Mayor Ray Nagin, who is a corporate mouthpiece for Wal-Mart and other corporate privatieers, presented an environmental award to Shell Oil Company. Shell Oil Company donated monies to a small insignificant “green washing” Green Project located off St. Claude Ave. down by the railroad tracks. Mayor Ray Nagin is notorious for tearing down public housing to make way for Lester Kabencoff’s corporate development expansion plans.

Mayor Ray Nagin presently has plans to displace the poor Afro-Americans living in the Iberville public housing project to make way for another Lester Kabencoff private corporate development scheme, similar to the displacement of the poor Afro-Americans that were once living in the public housing St. Thomas projects now Wal-Mart. The old Krauss building adjacent to the Iberville public housing project on North Rampart St. is presently being yuppiefied into swank condominiums.

In the meantime, New Orleans under Mayor Ray Nagin acquires no new public parks. Whatever municipal public parks exist in New Orleans under Mayor Ray Nagin they are permitted to deteriorate. The rich are able to use the facilities of their private institutions. The poor swelter in their poverty cesspools while being arrested shot and harassed by Mayor Ray Nagins New Orleans police department. Mayor Ray Nagin’s solution to the New Orleans poverty problem is to displace the poor out of New Orleans centralized public housing, and move them to New Orleans East.

Mayor Ray Nagin recently joined hands with City Councilman "Fast Eddie" Sapir to attempt to privatize the New Orleans Sewage and Water Board, and put New Orleans water into the pockets of mega-international corporations.

Mayor Ray Nagin has single handedly destroyed the unique and distinct character of the historic Vieux Carre (French Quarter) of New Orleans by placing hundreds of trash cans, bearing corporate logos on the streets of New Orleans. Mayor Nagin has also recently in violation of public bid laws and without approval of the Vieux Carre Commission placed hundreds of illegal parking meter structures in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans.

Mayor Ray Nagin is standing quietly to the side while attempts are being made to privatize New Orleans Charity hospital. Mayor Ray Nagin is fighting hard for the rich and elitist. Under Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration the public school system is being dismantled. The New Orleans public school system is divided between rich-elitist-private versus poor-black public. It will only be a question of time before New Orleans public schools will be funded by such corporations as Coca Cola-McDonald’s-Shell Oil Company, or some other mega corporation.

Mayor Ray Nagin does not represent the hundreds of thousands of poor Afro-Americans residing in New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin stands idle while antiquated drug laws and poverty are causing hundreds and hundreds of shooting deaths of young Afro-Americans. Under Mayor Ray Nagin the rich get richer. The poor get poorer. And Shell Oil Company is given an environmental award at Mayor Ray Nagin’s environmental breakfast on May 30th 2005.

Wetlands-Estuary Coastal Eco-System Destroyer

1.

Mayor Ray Nagin’s Bonnet Carre spillway proposed new airport site is an exercise in pure insanity-stupidity. This site is adjacent to Entergy’s Waterford Nuclear Power Plant. Now Mayor Ray Nagin not only wants to destroy the Vieux Carre, public housing-public schools-public communities of New Orleans, he now seeks to fly airplanes adjacent to a nuclear power plant. And of course he wants to also destroy a vast public wetland-flood barrier-public recreational area. SOWL believes these letters to the editor appearing in the Times Picayune on May 19th, 2005 speak loud and clear on how Mayor Ray Nagin’s proposed Bonnet Carre airport site borders on stupidity-insanity.

2.

Mayor Ray Nagin not only wants to turn New Orleans into an Atlanta-Houston, he is also determined to turn it into another Hong Kong by his proposed New Orleans airport site, consisting of filling in large parts of Lake Pontchartrain for a Hong Kong type island. Mayor Ray Nagin is proposing that Lake Pontchartrain be filled in for an island airport in New Orleans East, adjacent to the Bayou Savage National Refuge Center. Mayor Ray Nagin by his proposed Hong Kong Lake Pontchartrain New Orleans East airport island will destroy all the work done to restore Lake Pontchartrain by Save Our Louisiana Wetlands Inc. and Save Our Wetlands Inc. and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. SOWL suggests Mayor Ray Nagin move on to become CEO of the Audubon Institute (a Shell for Shell Oil Company), Entergy, or Halliburton etc. Mayor Ray Nagin does not care about New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin cares about big business.

Honorable Ray Nagin
Mayor, City of New Orleans
City Hall
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112

RE: Letter of Protest-Condemnation by SOWL of Mayor Ray Nagin's Proposed Two New Airport Sites

Dear Mayor Nagin:

This letter is from Save Our Wetlands Inc., and Save Louisiana Wetlands Inc. (SOWL), consisting of over 1200 members. Since 1974 SOWL has been documenting the destruction of Louisiana wetlands-coastal zones by corporate politicians like yourself, who have little or no regard of Louisiana wetlands, estuaries and coastal zones. And you and your corporate cronies simply do not understand the economic value and sustainability , plus flood barriers that wetlands serve. Nor do you understand the great economic sustainability value that Lake Pontchtrain provides to the citizens of New Orleans.

This is Notice of Intent to Sue on your proposed two mega billion dollars airport sites. SOWL feels your proposals border on both insanity and greed, and amount to nothing more than a corporate land grab.

Bonnet Carre Spillway:

This is not only a public waterbottom-wetland-public recreational area, but also an important asset in relieving New Orleans from the potentials of disastrous flooding.

This area is adjacent to Entergy's Waterford Nuclear Power Plant. Planes flying anywhere near this site presents a total potential disaster for New Orleans and her citizens. This is especially true since Senator Mary Landrieu is pushing bills through the U. S. Senate boosting nuclear power, but limiting liability to Entergy in case of a nuclear accident.

A Waterford Nuclear Power plant accident will result in the death of hundred of thousands of Louisiana citizens, and injuries to millions. Property damage will amount in the hundreds if not thousands of billions of dollars.

There is a history of strong opposition by New Orleans citizens to the construction and operation of the Waterford Nuclear Power Plant, which SOWL, Oystershell Alliance, Gary Groesch(ex director of Alliance for Afforable Energy), and literally thousands of New Orleans citizens raised their voices in protest.

A castaprophic Waterford Nuclear power plant accident, such as an emergency core fuel meltdown, or an airplane crash means the home owners are left holding the bag . An airplane crashing into Waterford is not out of the realm of possibility under your proposed Bonnet Carre Airport as there have been several airline crashes in Kenner over the years.

If there is an airline crash, Entergy and your million dollar CEO friends walk away laughing to the bank, compliments of the corporate welfare state pushed by their corporate mouthpieces like yourself and U.S. Semator Mary Landrieu.

2. Filling In Large Portions of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans East for Your Proposed Hong Kong Type Island Airport, adjacent to the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge Center.

SOWL is responsible for the Bayou Sauvage Refuge Center, and for saving the Lakes Maurepas Pontchtrain Catherine Borgne(MPCB) Eco System.

In 1978 SOWL obtained an Injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Charles Schwarz, enjoining the Corps Hurricane Barrier Project. This HBP was nothing more than a Rep. F. Edward Hebert-Orleans Levee Bd. Guy Lemieux pork barrel scheme. Under the guise of hurricane protection pushed fraduently by the Corps, this HBP was going to stop the velocity and salinity flow of Lake Pontchtrain, making it a dead , stagnant lake.

Therefore under the guise of Hurricane protection, this HBP was going to destroy Lake Pontchtrain, create millions of dollars in dredging contracts, destroy the wetlands of New Orleans East, and promote development in extremely low lying areas susceptible to hurricane tidal surges.

SOWL stopped in 1978 the 28,000 acre Orlandia Subdivision proposed by Texas oil Barons, who at that time were owners of New Orleans East Wetlands. SOWL is also responsible for recently stopping the motorized speedway proposed in New Orleans East, adjacent to the Bayou Sauvage Refuge Center.

Your New Orleans East-Hong Kong-Island filling Lake Pontchartrain proposal flies in the face of restoring Lake Pontchartrain by SOWL and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.

SOWL believes your major concern is not for the people of New Orleans,

but for the large corporations, who have paved-paid your way into office.You are obviously ignorant of the history of the strong environmental movement in this community. SOWL is committed to protecting-preserving the wetlands-estuaries surrounding not only lake Pontchartrain but also the Bonnet Carre Spillway.