Macy's Closing 40 Stores; The Esplanade Spared For Now

Macy's Department Store, the largest tenant in The Esplanade Mall, announced they will be shuttering 40 stores and laying off thousands of employees. The store closings will occur before the end of 2016.

The stores that Macy's has targeted for closure represent approximately $375 Million in retail sales.

The company's location in The Esplanade Mall in Kenner has been spared in this round of store closings. Rumors have swirled around The Esplanade location since the continued downward spiral of The Esplanade.

Several large national chains have fled The Esplanade including Ann Taylor Loft, The Gap and restaurants including Chik-Fil-A. 

Macy's Cortana Mall location in Baton Rouge is the only Louisiana location on the closure list. A complete list of store closings can be viewed here.

Kenner Facing Uncertain Future Thanks To Yenni’s Bloated Ambition

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – here comes another anti-Mike Maunoir/Yenni post. And, when all is said and done, you may be correct.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m not particularly prescient. If I was, I would be at Circle K at this very moment buying the winning $500 Million Powerball ticket.

Despite the fact that I can’t clearly see the future (I know, you’re as shocked as I am), I can make some educated guesses and also pull together some fairly logical (to me anyway) conclusions.

Now, before you go off the deep end and think that these are the rantings of a bitter man who lost an election, think again.

One, I’m not bitter.

Two, while losing is never easy for someone like me, it was actually a blessing. Spending the past year and a half healing, learning, observing, and taking a step back to assess things rather than governing has been therapeutic to say the least.

Besides, it’s 2016 – being bitter is so 2014.

And, finally, as I’ve said many times during the past 6 years since his premature elevation as Kenner’s Mayor, this isn’t about me or Mike Yenni – it’s about Kenner and the future of Kenner.

While I didn’t have the pleasure of being born and raised in Kenner as some, I have lived here for the past 15+ years and I am passionate about our city.

Am I disappointed that Mike Yenni was inaugurated today as Jefferson Parish President? Of course.

I don’t think that Mike Yenni has the best interests of Jefferson Parish at heart, just as I firmly believe he didn’t have Kenner’s best interests either. If he did, he wouldn’t have left one year into his second term and loaded Kenner with the uncertainty it currently faces.

Because Yenni bailed on his responsibility and duty to Kenner residents, there is a huge leadership void in Kenner government. Pilfering the ranks of Kenner Department Directors will only widen that void.

For the next year, Kenner will be governed by two men who are completely incapable of managing a city and have no relevant experience for undertaking the task.

First-term Kenner Councilman Mike Sigur will get the first six-month stint. He claims that his KPD experience has given him the background needed to serve as interim Mayor. Sigur retired after a 30-year career on the KPD.

Sigur continued to stir up controversy by accepting paid details after his ascension to the City Council. Among the rank-and-file within KPD, Sigur is vilified.

Sigur also has questionable ethics and a penchant for not being entirely truthful as shown in his campaign (run by Mike Yenni’s Campaign Manager, the vile Greg Buisson) where he denied that he supported Yenni’s plan to double property taxes even after being confronted with a photo of a yard sign supporting the tax plan in his front yard.

Following Sigur’s 6-month stay, will be equally green District 5 Councilman Dominick Impastato, also a Yenni/Buisson loyalist.

Impastato doesn’t have Sigur’s ethical baggage but he has even less experience, if that's possible.

Both Sigur and Impastato were heavy supporters of Yenni’s 2033 Plan, which just had its first ribbon cutting  2 ½ years after the bond debt was sold and hours before Yenni moved to JP (of course).

Waiting in the wings after Sigur and Impastato, it is rumored that Councilwoman-At-Large Maria DeFrancesch is positioning herself for the November 2016 election to serve the remainder of Yenni’s term.

DeFrancesch, Kenner’s resident Slumlord-In-Chief, isn’t qualified to run a bath let alone the largest City in Jefferson Parish. 

Maybe I'm being too hard on her. Perhaps 2017 will be the year Kenner finally gets the Kohl's that DeFrancesch and Yenni promised us in 2010, or the Belk's DeFrancesch discussed 2 years ago, or (insert Store Name here) that will reinvigorate The Esplanade and replenish Kenner's drying up sales tax well. 

Nah. 

Couple this with the fact that in addition to Sigur and Impastato there is another first term Councilmember, an incoming appointed At-Large Councilman who also has no prior governmental experience, the CAO and longtime Finance Director are both retiring, and the exodus of Yenni’s appointees to Jefferson Parish, and it’s not hard to be pessimistic about Kenner’s future.

How will all of this inexperience grapple with the significant economic issues facing Kenner (the continued decline of the Esplanade; commercial blight; an eroding tax base; an aging housing stock; and the largest debt in Kenner’s history, among other issues)?

Leaving Kenner without implementing his 2033 Plan, while leaving Kenner residents the tab, is irresponsible and proves that Mike Yenni is all about Mike Yenni.

Before he left, Yenni did leave a lump of coal in Kenner resident’s stockings by renewing the trash 

contract with Ramelli, again without putting the contract out for bid and without attempting to strike a better deal for Kenner.

Yes, these will be trying times for Kenner thanks to Yenni’s ambition and lust for power.

As for me, well, I’m headed to Circle K to buy a Powerball ticket. 

Wish me luck.

As a resident and someone who cares deeply about Kenner, I'm going to need it.

Happy New Year! No Surprise, Lil Ben Steps In It Again

Did you really think I was gone? No, just taking a holiday break and trying to let our elected officials enjoy their holidays.

But, all good things must come to end. As I once told an ex-girlfriend as we were having the “breakup” convo, “Valentine’s Day is over.”

Before we move on to 2016, there was an exchange that occurred at the last Jefferson Parish Council meeting of 2015 that I thought merited a comment or two and, since I didn’t want to break my holiday spirit or endure any bad karma before Santa Claus came (he must not have received my list again this Christmas. I’m blaming the Postal Service), I’m tackling it now.

When I’ve written in the past about Lil Ben Zahn, some folks have taken umbrage with me calling him “Lil Ben”.

“You shouldn’t make fun of his height. He had no control over that.”

And, that’s a fair comment.

Unfortunately, it is incorrect.

When I call him “Lil Ben”, I’m not referring to his height or his size in any other physical measurable (although I have heard about men trying to compensate for being small in certain physical attributes).

No, when I call him “Lil Ben”, primarily I’m referring to the intellect of the unlicensed florist/councilman.

Can’t argue with me on that.  

“Lil Ben” could star in a sequel to ‘Dumb and Dumberer II’ and play both parts.

Calling “Lil Ben” a mental midget does a disservice to unintelligent little people (although, now that I think about it, the term does fit).

So, the ‘Lil’ in “Lil Ben” isn’t about height at all.

Now that I’ve cleared that up, let’s move on to the incident in question.

At the end of every JP Council Meeting, citizens are allowed 5 minutes to discuss any issue on their minds.

At the last Council Meeting, a gentleman stepped up to the microphone to discuss the cutting of funds for the Jefferson Parish Council on Aging. He questioned, and rightfully so, all of the discretionary spending in Jefferson Parish on aesthetics, while programs serving the elderly were being cut.

To me, that seems like a valid question and one that I’ve asked many times through the years in both Kenner and JP.

During his discussion, the man touched a nerve with the unlicensed florist when he brought up the decorative lights on a small portion of West Esplanade near the Kenner/Metairie line in Councilman Zahn’s district.

Zahn could barely contain himself.

With his face getting as red as a 10-year-old child who spent too much time playing on the beach during the middle of Summer, Lil Ben stammered, “Do you know where the money for the lights came from?”

When the man came back to the podium to explain that he did know, Zahn said questioned why the man would discuss things that he knew nothing about.

As he has many times during his career as a Kenner and JP Councilman, Zahn showed again that he can’t handle criticism.

It is the right of every citizen to question where every public dollar is spent and, rather than showing his adolescent temper (or his attempt to make up for his visible and not-so-visible physical shortcomings), Zahn should have let the man express his opinions without interruption or comment.

And, what was Zahn’s answer regarding the payment for those decorative lights?

“They came from dedicated tourism dollars. We had to spend it on tourism.”

Tourism? Really?

Aside from the fact that Lil Ben should have sat there and kept his pie hole shut instead of getting surly with a citizen who was exercising his rights, the unlicensed florist didn’t think that perhaps spending tourism dollars to promote Kenner – the largest city in Jefferson Parish, the Pontchartrain Center, the Esplanade (Lord knows they could use it), or something that would actually attract tourists to Kenner or his district would be a better use of funds than putting up some decorative lighting on a small portion of a street?

Now, to be fair, the lights do look nice and I see them almost every Sunday driving from my humble Kenner abode (within the unlicensed florist’s district) to St. Clement of Rome Church. During my travels, I have yet to see any tourist pulling over on a side street and walking over to take a souvenir photo standing next to one of the light poles.

I also must have missed the brochures from the Jefferson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, controlled by Zahn’s campaign manager the infamous Greg Buisson, that included photos of the lights to entice tourists to drive on that portion of West Esplanade.

Aside from the fact that it only covers a small portion of West Esplanade and there’s no money to complete the project, even if there were money available, JP, and his council district, have more pressing issues than some decorative lighting.

Personally, I don't care what pile of taxpayer money the funding for the lights came from - they are out-of-place and the money could have been put to better use.

Again, it’s another half-baked idea, poorly executed by an incompetent councilman but I’m certain that one of his campaign contributors received a juicy contract for the project.

And, sadly, that’s what politics in Jefferson Parish and Kenner is all about: contracts for contributors.

Decorative lights paid for with tourism dollars on a street not heavily traveled by tourists.

Unbelievable.

Ironically, after the man left the podium, the next citizen discussed issues with the horse farm on upper Williams Blvd. on the way to the Treasure Chest Casino, also in the unlicensed florist’s district.

The woman complained about the odor, the poor sanitation and treatment of the horses.

Since he was not being criticized, or because the citizen was a woman, the unlicensed florist was a bit more polite.

“That’s not far from my house. I’m very aware of the odor.”

It is a surprise to no one that horse manure is a subject that Councilman Zahn is an expert on.

Yes Lil Ben, Valentine’s Day is over.  

Roberts Pushes Back; Lightens Buisson's Greedy Wallet

An interesting ordinance was passed last week by the Jefferson Parish Council and since it didn’t merit much press coverage, I wanted to make sure that some of you were aware of it. More on the ordinance in a minute.

If you’re a faithful CJ reader, you know that I have long railed about the greedy sack of ____ that is Greg Buisson. If a non-elected official could step forward and prove to me that Greg Buisson has done one thing to positively benefit Jefferson Parish for the millions of tax dollars he has reaped, I would love to hear about it.

Buisson has skillfully managed to get candidates elected at all levels of government in Jefferson Parish so that they are beholden to him. From Mike Maunoir/Yenni and most of the Kenner City Council to most of the Jefferson Parish Council with stops in other places as well.

In return for getting them elected, these elected officials push money into entities affiliated with Buisson.

In addition, Buisson has also garnered some other tax dollars from his clients that have benefited his family.

Along the way, Buisson has tried to take some shots at me. Some, like this Nola.com article have failed badly. Yeah, let’s stop citizens from making Public Records Requests. Great idea Greg! Keep trying to hide your tax dollar plundering from us. 

Still shaking my head that the clueless New Orleans Advocate reporter called Buisson a "media expert". 

When Kenner faced abuses with the Kenner Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, rather than replacing the Board (which included then Kenner Councilman Ben Zahn and current Councilwoman-At-Large Maria DeFrancesch), Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni disbanded the KCVB entirely. Did he put together another group to promote Kenner? Why would he when he could simply funnel Kenner’s Hotel/Motel Tax to the Jefferson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (which sould be promoting Kenner anyway since they receive Parish tax dollars including some from Kenner). Since the JCVB has a relationship with Greg Buisson (who just happens to be the campaign manager for Zahn, DeFrancesch, Yenni and others on the Kenner Council) and since the money goes to the JCVB, which then passes through the money to Buisson in the form of advertising placement or production costs, the State Ethics Board sits idly by and says there is no conflict of interest.

And what does the “Media Genius” Greg Buisson do for his money? He advertises Kenner on New Orleans Television Stations.

Cut to a dinner table conversation in New Orleans:

Man: “Honey, instead of going to the Quarter this weekend, why don’t we go to Kenner and count the people shopping at The Esplanade?”

Woman: “What a fantastic idea! We can have lunch at the Chic-Fil-A. No, wait a minute. I heard they closed.”

The list of Jefferson Parish NGOs and events that receive money from the Parish and have a relationship with Buisson include:

-          Jefferson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

-          JEDCO

-          Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo

-          Family Gras

-          Lafreniere Park (spearheaded by the aforementioned Zahn)

-          Louisiana Tourism Coastal Coalition (headquartered in the Coastal City of Metairie)

-          And many others.

Aside from being headquartered in Metairie, the Louisiana Tourism Coastal Coalition’s web site also directs visitors to try the many Jefferson Parish Seafood-based entrees at such restaurants as Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and Ralph & Kacoo’s (in New Orleans, not even the correct parish).

In addition to sending Kenner tax dollars to the JCVB, Yenni also sends more Kenner tax dollars annually to JEDCO, which also should be promoting Kenner to business interests because their funding comes from Jefferson Parish tax dollars too.

In fact, during his 5 years as Kenner Mayor, Yenni has funneled over $1 Million in Kenner tax dollars to entities affiliated with his campaign manager Buisson.

Buisson is also deeply entrenched with business groups including the Jefferson Chamber and the Jefferson Business Council. He also has done work with Bridging Progress (the Pro-Toll group) and the group thrown together to support Yenni’s plan to double Kenner’s property taxes (for which Buisson wrote off over $12k in debt).

Buisson also wrote the report for Yenni’s Streamlining Budget Committee, held a press conference and distributed the report to the public before many committee members had even seen it and authored reports for the Yenni’s Economic Development Committee, each of which included several members from the Jefferson Chamber and the Jefferson Business Council.

Buisson also has his sticky little fingers in several endorsement groups like Crimefighters, which make their endorsement meaningless to anyone with half a brain (I said half, not a quarter, Mike).

Now that you know some background, let’s cut to last week’s JP Council meeting.

When Louie “Mr. Irrelevant” Congemi entered the Jefferson Parish Council-At-Large race against Chris Roberts, many believed that Congemi was placed there in retaliation for Roberts supporting Elton Lagasse instead of Buisson-client Yenni in the Parish President race.

Congemi, who has long battled health issues, hasn’t been a factor in Jefferson Parish politics since 2011 when tried to bequeath his Council seat to his wife after he was term-limited. In the end, she dropped out early and Congemi supported Ben Zahn over me. Congemi even did not one but two robocalls in the same day supporting Zahn. Why two in one day, you ask? Because Congemi couldn’t remember the election day on the first one.

But that’s in the past.

I have no issue with Louie supporting Zahn, reading robocalls against me (he was doing what he was told to) or running against Chris Roberts. In fact, I was happy to hear that he was healthy enough to campaign.

Of course, Louie’s campaign manager was none other than…wait for it…Greg Buisson.

Well, at the last JP Council meeting, Chris Roberts decided to step up and do the right thing – stop contracts that are awarded to political operatives like Buisson.

No, he didn’t go all the way (that really doesn’t sound right but you know what I mean) and stop NGOs that receive tax funding from having the pass through relationship with Buisson that the JCVB, JEDCO and other do.

But stripping Buisson of the contract to supply reviewing stands for Mardi Gras Parades is a start.

Of course, Ben Zahn voted against the Roberts ordinance claiming that it unfairly targeted Buisson.

Sit down Ben.

Oh, sorry, you were already sitting.

To be fair, no tax dollars should go to any NGO that employs a political operative like Buisson and his company. How can elected officials that have a working relationship with Buisson vote against funding an NGO that employs his company? They should recuse themselves but, since this is pass through money, even the State Ethics Board turns a blind eye to the conflicts that any ordinary citizen could see.

Buisson claims that the ordinance is unconstitutional. Curious that I couldn’t find anything related to greedy political operatives who leech tax dollars in the Constitution.

Hopefully, this is the first step to riding Jefferson Parish of corrupt leeches like Buisson (c’mon. I can dream, can’t I?).

The New Orleans Advocate asked if the ordinance was an “Act of retaliation”.

You know what? I don’t care.

Anything that stops a tax dollar from getting into Greg Buisson’s pocket is a win for me.

Now you know that Chris Roberts and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. But, even when we disagreed, Roberts would never duck a question or an issue. When you can agree to disagree and act like adults, that’s a good thing.

Others may not have had the same experience with Roberts, but that’s mine.

Hopefully, Councilman Roberts will continue this small step and clean up more conflicts of interest in Jefferson Parish.

Since Jefferson Parish still has the stench of Aaron Broussard (who also worked with Buisson) on it, Lord knows that with Mike Maunoir/Yenni moving in as Parish President, his greedy BFF Buisson won’t be far behind.

And that will mean more JP tax dollars funneled into Buisson’s pockets.

Unless we and Roberts stop it from happening.

In the meantime, we can all relish the fact that Chris Roberts stepped up and helped lighten the pockets a bit of the greedy, tax-dollar sucking leech that is Greg Buisson.

To paraphrase Neil Armstrong, “It’s one small step for JP tax payers…”

You know the rest…

The Maunoir/Yenni Conundrum

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” 

- Winston Churchill 

 

When I started ClickJefferson.com in September 2006, I made a promise to you, the reader. I promised to print the truth and, if I offered my opinion, I would note that as my opinion. 

When I hurt my leg and was hospitalized in 2012, the original ClickJefferson.com dissolved and became this blog. While I am the sole writer, I still note and cite facts and disclose what is my opinion. 

 During the 9 years that there has been some form of ClickJefferson.com, we have never endorsed candidates - not even when I ran for office. And, we are not going to change that now. 

 Over the past 9 years I've made a few enemies. Well, more than a few. And I am more than OK with that. However, whether it was online, in a newspaper, on the radio or on the TV news, I've always tried to be honest and discuss issues - not people. 

 The reality is though, since I have more readers on this little blog than The New Orleans Advocate has in Kenner, I must be doing something right. I have never claimed to be God's gift to journalism, and I don't think my name and journalist belong in the same paragraph. 

I'm just a guy who like to write. Nothing more. 

But, in all candor, I need to confess that I am at a true crossroads regarding the Jefferson Parish President election Saturday. 

I know the two main candidates, Jefferson Parish Councilman-At-Large Elton Lagasse and Kenner Mayor Mike Maunoir/Yenni, and have known both professionally for many years. We're not friends in any sense of the word (I know you Maunoir/Yenni loyalists are chuckling about that line). 

I know many of you probably think that I hate Mike Maunoir/Yenni or I'm bitter about last year's election. If you think that, you don't have a clue about me. Hate isn't in my vocabulary and when you come inches from dying, you learn that being bitter accomplishes nothing. 

Besides, I don't even know Mike Maunoir/Yenni as a person, nor will I ever know him. 

And, again, to be perfectly candid, there probably isn't anyone in Kenner who wants Mike Maunoir/Yenni out of Kenner more than me. 

But, he doesn't deserve to be Parish President - not now - perhaps not ever. 

Over the past 5 years, Maunoir/Yenni has led Kenner down a financial abyss that will take decades to unwind, if it ever can be unwound. 

After increasing sewerage fees by 145%, taking on $60 Million in DEQ debt, attempting to double property taxes, attempting to close playgrounds,taking on the largest debt in Kennr's history without a public referendum for some pie-in-the-sky projects that two years later the people of Kenner have no idea where the money went (except for a multi-million dollar "Project Management" contract to a politically connected firm that has contributed tens of thousands to Yenni and his "Consensus Team"), adding on more DEQ debt, attempting to double his salary, and doubling the debt load of every man, woman and child in Kenner, I can say without hesitation that Mike Maunoir/Yenni has been bad for Kenner.. 

And, if he is promoted and allowed to move on without being held accountable for his poor fiscal decision that have done nothing but enrich his friends, I shudder to think what will happen to Jefferson Parish and what will happen to Kenner. 

Aside from the fact that I think elected officials should be required to vacate their office if they choose to run for another one (Maunoir/Yenni has been planning his Parish President campaign and shaking down contractors since his re-election last year), I don't believe that you can truly serve the people you were elected to represent while seeking anothere position. I also don't feel that it's proper that, if you lose, you get to keep your office. 

I also have a huge issue with anyone that is elected, not serving their full term unless there are extenuating circumstances like health or family issues. 

Job-hopping and being a political opportunist are NOT extenuating circumstances. 

But, hypothetically, let's look at some of those reported to be contemplating a run for Kenner Mayor if Yenni wins.

Councilwoman-At-Large Maria DeFrancesch - Yeah, I know - I can't fathom Kenner's Slumlord-In-Chief moving up to be Mayor but then I never imagained Kenner's Name-Changer-In-Chief would be re-elected either. If you want more lies about major retailers coming to Kenner and think that Kenner doesn't have enough Section 8 housing and there are too many rules at the Kenner Housing Authority, Maria is your gal. 

Councilman-At-Large Keith Conley -  The former City Attorney is only a year and a half into his term. While I think he is trying and has been responsive, I can't get past the fact that he gave Maunoir/Yenni money weeks before filing for bankruptcy or that he was involved in a JPSO coverup or that he is associated with the Brandnew Law Firm. The last one alone knocks Conley out off the list for me. I trust Michael Brandner about as much, well about as much as I could throw Keith Conley, and we all know that's not far. 

District 3 Councilman Keith Reynaud - When I heard this rumor I couldn't stop laughing. Obviously it was put out there by Reynaud himself. I will give this rumor more credibility when I hear verified proof that Reynaud can string together two complete sentences that actually make sense without reading them or losing his train of thought. 

Former State Rep Tony Ligi - Ligi left in the middle of his second term as State Rep to become a whore, I mean lobbyist, for the Jefferson Business Council headed by my friends Henry Shane and Jim Hudson.When you purportedly represent Jefferson Parish Business and you have a super secretive sign-in page for members only and don't disclose your fuding or your board, something isn't right. At least the Jefferson Chamber lists it's members and board on its website, and we all know what a joke the Jefferson Chamber is. 

But, sorry Tony, being an ineffective Legislator and quitting on your constituents does not make you Mayoral material. No, your current job suits you. 

-----------------

So, unless you think it's ok for Mike Mauoir/Yenni to quit his recently elected job and bail on the people of Kenner after leading them down a fiscal abyss; if you think Mike Maunoir/Yenni deserves to be promoted; if you're ready for Mike Maunoir/Yenni to shovel more money towards entities controlled by his campaign manager, Greg Buisson; if you're ready for a Tax, Borrow and Spend, Spend, Spend Parish President, there isn't anything that I can say to stop you from voting for the lying hypocrite that is Mike Maunoir/Yenni. 

But, for those of you that are undecided or on the fence, or don't even know if you're going to vote, while it would make my body twitch and I might even do a one-leg jig if Maunoir/Yenni was out of Kenner city government, I will only say one thing - DON'T VOTE FOR MIKE MAUNOIR/YENNI. 

Elton Lagasse may not be perfect (yes, I know he supported the extension of the CCC toll - so did Maunoir./Yenni), but Elton won't ruin Jefferson Parish and leave it in a heap while he scouts out his next job. 

There are other candidates running too. I know Al Morella and Vincent DeSalvo. They are both fine people, although Al would need to learn how to use email if he ever hopes to be elected anything. At least Vincent is on Facebook.  

Sorry, I am completely clueless about the other candidate.

Let Mike Maunoir/Yenni finish what he started in Kenner. Let's see if his 2033 Plan works and if he can implement it. There is plenty of time for Yenni to become Parish President, assuming of course that he cleans up his mess in Kenner. 

As for me, well, you know that I'm not voting for Mike Maunoir/Yenni. 

He doesn't deserve my vote - or yours. 

Unlike Mike Maunoir/Yenni and his cronies, I'm not a hypocrite.