Past Published Letters to the Editors and WCKW Editorials

NOTE: In March, 1992 I wrote the following letter to the Times-Picayune. Early on the morning in which it appeared in the paper, my phone rang. It was someone named Bernie Cyrus. He ranted and raved about how he wanted to put me on a committee of the Louisiana Music Commission. He was the executive director. I agreed to meet with him, hung up the phone, and told my wife, Darleene, that I was tired of the music business and would never again do anything in it for free. I noted that I wanted to get into politics and be like James Carville, working behind the scenes to make things happen. Evidently God was listening. Bernie hired me (as a student assistant since I was enrolled full time at UNO) and I became a part of the politics of music in Louisiana, eventually to become the first-ever assistant director of the LMC.

March 25, 1992

The Editors
The Time-Picayune

To the management of the most unique radio station in America I say: Leave WWOZ alone! How will our future artists know what the roots of Louisiana (and the world's) music are like without the wonderful diversity of WWOZ?

I would like to know who commissioned this report, whose money was spent, and why was the money spent out of state? And since when does anybody in Greenbush, Wisconsin know anything about culture, music, or the needs and desires of people in Louisiana or Hawaii? I don't recall Greenbush, Wisconsin being the birthplace of any significant trends. Or did they, perhaps, give birth to the plethora of consultants who ruined radio in the late 70's and removed any chance of a DJ becoming a true representative of the taste of the community in which he or she worked.

I have worked in radio and as a struggling musician doing original music for over a dozen years, and I know of what I write and speak on this subject. Lack of support for Louisiana artists by commercial radio is the number one reason why it is so difficult for any musician in this State to get a chance to be heard and judged by an audience. The cycle of how talent is presented and either rejected or accepted by the public is thwarted by commercial radio's head-up-its'-you-know-what attitude. Hence the need for more stations like WWOZ.

I am sure that some of the commercial radio stations here likely howled in protest at Scott Aiges recent article that berated the lack of support for local artists. But the real truth is that a lot more can be done. For instance, I lived in Atlanta for the last five years and the commercial rock station there went out of its way to expose local talent by having a regular show featuring recordings made by unsigned regional bands. In my ten years in Louisiana with a band, no commercial station ever tried to produce or promote any similar type show, which is one of the reasons why we moved to Atlanta to begin with.

The efforts of countless numbers of people have been producing results for Louisiana artists, and the music scene is healthier now than it has been in a long time. But that is not to say that things are good. Musicians still face an uphill battle to get their music to the public, and radio is still the biggest obstacle. Public outcry directed at commercial stations and public support for stations like WWOZ are the most critical parts of the puzzle.

Louisiana has more quality music per square mile than any place in the universe, so far as modern science can tell. If we need to consult anybody about the styles and tastes of this special place let's at least start by asking questions of each other. In the meantime, vive la difference and allons danser, mes amis!

Sincerely,
Steve Picou

NOTE: Since the LMC had almost no budget in 93-93, Bernie Cyrus solicited radio stations, trying to get a local music show started. WCKW 92.3FM had a one hour Sunday night show called "The Louisiana Homegrown Show" that Bernie offered to host. He grew the show to two hours, was allowed to break the rock format and play and interview anyone he wanted. With Weird Wayne as his co-host, the show ran for two years. For three weeks I did a series of editorials on the show which follow:

July 1993

Arts and Violence

Today's paper features a riveting series of stories concerning kids and guns. It explores the issues of availability and motivation, and of the ultimate tragedy of children who do not know how to express themselves without resorting to fatal violence. Louisiana legislators, in particular, should read this series carefully, for they, more than they can possibly imagine, have by their actions insured that more children will fail to express themselves creatively, and will turn to firearms to make a statement.

By failing to adequately fund the arts, the legislature has taken a step that not only makes Louisiana the laughingstock of the United States, but an incubator for more crime and violence committed by youth.

Moviemaker John Singleton, whose 'Boyz n the Hood' revealed the inner workings of the minds of many who are subjected to the violent and uncaring environment of the city, says that what made him capable of both understanding and coping with the horrors of childhood in the troubled streets of East Los Angeles, was his mother's determination to expose him to artistic expression. He says that encountering artistic expression exposed him to the deeper feelings of people, and to the universal struggle to escape the bonds imposed by an seemingly uncaring society. In other words, if it wasn't for his exposure to art, John Singleton would've been just another disadvantaged, frustrated young black man from the inner city.

Education is seen as a panacea to so many of our woes, but it is arts education that is truly the most important factor in helping us shape the minds and souls of our youth. Through art and music, children learn to use both sides of their brain, and learn that the work of another can reach deep into one's soul. Art and music are universal languages of the inner person, the soul, that part of us that is neither black nor white, but human, and filled with longing to reach out and communicate with the world in a peaceful and rewarding way.

If this state is to prosper and survive in the coming years, we must teach our children the depth of meaning that only the arts express. We must teach them with the best of our resources in education. But it is only through art that they will become the kind of people that we need them to be if we are to make tomorrow a better day.

What you can do is contact your legislator and tell them that you are embarrassed and ashamed to be the state that is dead last in spending for the arts, and that our future depends on strong arts programs that bring culture and music to children who otherwise might not know such things exist. Tell them that this is as important an issue as there is in Louisiana today. Tell them that it's a hell of a lot better to have kids that express themselves with art and music than with violence. Don't be surprised if they don't get it.

You can also contact the arts groups in your area to find out if you can be of service in the cause.

NOTE: This editorial was also used to get an A in a Business Law class I was taking at UNO. Royalties Due for Older Artists

An October 2, 1992 article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Ruling is Music to Old Pop Stars' Ears" is really good news for many Louisiana songwriters and artists. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that reissues by new companies of old material is subject to current standard royalty rates. That means that the proverbial contract signed on the hood of a car in a parking lot outside a bar in 1961, a contract that usually was unfair in its rates of payment to the artist and resulted in many artists whose songs are known the world over yet who earned little of the money from sales and publishing, artists who have a difficult time paying the rent, are due a new deal by the new owners of their material and performances.

The case against the defendant, International Marketing Group, et al, involved the purchase of master recordings at a bankruptcy auction and subsequent re-marketing of the hits on television ads and as movie soundtrack music. The suit, brought by BJ Thomas (a Louisiana native), the Shirelles ('Soldier Boy'), The Crests ('16 Candles'), and Gene Pitney ('Only Love Can Break a Heart'), netted the artists $1.2 million, and was argued by Ira Greenberg, an intellectual property specialist whose firm is called the Artists Rights Enforcement Group (founded in 1977). Greenberg borrowed a legal theory from New York law which is regarded as influential in the entertainment business. "Successor liability" appears to be an important new application of the "reasonable person" standard of "duty of care" in contract law. That standard asks the question "how would a reasonable person have acted in the same of similar circumstances?" In the case of many contracts from the 50's, 60's and 70's, a 'reasonable person' would find that the terms regarding artists' royalties were often grossly unfair, sometimes excluding the writer of a hit song from receiving any royalties whatsoever in return for the payment of small one-time fee.

For instance, popular songwriter John Fogerty unwittingly sold his song rights during his Credence days. After he learned the extent of his mistake, he for years refused to perform the tunes, because every time he did, a person he despised made the money. In cases like this, an expert in the music business took advantage of an artist's ignorance of the long-term financial rewards of a hit song. A hit like "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" for example, netted songwriter Paul Simon over ten million dollars in royalties so far. John Fogerty should have made similar money on "Proud Mary", but his royalties were limited strictly to record sales--and at least he got that. Many Louisiana artists made little off of record sales or publishing, they were often paid a one time fee during the recording session, and saw no money after that.

Rhino Records appealed to the Supreme Court that this ruling "would chill if not completely stop the purchase of master recordings," but the court let the ruling stand. A spokesperson at K-Tel records said that "artists haven't come out of the woodwork, but it could still happen." Indeed, it is partially because many of the artists are so broke that they never read this WSJ article.

Here in New Orleans we have many destitute or near destitute artists whose hits netted their managers, producers, studios, record and publishing companies enormous sums of money, yet these artists now struggle to keep up with the basic necessities of life.

It is now up to a number of attorneys who represent the many Louisiana artists who could be affected by the ruling to take responsible action. By that I mean that attorneys not try to drive the record companies into bankruptcy with outrageous claims, and not charge their clients outrageous fees. This is one case where a war has begun, and the outcome will be uncertain for some time to come.

NOTE: This editorial was read mere weeks before we were able to start LTV, the state's first one hour live music television show on Cox Cable. We ended up doing 100 episodes of LTV, making it the most productive live music show in the state's history by putting nearly 300 Louisiana artists onto live television. It is the predecessor of Louisiana Jukebox which continues LTV's legacy. A LOUISIANA MUSIC TV SHOW

For some time now we at the Louisiana Music Commission have been under pressure to conceive and/or produce a live performance-oriented, Louisiana music tv show. It seems that many of us cannot understand why there's no show like Austin City Limits produced here. Obviously, since we are the birthplace of America's music, and are blessed with a musical abundance that knows no true rival, it would seem that a tv show featuring Louisiana music would be a natural hit.

Not that it hasn't been tried. My research indicates that since 1986 at least three million dollars have been invested in production of Louisiana music shows. Some really big names spent really big bucks and made neither big ratings or money. Based on this fact alone, it would seem that a tv show featuring Louisiana music isn't likely to happen any time soon, right? Wrong.

There are some important factors that make both the market and the producers more receptive to the idea. The rash of multimillion selling artists from Billy Ray Cyrus to Nirvana, and the steady growth of specialty labels that release significant progressive artists, and fairly stable worldwide demand for music, are indicators that the world market for music is still strong. And there seems to be a new effort to bring more live music to tv. Several new tv productions on both commercial and public networks, finds the dial rarely free of some kind of live music. And the rebirth of radio shows featuring local artists, such as this one, live performances, such as the one that follows this show (cue weirdo..), and the growth of national call-in shows featuring artists, are indications that the public and the industry continue to evolve.

And big changes are just around the corner. We seek our contact with the world through increasingly sophisticated connections, and these connections are about to merge. Our tvs will be our link not only to shows, but to shopping, telecommunications, education, and yes, even radio. And just as publishers need copy to fill their magazines and newspapers, so too, do tv producers need good stories, and musical talent to fill the airtime.

Louisiana is in a unique position. We have a resource that is in demand the world over. We have world-class talent in the worlds of writing, television and movies investing everything from their money to their lives in the State. And we need people willing to help.

Currently, Cox Cable is planning a live music show featuring the one and only Bernie Cyrus and the lovely Brigitte Paillet as hosts. It's still in the talking stage, and we'll be the first to let you know when it will air. This show is a great first step, but it is up to people like Brandon Tartikoff, Quincy Jones, John Goodman or others, to make a world class show a reality.

Louisiana can claim more great musical families than any other place in the world, and frankly, we at the LMC can't understand why, for example, NBC hasn't staged a Marsalis family special, staged in prime time, the special could also boost the Tonight Show's ratings. It would be an easy job to create a series of shows that revolve around a Louisiana 'family legacy' premise. The Nevilles, the Connicks, the Batistes, I could go on, because music is a vital heritage that in Louisiana is passed on....Now it's time for someone in the television industry to catch on.

And as always, we at the Louisiana Music Commission are eager and willing to help.

NOTE: This letter was written in collaboration with Ellis Marsalis. I composed the majority of the letter after a series of discussions with Ellis. He then edited it and we sent it to the newspaper. It ran and was also quoted in a subsequent editorial.

November 3, 1993

The Editors
The Times-Picayune

Thank you for your recent series on Jazz. As a member of many organizations dedicated to the music of this great state, I often encounter those who think that our music will be passed on from generation to generation simply because it exists. Well, it's not that simple. As your articles pointed out, the passing of the torch is taking place in garages, practice rooms, and precious few music venues. I'm sure that the world thinks that we in Louisiana are taking good care of music, since it is our single greatest contribution to the cultures of the world, but we aren't.

It is especially tragic that our schools are not offering music. The recent cuts inflicted on the arts, music, and libraries in our school system represent the mistaken notion that these programs are less important than math or science. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For it is through the arts that the left brain meets the right brain. Music instruction, in particular, raises math scores. If we are serious about improving education in this state so that our citizens can compete in a world economy, then we must mandate arts education. Or else there will be fewer and fewer people capable not only of playing our treasured Jazz, but of calculating the odds on a bet.

Sincerely,
Ellis Marsalis, Jr.

NOTE: An attempt to revive long dormant plans to dredge Bayou Mallet near Eunice, the last undredged bayou in that area, prompted an intense effort by many to stop the project. I wrote many letters and made dozens of phone calls in what ended up being a successful (mainly due to the work of people living in the area, I don't take any credit) effort to stop the clearing and dredging. This letter ran in The Eunice News and caused my parents to get a couple of nasty phone calls. My parents weren't happy with me for picking a fight in their back yard and not being there to take the heat.

May 1994

The Editor
The Eunice News

The Last Bayou

I'll never forget the first time my father took me fishing at Two O'clock Bayou. It was a magical world of dense forest, dark waters sprinkled with green duckweed, and mystery. I remember grand cypresses lining the wide bayou, and small tributaries that were so narrow that you could touch either bank with a paddle, where there were millions of gelatinous eggs attached to the root systems and branches just under the surface of the water. It all seemed so remote, so primitive, so endless.

We went on to the Two O'clock Pits, large lakes that had been scooped from the swamp to make the (then fantastic) elevated U.S. Highway 190 through the Atchafalaya Basin. That road seemed like the highest place in the world to my child's eye. I thought then that there was endless abundance. That there was enough wood, water, and steel to last forever. I never imagined that I'd live to see the day when there would be want for the bounty of Nature. Such were the thoughts of a child.

Today, the place where dad took me fishing is plainly visible from that elevated highway. Now the trees are gone, houses and driveways line the lakes, and the dark water is often brown with the topsoil of faraway places and of countless dredged and denuded waterways. Such are the visions of an adult.

Remember Bayou Des Cannes? It was a classic Louisiana bayou--slow moving water, and draped with moss covered cypress and tupelo. The banks were veritable cascades of cypress knees. It was too small to be easily navigable by anything but pirogue or canoe, nevertheless it contained areas of wonder. A local photographer once won an award for capturing a scene of enduring beauty that drew praise and coverage from the late Matt Vernon in The Eunice News.

Enduring beauty? Just a few years later, after a multimillion dollar channelization, that bayou was converted into the most expensive ditch in the Eunice area.

I also will never forget how the displaced and dug-up wildlife of Bayou Des Cannes occasionally made the pages of the paper-"Six foot rattler dug up by workers" or " Hundred-fifty pound alligator snapping turtle discovered by work crew"--it was the final documentation of the elimination of all that was once wild in this coastal prairie town. There was no dignity in these stories, only sideshow gawking.

After the expenditure of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to "improve" it, Bayou Des Cannes won't return to any semblance of its former cypress-lined beauty for the next couple of centuries--unless a lot of people start planting trees, then it'll only take a century and a half. Real bargain, don't you think.

I remember Bayou Mallet, too. I never thought much of this tiny, unnavigable stream. The woods on either side of the bayou were not so thick as to be inviting, and the close proximity to town further degraded its appeal to me as a place to be explored. No, to me Bayou Mallet was never the best bayou in the Eunice area. Hard to believe that in those seemingly short years since my childhood that Bayou Mallet would become The Last Bayou.

The long dormant plans to destroy Bayou Mallet in the name of drainage are lumbering like Godzilla towards this tiny and fragile streak of woods, and preparations to once again spend the public's money is sending engineers and drainage board members into a feeding frenzy. After all, this 4 mile snippet of the 123 mile project will cost THREE MILLION DOLLARS!

To the misguided, it's been too long since millions of federal and hundreds of thousands of state dollars have been funneled into drainage projects. And with the costly dredging and channelizing of streams in the area long thought to be over, land owners and concerned locals were caught napping while the machinations of bureaucracy--which never die until printed words ordering their demise arrive from higher authority--ticked back into life. You can just hear the engineers and politicians exclaiming with glee: THREE MILLION DOLLARS!

Here's a test- Choose one: Three million dollars to destroy four miles of bayou. That's nearly a million dollars a mile to clear-cut a swath 260 feet wide to slice a ditch for four miles along the bayou. Then think of all the needy projects that could be helped with that kind of money. If--by some miraculous change in the way government works--you could choose between the drainage project or an education project, or the drainage project versus expansion of the Jean Lafitte Park; heck, how about between the drainage project and highway maintenance--isn't it obvious that ripping a football field-size strip for four miles along the last remaining natural bayou is hardly a wise use of the public tithe? And now, when thousands of visitors are annually discovering our unique culture and environment!?

Another irony is that just as we (the Public) are realizing that we've made terrible mistakes AND spent hundreds of millions of dollars to channelize rivers and streams throughout the United States, we're going to allow this last twitch of a dying policy to inflict further damage and cost. We're already spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Florida alone trying to repair these foolish projects. Now we're going to be paying for both the mistake and the correction at the same time. Just the way you want to see your tax dollars working, right?

Well there's no mistaking what is going to happen in the next couple of months. If the Corps of Engineers approves the Section 404 wetlands permits, the contracts will be let to start the project. But, you can stop the Bayou Mallet project, and you must work fast. You'll have to ask for an extension of the Public Notice since it expired on May 24, and ask for a Public Hearing from: Mr. Martin Mayer, Permits Project Manager, Department of the Army, New Orleans District Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, LA, 70160-0267.

What you also can do is immediately contact everyone from President Clinton, to Senators Johnston and Breaux, to your Congressional representative, to the Corps of Engineers, to the Soil Conservation Service, to your local state legislator, to Hubert Stagg Jr. of the drainage board, to this newspaper, and especially your friends and neighbors . Let them know that you object to your tax dollars being wasted on this destructive project.

This is your legacy Eunice. I hope it's not too late.

NOTE: For three years I struggled to awaken civic leaders to the potentially deadly problem of celebratory New Year's Eve gunfire. I warned that someone, probably a tourist, would die if we didn't stop the shooting. On December 31, 1994 my prediction came true with the death of Boston tourist Amy Silberman. I was devastated. The city was shocked and embarrassed. Things started happening. But the gunfire continues. This is the first letter to run after that incident. Almost annually, I've been published on this subject. I hope soon to not feel compelled to write such letters due to the elimination of this problem. As of 1999, however, I am still working to end the shooting, and still writing letters.

 

January 15, 1995

The Editor
Gambit

I've been trying to do something about gunfire on New Year's Eve since I moved back to Louisiana in 1991. Every December I contact assignment editors at local television stations and the public relations department at NOPD and ask them to do public service announcements or some sort of campaign against this growing problem. This year, Chief Pennington, to his credit, held a press conference the Tuesday before New Year's Eve. However, as I expected, it was too little too late; and as I predicted, a tourist was killed. Amy Silberman's life was sacrificed so that the hundreds of people who indulge in the annual orgy of celebratory gunfire might realize that their actions are the epitome of stupidity. The police should never reveal the caliber of the bullet that killed Amy Silberman, so that everyone who fired a gun that night will always wonder if theirs was the fatal slug.

Nevertheless, in the subsequent orgy of remorse and outrage shown by civic leaders and news media, a simple fact was consistently lost--this problem has plagued this community and many others for years. Public service workers, tow truck operators and others make a point of parking under overpasses and other barriers around midnight every New Year's Eve, in order to avoid the rain of bullets. It's similar to many stupid and terrible things that happen in Louisiana, as if the gunfire is just another form of corruption that we typically tolerate with a combination of acceptance and temporary outrage--or at gun shops with a nod, wink and cha ching at the cash register.

Gun outlets admittedly do a booming business on New Year's Eve as hundreds of people flock to the stores to buy bullets. There is a palpable feeling in the air of these shops then, because everyone knows that they are about to indulge in a risky thrill en masse--and who knows what tomorrow will bring. This year it brought death, grief and hopefully, remorse.

Your recent editorial takes an attitude that gun control is a solution. This ever-so-antagonistic approach to the problem of celebratory gunfire will defeat our efforts to stop this insanity. Sure, we need to examine and replace outmoded laws regarding dealer's licenses and many types of guns, but these are separate issues. After all, the cat is out of the bag, because on the streets of the USA there are now more guns than people.

Celebratory gunfire is not a gun control issue--it is a self control issue.

We need a concerted, door to door effort to educate people about the problem in the months before the holidays. On New Year's Eve we need to be able to report gunfire to a hot line number that produces a response. Whenever we report gunfire there must be a thorough follow up by police, even if it is the next day. We need gun shops and gun organizations like the NRA to join in the effort to stop this madness. Indeed, this issue is one of the few on which both gun proponents and opponents agree.

Please don't fan the flames of fanatics on both sides of the gun issue by lumping the problem of celebratory gunfire with other gun-related issues. We need solutions, not grab-bag rhetoric and vitriol. We need to be able to tell Amy Silberman's family that her death led to more than just arguments. Unless it leads to solutions, we are all accessories to murder.

 

Sincerely,

NOTE: In 1994, New Orleans experienced 421 murders (!), a record. Ironically, in January 1995, in an issue on which the headline blared the ugly facts of life in New Orleans, a tiny article appeared, buried in the depths of the paper. It stated that we were living in a period marking the greatest mass extinction since the dinosaurs, and that we, not Nature or an asteroid impact, were the cause. I then wrote this letter.

 

January 15, 1995

The Editors
The Times-Picayune

Dear Editors:

Tucked away in Sunday's paper was a small article in which a scientist revealed that we are in the midst of the greatest mass extinction since the end of the dinosaurs. Seemingly, this should have been a headline blaring from page one. However, in a issue aching with the pain of 421 murder victims, I can somewhat understand this global mass murder of non-human species not being placed front and center.

Nevertheless, I am chagrined that we still do not see the connections between everyday actions and impending environmental collapse. No, we can't stop a volcano from erupting in Mexico, nor the floods in California. But the tragedies both current and future that make each disaster compelling are for the most part preventable with common sense--a trait that is so lacking in us that it threatens to cause our extinction as well.

Here in Louisiana, we continue to do our part in eliminating both ourselves and other species. As politicians here bicker over whether we can afford one or two dollars a month in an increasingly futile attempt to gain some semblance of control over our growing waste stream, or over plans to dredge the most pristine waterway remaining in Louisiana and Mississippi in order to accelerate trade in our rapidly depleting natural resources, or over a wood chip mill in Reserve that surely will hasten the loss of vital hardwood bottomland habitat, it is somehow reassuring to know we are murdering each other and our surroundings in what appears to be the planet's greatest and only mass self-extinction.

You can look to the horizon in fear of natural disaster and pray that we be protected from the elements; but, if you want to stare down the real culprit in this global catastrophe, look in the mirror.

Sincerely,

September 9, 1995

The Editors
The Times-Picayune

It is my good fortune to be affected by editorials two days in a row--"The Faces of Holiday Gunfire" (9/3) and "Stamp of Approval" (9/4)--without there being a grand or lurid scandal; though holiday gunfire is a tragic problem with an ironic link to Satchmo!

I'd like to add to the thanks regarding the Armstrong stamp. If not for Senator J. Bennett Johnston's work with New Orleans Jazz Centennial Celebration (NOJCC), New Orleanians would've learned of the issuance of the Armstrong stamp because of news coverage of the events---from New York City. In all the speechmaking and publicity surrounding the issuance ceremonies, the role of New Orleans Jazz Centennial Celebration was overlooked; and, as the principal sponsor of the parade--thanks to financial support from Harrah's--NOJCC also deserves much credit for making the day memorable. (And there were seven brass bands in the parade, not four as the captions read in the T-P the following day.)

For nearly four years I've also been an activist fighting to stop the insanity of celebratory New Year's gunfire. Your editorial Sunday (9/3) about the New Year Coalition is much appreciated. But did you know that were it not for the fact that he fired a gun on New Year's Eve, Louis Armstrong probably would have never met his music teacher, Peter Davis? Satchmo, then eleven years old, was sentenced to a year at the Waif's Home for Colored Boys (not Milne Boys Home as is often misstated). Davis, a strong, caring and overlooked giant in New Orleans history, taught young Armstrong how to read and write music. A plaque commemorating Peter Davis was installed in the Louisiana State Museum at the Old US Mint during the Postal reception the night before the stamp issuance. It is due to the work and efforts of Dr. Robert Mikell, who also was blessed with being a student of Davis. The plaque is mounted on the display case that holds Armstrong's first horn, set among the memorabilia of the New Orleans Jazz Club Collection--the world's only origins of jazz museum--which all New Orleanians should see.

That I should be so directly affected by editorials two days in a row is both a delight and a responsibility. Although I played a critical role in securing the stamp issuance ceremonies, I was but one of many. Similarly, I play a critical role in the New Year Coalition in that I am part of what I hope is a growing number of people who are outraged at having the streets of New Orleans turned into a free-fire zone every New Year's Eve. Your editorial proves that you support our efforts, and for that I am grateful. However, you did not print an address or phone number, and volunteers are desperately needed if we are to win back our safety during those few hours of annual celebration.

The address of the New Year Coalition is: PO Box 19181 New Orleans LA 70179-9181 and the phone number is 523-0241. We need people to help us distribute flyers, make phone calls, and contact other community organizations.

Soon we will again be celebrating Louis Armstrong. The New Orleans Museum of Art will host a major exhibit of Armstrong memorabilia beginning in November and extending through the New Year. We should use this time to extend the great energy of Satchmo and use the example of his life as a role model for us all in an effort to end rampant holiday gunfire. With the continued support of the community and media, perhaps there will never be another innocent victim like Amy Silberman. And perhaps we will never again awaken on New Year's day, ashamed and embarrassed by the deadly foolishness of too many New Orleanians' idea of a party the night before.

Sincerely,

Stephen C. Picou
Assistant Director
Louisiana Music Commission
Board of Directors
New Year Coalition

January 3, 1996

The Editor
The Times-Picayune

I greatly appreciate your coverage and support of the effort to end the insanity of holiday gunfire. As the only person to attempt to quantify a portion of the problem by tallying gunshots, I must, however, correct a small part of your reporting. Though I appreciate being called sophisticated, my system for recording the number of gunshots audible from my home in Faubourg St. John is comprised of pen, paper and ears.

Each minute from 11 PM until after 1 AM, I note the number of shots I hear and whether they were fired in my immediate neighborhood or in the distance. Due to the marked decrease in the number of shooters this year, I was able to note shots fired a significant distance from my home. Thus my numbers this year reflect gunshots that I likely would not have heard last year. This is good because it means that far fewer people in my neighborhood were shooting. Therefore, even I question whether a 55% reduction is accurate. I, and the members of the New Year Coalition, believe that the reduction was over 70%. Indeed, the number of victims is down by 80%.

This significant reduction is the result of what is probably the most successful one year effort by any civic group working to make New Orleans safer. The burden of this operation fell mostly on Gil Helmick and Andy Fox. Their lives were permanently affected by the tragedy of this problem. Now, our lives have been improved by their determination, and for that the entire metro area should be grateful.

My wish for this New Year is that the work of the New Year Coalition gain more support during the next holiday season. Every civic and religious leader should join the annual campaign against holiday gunfire and take the burden of responsibility off the backs of the few people who have sacrificed so much for the common good. With the foundation of this year's success, we should be able to build a bigger and better coalition. Again, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

January 5, 1998

The Editors
The Times-Picayune

Words fail to express my appreciation for the concerted efforts of all who helped the New Year Coalition promote a safer New Year celebration. Though we were a bit shorthanded and-funded this year, the magnification of our work by the media and by civic leaders helped spread our message about the danger of celebrating with a gun. My sincerest thanks to all who participated. However, to quote Emeril Lagasse, we need to "kick it up a notch" in the coming year.

Only one person was reported hurt by a falling bullet. It was great news. Yet from my Faubourg St. John location, I clearly heard more than 2000 shots, including three bursts of automatic fire. This is a 300% increase in gunfire compared to last year, and only a 40% reduction compared to the amount of gunfire the night Amy Silberman died. Nonetheless, there were fewer victims this year than in recent memory. Well, I don't want to rain on the parade... but it was blind luck.

We are using a bloody method to measure the success of our efforts. Injuries and death should not be our statistics We should accept nothing short of zero gunfire as our goal.

Remember, it took only one bullet to kill Amy Silberman.

Let's make a New Year's Resolution: we will find ways through technology and law enforcement to strategize a better plan for the next year end celebration. For I can tell you from experience; there is no worse way to start the New Year than with the devastating realization that you could've done more to prevent a tragedy. We definitely need to do more.

Sincerely,

February 9, 1999

The Editors
The Times-Picayune

I've spent the last five years literally counting gunshots on New Year's Eve, and I have both good news and bad news to report on this year's tally. The good news , as fellow New Year Coalition founder Andy Fox noted, is that for the first time in the 1990s, no one was reported hit by a falling bullet on New Year's Eve. The bad news is that the amount of gunfire was still within one third of the level it was the night Andy's cousin, Amy Silberman, was killed. That year, I counted more than 3300 gunshots in just one hour and 45 minutes. This year I counted 1100 shots, a two-thirds reduction but still far too many. These figures, extrapolated over the entire metro New Orleans area, indicate that in excess of ten thousand shots were fired this year. And it only takes one bullet to kill.

Perhaps the New Year Coalition message that Falling Bullets Kill! has been taken to heart and many of the shooters are no longer firing into the air. Perhaps fewer people are milling about outdoors during the shooting. Perhaps we were lucky. Most likely, all of the above apply.

Whatever success we had this year is attributable in no small part to the magnification of our efforts by the local and regional media, for this year, the New Year Coalition was surely a day late and a dollar short. We did not have the resources to do the job we hoped to do, but the media made up the difference and we are grateful. Also, the Louisiana Children's Museum and the many students, teachers and parents who participated in our "Make Noise Safely" programs deserve credit for helping us spread the message and make this year's news stories interesting.

As we prepare for what could be the biggest New Year party in history, we must improve and expand plans to stop celebratory gunfire. Government leaders at all levels must do more this year than ever to adequately plan and fund this prevention effort. But it is not entirely their job.

If citizens do not report gunfire, there is little that government and law enforcement can do. And one phenomenon I've gleaned from five years of counting gunshots is that though there may be fewer shooters each year, the criminals remaining are firing more shots. The average number of shots per incident of gunfire has risen from 7 to 10, with several people firing more than 30 shots in a row.

It is impossible for someone to fire more than 10 shots without their neighbors knowing the general area from which the shots are being fired. And without vigilant and responsive citizens, shooters will continue to cause us to fear the consequences of New Year's Eve celebrations. That is no way to start the New Year!

I hope to report in the coming months that a stronger coalition of civic organizations, local, state and federal leaders will be working sooner and harder to make the 1999 celebration safer. And I hope that we will be utilizing new available technologies to help pinpoint and discourage celebratory gunfire. Today, this is my hope. Tomorrow, this will be our shared responsibility.

The New Year Coalition is ready to do its part, but we cannot be solely responsible for funding and implementing what is essentially a law enforcement/public safety issue. I challenge all government leaders to better fund and implement our prevention strategies as part of the annual routine of their bureaucracies. And I challenge every citizen to listen, as I have done for five years, and report gunfire in their neighborhoods. I'm proud to call New Orleans home. I want to be proud to call New Year's Eve in New Orleans safe and get back to celebrating the New Year like everyone else.

Sincerely,

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