on the home page of the LMC website, notified the press and even bought classified ads. In fact, not only did we do it prominently; but, we had a special section of the website’s Welcome page dedicated to meeting notices. Additionally, we showcased Louisiana music businesses, debuted products and projects and in general encouraged attendance by the public and by music activists. Of course, the current LMC could do this, but first they’d need a website, and a desire to have the public participate. Oh, and maybe a budget would help–not that we had a budget for the site. We (mostly me) did it in-house.

According to the little bit of information leaking out of the LMC retreat, a website is planned. Hope they launch it before the next governor is sworn-in.

So, it’s only been 2+ years since the loss of louisianamusic.org and buylouisianamusic.com, the domains the current administration let expire after 8 years. However, though the Blanco folks tossed the site into the digital abyss, its archives and links can still be found. Thanks to the foresight of a the Internet Archive, lost sites like louisianamusic.org live on.

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine at archive.org, (a library of digital archives and websites that is growing by 20 terabytes a month), has a search feature that brings the original LMC site back to life. So, if you want to see what kind of website we had (please forgive the dullness, I have no graphic design skills), just type louisianamusic.org into the Wayback Machine and you’ll see archived versions of the site in its entirety. Though these pages do not show up in common search engines like Google or Yahoo!, once you click on a date, you can navigate the whole site and see how much history, how many links and how much work was thrown away.

After posting literally millions of words about so many seemingly important subjects, it’s nice to know somewhere deep in the bowels of the Internet, louisianamusic.org can still be found. Perhaps someday, someone will want to tell the story of the Amusement Tax, once the most dreaded and hated impediment to music in the state, or maybe someone will research the history of the LMC. If so, then thanks to archive.org, lost words will be resurrected, lost thoughts reconnected and lost issues re-examined.

Then again….

How Can It Be Corrupt If It’s Done By Moi?!

Monday’s T-P story and Wednesday’s editorial about Mayor Nagin’s arts & entertainment director Ernest Collins’ inability to discern between what is ethical and what is not is a classic tale of hubris & snobbery.

Power is the ultimate test of one’s character. Sure, tragedy and disaster can be final exams; but, the bigger test is when one acquires power. Then, how well does one continue to maintain integrity?

Ernest Collins, Greg Meffert and others in the Nagin administration failed this test. And they don’t see what they’ve done wrong. Meffert chose to exhibit paranoia in assuming that people were out to get him because he was successful and because he changed things in City Hall. After all, he stepped on “their” toes–those evil, corrupt people he was called (by God some of them think) to vanquish. To his credit, he changed many things for the better. However, as his power and ability to choose contractors grew, so did the temptation to “play the game” as he once put it. He did what every corrupt politicians does–hired his friends and shared the wealth–and failed miserably at maintaining his integrity.

Collins, however, chooses spin. Ernest Collins is the consummate smooth operator and spin-meister. He always has been. But first, a little history.

I was one of the four producer/creators of LTV (Louisiana Music Television), the original music show that pre-dated Louisiana Jukebox. Bernie Cyrus, Ken (“Burt Gold”) Winters and I originally proposed the show to Ernest Collins at Cox Productions in the early 90s. He liked the idea; and, with Bernie as Executive Producer, Ken as Producer/Director and me running audio, booking bands and chefs and writing news, the show launched. Aired live on Thursday nights, the show was a raucous affair with 3 musical acts, guests, call-ins, skits, the Hostess Babes, chefs and whatever else Bernie (mostly) and the rest of us could conceive, all in the small Cox studio on Cleveland Avenue. Nobody was paid except the Cox crew who were making minimum wage.

Bernie trusted Ernest Collins. He didn’t get Collins to sign a contract specifying the chain of command despite my urging him to do so. Eventually, Ernest and his staff tired of Bernie’s impromptu approach to television. One day, Collins called us in to his office and said, “Bernie, LTV is now a Cox production. You are no longer Executive Producer.” It was the beginning of the end.

We toiled on. However, the fun was gone. As the Cox staffers became ever more emboldened, they took over more and more of the responsibilities of the show. Collins’ staffers weren’t from New Orleans and it was clear they thought Bernie was a buffoon. They even tried to “teach” him how to conduct interviews. Bernie, by this point in his life, had conducted literally thousands of hours of radio and television interviews. Bernie was (rightfully) offended, and we all became outraged at the increasing level of snobbery we encountered. We called it quits after a celebratory and star-studded 100th episode.

LTV enjoyed an unprecedented run. We showcased nearly 300 musical artists, including many legends for whom the show was their last time in the public eye. We brought great artists out of the darkness and put them into people’s living rooms. The show also aired on worldwide shortwave radio and was carried in several cities around the state and country. It was nominated for, and eventually won, a Cable Ace award.

In the end, Bernie ended up filing a lawsuit and Cox settled by admitting that Bernie owned the name and by giving the shows over to the Tulane Library. Collins and his staff then created Louisiana Jukebox, which also enjoyed a long run. He obviously took a lesson from Bernie and registered the name.

Through it all, we learned that Ernest Collins was a clever, manipulative company loyalist who was the perfect “yes man” for his boss at Cox, Ray Nagin. Collins took chances only rarely and accepted what was given to him. That he is now in trouble for having a business on the side that has received money from city government entities he helps run, reflects his biggest flaw: he assumes he such a good guy that he can’t be doing anything wrong.

In the T-P article, Collins explains that he believed he was acting ethically when he did business deals with city money, state tax breaks and other sources while being employed full time in a department overseeing and working with these same entities. And he opines that it wasn’t that much money. He says he did nothing wrong. Amazing.

Ethics laws and ethical principles are clear on the matter. He’s wrong. And he might’ve broken the law. No matter how good he is at production, no matter how good he is at administration, Ernest Collins sucks at ethics. Power tested him and he failed.

Ernest Collins seems to believe, like others in the Nagin administration, that because he was doing this, that it isn’t corrupt. After all, they are the good guys, right? Just because he worked hand in hand with Mark Smith, LIFT and whatever other corrupt manipulators he knows, doesn’t mean he’s corrupt, does it?

Sure.

And why am I blogging about this? Because Ernest Collins was a player in the cabal of cretins who contributed to the dismantling of the Louisiana Music Commission. Because he’s part of the group of people who poisoned Bernie Cyrus’ and my relationship with people in politics who should have known better.

This story is far from over.

Telling the Good Guys from the Bad Guys

So now the truth is out: Mark Smith, former director of the film office for Louisiana, is a crook. (See the FBI Bill of Information here) And, when he walked into the offices of the Louisiana Music Commission (LMC) on May 18, 2005 to fire me, he was actively stealing money from the citizens of Louisiana. Smith was on a roll then, working with Scott Aiges and others to take over the LMC. He was in the middle of successfully passing legislation creating music tax credits (and letting Aiges get the glory) mirrored after the film credits he was actively scamming.

So, would he have pulled the same scam with music that he was doing with film? And what cast of characters might he have tapped to do his skim? We’ll probably never know. One, because to date not one single entity has taken advantage of the music credits; and, two, his scheme got interrupted when Bernie Cyrus got wind of it and told the secretary of the then-newly appointed head of economic development, Mike Olivier, whose signature was needed to complete the scam. Mark resigned from state service once word began to circulate in the halls of economic development. He moved on to a private sector job in the film business where he could lobby for the tax breaks and perhaps get paid legally.

The overall result for music in this tawdry scheme was the demise and purging of the LMC (See R.I.P. LMC). And, to this day the agency has not recovered enough to accomplish a damned thing.

As Louisiana reels from yet another public official on the take, further sullying our reputation, know this: Mark Smith is not from Louisiana, he’s from the Northeast. But make no mistake, Louisiana will once again be smeared.

I can almost smell the corruption and cynicism when people have all too often said to me (regarding Bernie’s whistleblower suit) “Why did Bernie do that? He’s going to hurt our film industry.” And I know that the folks saying this are more concerned with the bottom line than with honesty and stopping crime.

Let me say this, unequivocally and with all the passion and rage I can muster: CORRUPT POLITICIANS MUST BE STOPPED. I don’t want to live in a state where people turn a blind eye to political corruption. I don’t want to live in a state where people accept inferior government. And I wish my “friends” and colleagues would treat political housecleaning as being as necessary as wiping your ass. It’s ain’t pretty; but, if you don’t do it…well, misery is sure to follow.

So, now, Jan Ramsey, Scott Aiges, Lynn Ourso, Maggie Warwick, Johnny Pallazzotto, and whoever else out there plotted, schemed and stabbed us in the back for years….what have you got to say now?

I bet not much. And that’s too bad, because it represents business as usual and the same old same old.

I didn’t stand for it then. And I won’t stand for it now. We deserve better.

Hollywood & Louisiana: A Love Affair in a Brothel

You know, it really upsets me how Louisiana politicians and press fall all over themselves for Hollywood. I mean, how is it that millions upon millions of dollars can be spent to help subsidize production for movies and people who are admittedly doing a job here, but whose lives, work and imagination are based elsewhere.

I know this may seem petty, but we are one of the world’s greatest creative wellsprings. We always have been. And yet this creativity is not nurtured.

The major media companies are nothing without content. We are a source of content. It’s long been said in these media-dominated times that “content is king.” Well then why the hell aren’t we king of the hill?

Because we’d rather invest in other people’s dreams than our own.

The prevailing wisdom in Baton Rouge and in the eyes of the few media hounds reporting on government is that an expert is someone from out of state with a briefcase and a plan. And we seem to be a sucker for “experts.”

Our economic development orientation is consistently focused on finding the big fish. And those big fish evidently are not from Louisiana. So our leaders spend their time and money courting German steel mills, Asian automakers and Hollywood developers while back at home our citizens are living, breathing and weaving a creative quilt of cultural riches that is the envy of the world.

The controversy today is whether the movie tax credit system has been abused and misused. Whether or not that’s true, the fact is our indigenous talent has long been ignored by the same people who jump to spend tens, if not hundreds of millions supporting out of state entities while Louisiana talent struggles.

I don’t know what you call it, but I call it a lot of things. And since I don’t want this blog to resort to profanity, I’ll leave it at that.