Recent editorials from Louisiana newspapers:
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Oct. 25
The Advocate of Baton Rouge on the death of Fats Domino:
They lowered the flag and played Fats Domino records all day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where the legendary musician was in the first 10 honorees.
What could be more fitting?
In New Orleans, the pioneer who died at 89 was more than just the musician who sold 110 million records and created songs that have been copied by many other artists, and delighted other generations.
He was also one of the Lower 9th Ward’s icons, although living in Jefferson Parish since broken levees poured water through his home. And he never stopped helping, keeping his publishing house in the neighborhood.
“Fats Domino added to New Orleans’ standing in the world, and what people know and appreciate about New Orleans,” Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in tribute.
We know, especially those who sang along, or cried with joy, or both, in his performance at Tipitina’s a decade ago. It was a musical symbol of the determination of New Orleans and Louisiana to come back from the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
One of America’s originals is gone, but he will never be forgotten, especially here at home.
Online: http://www.theadvocate.com/
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Oct. 24
The Times-Picayune of New Orleans on women who said they were sexually harassed while working for a restaurant group:
New Orleanians are proud of our city’s culinary reputation, and rightly so. Few cities in the nation - or even the world - have a food scene that can compare.
But as John Besh steps away from his restaurant group amid allegations of widespread sexual harassment, this community needs to take a hard look at what is behind the star chef culture.
During an eight-month investigation by NOLA.com/Times-Picayune food critic Brett Anderson, 25 current and former women employees said they were sexually harassed while working for the Besh Restaurant Group or at a number of its restaurants.
The women said female employees were touched without consent and subjected to suggestive comments by some male co-workers and supervisors. In a few cases, they said, some men tried to use their positions of authority as leverage for sex.
The behavior these women describe is intolerable, not only in some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, but anywhere.
The Besh Restaurant Group, which was formed 12 years ago and employs 1,200 people at 11 restaurants, a bar and event space, didn’t have a human resources director until Oct. 11. It is almost unfathomable that a workplace that large would have so few protections from harassment for employees.
In an interview Oct. 16, Mr. Besh and co-owner Octavio Mantilla noted that one woman who quit hadn’t complained before resigning. But where would she complain in a company without an HR department?
Mr. Mantilla was included in accusations against the company. Madie Robison, who was hired at age 22 as a graphic designer, said she experienced uninvited touching from him during most of her roughly two years on the job. He said he doesn’t remember touching her.
Two complaints alleging sexual harassment and retaliation have been filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lindsey Reynolds, who was social media manager for six months, said in her filing that “vulgar and offensive comments, aggressive un-welcomed touching and sexual advances were condoned and sometimes even encouraged by managers and supervisors” at the Besh group.
Another is from a young woman who said in her complaint that Mr. Besh coerced her to submit to his sexual overtures while she worked for him. In a written statement Oct. 19 addressing the woman’s allegations, Mr. Besh said he had a “consensual relationship with one member of my team.” He added: “I alone am entirely responsible for my moral failings. This is not the way the head of a company like ours should have acted, let alone a husband and father.”
Monday (Oct. 23), shortly after Mr. Anderson’s story appeared on NOLA.com and in The Times-Picayune, the company Mr. Besh co-owns told employees he was stepping down from “all aspects of operations” to focus on his family. Harrah’s Casino announced it was cutting ties with Mr. Besh.
The letter to employees said the company is hiring an outside expert to investigate whether any unreported claims exist, setting up an employee advisory committee and updating the employee manual, including a “reformed sexual harassment policy.” The company also is setting up an employee assistance program that includes a confidential telephone number.
Those are important steps, although late in coming. Other businesses ought to take time now to examine their own policies against sexual harassment.
A majority of the 25 women who were interviewed by Mr. Anderson said the sexual harassment went beyond the corporate office to some of the group’s well-known restaurants. They said some male managers tried to use their power for sexual relations and that female chefs were marginalized.
Anthony Bourdain, chef, television personality and author of “Kitchen Confidential,” tweeted in response to Mr. Anderson’s story: “The beginning of the end of institutionalized Meathead Culture in the restaurant business.” Current and former employees of the Besh Restaurant Group referred to it as “bro culture.”
A culture that demeans women and limits their opportunities shouldn’t be tolerated. How many other restaurants in New Orleans have some vestiges of the bro culture - even if it is less extreme than the description of the Besh Restaurant Group?
Although the Besh allegations represent a dark chapter in the city’s rich culinary history, it also represents an opportunity for New Orleans to lead. As CNN.com wrote: “The allegations brought the restaurant industry into broader discussion about the need for more checks and balances when it comes to workplace harassment. Several figures in the food world commended (NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune) for shedding light on an issue that tends to get swept under the rug.”
This is the moment for every restaurant operator in the city to examine how women are treated in their kitchens and dining rooms. They ought to be valued, and protected. They ought to be given the same opportunities to advance in the company as their male counterparts. And, above all, they ought to know that the verbal and physical sexual provocations of superiors and co-workers do not “come with the territory.” New Orleans deserves a world-class food culture not only for diners, but the thousands of employees who serve them, and represent our city, so well.
Online: http://www.nola.com/
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Oct. 25
Daily Comet of Thibodaux on challenges state lawmakers have in crafting a budget:
Louisiana’s lawmakers face a stiff challenge.
They must work with Gov. John Bel Edwards to craft a budget in the coming months that remains balanced while accommodating an expected loss of some $1 billion in state revenue.
It will be difficult, but the task is possible.
Recent years have brought budget crisis after budget crisis, each one stretching the state’s books ever thinner and endangering vital public programs.
All the while, though, a host of areas in the budget have been untouchable. Even as universities and hospitals have been hit with repeated budget cuts, some spending programs have remained intact.
That is a terrible way to run any budget. But it is particularly bad policy when it is applied to a public budget where spending priorities should represent the priorities of the government and the people rather than simply following arbitrary spending rules.
Perhaps lawmakers are finally closing in on a process that will give them more flexibility on future budgets. The Dedicated Fund Review Subcommittee is delving into the many budget items that are dedicated, or protected by state law or the state Constitution from cuts.
This is long overdue.
Fortunately, though, it is at least beginning.
State Sen. Norby Chabert and Rep. Beryl Amedee, both R-Houma, are on the subcommittee and should play important roles in getting more of the state’s budget opened up for debate and change.
But the panel’s first task will be finding out exactly which funds are dedicated and why. Only then can lawmakers make a reasoned decision on which ones might be better placed in the general budget and therefore susceptible to cuts in times of financial challenges.
The problem with having so much of the budget - nearly $4 billion that is under protection by statutes or the constitution - dedicated is that it concentrates cuts, when they do come, to the relatively few places that can be cut. Currently, the main places that can be cut are health care and higher education - two of the areas that are pressing needs and that directly affect Louisiana’s people.
And these aren’t one-time impacts. In the case of higher education, our state will continue to feel the effects of past cuts for many years to come. We have made it increasingly difficult and expensive for local students to stay here for their college educations and for state schools to attract students from outside the state.
The situation is no better in our hospitals where spending cuts have left many patients with fewer options and less access to services.
The subcommittee won’t fix all of that. But at least it’s a start on setting Louisiana on a better path toward financial responsibility.
Online: http://www.dailycomet.com/
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