Aggregator

A 39-year-old man died Monday, three days after he was shot while he was on a porch in the Walnut Park West neighborhood, according to police.

by Richard A. Webster, The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, and David Hammer, WWL-TV

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, and it was also co-published with WWL-TV. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

The state of Louisiana is pausing efforts to collect money from thousands of homeowners who accepted hurricane recovery grants and used them for repairs rather than elevating their houses. The decision comes after news outlets presented the state with evidence showing that its lawyers have stepped up the pace of court filings even as the state hopes to wipe away the lawsuits entirely.

Jay Dardenne, the head of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Division of Administration, said Monday that the state has agreed to settle a related lawsuit against a company that ran the recovery program after Hurricane Katrina. If the federal government approves that agreement, he said, the state would drop the suits against homeowners who didn’t follow the rules on how they spent elevation grants.

An investigation by ProPublica, The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, and WWL-TV found evidence that some of those people were told they could use the $30,000 grants on repairs instead. Years later, the state sued about 3,500 families — roughly 1 in 9 grantees — demanding the money back.

Dardenne said he was troubled by evidence gathered by the news organizations showing that the law firm Shows, Cali & Walsh, which represents the state, has accelerated its efforts to collect tens of thousands of dollars from each homeowner.

With the state on the cusp of a solution, “there’s no reason to try and take any more cases to judgment,” Dardenne said.

He said the state is waiting for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to approve a proposed settlement between the state and the company it hired to manage the federally funded Road Home recovery program from 2006 to 2009.

In 2016 the state sued that firm, ICF Emergency Management Services, accusing it of mismanagement. A mediator helped the two sides come to an agreement in late 2020.

The state wants to send the money it expects from that settlement to HUD to satisfy its obligations for Road Home grants that weren’t spent according to the rules. If HUD agrees, the state will drop its lawsuits against homeowners and cease collection efforts in cases that have gone to judgment, Dardenne said.

“I think we’re inching very close to that happening,” Dardenne said.

Dardenne said he and Edwards have spoken with HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge about accepting the proposed ICF settlement. When asked if he believes Fudge is in favor of dropping the suits, Dardenne said, “I do.”

A HUD spokesperson declined to comment on that characterization, but said, “HUD continues to work with the state.”

Meanwhile, the litigation continues.

In New Orleans, home to almost half of the elevation lawsuits, lawyers filed almost as many motions for judgment in a recent six-week span as they had in the first three and a half months of the year.

Lawyers with Shows, Cali & Walsh filed 42 motions for judgment from January to mid-April, according to court records. Over the following six weeks, they filed 38 motions seeking roughly the same amount — $1.2 million.

About half of the filings in both periods were for default judgments, a ruling that can be imposed when a defendant fails to respond in court. Such judgments result in liens on the properties, preventing them from being sold until the debt is paid.

Dardenne said the state has not sought to speed up recovery efforts. He said any increase in court filings likely reflects the timeline of individual cases.

Among those targeted was New Orleans homeowner Celeste Matthews. The same day she was featured in news stories by ProPublica, The Advocate | The Times-Picayune and WWL-TV that detailed the lawsuits, the law firm notified her that it would pursue a default judgment against her.

Celeste Matthews shows the siding she had installed after Hurricane Katrina. Matthews received a Road Home grant to elevate her Gert Town home in New Orleans but used the money for repairs instead. (Sophia Germer/The Advocate | The Times-Picayune)

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat whose district includes much of New Orleans, where many of the lawsuits have been filed, said last week the state should put such filings on hold.

“Conversations are getting more frequent and focused in these past few weeks in the work to end the injustices of the Road Home program,” Carter said. “The state should not continue, and is not required to, keep exacting these punishing actions against my constituents.”

Louisiana Seeking $103 Million From Homeowners

The lawsuits stem from Road Home elevation grants that were awarded to about 32,000 homeowners whose houses were damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A majority lived in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

The money, typically $30,000, was supposed to be used to raise homes off the ground to prevent future flooding.

An investigation by the news organizations found that the state Office of Community Development and its contractor, ICF, mismanaged the program. They distributed grants without verifying that people were eligible, according to the testimony of a top state official. Some homeowners said Road Home representatives told them they could use the money to rebuild.

HUD, which funded the program, found widespread noncompliance with grant requirements. The agency told the state to recover any misspent funds, leading to the lawsuits.

The state is seeking $103 million in the elevation lawsuits. So far, it has recovered about 5% of that from 425 families. Any money recovered would be returned to HUD.

The news organizations’ investigation sparked anger and calls from housing advocates and politicians to end the lawsuits. The New Orleans City Council passed a resolution calling on the state to drop the lawsuits.

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Russel Honoré, who led federal troops into New Orleans after Katrina and is now an environmental advocate, called the state’s legal actions against its own residents a “travesty.”

“The house-raising issue after Katrina was a mess from the day it started,” he said.

Watch the Report

WWL-TV reports on Louisiana pausing collection efforts in elevation grant lawsuits.

State “Anxiously Awaiting” HUD Response

The state and HUD have been talking for years about what to do about people who didn’t elevate their homes. Documents provided by the state to the news outlets show the solution hinges on the resolution of the state’s lawsuit against ICF.

In its lawsuit, the state alleges ICF committed “numerous breaches” of its contract, citing errors in handling files, deciding who was eligible, calculating grants and handing out the money. At one point, the state estimated ICF handed out more than $137 million in grants that were either miscalculated or paid to ineligible homeowners, though Dardenne said that figure has decreased.

ICF has denied those allegations in court. Spokesperson Lauren Dyke has said the firm “worked within the policies put in place by the state.”

Shortly after the state sued ICF, the two sides entered settlement talks and eventually came to an agreement, documents show. The amount of the settlement was redacted in documents provided by the state.

Pat Forbes, executive director of the Louisiana Office of Community Development, which oversaw the Road Home program, wrote HUD in May 2021, asking if the proposed settlement would end the state’s liability for ineligible grants. A HUD official responded with steps the state must take to close out the program. Four months later, Forbes asked for an update. HUD said it should have an answer by March.

When that deadline passed, Dardenne wrote Fudge and Carter, saying the state and ICF were “anxiously awaiting” HUD’s answer.

In an April letter to Dardenne, a HUD official said issues with the state’s recordkeeping system had delayed the agency’s response. However, the official said the agency was analyzing the data and its analysis would be provided to HUD’s Office of Inspector General. After that, the letter said, HUD would be able to provide “sound guidance” on the proposed settlement.

HUD’s decision will determine what happens with the suits, Dardenne said.

When the ICF case is settled and HUD closes out the Road Home program, “all the pending cases are going to be dismissed,” he said. “The judgments are not going to be pursued. I mean, this would end everything.”

Homeowners Say They Were Pressured to Agree to Payment Plans

Two homeowners and an attorney representing two others said lawyers representing the state tried to strong-arm them into agreeing to payment plans. None of their accounts stem from efforts to collect this year.

Alice Sanders, who lives on Social Security, said Mary Cali, a senior partner at Shows, Cali & Walsh, “badgered” her into signing a $200 monthly payment plan last May and said Sanders would lose her home if she didn’t. Sanders did not have an attorney.

“It leaves me with no money. I can’t even buy my own groceries or medicine,” said Sanders, an associate minister who lives in Baton Rouge. “It’s a sin, what they’ve done against their own residents.”

Cali said that claims she pressured homeowners are “patently false. I have never threatened a homeowner with the loss of their home, and I find such allegations offensive.”

Forbes said he has “no reason to believe” the state’s attorneys threatened anyone or insinuated the state would take their home. The state will not foreclose on homeowners to collect these debts, he said.

Attorney Jennifer Jones said two families being sued by the state told her John Walsh, another senior partner in the firm, pressured them to sign agreements, called consent judgments, to repay the money. Jones, who only took on the families as clients later, said neither had a lawyer at the time.

“That’s a disgrace, for a plaintiff’s lawyer to be doing that to someone who is unrepresented,” Jones said. “They don’t know what the lawyer is telling them.”

Walsh did not respond to a request for comment.

Donna Hilliard, who contacted the news organizations after the investigation was published, said she, too, was a victim of the law firm’s aggressive tactics.

Left: Hilliard at her home in New Orleans. Right: Hilliard has filled her home with sculptures of turtles, which she says she loves because they symbolize patience and longevity. (Sophia Germer/The Advocate | The Times-Picayune)

A tree pierced her roof during Hurricane Katrina, but the home never flooded. The house was already a couple feet off the ground, so when she and her husband, Honoray, were offered Road Home money in 2007, they checked a box saying they didn’t want an elevation grant.

And yet, two years later, the Road Home program awarded them the elevation money. Hilliard said she never planned to raise her house, but a Road Home representative told her not to fret.

The state sued the Hilliards in 2021 because they had not raised their home.

Hilliard said she was “bullied” last year by three attorneys, including Cali, who told her she should agree to a payment plan.

A longtime hospice nurse, Hilliard was having her own health problems at the time. She was undergoing chemotherapy, and she and her husband couldn’t afford a lawyer.

So they signed an agreement in February to pay the state $250 a month for five years, with a $15,000 balloon payment due at the end. Now 56 and using a cane, she doesn’t know how she’ll afford it.

“I just want them to stop it now, so that I could be able to live whatever time I have left without that hanging over my head,” Hilliard said. “I don’t look for nobody to do nothing for me. When you do me wrong, just fix it.”

Did You Get the Help You Needed After a Hurricane or Tropical Storm? We’re Investigating Disaster Relief.

The enormous blades used to be destined for landfills. But a unique recycling facility in Louisiana, Mo., now spares them from the garbage heap.

ALTON - Alton School Superintendent Dr. Kristie Baumgartner described the Alton High Class of 2022 as "a very special and remarkable group of students." "The resilience, persistence, and academic strengths displayed by our seniors are all significant indicators of what lies ahead in regards to their future success," she said. "We wish all of our graduates the very best!" Alton High School's graduation was Friday night. Above is a video from the event, plus within are pictures. Click here for the graduate list.

Continue Reading

St. Louis' energy utilities are aiming to promote installations of energy-efficiency equipment, such as new furnaces, improved insulation, and other upgrades.

Local and state tax revenue plus federal and state grants would help fund $54 million in additional street work near the NGA site under newly-introduced legislation at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.

Jordan Binnington says he threw an empty water bottle at Nazem Kadri after Game 3 of the second-round series between St. Louis and Colorado.

A man accused in a south St. Louis murder investigation faces criminal charges two weeks after the victim was found dead.

President Biden has approved a program of student loan cancellation up to $10,000. Matt Yglesias isn't happy about it: The student loan cancelation issue is white collar nonprofit workers making the transition from class-in-itself to class-for-itself. — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 28, 2022 I get Matt's irritation about this. It really is a triumph of ...continue reading "It’s time to hold states accountable for student debt"

Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo is now officially a "permanent member" of the band. LoMenzo, who'd previously played in Megadeth from 2006 to 2010, rejoined the thrash titans last summer as…

Source

EDWARDSVILLE - Alton track runners Christian Kotzamanis and John Krafka proved to be a very lethal one-two punch for the Redbirds in the 800-meter runs this past track and field outdoor season. On Apr. 23 at the Winston Brown Invitational meet in Edwardsville, Krafka came in third with a time of 2:03.81, while Kotzamanis was right behind in fourth at 2:05.29. Then, in the Southwestern Conference meet at Edwardsville on May 11, Kotzamanis had a time of 2:04.84, while Krafka came in at 2:05.26. Both have been coming close to running sub-two-minute times in the event. For their efforts on the track this season, both Kotzamanis and Krafka have been named the Auto Butler male Athletes of the Month for their school. Kotzamanis and Krafka, who run for head coach Jeff White, both set personal records in the 800 recently and both felt they ran well on the day. "I think I did alright," Kotzamanis said as part of a joint interview conducted during the meet. "I lost in the last race, but altogether,

Continue Reading

Envisioned for one of the sites is a rooftop bar with views of the Arch, Market Street and the new soccer stadium. And an upscale restaurant would have an outdoor terrace.

EDWARDSVILLE - Alton sophomore softball pitcher Grace Presley had a great performance against the Kahoks on May 24, striking out 10 batters and allowing four runs on nine hits in the Redbirds' 4-2 loss in the second semifinal of the IHSA Class 4A regional tournament at the Edwardsville District 7 Sports Complex. Presley got key outs in the game, including getting out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the fifth to keep the game close. The Redbirds did play well, but missed opportunities were very costly in the end. Presley is the Auto Butler Female Athlete of the Month for Alton High School. For her performance in the game and in the season, Presley has been selected as the school's Riverbender.com Auto Butler female Athlete of the Month for May 2022. Presley, who plays for head coach Dan Carter, felt that her team played well and did everything that the Redbirds needed to do in the game. "I feel good about our game," Presley said during a postgame interview. "They were a really

Continue Reading

The biggest week in St. Louis racing history has finally arrived. Here's everything you need to know as the NASCAR Cup Series comes to town.

In discussions about content moderation, it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that there are only a few simple ways it could possibly work — but in fact there is plenty of room for exploring creative alternatives. One such idea examined in a recent paper by Aviv Ovadya, Technology and Public Purpose Fellow at […]

While the nation reels from the mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Dr. Kristen Mueller reflects on the amount of everyday firearm injury she sees as an emergency care physician in St. Louis — and what it would take to reduce the toll.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge has ordered St. Louis County to pay $300,000 to two people who sued after police barged into their home six years ago with …