For Mayor Ray Nagin, another tequila sunrise: James Gill

By James Gill
November 18, 2009, 5:01AM
The tequila they gave Mayor Ray Nagin at the Mexican consulate in New Orleans must have packed quite a punch.

Ted Jackson / The Times-PicayuneMayor Ray Nagin in 2008It was a glittering occasion, but Nagin appears to have forgotten all about it. The purpose of his trip to Merida early next month, his flack explains, is to "re-sign a sister-city agreement" that has been in place for 20 years.

Why that should be necessary would be a mystery even if Nagin hadn't already re-signed the agreement when Mayor Cesar Bojorquez Zapata came to town in September.

The Mexican Consul General was there, together with a large assortment of dignitaries, as the mayors attached their John Hancocks with a flourish.

Let us hope that, when Nagin outs with his pen in Merida, they don't ply him with tequila again. He could spend the entire rest of his term re-signing the same piece of paper.

There is no danger of that, say the cynics, because Nagin knows a reprise of the ceremony is quite unnecessary. He is very clear-headed about why he is going, and it is not because New Orleans and Merida "are working to renew their historic cultural and business ties," as his flack claims.

As the end of his term approaches, he will neglect no opportunity to indulge his fondness for visiting exotic locales, provided he doesn't have to pay the bill. It may be the taxpayer on the hook, or it may be a city contractor. Nagin is not fussy.

The cynics can hardly be blamed for characterizing the Merida visit as a free vacation, for Nagin's four-day schedule is blank save for a private tour of Mayan ruins, featuring an "in-bus cooler." Lunch and a "one-hour open bar" follow. Do not choose the tequila Mr. Mayor, for it can make Chichen Itza very hard to pronounce, and you might later have no recollection of what you saw there.

City Hall flacks have had considerable practice dreaming up vague business pretexts for mayoral junkets, and this time we are assured that other events will be planned and that Nagin and Zapata will "inaugurate a business exchange." It is a fair bet that this is the usual hocus-pocus.

If it isn't, we may be in trouble. The only business deal discussed when the cities reaffirmed their sororal bonds in September was the transfer of jobs from here to Mexico. The idea was for New Orleans companies to reduce production costs by moving their plants to Merida, while maintaining distribution centers here.

Sending the mayor abroad to give jobs away might not sound like much of a deal for local taxpayers, but Merida would be doing us a favor too, according to the president of its chamber of commerce, who is evidently a canny fellow.

New Orleans would lose in the short term, but profit in the end because companies that might otherwise go bust would survive and at least some jobs would be preserved here, he says.

The notion that Merida would be helping us out is probably easier to credit after a couple of tequilas.

Nagin, at the September shindig, did have a plan to milk Merida for a few bucks, however. He figures that Merida will provide a steady flow of patients for the medical complex that LSU wants to build in Mid-City. Perhaps, when Merida has grabbed all our jobs, the sick of the city will be rich enough to fly here and pay some serious bills.

They had better not be in a hurry, however, for, sister cities though New Orleans and Merida may be, there is no direct flight between them. Another pesky detail is that there is no medical center, and won't be unless several hundred million dollars drop from the heavens -- or we get the money from FEMA and Wall Street bond underwriters, which would be even more of a miracle.

Nagin will be long gone before any hospital is built, however, so he might as well take it easy in Merida. Those who believe that that is precisely what he plans to do will note that Nagin's wife, as usual, will be in tow. Asked who is picking up her tab, the flack grew evasive, so there is no doubt this is another public expense. If Nagin were ever to reach into his own pocket for his wife's travel, we may be sure we'd hear about it immediately.
That would be the biggest miracle of the lot; Nagin hasn't even scrupled to make us pay when he took his wife out to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

He'd better not have drunk tequila that day, however. He'd be embarrassed if he forgot that one.

James Gill can be reached at jgill@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3318.

Obama Marks Katrina Anniversary: "No More Turf Wars"

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. — President Barack Obama marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday by pledging to make sure that turf wars and red tape don't slow the pace of the continuing recovery.

He also said he would visit New Orleans by year's end.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the president noted that the Bush administration's response to the killer storm raised questions among people in the U.S. about whether the government "could fulfill its responsibility to respond in a crisis."

He said he wanted to ensure "that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer and more prepared for the challenges that may come."

Since taking office, Obama has sent 11 members of the Cabinet to the region to inspect progress and to hear local ideas on how to speed up repairs.

"Our approach is simple: Government must keep its responsibility to the people, so that Americans have the opportunity to take responsibility for their future," Obama said in his address, released during his vacation on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.

Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, killing more than 1,600 people in Louisiana and Mississippi and leaving behind more than $40 billion in property damage. Hurricane Rita followed almost a month later, with billions of dollars in additional damage and at least 11 more deaths.

Obama acknowledged that recovery has not come at an acceptable pace.

"I have also made it clear that we will not tolerate red tape that stands in the way of progress or the waste that can drive up the bill," said Obama. "Government must be a partner – not an opponent – in getting things done."

As a candidate, he promised during a speech at Tulane University in February 2008 to help the city hire police officers, repair schools, improve public transit, finish rebuilding the levee system and offer financial incentives to attract teachers, businesses and medical professionals.

Obama's disaster relief chief, Craig Fugate, has been cited by Gulf Coast officials and Obama administration officials alike for breaking through the gridlock that has delayed recovery.

Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., recently said he had a lot of respect for Fugate and his team. "There is a sense of momentum and a desire to get things done," he said of the career emergency official.

In half a year, Obama's team says it has approved at least 75 projects that were in dispute, including libraries, schools and university buildings.

Even so, many towns remain broken, littered with boarded-up houses and overgrown vacant lots. Hundreds of projects – including critical needs such as sewer lines, fire stations and a hospital – are entangled in the bureaucracy or federal-local disputes over who should pick up the tab.

"No more turf wars," Obama said. "All of us need to move forward together, because there is much more work to be done," he said.

BETTER BLACK TV....WHAT HOLDS THIS NEW NETWORK...THE REALITY PRODUCTIONS OF 70 MILLION

ELECTION RESULTS _OPERATION N.O

Election Results 2008Friday, November 21, 2008 Skip Navigation to Main Content State Results
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Electoral Votes
Projected Winner undecided McCain
Electoral Votes270 needed to win Popular vote: 66,862,039 Popular vote: 58,319,442 Win Lead Obama was expected
to win easilyE.V. Obama McCain % Rpt.
55 Calif. 61% 37% 100%
7 Conn. 61% 38% 100%
3 Del. 62% 37% 100%
3 D.C. 93% 7% 100%
4 Hawaii 72% 27% 100%
21 Ill. 62% 37% 100%
4 Me. 58% 41% 100%
10 Md. 62% 37% 100%
12 Mass. 62% 36% 100%
17 Mich. 57% 41% 100%
15 N.J. 57% 42% 99%
31 N.Y. 62% 37% 99%
7 Ore. 57% 41% 97%
4 R.I. 63% 35% 100%
3 Vt. 68% 31% 100%
11 Wash. 57% 41% 93%
Obama was expected
to win narrowlyE.V. Obama McCain % Rpt.
9 Colo. 54% 45% 100%
7 Iowa 54% 45% 100%
10 Minn. 54% 44% 100%
5 Nev. 55% 43% 100%
4 N.H. 54% 45% 100%
5 N.M. 57% 42% 100%
21 Pa. 55% 44% 100%
13 Va. 53% 46% 100%
10 Wis. 56% 42% 100%
Battleground statesE.V. Obama McCain % Rpt.
27 Fla. 51% 48% 100%
11 Ind. 50% 49% 99%
11 Mo. 49% 49% 100%
15 N.C. 50% 50% 100%
20 Ohio 51% 47% 100%
McCain was expected
to win narrowlyE.V. Obama McCain % Rpt.
15 Ga. 47% 52% 99%
3 Mont. 47% 50% 100%
3 N.D. 45% 53% 100%
5 W.Va. 43% 56% 100%
McCain was expected
to win easilyE.V. Obama McCain % Rpt.
9 Ala. 39% 60% 99%
3 Alaska 38% 60% 100%
10 Ariz. 45% 54% 100%
6 Ark. 39% 59% 100%
4 Idaho 36% 62% 100%
6 Kan. 41% 57% 100%
8 Ky. 41% 57% 100%
9 La. 40% 59% 100%
6 Miss. 43% 56% 100%
5* Neb. 42% 57% 100%
7 Okla. 34% 66% 100%
8 S.C. 45% 54% 100%
3 S.D. 45% 53% 100%
11 Tenn. 42% 57% 100%
34 Tex. 44% 56% 100%
5 Utah 35% 62% 100%
3 Wyo. 33% 65% 100%

* Nebraska allocates some of its electoral votes on the basis of the results in each Congressional district. John McCain won four of the state's electoral votes, with Barack Obama winning one.

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Better Black TV (BBTV) "Teens Real Talk"

Master P’s new cable TV venture, Better Black Television (BBTV), has announced the addition of a new program titled “Teens Real Talk” (TRT).

The show gives teens an opportunity to express their ideas and feelings in order to help and advise both parents and teens on coming-of-age issues, according to a press release.

“This show is the home base where teens can freely connect with their peers, share their stories without fear of judgment, and collaborate with their families and community leaders to discuss resources and organize for social justice,” said network chairman P. Miller. “It’s time for Barack Obama to be the first African American president and it’s time to empower the next generation of our nation’s teens to be more responsible.”

The show provides universal access to inform and equip teens through communication and information offered by special guests, teachers, doctors, volunteers, coaches, religious leaders, and influential role models. TRT is committed to the free expression of all people.

“The difference between this show and other teen shows is we’re taking this one on the road, to the schools, to the churches, to the communities, to the people to talk about real issues and find real solutions,” said Miller. “Education is what changed my life and I want to give teens across the country a wake-up call before it’s too late; not everybody gets a second chance and it’s easier to catch up now than to catch up later.

“We will also visit incarcerated teens in juvenile halls who are seeking answers and solutions. We have teamed up with major corporations and sponsors that share our vision of change and positivity. Our goal with this show is to preserve our future leaders.”

Also in production is the family-friendly original sitcom titled “Uncle Willy’s Family,” a show about a Vietnam veteran who comes to California from Louisiana in order to raise his brother’s grandchildren.

P Miller, BBTV NEW TELEVISION NETWORK

LOS ANGELES, CA - (Marketwire - August 15, 2008) - Percy Miller (formerly Master P) announces the launch of Better Black Television (BBTV) a family friendly network that will provide positive content for a black and brown culture that will appeal to all races with a goal to bring people of color a choice when turning on their television. The content on the channel will contain a wide arrangement from health and fitness, animation, financial planning, reality TV, sitcoms, dramas, movies, responsible hip-hop music and videos, politics, sports and entertainment news, educational children's shows as well as teen and family programming. Production has begun and will be based out of California, New York, Louisiana and Florida. In addition, BBTV is in the process of purchasing local cable channel affiliates across the country.
Born in Hollywood, Better Black Television is the brainchild and passion of some of the most diverse, powerful, celebrated entertainers, influentials and trendsetters from the Television, Film, Professional Sports, Corporate America and Music industries. These visionaries all share the common goal of enhancing the current television landscape for this highly coveted demographic currently monopolized by only a few significant providers, with fresh, innovative, uplifting and above all family-friendly entertainment. Envisioned and headed by its Founder, P. Miller, a legendary music, film, and television entertainer as well as world-renowned African-American entrepreneur and social activist, Better Black Television is guided, staffed and supported by a highly skilled, talented, and above all dedicated team of professionals that have been working for more than 5 years to make this dream a reality.

"Better Black Television has been a vision of mine for some years," said Miller, BBTV's Chairman & CEO. "I've done a lot to promote and change the way messages are relayed to our children and our families over the last few years. Promoting positive content and positive messages is so important to educate and preserve the next generation. Being exposed to positive content is what changed my life. I believe that there is a market in our community for a new diverse network that provides a new brand of superior programming that caters to all aspects of television from reality to original programming. In addition, I'm excited to be able to expose the urban community to a vast array of jobs in the entertainment community that they might not otherwise be privy to. I have a great relationship with BET and MTV and my son and I will continue to do work with them and support their networks. With BBTV, we're spearheading the initiative to meet consumer demand for family friendly hip-hop content."

The BBTV Advisory Board members consist of some of the most significant entertainers in Hollywood, professional athletes as well as movers and shakers in the community such as Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Denzel Washington; businessman and Academy Award nominee Will Smith; Vault Load Films President, entrepreneur and senior level business executive, Jim Finkl; NAACP Executive Director Vicangelo Bullock; Professional basketball player and businessman Derek Anderson (Charlotte Bobcats); an award winning, 20-year veteran of the cable television and film industry, Professor Sal Martino; businessman, community activist and founding father of hip-hop, DJ Kool Herc; entrepreneur, businessman and animation specialist, Olatokunbo Betiku; and community activist, Board President of Nailah House Foster Family Agency, speaker and teacher at Trump University, real estate mogul Curtis Oakes.




Preliminary List of Better Black Television Programming:

-- Sunset and Vine -- Hosted by Vyshonn Miller and Brittany
Phillips -- This video show will showcase the top 8 at 8pm, the top
hip-hop and R&B acts as well as play classic videos and will feature
a section where you can vote on new indie unsigned artists who will
showcase their talent and the audience will have the option to place
them in the "You Pick It Video" section by voting for them online.

-- One Shot Comedy Show -- will consist of clean hilarious comedy and
will be hosted by Gary Johnson (a.k.a. G-Thing) and some of the
funniest comedians around. It will give upcoming comedians the
opportunity to hit the stage.

-- Gee Gee the Giraffe -- Children's educational show featuring Gee Gee
the Giraffe, a magical friend that takes kids on educational
adventures focused on reading and writing. (Will air on BBTV Kids
Saturday Morning Show).

-- Manage Your Money -- Featuring financially successful people lending
information to viewers to help promote financial literacy.

-- Close to the Starz -- A behind the scenes show that takes the viewers
up close and personal to their favorite celebrities.

-- Karma TV Show -- Bilingual soap opera with an African-American and
Latino cast.

-- What's Cooking TV Show -- Talk show that covers wide aspects of
entertainment and current events while cooking and enjoying a good
meal. The host and guests prepare healthy, budget-conscious meals.

-- The Black List Movies -- Family friendly content featuring or created
by top filmmakers and actors. From the classics of the past to the
biggest stars of today, from original BBTV productions to quality
independents, you'll find them on "The Black List."

-- Hip-Hop Garage Show -- Saturday show that will play nothing but the
hottest new and upcoming artists in their latest music videos and
interviews selected with content appropriate to BBTV's mission and
standards.




"We're extremely proud of our programming that will be airing on BBTV," said Miller. "It's extremely important to feed clean, quality, and positive subject matter to our families. We believe TV content can be positive and responsible and still have good ratings with great content. BBTV will offer all kinds of family friendly entertainment that everyone can enjoy. Our mission is to target the new generation of responsible African-American and multi-ethnic English speaking American and family oriented and responsible hip-hop consumers who are taking charge of their families and striving for a better tomorrow.

"I remember Bob Johnson, founder of BET, telling me back in the day that if you wanted to know real estate, you've got to hang out with real estate investors. If you wanted to know sports, you've got to hang out with athletes. I wanted to know TV, so I hung out with Bob and learned the TV game from one of the best in the business."

Better Black Television Mission Statement:

Better Black Television (BBTV) is committed to being a leading African-American multimedia entertainment company by establishing a distinct, valued, trusted, and socially responsible consumer brand within the African-American and multi-ethnic, English-speaking marketplace. We plan to accomplish this mission by delivering quality, family oriented entertainment and information to the quickly growing urban consumer base of our target audience through the use of television and Internet resources.

www.BETTERBLACKTV.com




Send resumes and videos:
BBTV
7095 Hollywood Blvd. #367
Hollywood, CA 90028

Malcolm Mays works with Pressline on next project

Based on a True Story
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By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
Published: December 27, 2007
LOS ANGELES — At home, in gang territory near the 10 freeway, Malcolm Mays, 17, sleeps on the faded carpet of his grandmother’s living room.

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J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times
The actor-director Malcolm Mays, center, shooting his first feature, “Trouble,” at a friend’s house in Los Angeles.

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Malcolm Mays, Young Filmmaker
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J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times
The actor-director Malcolm Mays, right, prepares for a shot with Misty Alli, who plays his girlfriend in “Trouble,” his first feature.
For the last week or so, however, he’s been sleeping as often as not in an editing room on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, crashing there late at night after viewing rushes of the movie that he is shooting by day.

To a degree that would make any adult desperate to get into the film industry jealous, he has mustered the support of studio executives, a powerful producer and a top talent agent. It would be easy to tell this as the story of a bunch of Hollywood people doing a good deed in time for Christmas, except that it isn’t. They all say they hope to get as much out of Mr. Mays as he gets out of them.

When he was in the eighth grade, Mr. Mays says, he told his friends he would become rich and famous making movies one day — he hoped to use his money and fame to “make a difference” somehow — and that he’d have his first movie out before he turned 18. “They all laughed,” he said.

A year later he entered Fairfax High School, where the racial tension among students bused in from far and wide was a jarring contradiction to its upscale West Hollywood neighborhood. That fall he was caught up in a black-and-Hispanic melee. A friend was attacked with a knife; Mr. Mays says he saw the assailant lunging and headed him off with a punch. His mother abruptly transferred him to another school. The violence continued without him. Three of his best friends, he said, were killed that year.

But Mr. Mays had found his movie. He banged out a screenplay that year and gave it the name of his main character: Trouble, a boy who means well but always gets into jams, who does the wrong thing for the right reasons. An incorrigible Romeo, Mr. Mays gave his alter ego a Juliet: the sister of a Mexican-American gang member. And he imagined an ending in which the cycle of violence between black and Hispanic teenagers might be broken, after a shocking, sorrowful twist. He bounced from school to school, finishing 9th grade at a community magnet; 10th grade at Dorsey High in South-Central, where his father is a coach; then, at his mother’s insistence, another move, to University High in West Los Angeles, which was safer but a long bus ride from home.

He never stopped pursuing film. When the producer Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment spoke at his church, Mr. Mays, a leader of the youth ministry, wangled a meeting. That didn’t go anywhere. But when he injured his leg at Dorsey, the athletic trainer mentioned that his wife worked for Martin Campbell, the director of “Casino Royale,” and Mr. Mays soon had an internship in Mr. Campbell’s office on the Sony lot.

At 15, he co-directed the first of several dramatic shorts, “Open Door,” which was accepted to a Los Angeles short film festival. At 16 his script and plans for “Trouble” were recognized by Panavision’s highly selective New Filmmaker Program, which lets novice directors borrow a camera package.

He just needed a plan to put its camera to use.

Last year he signed up for a mentor program at University High that is run by the United Talent Agency. Howard Sanders, of the agency’s book department, commended Mr. Mays for his interest in a film career. Mr. Mays corrected him.

“He says: ‘It’s not what I want to do, it’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make a movie,’” Mr. Sanders recalled. “He knew exactly what he wanted, and nothing was going to stop him.”

The mentor quickly found himself more inspired by the teenager than the other way around. “I learned so much about who I want to be from Malcolm,” said Mr. Sanders, who is 48. “This kid, obstacles are thrown in his way, and yet he remains utterly positive, passionate and confident in his abilities.”

Mr. Sanders introduced Malcolm to DeVon Franklin, a junior executive in Sony’s development department and one of the few African-American executives at any studio. In this “scrawny little kid,” Mr. Franklin said, he saw a glimmer of hope for a new generation of black filmmakers.

Mr. Sanders also pointed Mr. Mays to Todd Black, a producer of the feel-good, true-life movies “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “The Great Debaters,” who had discovered another eventual movie subject, Antwone Fisher, when he was a security guard. Mr. Black too was blown away.

“I never met a kid that age who was that in command of, and secure with, who he was and what he needed and wanted,” Mr. Black said. “He really made me listen to what he was saying, quickly and efficiently. He wanted to get his scripts made into movies, he wanted to go to U.S.C. film school, he wanted a career in the business. He wanted to lift himself out of the situation he was in. He’s almost entrepreneurial. He knew exactly how to work it, but not in an obnoxious way. In a very professional, proper way.”
Mr. Black steered Malcolm to Gary Martin, the president for studio operations at Sony, who said he was reminded of a 21-year-old John Singleton making “Boyz N the Hood.” “You just got the feeling this kid’s got the same kind of chutzpah,” Mr. Martin said. He laid down one condition for helping Malcolm: “Trouble” must have its premiere on the Sony lot.

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Mr. Mays shooting a scene from “Trouble” in the kitchen of a friend’s house in Los Angeles.

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Malcolm Mays, Young Filmmaker
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J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times
Cynthia Mays, Mr. Mays’s mother, is usually in charge of bringing food to the set of “Trouble.”
Mr. Martin got Kodak to donate 50,000 feet of film, about $25,000 worth. He also made a call to Panavision when, according to Mr. Mays, it threatened to cancel the New Filmmaker Program in response to the Hollywood work stoppage. The result? “I had Bob Beitcher, the C.E.O. of Panavision, calling me in my third-period class, assuring me I’d have a camera,” Mr. Mays said.

As Christmas vacation approached, Mr. Mays was a walking whirlwind at his school, lining up actors, hiring a tiny crew, obtaining permits and insurance, putting out one fire after another as problems arose, even while taking his exams. He planned to begin shooting on Monday, Dec. 17, with exteriors at Fairfax High.

But at 3:10 p.m. the Friday before, he learned that his permission had been revoked. An assistant principal at Fairfax, David Siedelman, had just found out that Mr. Mays hadn’t yet graduated.

“You were very professional, I agree,” Mr. Siedelman told Mr. Mays. “You convinced me that hey, you were a former student, an alumni here. You never said you were still a high school student.”

Mr. Mays politely said that Mr. Siedelman had never asked, and that he’d never lied. But Mr. Siedelman said his decision was final and wished him luck.

“As usual, things crash down, right?” Mr. Mays said as he hung up. “But we’ll pick ’em back up.”

True to his word, as night fell that Friday, Mr. Mays bought time by rearranging his production schedule to start with interiors. One of Mr. Black’s location managers began making calls on his behalf to other Los Angeles schools, hoping to find one to replace Fairfax. Mr. Mays raced across Hollywood with a $500 deposit to release the camera from Panavision. And a giant lighting truck with a generator in tow rumbled up to his grandmother’s tiny house, vainly searching for a safe place to park. (Mr. Black and Mr. Martin wrote personal checks for $850 apiece when Mr. Mays couldn’t come up with the truck insurance fast enough, the only cash his powerful supporters have laid out on his behalf.)

He also stopped at Sony to meet with a postproduction supervisor about the arduous editing and mixing process. The supervisor asked if Mr. Mays had a deadline in mind, say, for submission to a film festival.

“I’d like to get it done by Feb. 14,” Mr. Mays replied softly. That’s when he’ll turn 18.