Online Newspapers
Online Newspapers
Any Kindred Embraced since the proliferation of the internet will tell you that mortals can only stare at one screen at a time. As the living have gotten more and more of their information from handheld technology and computers, they've turned away from traditional news channels. It's really not of concern to those who profit from the news - in 2070, the online papers and the news channels are all owned by the same handful of corporations. But Kindred will be able to find mostly reliable information on goings-on around the world in these publications. They should keep in mind that that information is tinted by the powers that be, and not everything is exactly as it seems.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
July 20th, 2070
Tempers Flare as Historical Society Burns
"Black Hand" Manifesto Prompts Calls for Surveillance, Revenge?
BY - Violet Rue, Investigative Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
"How could this happen?"
Carmen Daily, a 40-year old programmer and mother of two, was not the only bystander on Ursuline Avenue who asked this question as the city's headquarters for the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society for Free Black History burned on the early morning of June 20th.The Society, founded earlier in the century by philanthropist and history enthusiast Lucien Caine, was housed in a stately antebellum mansion - one of the few that survived the rezoning and rebuilding that followed Hurricane Cassidy. But it could not survive the fires that lapped at its aged walls and turned one of New Orleans' diminishing old manses to ash.
The direct answer is simple enough. The Bonaparte Desrosiers Society building caught fire late on the night of June 19th after a peaceful protest by local Black Lives Matter activists turned violent. Security forces and firefighters on the scene say that protesters broke into the building, caused significant damage, and turned on the gas range. Two individuals in particular, identified as Caucasian males with brown hair, urged protesters out of the building before throwing crude explosives into it. A small explosion set the building ablaze, and firefighters were unable to save the structure. But when Carmen Daily asks why this happened, she isn't asking about how the building burned down. She, like many on Ursuline Avenue and French Quarter residents waking up to this stunning act of violence, are asking why this was allowed to happen. And the answer to that question depends on who you talk to.
One answer comes from an elusive homegrown terrorist cell, known as the Black Hand. The Black Hand bills itself as a radical anti-capitalist, anti-racist political cell that carries out monkeywreching operations against various targets in the city. Several bystanders and detained protesters claim that the men who set fire to the building claimed responsibility for the Black Hand. And my own sources called my attention to a manifesto being passed through social media and internet forums claiming responsibility and explaining the attacks. The manifesto can be found here, but makes reference to the Desrosiers Society as a "monument to revisionist propaganda" and a "purveyor of oppression doled out under the veneer of the oppressed." They claim the attack will be the first of many unless their demands are met. Among those demands are the abolition of policing, especially in New Orleans' Southside, the institution of a guaranteed monthly income, and reparations for African-American residents of the city.
Another answer comes from City Councilman Pratik Mehta, who claims the city's current "soft-on-crime" approach is not meeting the needs of the populace. "This may be something new in the French Quarter, but the Business District and Eastside have been seeing this kind of political vandalism for decades now," Mehta said. "It's a fact of life for us, and it's why I've focused my efforts as Councilman on broadening our ability to monitor groups, individuals, and organizations known to hold or sympathize with radical beliefs and radical groups." Mehta has, indeed, resubmitted his "Smart Surveillance Act" every year since his first election in 2064 and has done so again in response to the attack. He has received the outspoken support of the Committee for Public Safety. And as the Desrosiers Society building smolders, it seems likely to receive more serious consideration than it has in the past.
But those on the other side of the political divide have their own answers. Cal Steel, director of the newly-opened New Orleans branch of Pizzaz! Media - a Houston-based company - has pointed the blame squarely at the practices of the city's police. "When someone tells you who they are, you should believe them," Cal said, reaching out to me via e-mail. "And these terrorists have told us exactly what provoked this. I'm not saying we should cut and run or surrender in the war on crime, but this kind of violence is the natural outgrowth of policing policies that endanger the population that police are supposed to protect. I'm sure there are a lot of good people at Obsidian Incorporated, but this incident speaks for itself. Obsidian does a lot to antagonize poor people in Southside, but it doesn't seem like they do nearly enough to protect us." Obsidian Incorporated representatives flatly rejected Steel's assertions, calling them a "slander on the good names of our dedicated officers." But sources close to the City Council report that they are feeling pressure by the city's more moderate elements to at least investigate why police were unable to prevent the attack.
Meanwhile, as debate rages, there is still a smoldering gash where a stately manor once stood. The building will be rebuilt - the Society has already committed to the project. But it may be a scar over a festering wound to public trust.
Snippets and Soundbytes
"...20 arrested in illegal labor and drug bust in the Business District - Di-Hydrogen closes doors after costly raid by New Orleans police." - The New Orleans Chronicle
"its all fukked! weve been frosty but stable with the big cats forever, but now Leon moving in on us with big ass guns. if somethin doesnt change we fukkin cooked! - A post on a forum known to be frequented by members of the 5th Street Jacks
"And so the Lord tells us, we are our brothers' keepers. We are responsible for the actions of those we consider our lessers. And we must accept some limitations of ourselves to bring them back to righteousness." - from Father Auryon's homily for June 22nd, in favor of the Smart Surveillance Act
"Horizons Unlimited will not take a position in debate on the Smart Surveillance Act. We will only state that we are committed to operating within the bounds of the law, and will work with local officials to balance our customers' legitimate privacy interests while complying with the law should it pass." - Horizons Unlimited Press Statement, 6/25/2070
"Black Hand" Manifesto Prompts Calls for Surveillance, Revenge?
BY - Violet Rue, Investigative Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
"How could this happen?"
Carmen Daily, a 40-year old programmer and mother of two, was not the only bystander on Ursuline Avenue who asked this question as the city's headquarters for the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society for Free Black History burned on the early morning of June 20th.The Society, founded earlier in the century by philanthropist and history enthusiast Lucien Caine, was housed in a stately antebellum mansion - one of the few that survived the rezoning and rebuilding that followed Hurricane Cassidy. But it could not survive the fires that lapped at its aged walls and turned one of New Orleans' diminishing old manses to ash.
The direct answer is simple enough. The Bonaparte Desrosiers Society building caught fire late on the night of June 19th after a peaceful protest by local Black Lives Matter activists turned violent. Security forces and firefighters on the scene say that protesters broke into the building, caused significant damage, and turned on the gas range. Two individuals in particular, identified as Caucasian males with brown hair, urged protesters out of the building before throwing crude explosives into it. A small explosion set the building ablaze, and firefighters were unable to save the structure. But when Carmen Daily asks why this happened, she isn't asking about how the building burned down. She, like many on Ursuline Avenue and French Quarter residents waking up to this stunning act of violence, are asking why this was allowed to happen. And the answer to that question depends on who you talk to.
One answer comes from an elusive homegrown terrorist cell, known as the Black Hand. The Black Hand bills itself as a radical anti-capitalist, anti-racist political cell that carries out monkeywreching operations against various targets in the city. Several bystanders and detained protesters claim that the men who set fire to the building claimed responsibility for the Black Hand. And my own sources called my attention to a manifesto being passed through social media and internet forums claiming responsibility and explaining the attacks. The manifesto can be found here, but makes reference to the Desrosiers Society as a "monument to revisionist propaganda" and a "purveyor of oppression doled out under the veneer of the oppressed." They claim the attack will be the first of many unless their demands are met. Among those demands are the abolition of policing, especially in New Orleans' Southside, the institution of a guaranteed monthly income, and reparations for African-American residents of the city.
Another answer comes from City Councilman Pratik Mehta, who claims the city's current "soft-on-crime" approach is not meeting the needs of the populace. "This may be something new in the French Quarter, but the Business District and Eastside have been seeing this kind of political vandalism for decades now," Mehta said. "It's a fact of life for us, and it's why I've focused my efforts as Councilman on broadening our ability to monitor groups, individuals, and organizations known to hold or sympathize with radical beliefs and radical groups." Mehta has, indeed, resubmitted his "Smart Surveillance Act" every year since his first election in 2064 and has done so again in response to the attack. He has received the outspoken support of the Committee for Public Safety. And as the Desrosiers Society building smolders, it seems likely to receive more serious consideration than it has in the past.
But those on the other side of the political divide have their own answers. Cal Steel, director of the newly-opened New Orleans branch of Pizzaz! Media - a Houston-based company - has pointed the blame squarely at the practices of the city's police. "When someone tells you who they are, you should believe them," Cal said, reaching out to me via e-mail. "And these terrorists have told us exactly what provoked this. I'm not saying we should cut and run or surrender in the war on crime, but this kind of violence is the natural outgrowth of policing policies that endanger the population that police are supposed to protect. I'm sure there are a lot of good people at Obsidian Incorporated, but this incident speaks for itself. Obsidian does a lot to antagonize poor people in Southside, but it doesn't seem like they do nearly enough to protect us." Obsidian Incorporated representatives flatly rejected Steel's assertions, calling them a "slander on the good names of our dedicated officers." But sources close to the City Council report that they are feeling pressure by the city's more moderate elements to at least investigate why police were unable to prevent the attack.
Meanwhile, as debate rages, there is still a smoldering gash where a stately manor once stood. The building will be rebuilt - the Society has already committed to the project. But it may be a scar over a festering wound to public trust.
Snippets and Soundbytes
"...20 arrested in illegal labor and drug bust in the Business District - Di-Hydrogen closes doors after costly raid by New Orleans police." - The New Orleans Chronicle
"its all fukked! weve been frosty but stable with the big cats forever, but now Leon moving in on us with big ass guns. if somethin doesnt change we fukkin cooked! - A post on a forum known to be frequented by members of the 5th Street Jacks
"And so the Lord tells us, we are our brothers' keepers. We are responsible for the actions of those we consider our lessers. And we must accept some limitations of ourselves to bring them back to righteousness." - from Father Auryon's homily for June 22nd, in favor of the Smart Surveillance Act
"Horizons Unlimited will not take a position in debate on the Smart Surveillance Act. We will only state that we are committed to operating within the bounds of the law, and will work with local officials to balance our customers' legitimate privacy interests while complying with the law should it pass." - Horizons Unlimited Press Statement, 6/25/2070
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
August 1st, 2070
News for August 1st, 2070
No Way, SSA
Security Bill Fails to Make it to a Vote as New Orleans Scions Rise in Opposition
As the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society's headquarters in New Orleans smoldered in early July, the passage of the Safe Security Act and a crackdown on the Black Hand and the Southside they hid among seemed inevitable. But by late July, few were surprised when the Council refused to entertain a formal debate and public comment period on Pratik Mehta's political project. The measure was tabled by a vote of 9 to 12, with Don Hutchinson leading opposition to the legislation. Hutchinson was backed by a collection of powerful interests in the city, perhaps most surprisingly the Desrosiers Society itself. "Bonaparte Desrosiers believed that grudges got in the way of progress," a statement from the Society e-mailed to reporters stated. "He put the past aside to make way for the future. And we follow in his example. While we are heartbroken at the attack on our building, we see the SSA as a rash overreaction. As a way of locking us in the past instead of moving forward. We can always build a new headquarters. It is much more difficult to reclaim lost rights." Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity also mentioned that Pratik became a liability on his own legislation, and was in one case publicly embarrassed by critics to whom he was not able to justify the bill.
As support for the Smart Security Act died, so, too, did calls for aggressive action in the city's slums. Public confidence was buoyed by a large-scale drug raid in the Business District that nabbed several high-profile dealers, along with the seizure of two crates of heavy weapons bound for New Orleans and its street gangs. With the public placated, talk of revenge and retribution have turned to other priorities - and other concerns regarding Obsidian Incorporated and the city's police.
Despite his defeat, though, Mehta vowed to continue his advocacy. "No great man or woman ever succeeded in their aims on their first try, and many not on their second, third, or hundredth for that matter," Mehta said in an interview. "What matters is that this time, we came closer than we ever have before. We took a step forward, and we aren't going back. While I hope that the city and its residents will remain safe, I fear that the need for the Smart Security Act and similar legislation will be made plain in time. I would love to be proven wrong."
Investors, Corporations Scramble For City Police
Obsidian's Iron Grip Rusts as Council Calls for Recompete
Since the 2050's, Obsidian Incorporated has been a constant fixture in the city's police department. Few bets are considered safer than Obsidian, but that conventional wisdom was turned upside down on August 1st. Acting against the New Orleans Police Department's recommendation, the city council rejected the Obsidian Inc. Option Year 2071 proposal, effectively terminating the contract and putting it up for a rapid re-compete. The vote, won on a narrow 5-4 majority with 3 councilors abstaining, was a rarity in New Orleans. The council rarely rejects department recommendations for contract renewal or termination, and the thought of them doing so for an institution like Obsidian was unthinkable only days ago. But in the week that has followed the contract termination, market analysts and business experts have begun to piece together why the city is considering replacing one of its largest contractors.
The most public indication of movement against Obsidian comes from City Councilman Pratik Mehta, fresh from his defeat on the Smart Security Act but clearly ready to take up a new cause. "Nobody, least of all me, isn't grateful for the years of service that Obsidian has given the city," Mehta said to reporters outside of his office. "But I think recent events have shown that us that Obsidian has become complacent and focused on the wrong things. It's important to fight crime, but there have been disturbing reports sent to my office and published in the media indicating that officer accountability has some serious holes. Criminals will always be a threat to our city, but improperly vetted officers don't need to be." Mehta's statements likely refer to a series of exposed published by Pizzazz! Media's New Orleans office, with camera footage from Southside and Westside both seeming to capture Obsidian and subcontracted officers employing unnecessary force in apprehending criminals. Mehta also pointed to the release of dozens of Westside residents brought in on drug charges and later released. "People who haven't committed a crime should never see the inside of a jail cell on a hunch," Mehta stated. "And while I'm glad to see drugs off of the streets of the Business District, it's not enough to just say Obsidian got the job done. They need to get it done right."
Mehta has received eager backing from the Council for Public Safety, which hosted a rally for Mehta on the outskirts of Southside in a rare visit by a Councilman to the city's slum. "The Lord Jesus told us that as we treat the least among us, so we treat Him," Father Auryon - an executive member of the CPS - said to a gaggle of reporters outside of the joint rally with Mehta. "And Obsidian Incorporated has simply failed to honor His Word in their actions. The truncheon has been used in lieu of outreach and facilitation, and we are all less safe for it. I pray that God will speak to the hearts of the council and soften them to the plight of the lost and forgotten." While Auryon's words are unlikely to move councilmembers on their own, the city's still-powerful Archdiocese and the CPS itself have both reached out to their donors and members and urged them to write their Councilmembers opposing a renewal of the contract for Obsidian. With some of these members and donors in positions of power, some city hall watchers believe it could be enough to dislodge the long-time police contractor.
For their part, Obsidian itself and other security contractors have remained muted on the issue. Competitors MaxTech and Firebird Group have both confirmed that they plan to submit proposals for the contract, and rumors swirl that the two may come together to try to outbid the incumbent. "Obsidian Incorporated stands by our officers in the field and our stellar record of keeping New Orleans residents safe," Obsidian Spokeswoman Tasha Miller said at a press conference. "We respect the city council's decision and welcome competition to continue to provide the citizens of New Orleans with safety." MaxTech and Firebird both released statements praising their competitor while assuring New Orleans officers that they intended to carry over as many incumbent officers as possible. This corporate courtesy overlays what will likely be a pitched battle for the first real opening in the city's police department in years. And by the end of August, New Orleans will find out if there is to be a changing of the guard.
Business District Renewal Receives Green Light
Series of Infrastructure Failures Prompt Council to Push Through Rennovations
While the New Orleans media and professional class were primarily focused on the shock announcement of the city's police department putting its contract with Obsidian to a re-compete, it wasn't the only bill passed by the council that afternoon. By a wider 10-2 margin, the New Orleans City Council passed a measure that would appropriate several billion dollars to infrastructure renewal in the city's Metaire Business District. This bill, proposed by Councilamn Don Hutchinson, comes multiple complaints from the city's corporate community about the state of utilities in the area. Over the past several weeks, a dozen buildings have had to be evacuated due to electrical and water failures. The most high-profile of these events was a temporary blackout at Club Neon, plunging the future-contemporary club into total darkness for three hours on a Friday night. The failure was linked to a blown, underground transformer, and seems to have been the final straw. Some observers have even attributed the failure of the SSA to this shift in focus to infrastructure, noting that high-profile utility outages in the city's tower quickly came to dominate the headlines as the Black Hand and the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society fell off of headline news. The New Orleans Police Department dismissed speculation that these issues could have been the result of further terrorist activity. "The kind of failures in infrastructure that we saw would have taken some serious know-how to sabotage - more know-how than some pissy slum-dweller has," an anonymous source in the city's police department told us. "This was an infrastructural problem, and it had an infrastructure solution."
Minor Headlines
No Way, SSA
Security Bill Fails to Make it to a Vote as New Orleans Scions Rise in Opposition
As the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society's headquarters in New Orleans smoldered in early July, the passage of the Safe Security Act and a crackdown on the Black Hand and the Southside they hid among seemed inevitable. But by late July, few were surprised when the Council refused to entertain a formal debate and public comment period on Pratik Mehta's political project. The measure was tabled by a vote of 9 to 12, with Don Hutchinson leading opposition to the legislation. Hutchinson was backed by a collection of powerful interests in the city, perhaps most surprisingly the Desrosiers Society itself. "Bonaparte Desrosiers believed that grudges got in the way of progress," a statement from the Society e-mailed to reporters stated. "He put the past aside to make way for the future. And we follow in his example. While we are heartbroken at the attack on our building, we see the SSA as a rash overreaction. As a way of locking us in the past instead of moving forward. We can always build a new headquarters. It is much more difficult to reclaim lost rights." Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity also mentioned that Pratik became a liability on his own legislation, and was in one case publicly embarrassed by critics to whom he was not able to justify the bill.
As support for the Smart Security Act died, so, too, did calls for aggressive action in the city's slums. Public confidence was buoyed by a large-scale drug raid in the Business District that nabbed several high-profile dealers, along with the seizure of two crates of heavy weapons bound for New Orleans and its street gangs. With the public placated, talk of revenge and retribution have turned to other priorities - and other concerns regarding Obsidian Incorporated and the city's police.
Despite his defeat, though, Mehta vowed to continue his advocacy. "No great man or woman ever succeeded in their aims on their first try, and many not on their second, third, or hundredth for that matter," Mehta said in an interview. "What matters is that this time, we came closer than we ever have before. We took a step forward, and we aren't going back. While I hope that the city and its residents will remain safe, I fear that the need for the Smart Security Act and similar legislation will be made plain in time. I would love to be proven wrong."
Investors, Corporations Scramble For City Police
Obsidian's Iron Grip Rusts as Council Calls for Recompete
Since the 2050's, Obsidian Incorporated has been a constant fixture in the city's police department. Few bets are considered safer than Obsidian, but that conventional wisdom was turned upside down on August 1st. Acting against the New Orleans Police Department's recommendation, the city council rejected the Obsidian Inc. Option Year 2071 proposal, effectively terminating the contract and putting it up for a rapid re-compete. The vote, won on a narrow 5-4 majority with 3 councilors abstaining, was a rarity in New Orleans. The council rarely rejects department recommendations for contract renewal or termination, and the thought of them doing so for an institution like Obsidian was unthinkable only days ago. But in the week that has followed the contract termination, market analysts and business experts have begun to piece together why the city is considering replacing one of its largest contractors.
The most public indication of movement against Obsidian comes from City Councilman Pratik Mehta, fresh from his defeat on the Smart Security Act but clearly ready to take up a new cause. "Nobody, least of all me, isn't grateful for the years of service that Obsidian has given the city," Mehta said to reporters outside of his office. "But I think recent events have shown that us that Obsidian has become complacent and focused on the wrong things. It's important to fight crime, but there have been disturbing reports sent to my office and published in the media indicating that officer accountability has some serious holes. Criminals will always be a threat to our city, but improperly vetted officers don't need to be." Mehta's statements likely refer to a series of exposed published by Pizzazz! Media's New Orleans office, with camera footage from Southside and Westside both seeming to capture Obsidian and subcontracted officers employing unnecessary force in apprehending criminals. Mehta also pointed to the release of dozens of Westside residents brought in on drug charges and later released. "People who haven't committed a crime should never see the inside of a jail cell on a hunch," Mehta stated. "And while I'm glad to see drugs off of the streets of the Business District, it's not enough to just say Obsidian got the job done. They need to get it done right."
Mehta has received eager backing from the Council for Public Safety, which hosted a rally for Mehta on the outskirts of Southside in a rare visit by a Councilman to the city's slum. "The Lord Jesus told us that as we treat the least among us, so we treat Him," Father Auryon - an executive member of the CPS - said to a gaggle of reporters outside of the joint rally with Mehta. "And Obsidian Incorporated has simply failed to honor His Word in their actions. The truncheon has been used in lieu of outreach and facilitation, and we are all less safe for it. I pray that God will speak to the hearts of the council and soften them to the plight of the lost and forgotten." While Auryon's words are unlikely to move councilmembers on their own, the city's still-powerful Archdiocese and the CPS itself have both reached out to their donors and members and urged them to write their Councilmembers opposing a renewal of the contract for Obsidian. With some of these members and donors in positions of power, some city hall watchers believe it could be enough to dislodge the long-time police contractor.
For their part, Obsidian itself and other security contractors have remained muted on the issue. Competitors MaxTech and Firebird Group have both confirmed that they plan to submit proposals for the contract, and rumors swirl that the two may come together to try to outbid the incumbent. "Obsidian Incorporated stands by our officers in the field and our stellar record of keeping New Orleans residents safe," Obsidian Spokeswoman Tasha Miller said at a press conference. "We respect the city council's decision and welcome competition to continue to provide the citizens of New Orleans with safety." MaxTech and Firebird both released statements praising their competitor while assuring New Orleans officers that they intended to carry over as many incumbent officers as possible. This corporate courtesy overlays what will likely be a pitched battle for the first real opening in the city's police department in years. And by the end of August, New Orleans will find out if there is to be a changing of the guard.
Business District Renewal Receives Green Light
Series of Infrastructure Failures Prompt Council to Push Through Rennovations
While the New Orleans media and professional class were primarily focused on the shock announcement of the city's police department putting its contract with Obsidian to a re-compete, it wasn't the only bill passed by the council that afternoon. By a wider 10-2 margin, the New Orleans City Council passed a measure that would appropriate several billion dollars to infrastructure renewal in the city's Metaire Business District. This bill, proposed by Councilamn Don Hutchinson, comes multiple complaints from the city's corporate community about the state of utilities in the area. Over the past several weeks, a dozen buildings have had to be evacuated due to electrical and water failures. The most high-profile of these events was a temporary blackout at Club Neon, plunging the future-contemporary club into total darkness for three hours on a Friday night. The failure was linked to a blown, underground transformer, and seems to have been the final straw. Some observers have even attributed the failure of the SSA to this shift in focus to infrastructure, noting that high-profile utility outages in the city's tower quickly came to dominate the headlines as the Black Hand and the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society fell off of headline news. The New Orleans Police Department dismissed speculation that these issues could have been the result of further terrorist activity. "The kind of failures in infrastructure that we saw would have taken some serious know-how to sabotage - more know-how than some pissy slum-dweller has," an anonymous source in the city's police department told us. "This was an infrastructural problem, and it had an infrastructure solution."
Minor Headlines
- Di-Hydrogen reopens following release of owner, three managers and acquittal on drug charges.
- Gang wars seem to quiet in Southside as relative peace returns to the streets near Bridge City
- Convoy from Houston attacked by rural bandits - cleanup could close SR-90 for weeks.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
August 25th, 2070
August 25th, 2070
Firebird Goes it Alone
A Phoenix Rises as MaxTech Drops City Policing Bid, Launching Underdog Bid to Unseat Incumbent
BY - Violet Rue, Investigative Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Don Hutchinson looked tired when I stepped into the office. He always looks a bit tired, if I'm being honest. But this wasn't the exhaustion of the famously gregarious City Councilman's night out. It wasn't waking up too early after a few too many drinks - it was actually five in the afternoon, when Don is usually getting going. There were no bags under his eyes nor yawns cutting into his voice. It's the kind of tiredness one feels after hearing a persistent jackhammering early in the morning. Or that annoyed sensation that comes when your phone just won't stop buzzing. I told him he looked like hell, and I asked him why. And then he told me.
"I'm tired," he said. "Of the police contract."
Don was the most blunt of the 9 City Councilors who would speak to me, both on and off the record. But he spoke for most of them just fine. Whatever the Council had gotten for rejecting Obsidian's option year and forcing an expedited bidding process, most of them no longer feel it was worth it. "It was always a stupid idea," Don told me, lighting up a cigarette as he leaned back in his chair. "You can quote me on that. Yes, I voted Present at the time because I wanted to see what was on the table. But this whole circus has gone on long enough. And we should all feel like morons, myself included, for playing along." The "circus" Councilman Hutchinson alludes to has been the unusually public buzz surrounding the process, which saw Obsidian competitors Firebird and MaxTech work behind the scenes - a claim both of them still deny - to forge an alliance that could unseat the city's veteran security corporation in managing the city's multi-billion dollar law enforcement budget. Riding on lurid coverage of incidents of police brutality against residents of Southside, some sort of deal was almost a certainty. Right up until it wasn't.
The biggest, and most obvious reason for this is the one currently lighting up every e-reader and TV screen in the city. Just last night, well after I spoke to Don, MaxTech announced that it was withdrawing from consideration after a group of its officers were apprehended by Obsidian security forces engaging in a shootout with Southside gangsters. Lieutenant Chad Daniels, a Watch Commander on MaxTech's contract with University Medical Center New Orleans, was the highest ranking of the four men taken into custody. Three of the men, including Chad, were armed with illegal assault rifles. The fourth wielded a pistol, and had suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. While Daniels' and MaxTech's lawyers both declined comment for this story, Obsidian officers have classified the event as some sort of "domestic situation" based on their own interrogation of the Lieutenant. MaxTech was quick to condemn and terminate Lieutenant Daniels and his collaborators, but the damage was done the moment the city could put a name to a face, and pin that face on MaxTech. The board at MaxTech didn't seem to be interested in deluding themselves, and released a statement withdrawing from consideration the next day.
But behind the scenes, the potential marriage was an awkward one well before Chad Daniels fired a bullet into his company's chances at the police contract. Firebird CEO Adelita Ortiz and her counterpart Connor Harkins in MaxTech are two very different people with different ideas of how a business should run. Speaking to me off the record, sources close to both executive board told me that neither truly trusted the other. Connor Harkins would complain loudly about "what he heard" about Ortiz, while the same Ortiz was suspicious of the "boys' club" that ran MaxTech and the professionalism of its security forces. Ortiz would seem to have been right, if nothing else, but stable deals aren't inked with bad blood. It's almost assuring, in a way, to be reminded that money isn't everything.
And that leaves just two. The Firebird Group has remained in contention for the contract, insisting that it has the best plan to police the city. But I believe it faces an uphill battle against Don Hutchinson's exhaustion. As the semi-public will-they-won't-they soap opera drama of the Firebird has played out in the open and the story of Chad Daniels has pushed coverage of police brutality by Obsidian's forces out of the headlines, Obsidian's own lobbyists have been quietly whispering in the Council's ear. Weren't things easier when it was just Obsidian? When you didn't have to check Twitter to find out who would be calling the shots today? For Councilors who likely have their jobs for life, barring scandal, it's an appealing message. Support Obsidian to shut everyone the hell up and get back to collecting lobbying checks in peace. But Adelita Ortiz isn't wiling to concede just yet. Replying to my request for comment to this story by text, she only had this to say.
"It isn't over until everyone's had their say."
She isn't wrong. Firebird still has its friends on the Council, including 3 of the 5 initial Councilors in favor of ousting Firebird who did not respond to my emails. Another, Pratik Mehta, has remained enthusiastic about a changing of the guard. "We can't keep looking back and reminiscing about the good old days that weren't so good for so many people," Pratik said to me by video call. "I am confident that Firebird will be able to show the Council that they can chart a new way forward." But a new way forward doesn't mean much to people who just want to move on.
Firebird Goes it Alone
A Phoenix Rises as MaxTech Drops City Policing Bid, Launching Underdog Bid to Unseat Incumbent
BY - Violet Rue, Investigative Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Don Hutchinson looked tired when I stepped into the office. He always looks a bit tired, if I'm being honest. But this wasn't the exhaustion of the famously gregarious City Councilman's night out. It wasn't waking up too early after a few too many drinks - it was actually five in the afternoon, when Don is usually getting going. There were no bags under his eyes nor yawns cutting into his voice. It's the kind of tiredness one feels after hearing a persistent jackhammering early in the morning. Or that annoyed sensation that comes when your phone just won't stop buzzing. I told him he looked like hell, and I asked him why. And then he told me.
"I'm tired," he said. "Of the police contract."
Don was the most blunt of the 9 City Councilors who would speak to me, both on and off the record. But he spoke for most of them just fine. Whatever the Council had gotten for rejecting Obsidian's option year and forcing an expedited bidding process, most of them no longer feel it was worth it. "It was always a stupid idea," Don told me, lighting up a cigarette as he leaned back in his chair. "You can quote me on that. Yes, I voted Present at the time because I wanted to see what was on the table. But this whole circus has gone on long enough. And we should all feel like morons, myself included, for playing along." The "circus" Councilman Hutchinson alludes to has been the unusually public buzz surrounding the process, which saw Obsidian competitors Firebird and MaxTech work behind the scenes - a claim both of them still deny - to forge an alliance that could unseat the city's veteran security corporation in managing the city's multi-billion dollar law enforcement budget. Riding on lurid coverage of incidents of police brutality against residents of Southside, some sort of deal was almost a certainty. Right up until it wasn't.
The biggest, and most obvious reason for this is the one currently lighting up every e-reader and TV screen in the city. Just last night, well after I spoke to Don, MaxTech announced that it was withdrawing from consideration after a group of its officers were apprehended by Obsidian security forces engaging in a shootout with Southside gangsters. Lieutenant Chad Daniels, a Watch Commander on MaxTech's contract with University Medical Center New Orleans, was the highest ranking of the four men taken into custody. Three of the men, including Chad, were armed with illegal assault rifles. The fourth wielded a pistol, and had suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. While Daniels' and MaxTech's lawyers both declined comment for this story, Obsidian officers have classified the event as some sort of "domestic situation" based on their own interrogation of the Lieutenant. MaxTech was quick to condemn and terminate Lieutenant Daniels and his collaborators, but the damage was done the moment the city could put a name to a face, and pin that face on MaxTech. The board at MaxTech didn't seem to be interested in deluding themselves, and released a statement withdrawing from consideration the next day.
But behind the scenes, the potential marriage was an awkward one well before Chad Daniels fired a bullet into his company's chances at the police contract. Firebird CEO Adelita Ortiz and her counterpart Connor Harkins in MaxTech are two very different people with different ideas of how a business should run. Speaking to me off the record, sources close to both executive board told me that neither truly trusted the other. Connor Harkins would complain loudly about "what he heard" about Ortiz, while the same Ortiz was suspicious of the "boys' club" that ran MaxTech and the professionalism of its security forces. Ortiz would seem to have been right, if nothing else, but stable deals aren't inked with bad blood. It's almost assuring, in a way, to be reminded that money isn't everything.
And that leaves just two. The Firebird Group has remained in contention for the contract, insisting that it has the best plan to police the city. But I believe it faces an uphill battle against Don Hutchinson's exhaustion. As the semi-public will-they-won't-they soap opera drama of the Firebird has played out in the open and the story of Chad Daniels has pushed coverage of police brutality by Obsidian's forces out of the headlines, Obsidian's own lobbyists have been quietly whispering in the Council's ear. Weren't things easier when it was just Obsidian? When you didn't have to check Twitter to find out who would be calling the shots today? For Councilors who likely have their jobs for life, barring scandal, it's an appealing message. Support Obsidian to shut everyone the hell up and get back to collecting lobbying checks in peace. But Adelita Ortiz isn't wiling to concede just yet. Replying to my request for comment to this story by text, she only had this to say.
"It isn't over until everyone's had their say."
She isn't wrong. Firebird still has its friends on the Council, including 3 of the 5 initial Councilors in favor of ousting Firebird who did not respond to my emails. Another, Pratik Mehta, has remained enthusiastic about a changing of the guard. "We can't keep looking back and reminiscing about the good old days that weren't so good for so many people," Pratik said to me by video call. "I am confident that Firebird will be able to show the Council that they can chart a new way forward." But a new way forward doesn't mean much to people who just want to move on.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
February 24th, 2071
Mardi Gras!
New Orleans Promises Biggest Mardi Gras in Years
BY Emre Calix of The Record
Every Mardi Gras is unique in its own way, but Shirley Guillory - the Mayor of New Orleans - was eager to tell me how this one would be different. "2071 is a special year," the venerable stateswoman - first elected in 2053 - told me. "It's been twenty years since Hurricane Cassidy flooded our city, and twenty years since our revival from that terrible tragedy began. Since we began to erect the sea walls and truly set the groundwork for the city we know today." Guillory practically beamed over the video call. "This year we are not simply celebrating Shrove Tuesday and the coming of Christ. We are celebrating our city itself, and the people who made and make it possible."
While one wonders what could be done to make already New Orleans-themed Mardi Gras more fitting for the city, Mayor Guillory and the City Council have taken the unprecedented step of providing a billion dollars in public funding through grants and advertising aimed at bringing out record crowds. Sources in the Mayor's office justified the spending as a "fraction" of the economic benefit that Mardi Gras brings to New Orleans, and the provisioning of resources is guaranteeing a bigger party than usual. With celebrations beginning the Wednesday before Fat Tuesday itself, parade routes have been charted, venues booked for events, and tourists have arrived in their hotel rooms for what the Mayor hopes will be the biggest celebration in years.
So with 6 days of Mardi Gras festivities ahead, how should you spend them? We at The Record are here to help with a list of the biggest events taking place, and what kind of fun you can expect during the biggest week of the year! Make sure your notifications are activated as we cover what promises to be the biggest Mardi Gras in years, if not ever. For now, though, plan around some of the biggest events already planned for the week ahead.
Nightly Parades
Parade routes will begin at Benoit Circle and proceed north to the Mississippi River, ending at the Mardi Gras Fountain. Food and drink - alcoholic and otherwise - will be provided at the Mardi Gras Fountain. Of particular note is the Friday Night parade sponsored by the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society and the Human Rights Council celebrating LGBTQ pride and the city's rich cultural history.
Art & Culture
Bars, restaurants, theaters, museums, and other venues hold countless events celebrating New Orleans' unique and lively cultural heritage. Baron's Saloon hosts its annual Old Time Jazz & Blues festival, and the Apprentice's Respite bookstore offers small seminars on the city's historic relationship with voodoo and other syncretic beliefs.
Clubs and Nightlife
Club Neon will be offering free admission to New Orleans residents with the showing of ID. Neon will also be hosting outdoor parties in pavilions set up across the city to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The Claire de Lune will be hosting a daily "midnight dinner" featuring authentic New Orleans cuisine, music, aboard the vessel. Appointments must be made ahead.
New Orleans Promises Biggest Mardi Gras in Years
BY Emre Calix of The Record
Every Mardi Gras is unique in its own way, but Shirley Guillory - the Mayor of New Orleans - was eager to tell me how this one would be different. "2071 is a special year," the venerable stateswoman - first elected in 2053 - told me. "It's been twenty years since Hurricane Cassidy flooded our city, and twenty years since our revival from that terrible tragedy began. Since we began to erect the sea walls and truly set the groundwork for the city we know today." Guillory practically beamed over the video call. "This year we are not simply celebrating Shrove Tuesday and the coming of Christ. We are celebrating our city itself, and the people who made and make it possible."
While one wonders what could be done to make already New Orleans-themed Mardi Gras more fitting for the city, Mayor Guillory and the City Council have taken the unprecedented step of providing a billion dollars in public funding through grants and advertising aimed at bringing out record crowds. Sources in the Mayor's office justified the spending as a "fraction" of the economic benefit that Mardi Gras brings to New Orleans, and the provisioning of resources is guaranteeing a bigger party than usual. With celebrations beginning the Wednesday before Fat Tuesday itself, parade routes have been charted, venues booked for events, and tourists have arrived in their hotel rooms for what the Mayor hopes will be the biggest celebration in years.
So with 6 days of Mardi Gras festivities ahead, how should you spend them? We at The Record are here to help with a list of the biggest events taking place, and what kind of fun you can expect during the biggest week of the year! Make sure your notifications are activated as we cover what promises to be the biggest Mardi Gras in years, if not ever. For now, though, plan around some of the biggest events already planned for the week ahead.
Nightly Parades
Parade routes will begin at Benoit Circle and proceed north to the Mississippi River, ending at the Mardi Gras Fountain. Food and drink - alcoholic and otherwise - will be provided at the Mardi Gras Fountain. Of particular note is the Friday Night parade sponsored by the Bonaparte Desrosiers Society and the Human Rights Council celebrating LGBTQ pride and the city's rich cultural history.
Art & Culture
Bars, restaurants, theaters, museums, and other venues hold countless events celebrating New Orleans' unique and lively cultural heritage. Baron's Saloon hosts its annual Old Time Jazz & Blues festival, and the Apprentice's Respite bookstore offers small seminars on the city's historic relationship with voodoo and other syncretic beliefs.
Clubs and Nightlife
Club Neon will be offering free admission to New Orleans residents with the showing of ID. Neon will also be hosting outdoor parties in pavilions set up across the city to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The Claire de Lune will be hosting a daily "midnight dinner" featuring authentic New Orleans cuisine, music, aboard the vessel. Appointments must be made ahead.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
March 29th, 2071
March 29th, 2071
Tragedy and Terror Strike Houston in Friday Night Massacres
A Terrible Accident and Barbaric Attack Put City on Edge
BY the Pizzazz! Media Editorial Board
What should have been a calm, relaxing weekend to end the month of March has been something else for the residents of Houston. Our weekend features have been replaced by pictures of men and women killed well before their time. Our plans have been scrapped as police and firefighter take to the streets to keep us safe. Our way of life has been tested in ways we've not seen since the 2050's, and then as now we must endure.
For our readers outside of Houston, our city was struck by twin tragedies last Friday night. On accident, and one very much not. At the Beaumont State Penitentiary, dozens of guards, staff, and prisoners were killed in a large-scale terrorist attack on the complex. The terrorist attack began with the detonation of three explosives on the tracks of the city's light rail, resulting in the majority of casualties as two trains were over the blasts as they occurred. Fighting then spilled into the harbor, where two further buildings were bombed and a general prison riot was incited. Security forces from Houston and the National Guard remain on the scene even now putting down the last pockets of resistance. The dead and injured have not been fully counted, but so far over 50 have lost their lives. Officials expect that the death toll could total over 100, with twice as many injured once the dust settles.
In the city itself, an accident has dominated the news. Houston residents woke up on Saturday morning to the sight of black smoke pouring from on of the skyscrapers towering over them. Late Friday night, an electrical failure in the Guzman Building caused the servers in the office of the Champlaigne Holdings Group to catch fire. Fueled by electronics, the fire gutted the entire 15th floor. Security attempted to fight the blaze while fire-fighters arrived on scene, but that same electrical failure prevented a prompt response. Authorities have counted 12 dead and a half-dozen injured throughout the building, with several perishing of smoke inhalation in the elevators. As of Monday morning the fire has been put out, but continues to smolder - marring the Houston skies in the process. Local authorities have been adamant that the fire was an accident unconnected with the attack on the Beaumont Prison, but is no less a tragedy because of it.
Where does that leave us on Monday morning, returning to our daily lives after a weekend of fear and heartbreak? In the Editorial Board's opinion, it leads us to a simple assertion. We have built our city in spite of challenges, great and small, to our way of life. Houston survived the mob violence of the 2030's. Houston survived the climate catastrophes we faced. And Houston will survive these tragedies - but only if we refuse to be cowed and refuse to live in fear. We should not be blithe to the threats we face. Houston is cooperating with the federal government to find out who attacked the Beaumont State Penitentiary and bring them to justice. The Houston PD itself is leading a manhunt in the Limits, where state and federal authorities believe the prisoners likely escaped to, while the federal government has vowed to look beyond the borders of Texas if that's where the criminals are hiding. Here in the city, the Champlaigne Holding Group has expressed sorrow for the tragedy and has pledged to bear the cost medical care for the injured and burial for the dead despite its own losses from the night.
With leadership like this, Houston is well-positioned to move on from these disasters and ensure no such afflictions ever strike us again. We are stronger than those who would harm us, and we must show them that by continuing to live our lives without fear.
Tragedy and Terror Strike Houston in Friday Night Massacres
A Terrible Accident and Barbaric Attack Put City on Edge
BY the Pizzazz! Media Editorial Board
What should have been a calm, relaxing weekend to end the month of March has been something else for the residents of Houston. Our weekend features have been replaced by pictures of men and women killed well before their time. Our plans have been scrapped as police and firefighter take to the streets to keep us safe. Our way of life has been tested in ways we've not seen since the 2050's, and then as now we must endure.
For our readers outside of Houston, our city was struck by twin tragedies last Friday night. On accident, and one very much not. At the Beaumont State Penitentiary, dozens of guards, staff, and prisoners were killed in a large-scale terrorist attack on the complex. The terrorist attack began with the detonation of three explosives on the tracks of the city's light rail, resulting in the majority of casualties as two trains were over the blasts as they occurred. Fighting then spilled into the harbor, where two further buildings were bombed and a general prison riot was incited. Security forces from Houston and the National Guard remain on the scene even now putting down the last pockets of resistance. The dead and injured have not been fully counted, but so far over 50 have lost their lives. Officials expect that the death toll could total over 100, with twice as many injured once the dust settles.
In the city itself, an accident has dominated the news. Houston residents woke up on Saturday morning to the sight of black smoke pouring from on of the skyscrapers towering over them. Late Friday night, an electrical failure in the Guzman Building caused the servers in the office of the Champlaigne Holdings Group to catch fire. Fueled by electronics, the fire gutted the entire 15th floor. Security attempted to fight the blaze while fire-fighters arrived on scene, but that same electrical failure prevented a prompt response. Authorities have counted 12 dead and a half-dozen injured throughout the building, with several perishing of smoke inhalation in the elevators. As of Monday morning the fire has been put out, but continues to smolder - marring the Houston skies in the process. Local authorities have been adamant that the fire was an accident unconnected with the attack on the Beaumont Prison, but is no less a tragedy because of it.
Where does that leave us on Monday morning, returning to our daily lives after a weekend of fear and heartbreak? In the Editorial Board's opinion, it leads us to a simple assertion. We have built our city in spite of challenges, great and small, to our way of life. Houston survived the mob violence of the 2030's. Houston survived the climate catastrophes we faced. And Houston will survive these tragedies - but only if we refuse to be cowed and refuse to live in fear. We should not be blithe to the threats we face. Houston is cooperating with the federal government to find out who attacked the Beaumont State Penitentiary and bring them to justice. The Houston PD itself is leading a manhunt in the Limits, where state and federal authorities believe the prisoners likely escaped to, while the federal government has vowed to look beyond the borders of Texas if that's where the criminals are hiding. Here in the city, the Champlaigne Holding Group has expressed sorrow for the tragedy and has pledged to bear the cost medical care for the injured and burial for the dead despite its own losses from the night.
With leadership like this, Houston is well-positioned to move on from these disasters and ensure no such afflictions ever strike us again. We are stronger than those who would harm us, and we must show them that by continuing to live our lives without fear.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
April 8th, 2071
University Medical Center Community Mourns Tragic Loss
Chief of Medicine, Father of Two Found Slain at Home
BY Victor McMann of The Record
Over 1,000 doctors, nurses, staff, and students of New Orleans' various universities arrived at the St. Louis Cathedral to attend the funeral of the late Dr. David Bloom. Last week, Dr. Bloom was found dead in his in what police described as a particularly grisly scene. The murder was somehow carried out while the doctor's family was at home, just down the stairs. They only found his body as Mrs. Bloom went to fetch him for bed, and receiving no verbal response entered his study to find her husband of 15 years dead.
Dr. Bloom's standing in the community was reflected by the convoy that escorted his casket to the Cathedral. The procession was led by vehicles and personnel from the New Orleans Police Department honor guard, the New Orleans Fire Department honor guard, the New Orleans First Responders' Association, and the Louisiana State Medical Society. Dr. Bloom began his career as a surgeon over 20 years ago, and was well-know and respected by colleagues, patients, and collaborators across the city's various services. Leaders within those communities eulogizing the fallen healer described Bloom as steadfast, committed, and resolute in managing the hospital, while friends and family called him quiet, kind, and while imperfect, a good man at heart. Dr. Bloom is survived by his wife and two children, who through their lawyer have asked for respect and privacy during this difficult time.
With his casket interred, focus now turns to justice. Police have been tight-lipped about the investigation, stressing the need to thoroughly review evidence before naming suspects or making accusations. The University Medical Center, the Bloom family through their attorney, and Horizons Unlimited - the phone and internet provider for the Blooms, have all committed to full cooperation with the police in finding the killer.
[Kindred will note that The Record's website is free of the ads portraying Wanted pictures for Andre.]
Chief of Medicine, Father of Two Found Slain at Home
BY Victor McMann of The Record
Over 1,000 doctors, nurses, staff, and students of New Orleans' various universities arrived at the St. Louis Cathedral to attend the funeral of the late Dr. David Bloom. Last week, Dr. Bloom was found dead in his in what police described as a particularly grisly scene. The murder was somehow carried out while the doctor's family was at home, just down the stairs. They only found his body as Mrs. Bloom went to fetch him for bed, and receiving no verbal response entered his study to find her husband of 15 years dead.
Dr. Bloom's standing in the community was reflected by the convoy that escorted his casket to the Cathedral. The procession was led by vehicles and personnel from the New Orleans Police Department honor guard, the New Orleans Fire Department honor guard, the New Orleans First Responders' Association, and the Louisiana State Medical Society. Dr. Bloom began his career as a surgeon over 20 years ago, and was well-know and respected by colleagues, patients, and collaborators across the city's various services. Leaders within those communities eulogizing the fallen healer described Bloom as steadfast, committed, and resolute in managing the hospital, while friends and family called him quiet, kind, and while imperfect, a good man at heart. Dr. Bloom is survived by his wife and two children, who through their lawyer have asked for respect and privacy during this difficult time.
With his casket interred, focus now turns to justice. Police have been tight-lipped about the investigation, stressing the need to thoroughly review evidence before naming suspects or making accusations. The University Medical Center, the Bloom family through their attorney, and Horizons Unlimited - the phone and internet provider for the Blooms, have all committed to full cooperation with the police in finding the killer.
[Kindred will note that The Record's website is free of the ads portraying Wanted pictures for Andre.]
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
April 25th, 2071 News
Bloom Family Flees Public Eye
Digital Bullying Drives Murder Victim's Family Underground as Investigation Goes Nowhere
BY - Jared Black, Editor with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Two weeks after the savage murder of Dr. David Bloom, the family's attorney Abraham Cohen went on the local 6PM news to deliver a plea to the city of New Orleans. "I am imploring the public to please allow my clients space to grieve," he said to a reporter on the scene. "While I understand we cannot stop speculation, however unjustified, about the role of family members in Dr. Bloom's death, what's happening is beyond speculation. It is bullying. It is harassment. It is abuse against a family that has suffered enough."
Cohen's plea came after what Bloom's family described as a statement to the press as an "escalating week of baseless accusations, hateful vitriol, and wild conspiracies" against the family and specifically Dr. Bloom's son Daniel. The harassment campaign began in earnest following the publication of classified police records by The Record, a society publication and one of the last in New Orleans to print physical media. The Record leaked what it claimed to be logs of interviews with the family in which members of the Bloom family, and Daniel in particular, changed their initial stories given to the media and police under pressure. The New Orleans Police Department quietly confirmed that the interview logs were accurate, which seemed to touch off a tidal wave of online speculation. The Record continued to fan interest in the story, publishing over a dozen stories in the last week featuring anonymous "experts" opining on potential motivations for and method by which Daniel Bloom may have killed his father. Online communities began to form around various conspiracy theories - all tied together by the #DanielDidIt hashtag - and some of their members began harassing Daniel and the Bloom family. By the end of last week, the late Dr. Bloom's wife Melissa, his daughter Veronica (13) and son Daniel (18) had all deactivated their social media accounts.
This harassment comes as the investigation itself seems to have stalled. An early flurry of interest in the case by the New Orleans Police Department has been mired by the new testimony, and several sources close to it believe that the effort is losing momentum. Speaking on the record, New Orleans Police Chief Falcon Sessions criticized the media for its handling of the case and urged for patience from the public. "This kind of coverage, to say nothing of the disgusting behavior we're seeing on social media, is exactly what the New Orleans PD and our partners do not need," Sessions said. "These investigations are kept internal at this phase for a reason. Regardless of the family's testimony, we currently have thousands of hours of phone calls, location logs, we're sifting through to make sense of all this. So if everyone could cool their jets and not abuse a grieving widow, our officers would very much appreciate it."
The CEO of The Record, meanwhile, stood by her publication's coverage of the investigation. "We are a news organization," she said in response to a text request for comment. "We publish the news that we find, and we do not believe that we should censor our work for the sake of peoples' comfort. We obviously condemn any harassment or bullying in digital or physical spaces. But we cannot allow our coverage to be curbed on behalf of bad actors. That's not how a free society works."
Responding to a call for comment, Bloom family attorney Abraham Cohen gave only a brief statement. "The Bloom Family isn't interested in city politics. They want justice for a husband and a father."
What Makes a Chief of Medicine?
Inside Talks to Appoint a New Chief of Medicine
BY - Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo
While doctors, nurses, first responders, and students are still mourning the death of Dr. David Bloom, a group of seven have taken on an equally important project. It is their job to decide on a replacement. Today I was granted the privilege of sitting in on one of the board's internal meetings and speaking with board members about what they want to see in a leader. As one of the last non-profit hospitals in New Orleans, the University Medical Center where Dr. Bloom served is maintained as a joint venture by the City of New Orleans, Tulane University, Louisiana State University, and the Louisiana Medical Association. Each of these entities appoints one board member, the four of whom select three more - traditionally one from among staff, and two recommended by private donors. Thus, the UMC selection process provides a fascinating look into the often hazy boundaries between medicine, business, and government policy.
"What matters most in a leader is the ability to find the right balance," board member Tonya Anderson, a local philanthropist and wife of Horizons Limited Executive Roger Anderson, told me. "The ability to balance the practical needs of the hospital - its logistics and schedules - with a commitment to doctor-patient relationships that instill confidence in the community."
Tonya Anderson's answer to my question was echoed by the rest of the board, to some extent. But as you might have guessed, opinions on where that balance can lie vary greatly. New Orleans State University board member Jacob Palmer pointed out that while cost concerns could be callous, bleeding funds could be indicative of serious problems in patient care.
"I'm fine being the bad guy," Jacob told me. "The jerk who looks at a medical facility and asks about costs. But there are valid questions in there. UMC has bled millions of dollars over the last decade in lost and misdplaced medical supplies. That covers bandages, splints, blood, and even prescription medication. That last one especially could be dangerous if it makes it out into our communities unsupervised. We need to plug whatever this hole is in the system."
These weren't the only concerns, however. It's hard to deny that institutional preferences have a place in these deliberations. And Tulane University board member Amanda Connor told me that Tulane's own representation was important to her. "Tulane has been by far the largest contributor to maintaining the University Medical Center. It's a proud tradition of ours, and synergy between the medical school at Tulane and the UMC are important in providing the best possible education for our students. Maintaining that bond is vitally important to me in these deliberations."
With these perspectives in play, the application process is still open. But one name that has come up a great deal in this process is Dr. Ernest Harper, the Dean of the Tulane School of Medicine. Harper is well known at Tulane and popular with his students, and would be the first openly gay man to serve as Chief of Medicine at the UMC. Dr. Harper declined to be interviewed for the story, replying to my email telling me it was an honor to he considered but the selection was the board's business.
Whatever their selection, the board's deliberations give us a unique look at the considerations that determine who provides us with medical care. Please click the links below if you'd like to see learn more about the UMC, it's advisory board and the board's members.
Digital Bullying Drives Murder Victim's Family Underground as Investigation Goes Nowhere
BY - Jared Black, Editor with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Two weeks after the savage murder of Dr. David Bloom, the family's attorney Abraham Cohen went on the local 6PM news to deliver a plea to the city of New Orleans. "I am imploring the public to please allow my clients space to grieve," he said to a reporter on the scene. "While I understand we cannot stop speculation, however unjustified, about the role of family members in Dr. Bloom's death, what's happening is beyond speculation. It is bullying. It is harassment. It is abuse against a family that has suffered enough."
Cohen's plea came after what Bloom's family described as a statement to the press as an "escalating week of baseless accusations, hateful vitriol, and wild conspiracies" against the family and specifically Dr. Bloom's son Daniel. The harassment campaign began in earnest following the publication of classified police records by The Record, a society publication and one of the last in New Orleans to print physical media. The Record leaked what it claimed to be logs of interviews with the family in which members of the Bloom family, and Daniel in particular, changed their initial stories given to the media and police under pressure. The New Orleans Police Department quietly confirmed that the interview logs were accurate, which seemed to touch off a tidal wave of online speculation. The Record continued to fan interest in the story, publishing over a dozen stories in the last week featuring anonymous "experts" opining on potential motivations for and method by which Daniel Bloom may have killed his father. Online communities began to form around various conspiracy theories - all tied together by the #DanielDidIt hashtag - and some of their members began harassing Daniel and the Bloom family. By the end of last week, the late Dr. Bloom's wife Melissa, his daughter Veronica (13) and son Daniel (18) had all deactivated their social media accounts.
This harassment comes as the investigation itself seems to have stalled. An early flurry of interest in the case by the New Orleans Police Department has been mired by the new testimony, and several sources close to it believe that the effort is losing momentum. Speaking on the record, New Orleans Police Chief Falcon Sessions criticized the media for its handling of the case and urged for patience from the public. "This kind of coverage, to say nothing of the disgusting behavior we're seeing on social media, is exactly what the New Orleans PD and our partners do not need," Sessions said. "These investigations are kept internal at this phase for a reason. Regardless of the family's testimony, we currently have thousands of hours of phone calls, location logs, we're sifting through to make sense of all this. So if everyone could cool their jets and not abuse a grieving widow, our officers would very much appreciate it."
The CEO of The Record, meanwhile, stood by her publication's coverage of the investigation. "We are a news organization," she said in response to a text request for comment. "We publish the news that we find, and we do not believe that we should censor our work for the sake of peoples' comfort. We obviously condemn any harassment or bullying in digital or physical spaces. But we cannot allow our coverage to be curbed on behalf of bad actors. That's not how a free society works."
Responding to a call for comment, Bloom family attorney Abraham Cohen gave only a brief statement. "The Bloom Family isn't interested in city politics. They want justice for a husband and a father."
What Makes a Chief of Medicine?
Inside Talks to Appoint a New Chief of Medicine
BY - Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo
While doctors, nurses, first responders, and students are still mourning the death of Dr. David Bloom, a group of seven have taken on an equally important project. It is their job to decide on a replacement. Today I was granted the privilege of sitting in on one of the board's internal meetings and speaking with board members about what they want to see in a leader. As one of the last non-profit hospitals in New Orleans, the University Medical Center where Dr. Bloom served is maintained as a joint venture by the City of New Orleans, Tulane University, Louisiana State University, and the Louisiana Medical Association. Each of these entities appoints one board member, the four of whom select three more - traditionally one from among staff, and two recommended by private donors. Thus, the UMC selection process provides a fascinating look into the often hazy boundaries between medicine, business, and government policy.
"What matters most in a leader is the ability to find the right balance," board member Tonya Anderson, a local philanthropist and wife of Horizons Limited Executive Roger Anderson, told me. "The ability to balance the practical needs of the hospital - its logistics and schedules - with a commitment to doctor-patient relationships that instill confidence in the community."
Tonya Anderson's answer to my question was echoed by the rest of the board, to some extent. But as you might have guessed, opinions on where that balance can lie vary greatly. New Orleans State University board member Jacob Palmer pointed out that while cost concerns could be callous, bleeding funds could be indicative of serious problems in patient care.
"I'm fine being the bad guy," Jacob told me. "The jerk who looks at a medical facility and asks about costs. But there are valid questions in there. UMC has bled millions of dollars over the last decade in lost and misdplaced medical supplies. That covers bandages, splints, blood, and even prescription medication. That last one especially could be dangerous if it makes it out into our communities unsupervised. We need to plug whatever this hole is in the system."
These weren't the only concerns, however. It's hard to deny that institutional preferences have a place in these deliberations. And Tulane University board member Amanda Connor told me that Tulane's own representation was important to her. "Tulane has been by far the largest contributor to maintaining the University Medical Center. It's a proud tradition of ours, and synergy between the medical school at Tulane and the UMC are important in providing the best possible education for our students. Maintaining that bond is vitally important to me in these deliberations."
With these perspectives in play, the application process is still open. But one name that has come up a great deal in this process is Dr. Ernest Harper, the Dean of the Tulane School of Medicine. Harper is well known at Tulane and popular with his students, and would be the first openly gay man to serve as Chief of Medicine at the UMC. Dr. Harper declined to be interviewed for the story, replying to my email telling me it was an honor to he considered but the selection was the board's business.
Whatever their selection, the board's deliberations give us a unique look at the considerations that determine who provides us with medical care. Please click the links below if you'd like to see learn more about the UMC, it's advisory board and the board's members.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
May 29th, 2071 News
Obsidian, Pharisee Ink Exclusive Research Deal
COO Benjamin Kind Announces Retirement After Major Success
BY - Victoria Pierson, Business Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
After months of rumors and signals in New Orleans' corporate and government spaces, Obsidian Incorporated and Pharisee Robotics announced at a Friday evening press conference that they had inked a 10-year research and development agreement. Obsidian Inc. Chief of Operations Benjamin Kind and Pharisee CEO Alan Carahan made rare public appearances to outline the deal to the business press. Among other provisions, the deal calls for a 10 year exclusivity deal between Pharisee and Obsidian when it comes to research and development for "security, policing, and military purposes." This will make Obsidian the sole beneficiary of Pharisee's research into the application of nanotechnology in body armor, weaponry, and vehicles while leaving Pharisee free to pursue other partners for purely civilian applications.
"Pharisee Robotics is an involved part of the community," said CEO Carahan. "And we look forward to providing New Orleans' most stable and trusted law enforcement contractor with the tools they need to serve our city safely and effectively."
It wasn't until hours later that news dropped that Obsidian CEO Benjamin Kind - its longest-serving board member - would be retiring with the blessings of the company. Friends of Kind, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Chronicle that they weren't surprised. "Ben's always been a simple guy," one said. "And he's smart to leave on top like he is. He's going to enjoy days his days out in the sun. If only we were all so lucky."
Ernest Harper Selected as UMC Chief of Medicine
Nurse's Union Complains of First Week Firings
BY - Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo
Ernest Harper's selection as Chief of Medicine at the University Medical Center went through so smoothly, most of the staff didn't know he was there for a few days. The quiet, mild-mannered Dean of the Tulane School of Medicine was unanimously selected by UMC's Board of Trustees to fill the shoes of the tragically late Dr. David Bloom. For most of the hospital there has been little change between the two. Those who work with Harper describe him as efficient and competent, though they say he lacks Bloom's initiative and his outward display of confidence. "He's a bookish guy," one senior attending physician said. "A very smart man. But he's going to lean a lot on the rest of the team for moment-to-moment decisions. If he chooses to listen to us, I think he'll succeed."
While doctor's seemed satisfied with their new boss, though, the nursing staff did not. Several nurses, speaking to me on the condition of anonymity, said that his tenure has been extremely hostile to them before even a week has passed. "Several of the best nurses on staff were fired," she said. "No explanation, no nothing. Just vague accusations of impropriety." A statement from the UMC Nurse's Union seems to corroborate that statement, raisin concerns about staff being fired "without due cause." But with Louisiana's employment laws there is little they can do to fight back. Some are grumbling of going on strike - the first in New Orleans in decades - but most seem resigned to their fate. "Doctors have always been shitting on us," a former nurse who had been fired upon Harper's arrival told me. "Why would they stop now?"
Dr. Harper declined comment for this story.
COO Benjamin Kind Announces Retirement After Major Success
BY - Victoria Pierson, Business Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
After months of rumors and signals in New Orleans' corporate and government spaces, Obsidian Incorporated and Pharisee Robotics announced at a Friday evening press conference that they had inked a 10-year research and development agreement. Obsidian Inc. Chief of Operations Benjamin Kind and Pharisee CEO Alan Carahan made rare public appearances to outline the deal to the business press. Among other provisions, the deal calls for a 10 year exclusivity deal between Pharisee and Obsidian when it comes to research and development for "security, policing, and military purposes." This will make Obsidian the sole beneficiary of Pharisee's research into the application of nanotechnology in body armor, weaponry, and vehicles while leaving Pharisee free to pursue other partners for purely civilian applications.
"Pharisee Robotics is an involved part of the community," said CEO Carahan. "And we look forward to providing New Orleans' most stable and trusted law enforcement contractor with the tools they need to serve our city safely and effectively."
It wasn't until hours later that news dropped that Obsidian CEO Benjamin Kind - its longest-serving board member - would be retiring with the blessings of the company. Friends of Kind, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Chronicle that they weren't surprised. "Ben's always been a simple guy," one said. "And he's smart to leave on top like he is. He's going to enjoy days his days out in the sun. If only we were all so lucky."
Ernest Harper Selected as UMC Chief of Medicine
Nurse's Union Complains of First Week Firings
BY - Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo
Ernest Harper's selection as Chief of Medicine at the University Medical Center went through so smoothly, most of the staff didn't know he was there for a few days. The quiet, mild-mannered Dean of the Tulane School of Medicine was unanimously selected by UMC's Board of Trustees to fill the shoes of the tragically late Dr. David Bloom. For most of the hospital there has been little change between the two. Those who work with Harper describe him as efficient and competent, though they say he lacks Bloom's initiative and his outward display of confidence. "He's a bookish guy," one senior attending physician said. "A very smart man. But he's going to lean a lot on the rest of the team for moment-to-moment decisions. If he chooses to listen to us, I think he'll succeed."
While doctor's seemed satisfied with their new boss, though, the nursing staff did not. Several nurses, speaking to me on the condition of anonymity, said that his tenure has been extremely hostile to them before even a week has passed. "Several of the best nurses on staff were fired," she said. "No explanation, no nothing. Just vague accusations of impropriety." A statement from the UMC Nurse's Union seems to corroborate that statement, raisin concerns about staff being fired "without due cause." But with Louisiana's employment laws there is little they can do to fight back. Some are grumbling of going on strike - the first in New Orleans in decades - but most seem resigned to their fate. "Doctors have always been shitting on us," a former nurse who had been fired upon Harper's arrival told me. "Why would they stop now?"
Dr. Harper declined comment for this story.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
June 1st, 2071 News
Benjamin Kind Found Slain in Condo
City Police Vow to Find Former COO's Killer
BY - Adrian Williams, Editor with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Residents of the Westside's Progress Archway luxury condominiums were woken early Monday morning by the sound of police sirens and boots stomping through their halls. They wouldn't find out the reason for it until the following morning. At 7:00 AM, the press office for Obsidian Incorporated in tandem with the New Orleans Police Department announced that Obsidian's newly-former Chief Operations Officer Benjamin Kind had been found murdered in his condominium. Their statement was brief and concise, ending with a commitment by the New Orleans Police Department to "bring Ben's killer to justice."
Kind's death was met by an outpouring of sympathy from the New Orleans business community. "There was no competitor I respected more," said Adelita Ortega, the CEO of the Firebird Group, who previously challenged Obsidian's grip on the New Orleans police contract. "He deserved better from this city and its police, and I hope they will be capable of bringing him justice."
Alan Carahan, who recently signed a research agreement that was spearheaded by Kind, also mourned his loss. "I saw Ben only two days ago, and he was excited to be able to take some time to himself after a lifetime serving his community," Carahan said. "Ben was a good man. He worked harder than anyone to put together the partnership between our companies. And the safer streets and safer homes we'll bring people will be his legacy."
"Ben will be missed," said Lifelike CEO Crimson Silver. "Others knew him as a businessman and an expert on security. But I knew him as a friend. He wasn't just a good executive. He was a good man taken from us too soon."
Obsidian contract officers wearing black mourning bands have been out in force in New Orleans' west side in response to the slaying. Video footage captured of the suspect shows the killer was wearing a white mask with black rimmed eyes, an image of which is provided below. Witnesses who saw the suspect fleeing the scene indicated that their mask had been broken. They stated that the killer was a Caucasian female 5 feet and 5 inches tall with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Obsidian Incorporated has offered a 5 million dollar reward for any civilian who provides information leading to their capture. An internal memo acquired by the Chronicle has also promised a hefty promotion and bonus to any officer or squad answering to Obsidian or its subcontractors if they apprehend the murderer.
City Police Vow to Find Former COO's Killer
BY - Adrian Williams, Editor with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Residents of the Westside's Progress Archway luxury condominiums were woken early Monday morning by the sound of police sirens and boots stomping through their halls. They wouldn't find out the reason for it until the following morning. At 7:00 AM, the press office for Obsidian Incorporated in tandem with the New Orleans Police Department announced that Obsidian's newly-former Chief Operations Officer Benjamin Kind had been found murdered in his condominium. Their statement was brief and concise, ending with a commitment by the New Orleans Police Department to "bring Ben's killer to justice."
Kind's death was met by an outpouring of sympathy from the New Orleans business community. "There was no competitor I respected more," said Adelita Ortega, the CEO of the Firebird Group, who previously challenged Obsidian's grip on the New Orleans police contract. "He deserved better from this city and its police, and I hope they will be capable of bringing him justice."
Alan Carahan, who recently signed a research agreement that was spearheaded by Kind, also mourned his loss. "I saw Ben only two days ago, and he was excited to be able to take some time to himself after a lifetime serving his community," Carahan said. "Ben was a good man. He worked harder than anyone to put together the partnership between our companies. And the safer streets and safer homes we'll bring people will be his legacy."
"Ben will be missed," said Lifelike CEO Crimson Silver. "Others knew him as a businessman and an expert on security. But I knew him as a friend. He wasn't just a good executive. He was a good man taken from us too soon."
Obsidian contract officers wearing black mourning bands have been out in force in New Orleans' west side in response to the slaying. Video footage captured of the suspect shows the killer was wearing a white mask with black rimmed eyes, an image of which is provided below. Witnesses who saw the suspect fleeing the scene indicated that their mask had been broken. They stated that the killer was a Caucasian female 5 feet and 5 inches tall with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Obsidian Incorporated has offered a 5 million dollar reward for any civilian who provides information leading to their capture. An internal memo acquired by the Chronicle has also promised a hefty promotion and bonus to any officer or squad answering to Obsidian or its subcontractors if they apprehend the murderer.
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
June 15th, 2071 News
Firebird Speaks Out on Accidental Drone Strike
No Confirmed Casualties in Houston-Area Testing Accident
BY Vernon Aqua, Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
After days of no comment, the Firebird Group - a New Orleans and Houston-based security firm - has released a statement on pictures and videos of what posters called a "drone strike" in the abandoned expanses outside of Houston. Jackson Veris, spokesperson for the Firebird Group's Houston office, released a statement indicating that the explosions were the result of a "testing accident." According to the company, the accident occurred when one of the company's new drones' weapons were not disabled ahead of a training flight and were initialized by accident. Drone training flights over Houston's suburbs are a common occurrence, where Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport cooperates with the security contractor. But the explosions that caught attention for miles around were, according to Veris, "a rare lapse in safety protocol which Houston's residents can rest assured will be addressed."
Firebird's statement has come after days of scrutiny from local news and residents, who - apparently correctly - attributed the explosions to some kind of drone accident. The statement marks the first confirmation Firebird has given that these accusations were founded. And while Firebird and the Houston Police Department have both declared that there were no confirmed casualties, more pictures and videos of alleged injured and dead have been released disputing the claim. Firebird has declined to comment on these materials, pointing questions towards the Houston Police Department for official figures. The Houston PD has indicated that their investigation is ongoing.
Feds Raid Fraternity House, Detain Tulane Student Leader
"Vigilante Activity" Cited Over Objections from University, Family
BY Emre Calix with The Record
Tulane students living on the university's prestigious Fraternity Row trickled outside as word spread of the black vans rolling down and parking in front of one of the houses. Black vans would have been noteworthy enough, but Tulane Senor Emily Goldsmith was mainly texting her friends about the three yellow letters on the side of each. "FBI," she told me. "It was FBI vans pulling up. I was wondering if they had found a bomb or something!"
Emily and a friend approached the officers but were turned away by an agent in the car. "They told us to go back inside," Emily told me. "That nobody was in any danger. But we needed to stay out of the way." Emily obeyed the federal agent, but dozens of other students remained outside with their phones out recording. FBI agents initially attempted to stop them, but apparently gave up. Students watched as a line of agents, unarmed with firearms but wearing riot gear, took their positions around the door. Tulane Junior Blain Johnson showed me video of them pulling out a long tube. "And I was like holy s***, they're going to bust down the door!"
"All we heard was a loud bang, then a command," I was told by Vince Rech. He's a brother at the Gamma Alpha Lambda fraternity that the FBI had burst into at 4:57 AM. Vince was awoken from his second floor bedroom and looked over the bannister to see the agents enter. "They said FBI, everyone stay in their rooms!" Vince told me a few of his buddies had also emerged in the commotion, but quickly retreated. They could hear footsteps up the stairs, then past their rooms, and finally one more door opened. "Then it was 'Trey Gibson, you're under arrest - please put your hands on your head. You have the right to remain silent'. I poked my head out and saw them walking Trey by in his boxers.
And it was Tulane Junior and GAL upperclassman Trey Gibson who found himself unexpectedly plastered on the internet this morning, as FBI agents marched him outside in his boxers and nothing else and into the back of one of the vans. The footage has been met with mockery by some, pity by others, and anger by those close to Gibson. "The FBI did not alert us to this planned raid," said Tulane President James Bigsby. "And to see a student dragged out of their bed at the start of summer without warning, without charge, and without even an opportunity to surrender is an unacceptable violation of his civil rights." Similar statements were issued by Tulane's student government, student union, and the Willworkers - a club Trey Gibson served as President of in his spare time.
Trey's parents were less charitable. "If those f****** stormtroopers think they're going to hold my son, they better be prepared to argue it before a judge," Trey's father Harold shouted to me over the phone. "I am going to sue those pigs for every f****** penny they're worth. If the FBI thinks they can do what they want because they're f****** federal they have another thing coming! Trey isn't a criminal, he's an honor student. And whoever cooked this up will pay."
When I read that statement to the FBI's lead investigator on the case, Special Agent Francis Northam, he seemed unconcerned. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern District of Louisiana followed our internal protocols on this matter," Northam told me via e-mail. "Mr. Gibson was detained in connection to unlawful vigilante activities currently under investigation. Our assessment was and remains that Mr. Gibson poses a flight risk, and that if allowed to turn himself in would instead abscond. I am confident that we have acted within the law with respects to our procedures and Mr. Gibson's civil rights."
For now, though, talk of legalities is dwarfed by the growing meme of Mr. Gibson's unclothed march into the back of an FBI van. And one student, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she expected worse for him. "Trey Gibson is no angel," she said. "He's hurt a lot of people. And that video will be the least of his problems."
No Confirmed Casualties in Houston-Area Testing Accident
BY Vernon Aqua, Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
After days of no comment, the Firebird Group - a New Orleans and Houston-based security firm - has released a statement on pictures and videos of what posters called a "drone strike" in the abandoned expanses outside of Houston. Jackson Veris, spokesperson for the Firebird Group's Houston office, released a statement indicating that the explosions were the result of a "testing accident." According to the company, the accident occurred when one of the company's new drones' weapons were not disabled ahead of a training flight and were initialized by accident. Drone training flights over Houston's suburbs are a common occurrence, where Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport cooperates with the security contractor. But the explosions that caught attention for miles around were, according to Veris, "a rare lapse in safety protocol which Houston's residents can rest assured will be addressed."
Firebird's statement has come after days of scrutiny from local news and residents, who - apparently correctly - attributed the explosions to some kind of drone accident. The statement marks the first confirmation Firebird has given that these accusations were founded. And while Firebird and the Houston Police Department have both declared that there were no confirmed casualties, more pictures and videos of alleged injured and dead have been released disputing the claim. Firebird has declined to comment on these materials, pointing questions towards the Houston Police Department for official figures. The Houston PD has indicated that their investigation is ongoing.
Feds Raid Fraternity House, Detain Tulane Student Leader
"Vigilante Activity" Cited Over Objections from University, Family
BY Emre Calix with The Record
Tulane students living on the university's prestigious Fraternity Row trickled outside as word spread of the black vans rolling down and parking in front of one of the houses. Black vans would have been noteworthy enough, but Tulane Senor Emily Goldsmith was mainly texting her friends about the three yellow letters on the side of each. "FBI," she told me. "It was FBI vans pulling up. I was wondering if they had found a bomb or something!"
Emily and a friend approached the officers but were turned away by an agent in the car. "They told us to go back inside," Emily told me. "That nobody was in any danger. But we needed to stay out of the way." Emily obeyed the federal agent, but dozens of other students remained outside with their phones out recording. FBI agents initially attempted to stop them, but apparently gave up. Students watched as a line of agents, unarmed with firearms but wearing riot gear, took their positions around the door. Tulane Junior Blain Johnson showed me video of them pulling out a long tube. "And I was like holy s***, they're going to bust down the door!"
"All we heard was a loud bang, then a command," I was told by Vince Rech. He's a brother at the Gamma Alpha Lambda fraternity that the FBI had burst into at 4:57 AM. Vince was awoken from his second floor bedroom and looked over the bannister to see the agents enter. "They said FBI, everyone stay in their rooms!" Vince told me a few of his buddies had also emerged in the commotion, but quickly retreated. They could hear footsteps up the stairs, then past their rooms, and finally one more door opened. "Then it was 'Trey Gibson, you're under arrest - please put your hands on your head. You have the right to remain silent'. I poked my head out and saw them walking Trey by in his boxers.
And it was Tulane Junior and GAL upperclassman Trey Gibson who found himself unexpectedly plastered on the internet this morning, as FBI agents marched him outside in his boxers and nothing else and into the back of one of the vans. The footage has been met with mockery by some, pity by others, and anger by those close to Gibson. "The FBI did not alert us to this planned raid," said Tulane President James Bigsby. "And to see a student dragged out of their bed at the start of summer without warning, without charge, and without even an opportunity to surrender is an unacceptable violation of his civil rights." Similar statements were issued by Tulane's student government, student union, and the Willworkers - a club Trey Gibson served as President of in his spare time.
Trey's parents were less charitable. "If those f****** stormtroopers think they're going to hold my son, they better be prepared to argue it before a judge," Trey's father Harold shouted to me over the phone. "I am going to sue those pigs for every f****** penny they're worth. If the FBI thinks they can do what they want because they're f****** federal they have another thing coming! Trey isn't a criminal, he's an honor student. And whoever cooked this up will pay."
When I read that statement to the FBI's lead investigator on the case, Special Agent Francis Northam, he seemed unconcerned. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern District of Louisiana followed our internal protocols on this matter," Northam told me via e-mail. "Mr. Gibson was detained in connection to unlawful vigilante activities currently under investigation. Our assessment was and remains that Mr. Gibson poses a flight risk, and that if allowed to turn himself in would instead abscond. I am confident that we have acted within the law with respects to our procedures and Mr. Gibson's civil rights."
For now, though, talk of legalities is dwarfed by the growing meme of Mr. Gibson's unclothed march into the back of an FBI van. And one student, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she expected worse for him. "Trey Gibson is no angel," she said. "He's hurt a lot of people. And that video will be the least of his problems."
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
June 29th, 2071
New Orleans Family Dead in Murder-Suicide
Horizons Executive's Son Takes Own Life, Family's After Being Caught in Sex Trafficking Sting
BY Emre Calix, Reporter with the The Record
Neighbors of Horizons Limited Junior Executive Roger Anderson couldn't believe what they heard when New Orleans police told them what had happened just down the street. "Roger was never the nicest guy," said one. "But that? I guess you never really know a person, do you?"
Roger's neighbors were only one of several communities that woke up in shock on the evening of June 22nd to find the Anderson Estate on fire. Police crews went door to door, advising neighbors to remain in their homes, as New Orleans Fire rushed to the scene to put out the blaze. Officers had initially arrived in response to a woman on the manor's phone line who called 9-11 claiming distress. According to the NOPD, officers arrived to find several young men and women tied up in the living area of the manor. This discovery comes only days after a city-wide search for Roger Anderson, declared missing by his family and coworkers, had begun. And our source in the New Orleans PD thinks it makes sense.
"Human trafficking," an officer familiar with the situation told me. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, as he wasn't authorized to speak for the department. "Most likely the Andersons have been involved for a while, and Roger got in with some bad people. It looked like his son was trying to execute a trade for his father, assuming he was still alive. But the kid's young. He's not experienced in this stuff. And one of the little birds got free and sung."
Official lines of communication with the New Orleans PD offers a more objective version of events. "Upon officers' entry into the estate, the main perpetrator - identified as Marcus Anderson - was holding his mother Tanya and sister Sophia at gunpoint and threatening to execute them if police went any further. Our officers attempted to disarm Marcus, but were unfortunately unsuccessful in doing so before he could take the life of his family members. On investigating the residence, officers discovered a fire in the attic and shifted focus to evacuating the premises. We mourn the loss of the Anderson women, but are extremely proud of our contract officers for preventing any further fatalities."
While the remains of the estate smolder, many questions remain unanswered - chiefly the fate of Roger Anderson. While the New Orleans Police Department considers him as likely deceased, his remains have not been recovered like that of his family. "Roger's probably dead," our anonymous source said. "And it's probably for the best. He wouldn't like what happened to him where he was going to go."
Horizons Limited, Tulane University, the Council for Public Safety, and the University Medical Center - all of which employed or hosted one of the slain Andersons - all refused comment on this story.
Council for Public Safety Quietly Closes Doors
Acting Chair Pratik Mehta Shuts Down Non-Profit In Response to IRS Investigation
BY Violet Rue, Political Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Most New Orleans residents don't even know that there is a Council for Public Safety, let alone that it's a non-profit charity and pressure group operating within their own city. But they won't be at a loss for much longer. According to a statement issued by the CPS - at the direction of City Councilman Pratik Mehta, its acting chair and only sitting board member - they will be voluntarily shutting down after discussions with the United States Internal Revenue Service. Both the IRS and the CPS refused to comment on an "active case with potential litigation pending", but a former member texted me that he wasn't surprised.
"The board was basically a patronage operation built on friends of friends who needed a tax write-off and idiots afraid of things that go bump in the night. Money spent on an accountant to do their taxes right is money not being funneled to Roger Anderson's sex trafficking ring."
The Council for Public Safety was perhaps best known for lobbying on a seemingly random collection of issues - mostly the pet projects of its board member Pratik Mehta. But after a series of setbacks it has seen its membership dwindle. One of its most outspoken advocates, Parish Priest Father Auryon of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, pointedly cut ties with the organization according to the Diocese itself. Others seem to have drifted away, especially after a violent fistfight ended their premier summer event at the Bourbon Vieux. The IRS investigation into their tax filing seems to have been the final nail in the coffin.
And so, those of us who shoot up New Orleans political news bid goodbye to one of the oddest features of New Orleans politics. A small organization that always seemed to have an opinion. A front with no money that yet seemed to have pull. And I'm sure it's a mere coincidence that a group promising to make the nights safe met their demise - and so soon after a spate of inexplicable deaths, strange crimes, and odd happenings among New Orleans' rich and political class. Hopefully it all stays there, but we should all know better.
Department of Education Launches Tulane Probe
FBI "Involuntary Pornography" and "Extortion" Charges Prompt a Look Into University Policy
BY Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo)
It's been about two weeks since the arrest of upperclassman Trey Gibson sparked controversy on campus, with the Tulane administration, Trey's Gamma Alpha Lambda fraternity, and the Gibson family threatening legal action after the Eastern District of Louisiana had Trey hauled from bed early on a Saturday morning. But as more information has come to light, that tone of defiance has turned into one of embarrassment, resignation, and contrition.
The chaos began with an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's office announcing that Gibson had been cleared of suspicion of involvement in vigilante activity, the charge he was initially brought in on. The Attorney also announced, however, that the case was being handed off from Agent Francis Northam to Agent Melissa Swanson with the District's sex crimes division. Trey Gibson, Northam's office said, had admitted to multiple counts of involuntary pornography, extortion, and harassment of other students on campus.
In the under two weeks following the announcement, the FBI and New Orleans Police have made nearly a dozen arrests in connection with both Gibson's admissions and tips sent to them by mainly female students. "I've never heard a tip-line ring so fast and for so long," one officer told the Hullaballoo. "And you know it was a coordinated campaign because of how similar they all are. No acts of violence. No rape. But just about every sort of extortion, blackmail, harassment, and verbal abuse you can imagine. It was really heartbreaking to hear it all."
The first charges to be listed were against Gibson himself, who is potentially facing 20 years in prison on multiple accounts of involuntary pornography, harassment, and conspiracy based on what the office is calling "his role as the ringleader of this behavior." New Orleans officers speaking anonymously have told me that most of the young men arrested have informed on each other despite the presence of their lawyers. "It's like a prisoners' game where everyone got handed loaded guns," our source told me. "These guys are not gonna like prison."
In the midst of all of this, Tulane President James Bigsby announced that the university agreed to a Department of Education probe of the university's internal policies and practices. "It is clear that we have a problem," Bigsby said, a far cry from his defiant condemnation of the FBI for taking Trey Gibson away without notifying the administration. "And the institutions we have in place have failed our campus, and especially the women on campus. We will work to rebuild the trust that has been lost, and we welcome the findings of the Department of Education to make Tulane a better place to live and learn."
Horizons Executive's Son Takes Own Life, Family's After Being Caught in Sex Trafficking Sting
BY Emre Calix, Reporter with the The Record
Neighbors of Horizons Limited Junior Executive Roger Anderson couldn't believe what they heard when New Orleans police told them what had happened just down the street. "Roger was never the nicest guy," said one. "But that? I guess you never really know a person, do you?"
Roger's neighbors were only one of several communities that woke up in shock on the evening of June 22nd to find the Anderson Estate on fire. Police crews went door to door, advising neighbors to remain in their homes, as New Orleans Fire rushed to the scene to put out the blaze. Officers had initially arrived in response to a woman on the manor's phone line who called 9-11 claiming distress. According to the NOPD, officers arrived to find several young men and women tied up in the living area of the manor. This discovery comes only days after a city-wide search for Roger Anderson, declared missing by his family and coworkers, had begun. And our source in the New Orleans PD thinks it makes sense.
"Human trafficking," an officer familiar with the situation told me. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, as he wasn't authorized to speak for the department. "Most likely the Andersons have been involved for a while, and Roger got in with some bad people. It looked like his son was trying to execute a trade for his father, assuming he was still alive. But the kid's young. He's not experienced in this stuff. And one of the little birds got free and sung."
Official lines of communication with the New Orleans PD offers a more objective version of events. "Upon officers' entry into the estate, the main perpetrator - identified as Marcus Anderson - was holding his mother Tanya and sister Sophia at gunpoint and threatening to execute them if police went any further. Our officers attempted to disarm Marcus, but were unfortunately unsuccessful in doing so before he could take the life of his family members. On investigating the residence, officers discovered a fire in the attic and shifted focus to evacuating the premises. We mourn the loss of the Anderson women, but are extremely proud of our contract officers for preventing any further fatalities."
While the remains of the estate smolder, many questions remain unanswered - chiefly the fate of Roger Anderson. While the New Orleans Police Department considers him as likely deceased, his remains have not been recovered like that of his family. "Roger's probably dead," our anonymous source said. "And it's probably for the best. He wouldn't like what happened to him where he was going to go."
Horizons Limited, Tulane University, the Council for Public Safety, and the University Medical Center - all of which employed or hosted one of the slain Andersons - all refused comment on this story.
Council for Public Safety Quietly Closes Doors
Acting Chair Pratik Mehta Shuts Down Non-Profit In Response to IRS Investigation
BY Violet Rue, Political Reporter with the New Orleans Chronicle (a subsidiary of the ABC/NBC Joint Local Broadcasting Group)
Most New Orleans residents don't even know that there is a Council for Public Safety, let alone that it's a non-profit charity and pressure group operating within their own city. But they won't be at a loss for much longer. According to a statement issued by the CPS - at the direction of City Councilman Pratik Mehta, its acting chair and only sitting board member - they will be voluntarily shutting down after discussions with the United States Internal Revenue Service. Both the IRS and the CPS refused to comment on an "active case with potential litigation pending", but a former member texted me that he wasn't surprised.
"The board was basically a patronage operation built on friends of friends who needed a tax write-off and idiots afraid of things that go bump in the night. Money spent on an accountant to do their taxes right is money not being funneled to Roger Anderson's sex trafficking ring."
The Council for Public Safety was perhaps best known for lobbying on a seemingly random collection of issues - mostly the pet projects of its board member Pratik Mehta. But after a series of setbacks it has seen its membership dwindle. One of its most outspoken advocates, Parish Priest Father Auryon of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, pointedly cut ties with the organization according to the Diocese itself. Others seem to have drifted away, especially after a violent fistfight ended their premier summer event at the Bourbon Vieux. The IRS investigation into their tax filing seems to have been the final nail in the coffin.
And so, those of us who shoot up New Orleans political news bid goodbye to one of the oddest features of New Orleans politics. A small organization that always seemed to have an opinion. A front with no money that yet seemed to have pull. And I'm sure it's a mere coincidence that a group promising to make the nights safe met their demise - and so soon after a spate of inexplicable deaths, strange crimes, and odd happenings among New Orleans' rich and political class. Hopefully it all stays there, but we should all know better.
Department of Education Launches Tulane Probe
FBI "Involuntary Pornography" and "Extortion" Charges Prompt a Look Into University Policy
BY Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo)
It's been about two weeks since the arrest of upperclassman Trey Gibson sparked controversy on campus, with the Tulane administration, Trey's Gamma Alpha Lambda fraternity, and the Gibson family threatening legal action after the Eastern District of Louisiana had Trey hauled from bed early on a Saturday morning. But as more information has come to light, that tone of defiance has turned into one of embarrassment, resignation, and contrition.
The chaos began with an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's office announcing that Gibson had been cleared of suspicion of involvement in vigilante activity, the charge he was initially brought in on. The Attorney also announced, however, that the case was being handed off from Agent Francis Northam to Agent Melissa Swanson with the District's sex crimes division. Trey Gibson, Northam's office said, had admitted to multiple counts of involuntary pornography, extortion, and harassment of other students on campus.
In the under two weeks following the announcement, the FBI and New Orleans Police have made nearly a dozen arrests in connection with both Gibson's admissions and tips sent to them by mainly female students. "I've never heard a tip-line ring so fast and for so long," one officer told the Hullaballoo. "And you know it was a coordinated campaign because of how similar they all are. No acts of violence. No rape. But just about every sort of extortion, blackmail, harassment, and verbal abuse you can imagine. It was really heartbreaking to hear it all."
The first charges to be listed were against Gibson himself, who is potentially facing 20 years in prison on multiple accounts of involuntary pornography, harassment, and conspiracy based on what the office is calling "his role as the ringleader of this behavior." New Orleans officers speaking anonymously have told me that most of the young men arrested have informed on each other despite the presence of their lawyers. "It's like a prisoners' game where everyone got handed loaded guns," our source told me. "These guys are not gonna like prison."
In the midst of all of this, Tulane President James Bigsby announced that the university agreed to a Department of Education probe of the university's internal policies and practices. "It is clear that we have a problem," Bigsby said, a far cry from his defiant condemnation of the FBI for taking Trey Gibson away without notifying the administration. "And the institutions we have in place have failed our campus, and especially the women on campus. We will work to rebuild the trust that has been lost, and we welcome the findings of the Department of Education to make Tulane a better place to live and learn."
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller
July 8th, 2071
Benjamin Kind Buried with Honors
Obsidian CEO Eulogized by Replacement After Bourbon Street Procession
BY - Emre Calix, Reporter with The Record
In a rare scene outside of February, tourists and residents alike found Bourbon Street blocked off for a procession. But instead of carnival gestures and performers, they found police and contractors in full dress uniform. Police wearing mourning bands lined the streets as the funeral procession of Benjamin Kind - the former Chief Operations Officer of Obsidian Incorporated found slain in his apartment a few weeks ago - marched down the street. New Orleans' official police honor guard led the procession, followed by contract officers escorting the hearse carrying his body. At the end of he profession were black vehicles carrying corporate executives representing Obsidian, Pharisee Robotics, LifeLike, and other major corporations based in New Orleans.
The procession stopped at Metaire Cemetery, where press were invited to spectate the funeral. Several guests, including Pharisee CEO Alan Carahan and LifeLike CEO Crimson Silver, spoke to the crowd about Benjamin and his life. But the main eulogy was given by a little-known figure among them. Amanda Phoenix, the incoming Chief Operations Officer for Obsidian, was the last to take the podium to memorialize her predecessor. "It says a great deal of Ben that so many of you who knew him for years wish you had more time with him," she said. "My experience with Ben was brief, but I was inspired by his integrity, his courage, and his kindness. I hope against hope that just a little bit of it rubbed off on me. It's the only way I'll be able to fill his shoes. Ben will be missed."
A 21-gun salute by the New Orleans police force sounded overhead as Benjamin Kind was laid to rest. "Ben would have loved it," one guest could be heard muttering. "He always was a sucker for the dress affairs."
University Medical Center Backtracks on Nurse Firings
Laid off Nurses to Return to Work on Monday
BY - Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo
A few weeks ago the Hullaballoo was first to break news of the biggest move that incoming Chief of Medicine Ernest Harper made. Almost immediately after taking up his post, Dr. Harper caused a stir by firing dozens of long-time nurses at the hospital citing "issues of integrity." Most insiders agreed that the medical professionals would have no recourse, and were stunned at a release from the hospital's press office stating that the nurses would be returning to work next week.
"The termination of the employees in question was the result of a misunderstanding by the University Medical Center," the release stated. "All of the nurses involved have been contacted with our apologies, backpay for time missed during their unemployment, and an offer to return to their posts this Monday. We regret the mistake on our part, and will do everything to make it right." Reached for comment, the nurses themselves and the Nurses' Union both expressed pleasant surprise at the development. In a press statement, the union expressed gratitude to the UMC for the reversal. "While there is no undoing the blemish this mistake cast on the nurses in question, we commend the UMC administration for its willingness to admit that a mistake was made at all. We're looking forward to seeing our nurses back at work on Monday morning."
Obsidian CEO Eulogized by Replacement After Bourbon Street Procession
BY - Emre Calix, Reporter with The Record
In a rare scene outside of February, tourists and residents alike found Bourbon Street blocked off for a procession. But instead of carnival gestures and performers, they found police and contractors in full dress uniform. Police wearing mourning bands lined the streets as the funeral procession of Benjamin Kind - the former Chief Operations Officer of Obsidian Incorporated found slain in his apartment a few weeks ago - marched down the street. New Orleans' official police honor guard led the procession, followed by contract officers escorting the hearse carrying his body. At the end of he profession were black vehicles carrying corporate executives representing Obsidian, Pharisee Robotics, LifeLike, and other major corporations based in New Orleans.
The procession stopped at Metaire Cemetery, where press were invited to spectate the funeral. Several guests, including Pharisee CEO Alan Carahan and LifeLike CEO Crimson Silver, spoke to the crowd about Benjamin and his life. But the main eulogy was given by a little-known figure among them. Amanda Phoenix, the incoming Chief Operations Officer for Obsidian, was the last to take the podium to memorialize her predecessor. "It says a great deal of Ben that so many of you who knew him for years wish you had more time with him," she said. "My experience with Ben was brief, but I was inspired by his integrity, his courage, and his kindness. I hope against hope that just a little bit of it rubbed off on me. It's the only way I'll be able to fill his shoes. Ben will be missed."
A 21-gun salute by the New Orleans police force sounded overhead as Benjamin Kind was laid to rest. "Ben would have loved it," one guest could be heard muttering. "He always was a sucker for the dress affairs."
University Medical Center Backtracks on Nurse Firings
Laid off Nurses to Return to Work on Monday
BY - Alana De La Cruz, Reporter with the Tulane Hullabaloo
A few weeks ago the Hullaballoo was first to break news of the biggest move that incoming Chief of Medicine Ernest Harper made. Almost immediately after taking up his post, Dr. Harper caused a stir by firing dozens of long-time nurses at the hospital citing "issues of integrity." Most insiders agreed that the medical professionals would have no recourse, and were stunned at a release from the hospital's press office stating that the nurses would be returning to work next week.
"The termination of the employees in question was the result of a misunderstanding by the University Medical Center," the release stated. "All of the nurses involved have been contacted with our apologies, backpay for time missed during their unemployment, and an offer to return to their posts this Monday. We regret the mistake on our part, and will do everything to make it right." Reached for comment, the nurses themselves and the Nurses' Union both expressed pleasant surprise at the development. In a press statement, the union expressed gratitude to the UMC for the reversal. "While there is no undoing the blemish this mistake cast on the nurses in question, we commend the UMC administration for its willingness to admit that a mistake was made at all. We're looking forward to seeing our nurses back at work on Monday morning."
Alex - Your Friendly Neighborhood Storyteller