Gulfport Mayor Fights Indictment

A Hurricane Katrina-recovery ambassador to President George W. Bush and the nation, Mayor Brent Warr says his work and the city’s will continue as prosecutors prepare a federal case against him and his wife, Laura, on 16 charges of Katrina fraud.

The Warrs cried quietly Wednesday in the corridor of the U.S. District courthouse just blocks from City Hall after they were each indicted on 16 charges: one count of conspiracy, one count of fraud, two counts of theft of public funds, four counts of making false statements, three counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud.

The indictment says the Warrs reconstructed their beachfront mansion with $222,798 in ill-gotten gains from FEMA, HUD and Lexington Insurance Co. from September 2005 to March 2007. The Warrs received the maximum $150,000 HUD homeowners grant through the Mississippi Development Authority, $9,558 in FEMA funds and $88,440.10 from Lexington Insurance Co., the indictment says.

Gulfport’s first couple potentially faces maximum penalties of 210 years each in prison and fines of up to $4 million each. The government also is seeking forfeiture of their Katrina recovery and insurance funds, or assets of equal value.

Their trial is tentatively scheduled for April 6. Their attorney, Joe Sam Owen of Gulfport, told the judge that the Warrs would have separate attorneys by Monday. There is a potential conflict of interest when a couple is represented by the same attorney.

Sorry, But Rep. Taylor May Be Mistaken

U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., is sticking to his Blue Dog colors and opposes the stimulus bill.

“If anything is in it for the Coast, I don’t know,” said Taylor. “I don’t think it’s worth the $800-billion price tag.”

Taylor said he supported a stimulus that did not spike the federal budget deficit.

I disagree!  I think it is too small, more needs to be spent on the infrastructure, programs that actually have people working and equipment and supplies being used.

Sorry, but I think that he may need to stop by his office and re-read the bill before he makes his statements to the press.  Granted he may have some inside info that I am not privvy to, but from what I know off the top of my head there are parts of the stimulus plan that could help South Mississippi with an infusion of jobs and money.  The totals are for the entire program and if Mississippi were to get some of the cash it would not be all, but part:

$360 million for child care centers on military bases (we have two on the Coast)

$500 million for bomb detectors in airports (we have a major one on the Coast)

$2.5 billion for upgrade of low income housing (we have many on the Coast)

$6.7 billion for making Federal buildings more energy efficient (we have a couple on the Coast)

I guess one could say that this could possibly be pork, but in the same breath we can make the case that the Coast can use the infusion of cash that these programs could bring.

So I would say that there is a possibility that we, on the Coast, could benefit substantially from the Obama stimulus plan if it is passed.  I would say that Rep. Taylor is sadly mistaken when he states that we on the Coast would have nothing to gain.  Maybe when he runs next time he should become the Repub that he really is and make room for a true Dem.

***NOTE**** The ( ) indicates sarcasm in case there was any doubt.

Teen Suicide UpDate

The headline reads :  Teen smuggled bed sheet into isolation cell.

An internal investigation at the Harrison County jail has concluded a teenager who hanged himself in isolation obtained a bed sheet from another inmate while in the jail’s medical area.

Sheriff Melvin Brisolara said there was no wrongdoing on the part of correctional staff and no disciplinary action will be taken.

James Allen, 17, was found hanged in his isolation cell on Christmas Eve. Brisolara’s statement tonight said Allen had been taken to the medical area for treatment of self-inflicted wounds to his arms. He was placed under a suicide watch. The teen was removed from life support on Christmas Day.

How was that possible?  Was not someone on suicide watch given more scrutiny than others?  If not, why not?  This just sounds like a very convenient excuse.

Charges Against The Warrs

In case one is interested in the charges filed against Mr & Mrs Warr here they be:

Charges against Brent and Laura Warr:

Count 1: Conspiracy

Count 2: Fraud

Counts 3-6: False statements

Maximum penalty on each count, counts 1-6: five years in prison, $250,000 fine.

Counts 7-8: Theft of federal funds

Maximum penalty on each count, counts 7 and 8: 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine.

Counts 9-11: Wire fraud

Count 12-16: Mail fraud

Maximum penalty on each count, counts 9-16: 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine.

City Council members expect the work of the city to move forward despite Mayor Brent Warr’s personal problems.Most of the council were in Jackson on Wednesday attending the Mississippi Municipal League conference; however, two returned to Gulfport on Wednesday afternoon after they heard that Warr and his wife, Laura, were indicted in federal court on 16 counts of Hurricane Katrina fraud.

Most of the council said they were surprised at the number of counts.

FLASH! WARR INDICTED!

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The mayor of a Mississippi city hit hard by Hurricane Katrina has been indicted after federal officials say he filed a false claim for disaster assistance.

Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr says the charges have nothing to do with his job and he will continue to run the city, which was heavily damaged by Katrina’s wind and storm surge in 2005.

The indictment alleges Warr and his wife, Laura, sought a grant for a hurricane-damaged beachfront house they did not live in. Gulfport is on the coast about 80 miles east of New Orleans.

The Warrs pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Charges include conspiring to defraud the federal government and filing a false claim for disaster assistance.

Brent Warr is the highest-ranking municipal official indicted for Katrina fraud to date.

The Problem Of The High Rate Of Obesity

If you recall, last legislative session, the state was attempting to force restaurants to refuse service to overweight people and now this session we have yet another brilliant plan.

Alrighty then–the state has proposed a pilot program to study the problem of the high rate of fat people in the state with congressional bill, HB 1530.  BTW which states:

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF THE HIGH RATE OF OBESITY IN MISSISSIPPI, BY PROVIDING FOR THE TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY AND RELATED CONDITIONS THROUGH VARIOUS METHODS, INCLUDING THE USE OF BARIATRIC SURGERY AS A TREATMENT OPTION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PILOT PROGRAM SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY THE MEDICAID PROGRAM AND BY THE STATE AND SCHOOL EMPLOYEES HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN, AT LOCATIONS IN AT LEAST THREE COUNTIES IN THE STATE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 25-15-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE BENEFITS UNDER THE STATE AND SCHOOL EMPLOYEES HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 43-13-117.3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR A PILOT PROGRAM UNDER MEDICAID TO PROVIDE BARIATRIC SURGERY AS A TREATMENT OPTION IN THE MORBIDLY OBESE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

So basically the answer to the problem of fat people is to perform surgery on them.  Is that about right?  We, the taxpayer, will be footing the bill to doctors and hospitals, the same doctors and hospitals that are guilty of overcharging and such, right?  And it will be charged to Medicaid,  the state same program that is taking a hit from the budget cutting knife at this time, right?

Where is the logic in this?

Would not treating the cause be a better way to spend any money?  Do you think that the massive poverty in the state might have something to do with the people’s eating habits?  How about the lack of education?  Could that possibly be a cause?  Would programs addressing poverty and eliminating poverty help more than the intrusion of a scalpel?  Why do the politicians refuse to face this problem head on?

Debate On Gulf Fish Farms

The public will have what may be its final chance to voice opinions today on a plan that would launch the nation’s first deep-water fish farming industry in the Gulf of Mexico.

Seventeen voting members of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council — a group with sweeping authority over fisheries activities in federal waters up to 200 miles out in the Gulf — will hold the last of several public comment periods this afternoon. The council may then vote on the aquaculture plan, which eventually could see 64 million pounds of fish raised and harvested annually from pens, nets or cages.

The public comment period begins at 1:15 p.m. and runs until 5 p.m. at Hollywood Casino. Members of the public who choose to speak will be required to sign in beforehand, and must limit their remarks to three minutes each.

Corky Perret, who represents the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources on the council, said other nations already have aquaculture industries. In the U.S., raising fish in pens has thus far been limited to shallow-water areas in a handful of states.

He defended the council’s handling of the controversial issue, and said it was “puzzling” that an aquaculture proposal apparently has taken many Gulf citizens and media alike by surprise. Numerous public hearings have been held, news releases have been issued, and there has been a robust debate over the proposal, he added.

Opponents to the plan say it is moving too quickly, and a new aquaculture industry would have far-reaching economic and health implications for the environment, the fishing industry, tourism, and other areas.

Have an opinion?  Then by all means show up and make it be heard.

Why Cannot Mississippi Lead The Way?

Mississippi is the leader in so many things, like the fattest, the poorest, the least educated, on and on, but very few are positive in any way.  I feel it is beyond time for Mississippi to become a leader in some positive way.

This is a re-post from early last year on GSFP.

I have been thinking a lot about the energy problems we are having and will have in the future and I do not understand why Mississippi has not become a research center. we have Coast winds, tidal action and lots of damn sunshine, so why is Mississippi not doing more in research and production?

Jobs would be created, good jobs. The state has numerous universities and colleges and they should be in the forefront of the research and production.

Of course to be a leader in this field would take the cooperation of the Legislature and anyone that lives in Mississippi knows what a screaming bunch of do-nothings they are.

We Mississippians should be demanding that more be done, but we seem to worry about the next casino and not the problems that await just over the horizon.

Now with that said I found another idea that could and should be considered by the legislature and should be adopted and pushed by the schools as a project for the kids to get involved with.  Mississippi is notorious for its litter on highways and byways and its massive amounts of plastic bag usage.

This from the Denver area.

A group of high school students is lobbying for legislation that they hope will blow away the plastic shopping bags that litter Colorado’s landscape.

The Kent Denver School students have lined up Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, to sponsor a bill that would eliminate the plastic tote sacks from supermarkets and other large stores in three years.

The proposal would apply only to businesses that are the largest sources of the bags — stores of 10,000 square feet or more and those that generate more than $1 million in annual revenues.

The bags would be eliminated from those stores after three years.

None of this would take that much in spending to implement and would go a long way to putting the state in the forefront of the new “green revolution”.

What would it hurt to try?

Where Is The Logic?

I recently read a copy of the budget report by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center which has been sent to the governor and the legislation, which recommends that there be a cut of 4% in the budget of the Attorny General’s office.  It is not the only cut that it recommended but for the sake of this post it is the most important.

Recently in the Mississippi House of Representatives bill number HB 351 was eneter into consideration by state Rep. Watson which calls for the creation of a division for civil rights investigations.  Personal I think this is a hell of an idea and will mostly likely give it thumbs up.  I will agree that this state needs something along these lines there are way too many questions than answers in some of the cases.

But wait!  The recommendation was sent out in Nov 0f 08 and the legislature went into session in Jan of 09 and they will mostly likely cut the budget of the AG office.  Then why would you introduce a bill to expand the office knowing that it will go nowhere?

Good question, right?

My answers are.  1–Watson did not read the report that was sent to him or 2–it is political theater that he can use at election time or 3–just a waste of time or finally 4– a combination of all 3.

Our state legislature spends approximately 90 days in session and they waste about 30 of those days doing stuff that waste time, energy and money and in the end they get little accomplished and must return for special sessions time and time again.

Maybe we as voters of this state should consider changing the system abit and go to a unicameral system, of some sort—it would have to be cheaper and more efficient IMO.

Mississippi’s Sex, Drugs And Rock N’ Roll

Well we can start with the Rock N Roll part…..Hwy 61 has been designated as the “Blues Highway”.  So much for Rock.

Sex!  HB 789 would require notification of TANF if pregnancy is discovered.  It reads:

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-17-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO PROVIDE TEENAGE TANF RECIPIENTS WITH INFORMATION AND REFERRAL TO PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL, PRENATAL HEALTH CARE, ABSTINENCE EDUCATION, MARRIAGE EDUCATION, PARENTING SKILLS, FAMILY PRESERVATION AND FATHERHOOD, AND REQUIRE THOSE TANF RECIPIENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE PROGRAMS; TO PROVIDE THAT AFTER THE IDENTITY OF THE FATHER OF A CHILD OF ANY OF THOSE TANF RECIPIENTS HAS BEEN LEGALLY DETERMINED, THE FATHER SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE PROGRAMS; TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF MEDICAID TO PROVIDE TEENAGE MEDICAID RECIPIENTS WITH INFORMATION AND REFERRAL TO PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL, PRENATAL HEALTH CARE, ABSTINENCE EDUCATION, MARRIAGE EDUCATION, PARENTING SKILLS, FAMILY PRESERVATION AND FATHERHOOD, AND REQUIRE THOSE MEDICAID RECIPIENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE PROGRAMS; TO PROVIDE THAT AFTER THE IDENTITY OF THE FATHER OF A CHILD OF ANY OF THOSE MEDICAID RECIPIENTS HAS BEEN LEGALLY DETERMINED, THE FATHER SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE PROGRAMS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES

Drugs!  And then there is HB 790:

AN ACT TO REQUIRE DRUG TESTING OF ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES SIX THROUGH TWELVE; TO DECLARE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS RELATING TO STUDENT DRUG USAGE AND THE PURPOSES OF THIS ACT; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS USED UNDER THE ACT; TO REQUIRE EACH SIXTH THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE STUDENT TO PRESENT EVIDENCE OF HAVING SUBMITTED TO A DRUG TEST RESULTING IN NEGATIVE FINDINGS NO MORE THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR OR THE DATE ON WHICH A STUDENT SEEKS ENROLLMENT DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR; TO REQUIRE EACH LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD TO ADOPT A POLICY REQUIRING RANDOM DRUG TESTING FOR ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES SIX THROUGH TWELVE AND TO PRESCRIBE CERTAIN COMPONENTS THAT MUST BE IN THE POLICY, INCLUDING A PROVISION REQUIRING A STUDENT’S PARENT TO PAY THE COST OF THE DRUG TEST; TO PROVIDE FOR THE ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHEN A STUDENT’S DRUG TEST IS POSITIVE; TO PROVIDE THAT STUDENT DRUG TESTS WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER IN WHICH THE TESTING MUST BE PERFORMED; TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISCLOSURE OF POSITIVE TEST RESULTS AND TO REQUIRE INFORMATION RELATING TO A STUDENT’S DRUG TEST TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL AND SEPARATE FROM THE STUDENT’S CUMULATIVE FOLDER; TO AUTHORIZE A STUDENT TO PRESENT EVIDENCE OF THE PROPER USE OF A PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION AS AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO A POSITIVE DRUG TEST; TO AUTHORIZE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO OFFER IN-SCHOOL COUNSELING OR REFERRAL INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS TESTING POSITIVE FOR DRUGS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, TO ADOPT RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PREPARE A MODEL RANDOM DRUG TESTING POLICY FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE ENROLLMENT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF ANY CHILD IN GRADES SIX THROUGH TWELVE UNTIL THE CHILD PRESENTS PROOF OF HAVING A NEGATIVE DRUG TEST WITHIN 30 DAYS OF ENROLLMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Yes you read that right!  It will be madatory testing by the state and the parent will pay.  Personally, I will feed my child poppy seeds until they are coming out of her ears….they make the rules….I will play their game….dumb asses.