REUNION:                 Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1-3 p.m.
WHERE:                     New Orleans
                                    Historic New Orleans Williams Research Center
                                    410 Chartres St.
CONTACT:                Jeanne and Jeff Geoffray (214) 850-4584
                                    431exchange@gmail.com
MEDIA:                      Heather Harper/the Brylski Company (504) 897-6110 or
                                    (504) 289-0499; hharper@h2nola.net
 
            In December, 1965, a small vocational school known as the Adult Education Centerwelcomed an integrated class of mostly black underemployed women to begin training to become the first secretaries who would integrate the all-white businesses of New Orleans. 
            The effort caused an uproar at the time. The first pilot program was shut down after neighbors in uptown New Orleans objected to the school’s integrated student population. After the pilot program closed, the founders went looking for a new home. In the process, 60 landlords turned them down. Finally, one brave landlord, James J. Coleman, agreed to rent them a space in a series of converted bars on Exchange Place in the French Quarter. 
            During its period of operation from 1965 to 1972, the school placed 94 percent of its 431 graduates in jobs with salaries above the national average, thus making it one of the most successful programs of its kind in the War on Poverty. 
            The program was not without controversy for teaching English as a second language and for teaching African-American history and culture. The school published the first textbook on teaching English as a second language to native English speakers. It also pioneered teaching African-American makeup and hairstyles to help prepare its students for working in some of the city’s most high profile offices. Last, but not least, the school was a champion of taking a humanistic approach to vocational education. So, in addition to typing and shorthand, the students worked on writing, speaking and communication skills to help strengthen their critical powers and self-image.  
            The school was shut down a second time in 1967 for political reasons. But a group of New Orleans businessmen and leaders rallied to keep the school alive. The school was brought back to life in 1968 as a private / government partnership that was unique in its day and became a model for other such partnerships around the country. The story of the school closing and reopening was the subject of an Emmy Award winning documentary entitled, “The School That Would Not Die” written and narrated by Mel Leavitt. Eventually, the program’s success gained recognition from President Lyndon B. Johnson and a U.S. Senate committee welcomed Dr. Alice Geoffray, the school’s director, and three students to testify in Washington about the reasons why the school was so successful when so many other jobs programs in the War on Poverty failed. The late Congressman Hale Boggs, the father of Cokie Roberts, who recently passed away, was a great supporter of the school.
            Dr. Geoffray documented the successes of her students, many who went on to earn advanced degrees and become prominent New Orleans change agents. These stories are celebrated at the reunion by survivors and their families, as well as used to encourage new generations of success by the award of scholarships to local students. 
 
            See student biographies here: https://www.431exchange.com/our-stories
            Read about the center here: https://www.431exchange.com/history
​

German attorneys took a recent French court ruling against Dow and its subsidiaries to the next level this week by gaining court approval to seize nearly $ 4 billion (21.210 shares) in capital of Dow Olefinverbund GmbH in order to compensate more than 1245 former Central American plantation workers and their families for damages caused by knowing corporate use of a ‘sperm killer’ pesticide at its fruit plantations.
 
“Companies acting on an international basis should quickly learn that there are no safe places left to hide from liability for environmental and human rights incompliance,” said Berlin attorney Christoph Partsch. “The French court decision and the German exequatur decision form a formidable precedence to that end.”
 
Nicaraguan courts previously ordered compensation to these workers, which Dow claimed was unenforceable but the French courts last month agreed to hear cases of previously uncompensated workers in a Paris trial early in January, 2020. The case is about the corporate giants’ continued use of the banned pesticide in Central America well into the 1980s after it had been banned in the U.S. during the previous decade. 
 
According to Mr. Partsch, the French court of Bobigny first issued an injunction to seize the property of Dow to protect the enforcement of the Nicaraguan decision. With this French decision in hand, Dr. Partsch and his legal partner Jana-Maria Wernitzki petitioned the Merseburg court in Germany to grant exequatur pleading under the European Brussel Convention obliging European member states to recognize the legal decisions from another member states. 
 
 
The seizure allowed by the German court was served by German bailiff to Dow Olefinverbund GmbH which holds the so-called Buna complex, a giant chemical plant built in 1930s and sold by Germany to Dow for about 3 billion € in 1995. The legal move conserves and protects the options of the plaintiffs, according to the attorneys.

The multinational legal team for the plaintiffs include Berlin-based German attorneys Mr. Partsch and Ms. Wernitzki, French Supreme Court Attorney Francois-Henri Briard, former Chair of the Paris Bar Attorney Pierre-Olivier SUR, Nicaraguan Attorneys Tony Lopez and Gustavo Lopez Jr., and internationally-known environmental American Lawyers Stuart H. Smith and Robert McKee.
 
“Finally, these plantation workers will collect damages from Dow and its subsidiaries,” said Mr. Smith. “These companies knowingly poisoned people and then left without any penalty, knowing these workers would be denied a normal family life.” Mr. Smith also called attention to the fact that Dow has hidden a multibillion-dollar liability from its stockholders and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, since the Nicaraguan Courts ordered a $805 million payout, which the companies continue to ignore.
 
Mr. Briard said, “Our German colleagues did a fantastic job; it is clear that brave European Judges, French and German, are now on the way to provide justice to these men and women of Nicaragua poisoned by American companies. One should not be surprised that in a world where companies act globally victims do cross borders. I am confident that we will get French Trial Court exequatur with provisional execution very soon; with seizures done, especially the German one, we will be able to sale shares in good conditions for our clients.”

New Orleans’ consistently top academic performing elementary school, Lake Forest Charter School, likes to say its students are “at-promise” thanks to its leadership team’s focus on student excellence and the strong support from its parents and volunteers.
        
Sylvester Johnson, Community Liaison for the public charter school in New Orleans East, said this intense pride in the school’s students is bolstered by AT&T’s announcement to join the October 12th Cocktails and Blues Gala as one of the event’s signature $20,000 sponsors. 
       
In addition, AT&T announced it will give an additional $16,000 grant to support the school’s students with arts and cultural experiences specific to New Orleans.

Lake Forest’s Board of Directors, Founding Chief Executive Officer, Mardele S. Early, and the Parent’s Committee wished to specifically thank AT&T Louisiana’s Regional Director Michael Ruffin and AVP of External & Legislative Affairs David Aubrey for their support.
        
“There is no doubt our school is driven by our vision to invest in our students as tomorrow’s leaders. AT&T’s investment in our work allows our school to continue to evolve and excel.” said Ms. Gina Dupart, Board President.
        
This year’s Cocktails & Blues event on Oct. 12 features T-Ray the violinist and Rechell Cook & the Regeneration Band.  The Patron Party and Dinner begins at 6 p.m. and the Silent Auction and Gala continue into the evening beginning at 8 p.m. at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
        
AT&T said it wanted to celebrate the school’s academic achievements with students, parents, and supporters since its exemplary test scores and flourishing extracurricular programs exemplify the type of education programs the corporate leader hopes to see more of in New Orleans. 
        
Mr. Johnson said the investment will help develop Lake Forest students as global leaders by adding supplemental dollars to the school’s instructional programs, as well as comprehensive sports, music and arts programs.
        
​“In so many ways, this makes it easier for us to be able to concentrate on the education our children,” said Ms. Early. “Contributions like this help our school truly focus on what matters most.”

​PICTURED: Lake Forest Charter receives a $20,000 donation to its annual Cocktails & Blues event from AT&T.  The school also received a $16,000 grant from AT&T to support its arts programs. Pictured left to right: Lake Forest Charter School Board President Gina Dupart, Lake Forest Charter School 6th grader Dinah Smith, LFC 2nd grader Peter Hamilton, LFC parent Hon. Nakisha Ervin-Knott, LFC 8th grader Dylan Knott, LFC Founding CEO Mardele Early, and Michael Ruffin with AT&T.

Among four individuals appointed to the official committee of unsecured creditors finalized by the U.S. Trustee regarding the $10 billion Purdue Pharma LP bankruptcy filing will be a mother and grandfather of children born opioid dependent and represented by the legal-medical partnership known as the Opioid Justice Team.

“This finally represents a recognition of the hundreds of thousands of children who are exposed to opioids in the mother’s womb and who upon birth require immediate intervention, as well as life-long medical monitoring and services,” said Attorney Scott Bickford, one of several attorneys representing these children in more than 35 class actions filed in states across the U.S.

Others appointed to the nine-representative committee during a recent meeting in New York are Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association, CVC caremark, LTS Lohmann, West Boca Medical Center, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and two additional personal injury victims.

Mr. Bickford immediately moved to file a friend of the court legal brief in the U.S. Sixth District Appellate court supporting the State of Ohio’s position that municipalities trying to siphon off money from the Purdue bankruptcy settlement lack the legal ability to ask for those damages.    

Said Co-Counsel Celeste Brustowicz, “This is the first definitive sign that the fight we have waged on behalf of the innocent victims caught up in the prescription opioid crisis may finally get the medical trust fund we have advocated for.”

The Opioid Justice Team estimates that every 15 to 19 minutes in the U.S., a baby is born already dependent on opioids due to the mother’s in-vitro exposure. For more information on this condition known as Neo-Natal Abstinence Syndrome, go to www.opioidjusticeteam.com

With a favorable French court ruling under their belts, a multi-national legal team moved today to seize more than $110 million in assets owned by legal entities of the Dow group in France in order to compensate more than 1200 former Central American plantation workers and their families for damages caused by knowing corporate use of a ‘sperm killer’ pesticide at its fruit plantations. 

French Supreme Court Attorney Francois-Henri Briard and internationally-known environmental lawyer Stuart H. Smith head up the plaintiffs’ legal team seeking to finally provide damages to the workers of three companies which employed banana workers in Nicaragua and other areas around Central America after the chemical pesticide Nemagon, proven to cause sterility in men, had been banned in the U.S. in the late 1970s. The companies are Dow, Occidental and Shell.

Nicaraguan courts have also ordered compensation to these workers, which Dow claims is unenforceable. But the French courts agreed to hear cases of previously uncompensated workers in a Paris trial early next January, 2020 about the corporate giants’ continued use of the banned pesticide in Central America well into the 1980s. 

Mr. Briard said there are serious chances that French Courts will soon grant exequatur—or enforcement of a foreign Court order in France—because the legal reasoning of Nicaraguan judges is inspired from French legal culture.

Also Mr. Briard emphasized the fact that these U.S. companies had a fair trial in Nicaragua which makes these foreign opinions very compatible with French legal order. 

Because current European Union rules allow Court orders to be upheld within its 28-nation trading bloc, workers will then be able to enforce exequatur and if necessary seize the three U.S. companies assets in Europe. 

“Finally, these plantation workers will collect damages from Dow and its subsidiaries,” said Mr. Smith. “These companies knowingly poisoned people and then left without any penalty, knowing these workers would be denied a normal family life.” 

Mr. Smith also called attention to the fact that Dow has hidden a multibillion-dollar liability from its stockholders and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, since the Nicaraguan Courts ordered a $805 million payout, which the companies continue to ignore.

Let me open by saying that overall this year’s open rolls process has been very robust and I thank the public for engaging with us regarding their assessment questions so courteously. 

Between July 15 and August 22, we served approximately 7,500 property owners in the office and another 6,700 filed appeals online or by mail.

At this moment, we are busy reviewing all formal appeals, settling them whenever possible and will be submitting those remaining to the Board of Review September 4, 2019. 

It is because of this immediately deadline I asked the Council to allow me to delay speaking to them and why I must cut short my time with you today.

Because of orders from the State Tax Commissioner, we attempted to do a review of all commercial and residential properties within Orleans Parish. Historically, we do approximately a quarter of the city each year rather than all properties once every four years. 

Our method of segmenting assessments within each four-year period was recently upheld in court, but we met the state’s demand, suspending annual revaluations, until courts agreed we could hold to our original process. 
Thus, there remain some 40,000 properties that will be reviewed for assessment values next year. We informed the Tax Commission of this in April and are in compliance with the law.

Regardless, this year’s large volume of 129,000 assessment reviews caused a very large and vocal response, but I must reiterate: My constitutional job is to review and reassess all commercial and residential properties according to standards set by the State of Louisiana and professional assessors’ organizations. 

The Orleans Assessors’ Office has been reviewed in the past by the State Legislative Auditor, independent organizations, as well as the media.

This process is set in law and always in place. In my more than 30 years as an Assessor, I have maintained these high standards of operation and continue to do so.

We are always open to improvement and because we have so openly provided access to all the data we maintain online, we encourage the public to engage with us when we make mistakes. We now have 21 appraisers with state designations and five with national designation. 

However, there is no denying the fact that property values in the Parish of Orleans have drastically changed since 2016, as reflected in property assessments for 2020. Only owners of those properties which saw increased or decreased valuations received letters from me this year. They were invited to meet with us during the open rolls period or file a formal appeal.

Increased property taxes result when there are increased assessments and when the authorities allowed by voters to collect these taxes choose to roll their dedicated millage rates forward. I have done my part with assessing value, but it is now in the court of these 10 agencies to do theirs and either vote to reduce property tax rates, keep them neutral or increase them. They must do this in a public vote and after a public meeting.

Now, because this tax increase discussion still looms, I wish to correct several mis-statements:

1. I do not set the tax rate, mail tax bills or collect taxes. That is a function of the City of New Orleans.
2. The City Council can review and cancel commercial tax exemptions they grant; but those known as ITEPs can only be cancelled by the State LED after formal written notice to my office. Once that notice is received from the State, those taxes are collected by the appropriate agency retroactively to the date of the cancellation NOT from the date I received formal notice.
3. The City Council can only reject property assessments that have been formally appealed. That is why we encourage property owners who do not find satisfactory address from our office to file a formal appeal to the Board of Review, which is the City Council.
4. Anyone and everyone can criticize my office, but any changes to how properties are assessed must come from the State of Louisiana because this is a State office and is not answerable to the City of New Orleans except to provide information on the tax roll. Thus, recommendations from developer-based organizations, like the GNO Fair Housing Alliance, must be made at the state level.
5. The Assessor’s certified database is available for purchase to everyone as a public record, as permitted by law. 
6. I have repeatedly invited the State Legislature to pass caps on assessment levels in Orleans Parish, especially after Hurricane Katrina related assessments were expiring. These efforts were defeated, most vocally by local taxing agencies in Baton Rouge.
7. In 1989, the State Tax Commission did not certify the tax rolls of three districts, including the one I was elected from, which at the time was limited to New Orleans East. When the Tax Commission reviewed those three rolls, assessments were increased, NOT decreased. 
8. No property is omitted from the taxable rolls in Orleans Parish. And as the single assessor, I have even provided the full list of tax-exempt properties. To add these properties to the rolls would require a change in law. 

 
Let me be very clear, I personally do not support ever giving any property owner, no matter how small or large, special treatment and by law I cannot allow my personal feelings to influence how I do my job. 

The Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office does not approve or revoke any form of tax levies or exemptions, except those we control: Homestead Exemptions and special assessments granted by state law on the basis of age, disability and income. And these special exemptions are again granted by state law.

I do not have the authority to remove an entity's tax-exempt status without due process simply because the City wants more money. 

While I understand the concern from property owners about tax rates, that is a discussion that must move to the agencies which set the tax rates. That is where the public’s focus now belongs.
 
Appendices.

Home damage.

Lt. Colonel Brandon Gregoire, a graduate of Jesuit High School,  Harvard College and the U.S. Naval War College, and who went on to serve three tours of duty before retiring from U.S. Marines after 23 years of service, qualified for the District 3 Senate Race.  
         
He is currently employed as Director of School Operations at the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy, a public high school serving students from multiple parishes and active military duty families. 
         
“I am determined to bring more resources to the three parishes represented in this district and improve our quality of life as residents, business owners and homeowners,” said Lt. Col. Gregoire. “I have a life-long record of accountability, discipline and character learned from the highest levels of the nation’s security and intelligence agencies that can be used to improve our community with strong leadership.”
         
He previously served as a defense legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a democrat from Missouri.
         
​He is a Bronze Star Medal recipient, among 18 other military decorations. He is the proud father of one son and a homeowner in Gentilly Terrace.

Learn more about Brandon at brandongregoire.com. 

(New Orleans) ‒ Matthew Willard, 30, a lifelong resident of Gentilly, businessperson and President of the Seabrook Neighborhood Association, today announced he will qualify for the District 97 House of Representatives election to be held on Saturday, October 12.
 
Matthew is the Senior Marketing and Communications Manager for the local technology start up, Fluence Analytics, and he comes from deep roots in New Orleans public service. Matthew’s grandparents, Dr. Elliot and Mary Jane Willard, were civil rights leaders and lifelong educators at St. Augustine, Booker T. Washington and John McDonogh High Schools. His Aunt Cynthia served as a State Senator and City Councilperson, and his Uncle Benedict is a Criminal District Court Judge. His parents, Dominic and Terrie Willard, are a local contractor and a lifelong educator, respectively.​

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home; all children deserve a quality education; we deserve good streets and working street lights; every working person should receive a living wage; we all deserve a chance at success. As your next State Representative, I will fight to make sure New Orleans remains a great place to visit but an even better place to live,” said Willard.


Matthew said he is running to serve District 97 in the spirit of faith, community service and integrity. “Our area of strong neighborhoods and residential business corridors deserves a principled and dedicated leader to fight for them,” Willard said. 
 
His legislative priorities will be to: 

• Focus on securing revenue to fix our crumbling infrastructure;  
• Advocate for mental health and addiction disorders services; 
• Fight for a living wage in Louisiana by 2025;  
• Seek solutions to stop the rising costs of property taxes on home owners;  
• Prioritize Early Childcare and Education funding; Increase the protections and rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence; 
• Serve as a leader for small business initiatives and support; and 
• Support new approaches to criminal justice reform. 

Matthew attended elementary school at Corpus Christi, Stuart Hall for middle school, and is a graduate of Jesuit High School. He received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of New Orleans. As a child, Matthew grew up in the NORD system, playing baseball for Milne and the Lakeshore Allstars.
 
As a business leader, Matthew guides Fluence Analytics’ overall marketing direction and manages business development initiatives and communication policies. Recently, Matthew led successful public relations campaigns following the company’s Series A and A-1 venture capital funding rounds. He is a certified Scrum Master in agile project management and was recently honored by Gambit New Orleans as a 40 Under 40 leader.
 
Matthew is as an elected member of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee for City Council District D and serves as a Board Member for Jason’s House, a nonprofit organization working to finance low-cost housing for men following rehabilitation for chemical dependency. Matthew is a homeowner and Board Member for the Seabrook Neighborhood Improvement and Security District. He is a parishioner of St. Raymond / St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.
 
Election Day, October 12, 2019 | MatthewWillard97.com | Facebook & Instagram: MatthewWillard97 | Twitter @MattWillard97