April 4, 2022           
Contact: Ms. Ebony Thomas-Phillips,  (225) 342-0144
Or H. Harper/C. Brylski (504) 897-6110 or (504) 289-0499
Cbrylski@aol.com/hharper@h2nola.net
      
This is the time of year all major religions mark a season of random acts of kindness as a tribute of thanks for the gift of life, and one simple way to do that is by checking on those older adults who cannot protect themselves or are being threatened with harm by others, said Ebony Thomas-Phillips, Director, Louisiana Elderly Protective Service (EPS) Program.
​
Roughly 25 percent of the state’s population is over 60 years of age and expected to grow, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ms. Thomas-Phillips said on average more than 5000 elder abuse calls come to GOEA in a year, and the bulk are for self-neglect and caregiver neglect of individuals over age 60.
        
“It is important that we protect adults aged 60 years or older who are unable to protect themselves from being abused or neglected. Elders are abused in various ways: physically, sexually, emotionally, and financially. They can be neglected by caregivers or themselves,” said Ms. Thomas-Phillips.

Elder abuse can be physical acts of violence, emotional and verbal intimidation, isolation of an elder, sexual exploitation, withholding medicines, care or other daily necessities, or theft or misuse of the older adult’s money, property, or possessions.
“There is no greater service than to halt or interrupt acts of abuse and neglect against an elder adult,” said Ms. Thomas-Phillips. “Every person deserves their dignity and right to self-determination, no matter their age.”
        
The State of Louisiana allows anonymous reports about suspected abuse or neglect through the EPS Program Hotline, (833) 577-6532.
        
Ms. Thomas-Phillips said anyone can report suspected abuse anonymously and encourages caregivers, health professionals, neighbors, church members, bank tellers, families and friends of older adults to contact EPS so that such suspicions can be investigated and addressed. She especially encourages Louisiana citizens not living in major urban areas to help get the word out to their communities about EPS.
        
“To be an elder advocate all you need to do is report suspected abuse or neglect; you don't have to prove it," said Ms. Thomas-Phillips. “If you see bruises, black eyes, bed sores, dirty clothing, malnourished or unclean appearance, or notice the individual is living without electricity or needed medications, let our trained staff investigate and assign community services and resources to help this individual and ensure their safety.”
        
Visits to older adults increase during the holidays and give opportunities for friends and family to check on the older person’s status and make calls to EPS if needed. Just over 10 percent of all reports are high-priority cases, requiring immediate intervention, Ms. Thomas-Phillips said. Partnerships between the program and local law enforcement exist to assist in the stabilization of a situation and protecting the senior. “Less than one-tenth of one percent of all our calls do not meet the criteria for our services,” said Ms. Thomas-Phillips.
 
To report suspected abuse or neglect call this Free EPS Hotline: (833) 577-6532 or (225) 342-0144.        

New Orleans may best be known for its music, food, and festivals, as well as its Mississippi River port, but over the last six years, it has also become known as the home of Louisiana's foremost technology 'bootcamp' thanks to an idea borne by Operation Spark Founder, John Fraboni, an accomplished video game designer and award-winning, internationally recognized jazz musician. 

Focused on a personal mission to create an accessible pathway into the tech economy, Fraboni started a non-profit to train New Orleans workers for in-demand jobs in software development, starting in some of the city's most under-served communities.

Income or education level doesn’t prevent someone from loving video games or digital media. So why can't anyone turn that love into a life-long, high-wage career path?

"Our learning model is meant to circumvent the high cost and lengthy time associated with higher education and get people into great software jobs as fast as possible," said Fraboni.

Eight years since it started, the program now operates statewide, has trained nearly 275 software professionals, placed 92 percent of those in software development careers, and provided a clear path out of poverty for many New Orleanians. Two-thirds of Operation Sparks graduates earned less than a living wage when they started the program. Today, on average, each has an annual income of over $60,000.

Nineteen-year-old Bilal Hankins, a New Orleans public school student, enrolled in a free Operation Spark class during high school. After graduation, he decided to continue workforce training with Operation Spark and is now a software developer with SmartLogic, a nationwide web application shop headquartered in Las Vegas. "Instead of taking a traditional (college) route," says Hankins, "I now have a new career in software development."

"As the first coding bootcamp in Louisiana, we have always been hell-bent on helping people train for and obtain high-wage employment in software engineering," said Mr. Fraboni. "Operation Spark is helping build a strong technology workforce in Louisiana." And after Operation Spark's success in New Orleans, there are plans for expansion to Atlanta with potential for growth in other markets. 
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Career-changers and those unemployed due to COVID, which hit the New Orleans economy hard in 2020 and 2021, have also discovered Operation Spark's value.

Aiesha Brown, a former marketing representative for Costco, decided it was time for a new career path during the pandemic. She started with a free introductory prep course, going on to graduate from Operation Spark's full-stack Immersion program in just six months. Less than a year later, she quadrupled her salary working as a Front End Engineer for LinkedIn.
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"I quit my job in the middle of the pandemic to attend the Operation Spark bootcamp," said Ms. Brown. "If you had told me that I'd be working at LinkedIn less than a year after graduating, I would have laughed in your face! My path to tech is far from traditional, but I'm so thankful for the companies that saw the value that I can bring to the table." 

Employers across Louisiana have hired Fraboni's program grads: 80 percent are within the greater New Orleans area, and 14 percent are outside the state - with several outside the U.S.  “Operation Spark is a true disruptor of the classical software engineering education domain. Their graduates possess real-world experience in today’s modern technologies.” said Tim Blackmon, former Chief Information Officer for mumms software. “We’ve had great success hiring their graduates”.

"In Louisiana, we have placed the majority of our grads in jobs with employers in and around New Orleans and Baton Rouge, although we’re now starting to see companies from outside the state seek out our grads. We’ve got alumni working in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, DC, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, and as far away as Sweden and Australia," Mr. Fraboni said.

Operation Spark is also adding to the diversity of software engineers; 27 percent of its grads are women, and 38 percent are people of color. 

Operation Spark's six-month technical training program offers financial assistance, access to grants, and other support that help people launch their careers with little to no residual debt.
 
Through partnerships with Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, program graduates are also finding they can turn the industry-based credentials earned at Operation Spark into college credits. Regardless of what a graduate decides to pursue, however, Operation Spark is committed to a 100 percent job placement rate for its students.

"If our grads choose to pursue a university degree after they graduate from Operation Spark, they are hyper-prepared for college-level computer science courses," said Mr. Fraboni. "But, with a well-paying software job, they get to make that choice from a position of power because they are well-trained, employed, and financially stable. They know where their interests are, what advancement opportunities are open to them, and how they can navigate the tech economy for a better future.”
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For more information on Operation Spark, go to: www.operationspark.org

WHAT: Louisiana Senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy are signed onto the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, a bi-partisan bill which would create a new level of bureaucracy at the Federal Trade Commission to regulate big tech. 
 
WHY THIS MATTERS: This would be catastrophic for small businesses which have increasingly come to enjoy access to online marketplaces and platforms that go well-beyond their normal geographic clientele. The Act creates barriers to these services being offered by these tech giants. Half-a-million small businesses sell their products on Amazon’s marketplace, for example. Congress would now erect barriers for Amazon to continue to dominate this service.
 
This bill would impact these services:
·      Google Search and Google Maps
·      Locate your phone tracking
·      Online food ordering and reservations
·      Personal data security services
·      Prime shipping
·      Offering small and/or minority entrepreneur programs on Facebook or eBay marketplaces
 
HOW DID THESE BILLS START: They are an overreaction to attempts under the previous Administration to deal with first amendment complaints about the big-tech social media services but have gone too far in creating a new economic bureaucracy to control big tech; business organizations that oppose include U.S Chamber of Commerce, CATO, American Enterprise Institute and others.

SOUND CLIP (download available here):

FACTSHEET

INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE:
Contact: Jeff Crouere,  jcrouere@gmail.com or call (504) 669-6076

A long-forgotten but culturally significant action by the New Orleans Public School Board in 1922 outlawed jazz music and jazz dance from all school campuses. The current School Board overseeing public education in the city famous as the Birthplace of Jazz has now repealed that prohibition.  

Exactly 100 years from the day of its original abolition of jazz, the Orleans Parish School Board passed Resolution 04-22 on March 24, 2022, rescinding the prior action and encouraging jazz in the local schools.

“The fact that jazz, the quintessential American art form, had been outlawed in the public schools of its birthplace is both ironic and amusing,” said Dr. Ken Ducote, Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools (GNOCCS). “The 1922 prohibition was not on the School Board’s agenda nor based on any principle of pedagogy, but rather it resulted from one Board member’s ethnocentric personal preferences.”

Dr. Al Kennedy, a retired School District Communications Coordinator and author of several books on local cultural history, discovered the archaic ban in the 1990s when he was documenting his book Chord Changes on the Chalkboard: How Public School Teachers Shaped Jazz and the Music of New Orleans.

He explained that “Public school students benefited not only from the study of music and theory, but from direct exposure to musicians. The School District helped support the local music industry by providing full-time employment for musicians as teachers and band leaders.” 

The current School Board, led by President Olin Parker, noted this week that jazz originated in New Orleans and is a truly American art form to be celebrated by history and modern-day self-expression.

President Parker said, “Jazz music in education has been shown to enhance student learning experiences by inspiring creativity, developing focus and creating teamwork.”

Modern-day Grammy-award-winning former public school students  and jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Trombone Shorty and Harry Connick Jr. and the late Pete Fountain, Dr. John and Louis Prima –just to name a few--would certainly agree. And so would legendary jazz pioneers like local public school attendees Louis Armstrong and Buddy Bolden.
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“New Orleans is the home of Jazz and it was about time to take down this 100-year-old, antiquated action taken by the school board in the 1920s,” said New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School “Sci High” Head Dr. Monique Cola. “Jazz is a way of life in New Orleans and our jazz band represents the joy and creativity that this music brings.  Jazz brings our whole community together, and we are happy to celebrate the demise of this ruling.”
​
For more information about the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools (GNOCCS), go to: www.gnocollaborative.com
 
Media Contacts:
Dr. Ken Ducote, Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools (GNOCCS) kenducote@msn.com or (504) 650-2338
Heather Harper hharper@h2nola.net or (504) 289-0499
Cheron Brylski cbrylski@aol.com, or (504) 460-1468

Attorneys for Louisiana ratepayers claiming Entergy companies failed to maintain its distribution and transmissions systems as required by law and despite ratepayer increases to harden the system during severe storms have documented Tuesday that the company has “chopped up” some of the evidence of its failed infrastructure.

In particular, as part of the investigation, the attorneys and their experts went to the site of the large tower failure near the Avondale Shipyard, with drones, only to find that the large tower is no longer there. 

​The site of the large tower which delivered the main power lines to the metro New Orleans area was also physically examined by Attorney Juan LaFonta and others.
"It's interesting that while the residents of New Orleans can't get their garbage or debris picked up, Entergy can trash an entire tower," said Attorney Andrew Jacoby. “The citizens of Louisiana and the City Council needs to know where the tower is now.”

“It is clear that Entergy is doing what all large corporate actors do when charged with gross negligence,” said Attorney Stuart Smith. “They threaten, they hide, they play a complicated shell game to protect their profits and avoid being held accountable.”

Ironically, the New Orleans City Council, Entergy New Orleans chief regulator, is held a hearing today on Entergy’s proposals to merge its operations in order to gain a more favorable regulator than the City.

“Their actions are reprehensible. They are conspiring to limit their liability because they understand their exposure in failing to address the deficiencies in their infrastructure,” said Mr. Smith, referring to a  2010 study by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, a 2007 “Hardening Study", and a  2016 “Resilience Plan”. “The law is very clear as to the minimum standards required of companies such as Entergy. These minimum standards were violated.”

Mr. LaFonta said the phones have been ringing off the hook since the filing of the class action lawsuit against Entergy for citizens and residents of Louisiana injured by the company’s failure to transmit power to its customers despite multiple studies and reports calling for the power company to strengthen its aging infrastructure in light of storms, climate change and despite ratepayer increases for such actions.

Plaintiffs include individuals like Lexie Keys of Marrero whose home was supposed to be a priority ‘reconnect’ after a power failure due to dialysis equipment required to maintain the life of her mother, whom she cares for. Instead, Ms. Keys had to evacuate to Texas and find alternative housing, which the combined salaries of all in her household cannot sustain. Another plaintiff, according to Mr. LaFonta, died from heat exposure when the power failed at the nursing home shelter to which the person was evacuated.

“We are going to fight for the interests of Louisiana’s people,” said Mr. LaFonta. “We are standing up for Louisiana residents and businesses who have been injured as a result of Entergy’s negligence and failure to transmit energy to its customers. The scope of the lawsuit is meant to protect all citizens of Louisiana, from the families who have lost a freezer of food, to businesses who have been shuttered as a result of power loss in hard hit communities.”

Mr. Smith and Jacoby said the legal team has retained experts necessary to aide them in holding Entergy accountable. This lawsuit only covers people who are residents and citizens of the State of Louisiana. For information about the lawsuit, call Mr. LaFonta at 504-323-6049.

The lawyers recommend that residents impacted by the power failure should keep a record of expenses and other documentation related to the scope of their damages. They also suggest residents and business owners keep a diary of notes or a computer journal about how the conditions have affected them from the loss of power. 

​“This records and notes will be important if called for testimony,” said Mr. Smith.

A class action lawsuit was filed Saturday in Orleans Civil District Court by Stuart Smith (of Counsel) and Andrew Jacoby of Cooper Law Firm, Juan LaFonta of Juan LaFonta and Associates, and Jack Harang of the Law Offices of Jack Harang against Entergy Corporation, Entergy New Orleans LLC and Entergy Louisiana LLC on behalf of nearly 1 million Hurricane Ida-impacted residents and business owners who suffered blackouts following Hurricane Ida due to the company’s failure to maintain its distribution and transmissions systems despite ratepayer increases for such actions.
 
The case has been assigned to the Honorable Rachel Johnson, Judge.
 
Attorney Juan LaFonta said, “We are standing up for people and businesses who have been injured as a result of Entergy’s negligence and failure to transmit energy to its customers. From the families who have lost a freezer of food to businesses who have been shuttered as a result of power loss in hard hit communities, to those with serious injuries or hyperthermia-related wrongful death due to the power loss, our intent is that all Hurricane Ida-impacted residents are represented in this class action lawsuit.”
 
Mr. LaFonta said a call center for those wishing to join the class action is 504-323-6049.
 
Last year, the energy corporation reported a record $1.4 billion in profits. Despite a 2007 “Hardening Study" and 2016 “Resilience Plan” the Entergy Corporation systematically deferred maintenance on infrastructure, causing avoidable blackouts to nearly one million properties in Louisiana during the hurricane and subsequent days. 

“Entergy has been keenly aware of the shortfalls in their infrastructure for over a decade,” said Mr. Smith. “They knew their facilities were not sufficient to withstand severe weather, yet instead of upgrading their grid – like their study recommended and their plan outlined – they pocketed that money and sent all-time-high profits to their shareholders instead of protecting the health, welfare, safety, and lives of Louisiana residents.”
 
The lawsuit states that Entergy created a system that could not and would not sustain even a minor hurricane with wind gusts at or below 100 MPH. Entergy made the decision to not invest in the underground transmission of electricity, which in an environment like Southeast Louisiana, could have assured regular, consistent, and sustained protected service to all their customers, not just in affluent neighborhoods. Instead, Entergy chose the bubble gum and super glue approach to protect their billions of dollars over the welfare of their customers, because Entergy knew that whatever damages were sustained during a storm could be quickly billed back to its customer base.
 
Entergy’s greed and lies set the foreseeable stage for hundreds of thousands of people to be left without refrigeration, air conditioning, and in many cases sewerage problems. Entergy’s negligence also led to thousands of people not only sitting without lights; but, unable to learn what the storm and electric failure had wrought.
 
According to Mr. Smith, who has made a career highlighting the gross deficiencies and negligence of the world’s energy industry, eight out of 10 outages in Louisiana during the past five years are due to infrastructure issues. Entergy had been repeatedly fined over the past decade for deferred maintenance. A 2010 study by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability found aging infrastructure to be more susceptible to damage caused by severe weather and hurricanes, and wind damage in particular. 
 
“The Entergy corporation knew of the deficiencies in their infrastructure yet failed to act upon them,” said Attorney Harang, citing the companies’ claims that their transmission system could withstand 140 mph winds and that its River Tower, which carried transmissions to 216 substations and fell into the Mississippi River during Hurricane Ida, had no structural issues as of last year. “This is gross negligence.” 
 
The attorneys also cited the failure of Entergy New Orleans to turn on its New Orleans Power Station, built to serve a small number of customers in case of a grid failure; it was not turned on until September 1- three days after Ida hit the area.
 
In addition to the costs associated with long-term power outages for homes and businesses, damages can include mold and mildew in buildings, loss of food, the costs of relocation, and the stress of dealing with these losses and dislocations. “Entergy should have foreseen the possibility of a Hurricane Ida and planned accordingly,” said Attorney LaFonta.
 
The legal team of Smith and Harang are best known for securing the $1.056 billion judgement against Exxon in the 2001 Grefer case (for radioactive contamination in the New Orleans community) as well as the $3.2 billion judgment for the New Orleans train explosion suit (NOTX).
 
Mr. Harang said, “We intend to also ultimately seek injunctive relief to require Entergy to provide protective underground service and create sufficient redundancies to guarantee this never happens again to all of Louisiana’s customers.”

Thirty-two residents are taking the owners of the Cortland at Stonebriar Apartment Complex in Frisco, Texas, to court today to recover in excess of $1 million in damages after fire alarms and sprinkler systems failed to engage during a fire that broke out on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
         Attorneys Zeke Fortenberry and Mark Underwood filed the petition today in the Collin County District Court. Frisco is located in the North Dallas suburban corridor of Texas. The apartment complex is located in the 9000 block of Gaylord Parkway.
         All residents of the 260-unit Cortland at Stonebriar Complex were displaced by the Feb. 17 fire that burned for over 36 hours and required the assistance of fire units from five neighboring departments to get under control, according to official reports. According to these reports, 62 of the units were completely destroyed, while others were impacted by water damage.
         The petition filed today notes that despite the weather impacts in the area from a deep freeze and widespread power outages, the biggest culprit in the apartment disaster is the lack of operational fire alarms in individual units and the failure of the fire suppression sprinkler system to engage properly.
         The lawsuit focuses on the negligence of the apartment complex for failing to regularly inspect and maintain apartment fire alarms, as well as failing to maintain and operate a sufficient fire suppression and warning system.
         Federal and state laws, as well as City of Frisco fire codes, require landlords and property managers to comply with fire regulations or face charges of negligence for indifference to the rights, safety and welfare of the families they invited to reside at their apartment complex as renters. In essence, this failure to protect is a breach of contract with their residents, the suit notes.
         The residents seek compensation not only for the loss of their homes and belongings but for injuries and other loses suffered due to the fire.
         The attorneys representing the residents are licensed Texas lawyers specializing in disaster cases and helping victims. For comment or information, contact Sydnee Reed, (469) 626-7373 or paralegal@fortenberryfirm.com.
 
Media contact: C. Brylski or D. Johnson (504) 460-1468 or djohnson@brylskicompany.com

​Stephen Estopinal, eight-year veteran of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority–East created after Hurricane Katrina, praises Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal’s new book Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina (Mango, 2020). 
 
Estopinal’s book review will appear in the upcoming double issue (vol 40, numbers 1 & 2) of the Xavier Review. An early galley has been released ahead of the hard copy issue.

In her book, Rosenthal is highly critical of the levee board reform movement, labeling it as both ineffective and a distraction from the true culprit in the flooding event, the Army Corps of Engineers. 
 
Estopinal––who was president of the Authority when his eight-year tenure ended––appears to agree.
 
Here is an excerpt from the review:
 
“...Rosenthal attended board meetings of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East during the construction of the new flood post-Katrina protection system. She observed firsthand how design comments provided by the experts on the board were routinely ignored.
 
“...I––a past commissioner of the Authority East––can confirm that the many public comment and review meetings that the Corps hosted during the construction of the new system were simply for show. Major decisions were made and locked in stone before anyone outside of the Corps’ sphere of influence could contribute.”
 
Words Whispered in Water, which is reviewed by Publishers Weekly, has been a #1 New Release on Amazon for eight straight months. An unboxing video promoting the book’s release has amassed over 135,000 views on Facebook alone.
Stephen Estopinal’s full review can be seen below: