It’s been a couple of days now since the Birdman resigned with the Hornets and, despite not playing since he inked his new deal, Chris Andersen sure has a lot more ink to show off (tattoo pun!). All the details, plus more photos can be found on the ESPN the Magazine blog.

Just a couple of extra notes that don’t appear in the ESPN article:

• Despite his refusal to smile in any photo I took of him, Birdman was affable, entertaining and, most of all, patient with me.
• He said he wants to get a tattoo on his bottom lip that read “BAMF” (Bad Ass Mother — er, you get the picture) and then had to tell me he was joking.
• I learned you can’t take everything he says too seriously. It’s great to see that, despite his past transgressions, he’s kept a positive outlook on things.
• Check out this video of Anderson at the 2004 dunk contest to get a sense of how much work he’s done on himself since he entered the league.
• “It hurt like a son of bean mother fredo pie” is the greatest thing I’ve heard an athlete say ever.

By: Clancy DuBos

Embattled Congressman Bill Jefferson’s local political empire continues to crumble as he trudges toward a showdown against federal prosecutors in northern Virginia. The Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee, a 70-member elected body that officially oversees party affairs in New Orleans, deposed Jefferson ally Stephanie Butler as its chair at the committee’s first meeting since new members were elected Feb. 9. The new chair is Jefferson’s former law partner, James Gray, whose daughter, state Sen. Cheryl Gray, defeated Jefferson’s daughter, former state Rep. Jalila Jefferson Bullock, in a November 2007 runoff for the state Senate seat that launched Bill Jefferson’s career in 1979.

Butler, the former chair, gained some notoriety in recent years as the Jefferson operative who orchestrated the firing of dozens of white employees in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office, according to former DA Eddie Jordan. Those terminations led to a $1.9 million federal civil rights judgment against Jordan’s office, which grew to $3.4 million with interest and contributed to Jordan’s decision to resign last October. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Allen  Johnson

Gambit Weekly’s continuing search of state Treasury records found thousands of dollars in unclaimed checks, refunds and other property for Louisiana law enforcement, including: Louisiana State Police $8,917; the New Orleans Police Department, $4,200; the NOPD Pension Fund, $1,144; and Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff Paul Valteau’s office, $890. In addition, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office will need to claim nearly $1,000 in checks addressed to Sheriff Harry Lee, who died Oct. 1. NOPD Assistant Police Superintendent Marlon Defillo told us a captain has been assigned to secure the monies addressed to NOPD and determine how the funds will be allocated. One expert said NOPD might need to consult with the city chief administrative officer to determine where the one-time payments will go. Similarly, State Police will try to determine whether its windfall reverts to the state general fund or whether the money can be used for one-time expenses. After our inquiries, state Treasury spokesperson Sarah Mulhearn told us other public agencies might soon get some good news. “Periodically, our Unclaimed Property Division will run a search of public departments that have unclaimed property and will send them their unclaimed property check,” Mulhearn said. “In our next run, the police departments will be included in that list as will other public entities.”  

By: Allen  Johnson

With Carnival 2008 behind him, Mardi Gras Guide publisher Arthur Hardy is focusing on another passion — promoting the recovery of his old high school, Warren Easton. Hardy, vice president of the Warren Easton Charter Foundation, the governing body that reopened the public school after Hurricane Katrina, announced a fundraiser for a school-based health clinic, with the goal of eventually serving the Mid-City residential neighborhood. Proceeds from the fair will help build the clinic, to be housed in the defunct “custodian’s cottage” next to the school. Clinic operations will be financed by the Kellogg Foundation, and it will be staffed by the Tulane University Medical Center. The fair will feature a tribute to New Orleans Police Officer Nicola Cotton, a 2001 graduate of Warren Easton who was killed in the line of duty earlier this year. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 29 at Easton Park, an old NORD playground at 600 N. Lopez St. Hardy also challenged alumni from other area high schools to match the community outreach goals set by his alma mater. During an interview, the president of the Easton senior Class of ’65, chuckled: “There’s an old saying. ‘New Orleans is made up of two kinds of high school students — those who went to Warren Easton, and those who wish they had!’”  

By: Jeremy Alford 

Despite evoking images of Evangeline’s green oak and Lafayette’s blue dogs, the Acadiana Legislative Delegation has steadily expanded its ranks to include lawmakers from more easterly locales. For example, Democratic Rep. Regina Ashford Barrow of Baton Rouge was elected secretary-treasurer of the delegation earlier this month. The Acadiana Delegation, as defined by the Louisiana Legislature, is made up of 22 parishes, many found in the eastern and central part of the state, with members from LaPlace, Destrehan and Belle Chasse. But the so-called “Cajun Heartland,” where the storied Acadian colonists originally relocated in the 18th century, includes only eight parishes in the Lafayette region. Over the years, there have been some turf wars in the delegation between purists and “outsiders.” “It’s always been so hard to agree on things because of that geographic divide,” says Sen. Mike Michot of Lafayette, the dean of the delegation. “And that’s why some of us have come together to form what we call ‘Core Acadiana,’ which includes legislators from Lafayette and the surrounding parishes. We’ve been meeting and will continue meeting.”