S&WB Math

Here is a word problem for you to work out.  According to the plan discussed at this week's meeting, how many turbines does the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board plan to have online after all of the projects are implemented?  

Be careful. This is tricky, but we can think it through.  First we have to know how may turbines are operating now.  The most recently installed piece of equipment is called Turbine 6. So you might be tempted to just say six immediately and put your pencils down. But wait... 

The S&WB has five turbines, though their designations confusingly run up to six because Turbine 2 was decommissioned years ago. Each has faced significant limitations in the past and caused problems for the agency.

That's quirky.  But, in a way, it's very New Orleans. It's kind of like trying to explain to a visitor why a bunch of streets that cross Canal are called "North" or "South" but nobody ever says they are actually traveling in those directions. You just have to know the lingo.  Anyway, so it's five, right?  

Well, not exactly.  To solve for the number of available turbines, we still have additional values we need to factor in.  For example, the temperature outside on any given day is one. 

Under the timeline discussed Tuesday, the first project to be completed would also be the cheapest: a $700,000 fix to Turbine 6, its newest piece of power generating equipment, to allow it to operate in cold weather. The turbine, originally provided to the S&WB by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2013, was not designed to run when air temperatures are below 45 degrees, a limitation that prompted a boil water advisory in 2018 when temperatures dropped while it was powering the S&WB’s water system.

Now, some would say designing equipment that can only function above 45 degrees is actually very forward-looking policy in the context of climate change.  Maybe this is an example of that "resiliency" everyone is always talking about.  Also it may be a little confusing to some that a drop in temperature is what causes water to boil. But, again, that's just another one of those quirks. In any case we are currently living in a world where sometimes Turbine 6 exists and sometimes it does not. To solve this part of the equation, add $700,000*

*This value will undoubtedly increase over time. To determine the appropriate function to input here, please see Appendix B

Thankfully, the status of Turbine 5 is more of a fixed variable. It is blowed up.  Although, we have now learned, it is not quite as blowed up as originally thought. 

Next would be repairs to Turbine 5. That generator exploded in December, causing enough damage that officials initially said it would likely never be worthwhile to repair it. But an inspection showed damage was not as severe as feared and that insurance on the equipment would largely cover the $5 million to $6 million to bring back online, minus a $1 million deductible.

We can rebuild it. And we will. So, let's see where we are now. That's 6 turbines minus one for nomenclature, minus one for explosions, minus one IF < 45 degrees F so, for now we're at three or maybe three and a half operational turbines.  Got it? Okay now add one.

Then there’s the plan to buy a new turbine, which would be designated Turbine 7, for $18 million to $20 million. About $13 million of that would come from the federal government, the rest from the infrastructure deal.

The proposal calls for Turbine 7 to be operational in 12 to 14 months.

At which point there should be (assuming the business with the weather is sorted out) six turbines in operation including the one called number 7.  Got it?  Good, now subtract two. 

With all those pieces in place, the S&WB would be able to take Turbines 1 and 3 offline completely, Korban said. Those turbines, powered by steam, are considered to be particularly problematic.

The thinking there being that, there should be sufficient steam just coming out of everyone's ears by this point in the problem that these machines will have become redundant.  And we didn't even get into the conversion of 25 cycle to 60 cycle electric power which, yes, is also a factor in this. 

It's no wonder, then, that with all this high level math going on, that the billing system is every bit as mysterious.

The S&WB currently estimates about 45% of customer bills, instead of billing for actual use, and Korban said efforts to improve that figure are underway. Those include staffing up internally and bringing in outside contractors, efforts he said have already improved the situation from a low point when only about 30% of customers’ bills were being read each month.

Sometimes you have to pay or what you use. Other times they just make something up.  This situation fluctuates over time according to several variables as well which causes many people to wonder if their water bill is determined by a random number generator.  They say that's happening 15 percent less of the time now than it was before, though. So make sure your instruments are calibrated before you begin your next calculation. 

Maybe just let them make a YouTube channel

You really have to hand it to the legislature for bringing the grifter energy to this emergency special session it has called.  Ostensibly, they are there to deal with the COVID emergency and the consequences of expiring benefits and a dwindling unemployment insurance trust fund.  But they're taking the opportunity to also run through a stack of tax breaks for businesses, including and especially oil and gas, to further de-fund public education and various other schemes. Always good to get em in there when nobody is paying attention. 

Even the marquee item on the agenda isn't quite what it seems.  They sound like they are saying they are there to shut down the Governor's emergency order because freedom and democracy or something. 

The push to give lawmakers a say in coronavirus rules started taking shape. Republican lawmakers are circulating petitions to end the emergency health declaration that underlies a sheaf of directives to lessen the spread of the deadly COVID-19, but also have led to widespread shutdowns of business activities and unprecedented unemployment. GOP legislators – including Senate President Page Cortez and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder – want to give the Legislature a seat at the table in emergency powers. 

"The Legislature is a co-equal branch of government ... and we should have a seat at the table," Cortez said.

But, as we've already found out, those petitions are difficult to complete. In part, this is because potential signatories have trouble coming up with specific aspects of the response they would want to do differently. 

Asked what specific components of Edwards' coronavirus restrictions he objects to, Cortez said merely that lawmakers want a "seat at the table." Republicans have railed against a host of the rules, including restrictions on bars and restaurants and visits to nursing homes.

They just want a seat at the table.  They don't actually want to do anything from that seat, though. As Karlin points out in this article (and then highlights again in a tweet thread) this bill would actually make cancelling the emergency order more difficult by adding the requirement of a second petition.  

So it turns out these Republicans, despite holding super-majority status in the state legislature, really just wanted a platform from which they can be seen complaining.  It's nice to be heard, I guess.

Time for the healing

I am going to have to go watch this forum now for clarity but it does sound a lot like what Keva is saying here is that the "relationship between the DA's office and the community" needs to be "healed" specifically because Jason has criticized Cannizzaro so much. 

But Landrum said she was the only candidate with experience running an office like the DA’s. She also said that as a judge she was prevented in many cases from speaking her mind, but nonetheless pushed changes like bail reform from the bench.

Without mentioning Cannizzaro by name, she said she would heal the relationship between the DA’s office and the community. She called Williams a grandstander whose “divisive” tactics reminded her of President Donald Trump and took a swipe at him over his St. Charles Avenue house.

“Mr. Williams wants you to believe that he is going to stand for the poor people of our city, when in fact he has made himself a millionaire off the backs of the people of New Orleans,” she said. “I don’t live in a mansion on a hill. He does.”

Which would imply that Leon's contributions to this "relationship," his use of the habitual offender laws to win absurdly harsh sentences, his use of "fake subpoenas" to intimidate witnesses, and his general "tough-on-crime" verbosity which only got worse as his tenure in office progressed... none of that is as detrimental as Jason Williams's public criticism of these practices.  Worse, she seems to say that hearing him make these criticisms reminded her of Trump?  

That can't be right.  I mean, for one thing, Keva has been openly critical of Cannizzaro herself. At least she was when she thought she would be running against him. 

While Landrum and Cannizzaro both worked under longtime DA Harry Connick Sr. at different times, she ventured into public criticism of Cannizzaro’s policies at a forum last year.

Landrum accused Cannizzaro of resisting her court’s efforts to offer pretrial services to defendants and reduce the jail population. She also said Louisiana’s habitual offender law — which Cannizzaro once made more use of than any DA in the state to ratchet up sentences for defendants with prior convictions — does little to reduce crime rates.

Maybe it has something to do with what house you live in when you make these comments?  In any event, the time for all of that is over now.  Have to move on so the healing can begin.

Having a normal one

Everything that is happening is exactly what was supposed to happen.  Don't worry about it.  

NEW ORLEANS — A large chunk of the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel came down Thursday morning exactly as planned, according to the lead local engineer on the demolition project.

“They were demo’ing the Burgundy Wing and hit it just right and the whole thing came straight down,” said Walter Zehner, who is the local engineer hired by the demolition company out of St. Louis, Kolb Grading. “Which is exactly what we hoped it would do. Things are fine we are all happy with the way it worked out.”

Everything around you is collapsing into rubble. This is normal.  It's what we hoped it would do. 

That about sums it up.

Can't wait to see what they come up with

Expiring benefits and the diminishing reserves of Louisiana's unemployment trust fund is a pretty big problem in the middle of a pandemic-induced depression.  It's not the only problem but it is a big one. So the legislature is going to try and solve it. 

That's what they're trying to solve, right?  Or is it something else? 

Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, said while the 70-item list of items in the call is "expansive," lawmakers wanted to give themselves plenty of flexibility.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, pointedly said a significant number of House members believe the governor's rules to combat the virus represent "an imbalance of power."

"This special session will not end without a solution to this problem," Schexnayder said Monday.

Edwards said the state Constitution clearly invests him with the authority to take steps during a public health emergency and he has no intention of surrendering it. "I don't think they are going to be successful in doing that," he said.

When in doubt, everybody yell at the Governor. 

The 70-item session call is here.  The phrase "during an emergency or disaster" comes up in several contexts where it looks like we may be making excuses to sidestep health and safety or environmental regulation, or just fast track money they haven't been able to steal yet.  There is an item in there about classifying workers as employees or "independent contractors." Wonder what that's about.

There's a bunch of stuff that seems like it might could wait until the next regular session. They want to tinker around with public school funding.   There is an item about "licenses and fees." Several items look like they are tied to specific pet projects including "surplus property in Jackson Parish," and "certain contracts involving state parks," among others. There is one that mentions the hotel/motel tax in Jefferson Parish for some reason.

A few items look like they might affect governmental transparency. And, of course, there are the usual  tax cuts for businesses and for oil and gas production. 

There aren't any bills filed yet, but... yeah.. can't wait to see what they come up with. 

Blood feud spills over

If you were watching that bizarre facsimile of what we are now calling NFL football on the TV last night, you may have noticed that one Civil District Court race has "gone negative," as they say.  Division F candidate Jennifer Medley ran an ad during the game that attacked incumbent Judge Chris Bruno for his "silver spoon" upbringing. This was, of course, contrasted with Medley's supposed meritocratic virtue.  Medley is, herself, the daughter of former Judge Lloyd Medley so it's a bit rich to be raising the issue of which candidate was born into what. Medley and Bruno, in fact, have had more TV ads running than just about any local candidates on the ballot this fall. It's a curious distinction for one among many judicial races on the slate.  We're now starting to learn what that's about.

It turns out that the ad we saw last night wasn't even the one Medley's people wanted to run.  Instead they had cued one up that accuses (apparently falsely accuses) Burno of having been a "deadbeat dad." But the campaign was enjoined from running the ad at the last minute because of the dubious nature of the accusation. 

The ad references a divorce case that began with a filing by his then-wife Kate Bruno in March 1995. It wasn't until 2009 that the child support question was settled with a consent judgment between the parties. In the meantime, according to an affidavit filed on Bruno's behalf by family law attorney Steven Lane, there wasn't a child support judgment or decree against him.

Bruno's own son filed an affidavit calling Medley's ad "blatantly false, malicious and insulting to him and his family." Both his parents had supported him financially, the son said.

More to the point, though, it also turns out the money to pay for all of this mudslinging comes from Sidney Torres. Here is why. 

One of Bruno’s lawyers questioned why Torres’ production company was involved in making the ad buy. The lawyer, Megan Kiefer, claimed that Torres is pouring “tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars” into Medley’s campaign to “exact some vengeance” on Bruno.

Bruno last year issued a ruling against Torres in a case involving the ownership of 500 Frenchmen Street, which houses the night club Vaso.

Recall that the Vaso dispute pitted Torres against the Motwanis in a clash of real estate weasels struggling for control of Frenchmen Street.  When the dispute flared up in 2018, Torres (probably taking some words out of context) publicly accused his opponents of making physical threats. 

Torres cited a voicemail he said was left on his agent’s phone, as well as a phone call that, according to a court filing by Torres, had Aaron Motwani saying that if Torres didn’t comply with demands, “It will get bloody.” Torres' attorneys, in the court filing, cited what they described as a call log Torres' agent wrote shortly after the call, as well as a recording of the voicemail.

“I want to ask nicely for you to call us back," Motwani says on the voicemail cited in court. "But if you want to handle it the other way, we can handle it the other way, too.”

Aaron Motwani said his voicemail was taken out of context and did not reference a threat of physical harm. He declined to be interviewed but sent a text message in response to questions about the calls.

“As far as the comments, about blood on the street, those comments are completely false and were completely taken out of context,” Motwani wrote in the text message. “I have never or would ever threaten harm in a matter that should be handled through the courts. It’s a distraction from the facts of this case.”

Eventually, Bruno ruled against Torres who, while calling it a "snake move," on the part of the Motwanis went on to promise, "this whole thing is basically not over."  And so now here he is funding Bruno's opponent.  And that's how the blood feuds between oligarchs spill over into your elections, and onto your TV.

Plenty time left

Despite the absolutely horseshit claims already emanating from partisan Democrats over the weekend, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is completely irrelevant to the Presidential election.  It's possible that it will still be a thing people are arguing over come November, but the election itself won't determine what happens. Trump is going to appoint the next justice either way. 

“We win an election and those are the consequences,” said the president, who then seemed to signal that he’d be willing to accept a vote on his nominee during the lame-duck period after the election. “We have a lot of time. We have plenty of time. We’re talking about January 20th.”

If Trump wins, then the person he names is the next justice. If Trump loses, then the person he names still becomes the next justice during the lame duck session. If they want to ram somebody through before the election even happens, then that is also something they can do.  But none of it has any bearing on the election itself, nor will the outcome of the election change anything one way or another.

What will be done about that? Not a whole lot. One can only laugh at the notion of Joe "nothing will fundamentally change" Biden packing the court if he becomes President. It would run contrary to Biden's entire political m/o and stated ideological reason for wanting to be President in the first place. 

What could be done about it?  Well... a whole lot, actually. A Democratic Party that actually cared about using power to affect change rather than just, you know, having it sometimes could certainly tack on as many justices as they like. There's nothing stopping them from doing that if they control the congress. They could also follow this example. 

Across the late 1850s, Lincoln argued that “the American people,” not the Supreme Court, were the true arbiters of the Constitution, and that the only way to defeat the proslavery judiciary was through mass political struggle. And after Lincoln and Hamlin were elected in 1860, the new president’s inaugural address articulated this view in perhaps the strongest language he ever used:

[I]f the policy of the government, upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made . . . the people will have ceased, to be their own rulers, having, to that extent, practically resigned their government, into the hands of that eminent tribunal.

Once in power, Lincoln and congressional Republicans “reorganized” the federal judiciary and “packed” the court, adding an additional justice in 1863. More fundamentally, though, they simply ignored the proslavery precedents established in the 1850s. In June 1862, for instance, Congress passed and Lincoln signed a bill banning slavery from the federal territories — a direct violation of the majority ruling in Dred Scott. The court meekly acquiesced, recognizing that its political power was long since broken.

Just ignore them.  The City of New Orleans ignores judges all the time. How hard can it be? 

In any case, Trump is definitely going to make the court 6-3 no matter what happens now. This does not mean Joe Biden or any future Dem Presidents  won't have options.  It's just the Dem party as currently constituted is incapable of putting those options to use. Instead they can encourage you to Vote! and pretend that will have been enough. It keeps them in business, anyway, even if they aren't always in power.  So there's plenty time left for them too.  Unfortunately, for most of us whose lives actually depend on the outcome of these games and schemes, there isn't.