I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT STREET CANADA IS ON – AL CAPONE

A few weeks ago, while I was traveling out of state, I happened to catch the front page of USA Today. The headline screamed out, “Crime takes hold of new New Orleans.” The tag line was, “Murder rate soars after Katrina as violence creeps into upscale neighborhoods.”

As of December 1st there have been 147 people killed in New Orleans, and with the current population that means that New Orleanians are killing each other at a rate of 73.5 murders per 100,000 residents. The article claimed that this “honor” put us ahead of the nation’s previous title holder, Compton, CA, whose murder rate was 67 murders per 100,000 people in 2005.

The article continued to state:
70% of the murders are drug related.
Orleans Parish Police Superintendent, Warren Riley estimates that 80% of the criminals that operated in New Orleans before Katrina have returned.
Before Katrina, 1,668 officers patroled the street. Since the storm, 183 officers have been fired or resigned. 109 officers are out sick or injured. 80 have been assigned desk jobs because of administrative layoffs, there are currently only 1,275 officers on the street. 4 out of 5 officers lost their homes in flooding.
The Orleans Parish Prison has about 2,200 beds, down from 7,200.
The D.A’s office lost more than 30 of its attorneys.

Of course, I am aware of the murder rate in New Orleans, but for some reason the comparison against Compton really struck me. I decided to look up some basic statistics comparing New Orleans to Compton and this is what I found.



Median Family Income
Compton: $37,246. New Orleans: $35,878

Sales Tax
Compton: 8.25% New Orleans: 9%

Auto Insurance Premiums
Compton:$2,186 New Orleans: $3,099

Job Growth
Compton: 13.69% New Orleans: -0.99%

Median Home Price
Compton: $340,000 New Orleans: $128,000

Home Price Gain
Compton: 36% New Orleans: 7.80%

Number of Colleges, Universities & Professional Schools
Compton: 23 New Orleans: 11

Test Scores Reading
Compton: -52.5% New Orleans: -36.8%

Test Scores Math
Compton: -42.8% New Orleans: -35.9%

Personal Crime Risk (100 is average, lower is better)
Compton: 420 New Orleans: 445

Property Crime Risk
Compton: 121 New Orleans: 276

Personal Crime Incidents (per 100,000)
Compton: 1,613 New Orleans: 948

Property Crime Incidents (per 100,000)
Compton: 2,626 New Orleans: 5,162

Movie Theaters (within 15 miles)
Compton: 113 New Orleans: 23

Restaurants (within 15 miles)
Compton: 12,115 New Orleans: 2,087

Bars (within 15 miles)
Compton: 527 New Orleans: 465

Libraries (within 15 miles)
Compton: 178 New Orleans: 44

Museums (accredited by AAM within 30 miles)
Compton:14 New Orleans: 6

Yes, we need some help.

During my research, my first shock was to discover that Compton was voted one of the top 100 places to live by Money Magazine. How could that be possible with the rampant crime, exploding drug use, and the Crips & the Bloods roving the streets 24/7? Truth be told, I didn’t know much about Compton except for what I learned in the media; which essentially was the blaring headlines similar to the one I read in USA Today about New Orleans. I had a good friend I grew up with live through the riots in 1992 that resulted from the outcome of the Rodney King trial; her stories gave me nightmares for weeks. But what I didn’t know…

Compton was recently designated as an “Entrepreneurial Hot Spot” by Cognetics, Inc., an independent economic research. Compton made the national list for best places to start and grow a business, and ranked #2 in LA County out of a field of 88 cities. The city provides a business assistance program consisting of a comprehensive mix of resources to small business owners and entrepreneurs. It has over 140 public golf courses within 30 miles of the city, 7 ski resorts within 100 miles, a celebrated equestrian club and one of the best astronomy programs for teens in the country. 80.2% of the city has a health plan (couldn’t find the statistics for New Orleans). Of course, it does has its corruption factor. In 1995, the mayor and a councilwoman were convicted of extortion. In 2002, the new mayor was convicted of using city credit cars to purchase golf supplies and lavish hotel stays for himself and his friends. He was sentenced to three years in prison (oh, dare to dream). I was unaware of all of this and would have remained so if I had not taken the time to look up these facts. It’s definitely changed my perspective.

Of course, in the USA Today article, there was no mention of the rebuilding efforts of local New Orleans organizations. It mentioned the murder of Addie Hall. It didn’t talk about the volunteer groups who spend countless hours assisting residents gut and clean their houses. It cited how an 18-year old from Mississippi was stabbed to death on Bourbon Street. It didn’t point out how every day more and more businesses are reopening their doors. It referenced the shooting near The Spotted Cat in October. They also quoted various residents.

“The sun goes down, and I go in.”
“This is a city out of control.”
“The parents don’t want the kids down here.”

They didn’t ask me. They didn’t ask my friends. They didn’t ask my neighbors.

When the National Guard came back into the city following the shooting death of 5 teenagers, I got frantic calls and emails from around the world. My friend from Japan called asking me if there was a safe way for me to get out of the city. My friend from Australia emailed me asking if it was true there were military roadblocks on every street. My parents called me begging to come home. I got other emails from WA, NY, CA, PA & CO asking about my safety and offering their homes as havens. These are not uniformed and hysterical people.

Do I think New Orleans is perfect? No.
Did I think it was perfect before Katrina? No.
I have the “healthy” balance of a love/hate relationship with this city.
Yup, we have our problems.
What I do know is entertainment is the city’s main form of income. It is our lifeline. We need to bring back our people and we need to bring back our tourists!

Before, the idea of going to Compton was along the same lines of going to Iraq to sunbathe.

In Compton, I imagined constant gun fire, cracked out prostitutes convulsing in the street, barefoot kids running through the streets with guns. That was my ignorance and I take responsibility for it. But even with that, I have a tenacious curiosity and I worry that the average guy from the Midwest isn’t going to take the time beyond what is spoon-fed to research the “new New Orleans reality.” What are they thinking about us?

We are promoting our ADD society with catchy headlines and exploitive pictures. We live in the catchphrase generation. But we don’t have to be at the mercy of the media.

Speak out! Tell your story.

I compare the media coverage to out of town guests. As I am sure all New Orleans residents can attest, everyone, at one point, has experienced the same emotion when you cross your arms across your chest, sigh and tell your guests, “No, there is more to New Orleans than Bourbon Street.”

You take them canoeing in Jean Lafitte National Park. You take them to the sculpture garden in City Park. You take them to the cemeteries. You take them to hear Washboard Chaz at the Circle Bar, Rebirth at The Maple Leaf, or Kermit at Vaughans. Or hell, cram them in the Apple Barrel or Spotted Cat. You take them to a burlesque show at One Eyed Jacks, shopping on Magazine Street, ride a streetcar (real soon) on St. Charles. Feed them burgers at the Clover Grill, gumbo at Liuzza’s and po’boys from The Verti Mart. Then your guests start to slowly understand a little bit about New Orleans.

This is what we need to do to the media and anyone who will listen. Yes, we are hurting. But yes, we are getting better.

I wish the reporter from USA Today could have been with me last week. Looking for some down time before The Big Easy Rollergirl Bout (I tend to get nervous and distracted, which is often misinterpreted as rude and insincere) some friends and I decided to go to Celebration in the Oaks at City Park. Driving in City Park, my heart started to sink. It was dark and I didn’t see anyone. Was this going to be another let down? With recent personal events I couldn’t bear to be let down by a less than stellar reaction of the reopening of the walking tour of City Park. I quickly realized that I drove in the wrong way. When I did find the correct entrance, it was packed! Families galore! Kids decked out in their winter gear barely able to contain their excitement! Couples lovingly holding hands and kissing. The cars were lined up and I couldn’t find parking less than a half-mile away. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but with my knee injury, I couldn’t push it.

Yet, I drove home happy.

It was just another example of the rebirth of the new New Orleans, still rooted in tradition.

Please, get the word out!