Sound Off Louisiana

LSU President F. King Alexander

Sound Off Louisiana viewers will recall a few months back that Delgado Community College in New Orleans had to abandon its Interior Design course offerings.  At the time, we openly questioned what this may mean for the other three universities offering the program:  LSU, UL-Lafayette, and Louisiana Tech.

Given Gov. Edwards’ support of HB-623 which would call for abolishing interior design licensure in Louisiana, Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns questioned LSU President F. King Alexander entailing whether he felt LSU could justify continuing to maintain its Interior Design Department, especially given video evidence of the Louisiana State Board of Interior Design readily admitting that very few of its graduates obtain jobs in interior design, and an even smaller percentage obtain jobs in interior design in Louisiana.  President Alexander’s response follows:

LSU President F. King Alexander addresses Burns’ question entailing LSU “justifying keeping its Interior Design program.”

We believe now is a time to review a brief video clip of the February 27, 2014 meeting of the Louisiana Interior Design Board (IDB) during which, Rev. Freddie Lee Phillips, who has sought for his wife, who is a licensed Louisiana real estate broker, to also become a licensed interior designer, asks the Interior Design Board members if there any African American interior designers, and he gets his head bitten off for even asking (especially by Karen Hazel, wife of Louisiana State Rep. Chris Hazel).  Phillips concludes by stating, regarding Hazel:  “I know when somebody is talking TO me, and I know when somebody is talking AT me!”

2/27/14 IDB meeting:  Phillips inquires of IDB Members entailing whether Louisiana has any African American interior designers.  CLICK HERE for Alexander’s presentation in its entirety.

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Former Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Dr. Pat Cooper

Special Note:  Four (4) days after our feature,  KLFY (Channel 10) in Lafayette ran this feature to include an updated figure of $1.8 million! 

In today’s Sound Off Louisiana feature, founder Robert Burns provides a prelude to a fascinating upcoming mini-series entailing former Lafayette Parish Superintendent Dr. Pat Cooper and the massive legal fees the System incurred in defending litigation filed by him after the School Board first dismissed its free legal representation, former Lafayette Parish District Attorney Roger Hamilton (who was siding with Dr. Cooper on irregularities) and hired the law firm of Sills Hammond to begin an orchestrated campaign to fire Dr. Cooper.  The Board succeeded in firing Dr. Cooper on November 4, 2014.  Our prelude feature follows:

Burns provides a prelude to the Cooper mini-series and discusses the massive legal fees the School Board incurred pertaining to his tenure and his termination.  CLICK HERE for prior feature on the Lafayette Parish School System stating that it will “take weeks just to download the invoices.” (and the letter Burns sent to Lafayette Parish District Attorney Keith Stutes seeking for him to “politely nudge” the Board into conforming to the public records law and provide the records (see Stutes’ letter to current superintendent Donald Aguillard dated March 22, 2018, one day before a Fed Ex package arrived at Burns’ door with the legal invoices referenced in the table, below)).

Note:  Table below was updated on March 26, 2018 to reflect additional invoice totals supplied by the LPSS entailing Phelps Dunbar for 2014 and through March of 2015 which the system had inadvertantly left out of our public records request at the time of the filming of the above video on March 25, 2018.

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future Sound Off posts, simply scroll to the very bottom of this page (mobile devices) or to the end of the right-hand column (desktops) and supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above. 

Louisiana Inspector General Stephen Street, Jr.

UPDATE (3/22/18):  Entailing the hearing referenced in the video below entailing whether the evidence gathered by Inspector General Street’s Office entailing Nate Cain may be suppressed, on March 22, 2018, the Court issued this ruling indicating that the matter was being taken under advisement.  No doubt Street was disappointed that the ruling wasn’t made directly on the bench on March 20, 2018 that the evidence would not be suppressed, and his anxiety is likely high that the evidence may in fact all be suppressed, causing his case to collapse just as it did for Corey delaHoussaye.

The long-awaited follow up to Sound Off Louisiana’s refresher on Corey delaHoussaye is now complete:

Burns demonstrates Street’s puppet status to any Governor and dispels any notion whatsoever that Street has any independence.

Supporting Documents and Article Links:

Advocate article in which Greg Phares, former Inspector General investigator states, “The law is not clear.  The statute is contradictory.”

Documents for Federal court hearing on whether Inspector General’s evidence will be suppressed:

Cain’s Motion to Suppress     U. S. Attorney’s Opposition    Cain’s Reply to Opposition

Street’s recent protective order in dehaHoussaye v. Stephen Street et. al.

LA R. S. 49:220.23(D)(1) which specifies, Street’s contention in the above video notwithstanding, that he CAN be removed from office by a sitting Governor merely with a majority of the House and Senate concurring with his action.

Sound Off Louisiana post entailing Corey delaHoussaye explaining why he sued Inspector General Street.

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future Sound Off posts, simply scroll to the very bottom of this page (mobile devices) or to the end of the right-hand column (desktops) and supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.