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life begins with fertilization, cloning or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood.” Broun’s 2011 bill has 63 House co-sponsors, including three Louisiana representatives: Rodney Alexander, John Fleming and Steve Scalise. Broun did not respond to Gambit’s request for a statement on the failure of the Mississippi initiative, but he has said he will continue to introduce the “Sanctity of Human Life Act” as his first bill each Congressional session. — Kevin Allman
RAFApAloozA
State Rep. John LaBruzzo introduced a Louisiana version of the Personhood act last spring, but the measure never made it out of the House.
BywAteR ARt Venue Closes undeR peRmit pRessuRe
Trouser House executive director Emily Morrison announced Nov. 6 that the art venue would close at the end of the month. Her announcement came via the group’s website and in an email to the art space’s supporters. Trouser House, located at 4105 St. Claude Ave., opened in 2009 as a gallery and art space with an urban farm, and last week it hosted its final show, Salon des Refuses, which, Morrison notes with irony, is named after the rejected pieces of Parisian salons. Trouser House, among other Bywater and Marigny spaces, received an email from Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Office of Cultural Economy in the wake of permitting problems at Bacchanal, the wine store that served food and hosted live music without city approval. The email
them in business,” said Scott Hutcheson, Landrieu’s adviser for cultural economy. “We will continue to work with Trouser House to assist in their efforts to find a suitable location.” — Alex Woodward
moRe BAd news FoR ARts: leH Hit witH Budget Cuts
In addition to zoning issues that impinge on art venues in rebounding neighborhoods, state budget cuts are hitting traditional arts powerhouses like the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH). Michael Sartisky, who serves as LEH’s executive director, recently noted that state support for the organization was “slashed by $1.5 million from its level in 2007-08.” The consequences were immediate: LEH has suspended its 2011-12 grant cycle. That means no money — as of Nov. 1 — for LEH programs such as Outreach, Public Humanities, Teacher Institutes for Advance Study, Documentary Film and Radio, and the Louisiana Publishing Initiative. “We remain fully committed to a sustained fight to reinstate an appropriate level of support from the state that will allow us to resume the funding of crucial programs to benefit communities and institutions across Louisiana,” Sartisky wrote in an email blast. “But without appropriate levels of state funding, this simply is not possible.” Sartisky noted that the cuts will hit LEH’s partner institutions hardest. “No films will be funded this year,” he wrote. “Funding for American Routes (a public radio program), which the LEH supported for more than a decade, is eliminated.” State support for LEH reached $2 million under former Govs. Mike Foster an Kathleen Blanco. Sartisky said that level of funding created an economic impact of $14 million a year and allowed LEH to serve needy communities that lacked the infrastructure to support high-end cultural programs in libraries, museums, schools and other institutions. — Clancy DuBos
corrections
In “You Know the Drill,” (Scuttlebutt, Nov. 1), we misidentified the president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. Chris John is the president of that group. In “Forty Under Forty” (Nov. 1) we stated that Ryan Gootee helped Jesuit High School become the first school to reopen in Orleans Parish after Hurricane Katrina, opening the Monday after Thanksgiving. De La Salle High School says it was the first to open, in October 2005. Gambit regrets the errors.
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > noVember 15 > 2011
were denied their personhood and were therefore treated as property, bought, sold and bred as animals. Jews were not considered full persons, so their property could be confiscated and their people eliminated.” Louisiana personhood advocates lost one of their champions when state Rep. John LaBruzzo was defeated in last month’s primary. Last spring, LaBruzzo introduced the Louisiana Personhood Bill, which would have banned abortion outright in the state and almost certainly would have triggered a Supreme Court fight. In an appearance before the state House Health & Welfare Committee, LaBruzzo said, “It doesn’t matter if you’ve voted for every pro-life bill that’s come to this committee. This is the pro-life bill. … I think you’d be in a difficult situation if you voted against this bill and tried to convince everybody that you are ardently pro-life. And I would not want to be in that situation.” The committee approved LaBruzzo’s bill by a 10-2 vote, but the full House voted 65-30 to send it to the Appropriations Committee, effectively killing it for the session. Bills to confer the full rights of personhood on zygotes have been introduced on and off for nearly 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Sanctity of Life Act of 2005 was introduced by current presidential candidate and Texas GOP Congressman Ron Paul, but it didn’t make it out of committee. Paul also filed similar bills in 2007 and 2009. This year, the Congressional standardbearer for the personhood movement has been Congressman Paul Broun, R-Ga., a physician whose 2011 “Sanctity of Human Life Act” states: “Each human
When Rafael Delgadillo was shot last September in an attempted carjacking, the injuries suffered by the local peace activist spawned an anti-crime march in Mid-City near the site of the shooting. Now a new group called Responding Against Fear and Violence (RAFA-V) is holding a “RAFApalooza” fundraiser Nov. 17 at Bayou Beer Garden (326 N. Jefferson Davis Pkwy.). Fifty percent of the proceeds will go toward Delgadillo’s ongoing medical expenses and the other half to “an organization doing anti-violence work in New Orleans” (Delgadillo is set to announce which one that evening). The evening will feature food, a silent auction and art activities. NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas and Criminal Justice Commissioner James Carter will attend the fundraiser. Other supporters include New Orleans City Councilwomen Kristin Gisleson Palmer, Susan Guidry and Cynthia Hedge-Morrell along with dozens of partner groups, including evacuteer.org and Puentes New Orleans, two groups Delgadillo ardently supported. Tickets to the event are $20 and can be purchased at rafapalooza. eventbrite.com. — Allman
prompted area gallery owners to rush to City Hall to apply for appropriate permits, and “some got them,” Morrison said. But prior to that, in August, Morrison sent an email to city officials inviting them to a salon opening. He said they replied, asking to meet. City code enforcement officials have told Morrison that the building, which dates from 1840, needs to be brought up to current code standards, including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility and fire safety provisions. Morrison was given a checklist: level the building’s foundation, widen doorways several inches, install bathrooms and ramps, add exits through a neighbor’s parking lot, widen alleyways, install a gateway — a complete overhaul, Morrison says. The extensive makeover would require hiring an architect to perform a feasibility study, a licensed contractor to make the changes, and thousands of dollars. “‘Then maybe we’ll give you a permit,’” Morrison said, pretending to quote city officials. “How can something built 100 years ago get compliant up to this year?” Identity issues in Bywater and Marigny properties aren’t helping: There currently are no permits to cover what Trouser House does; Bacchanal’s offerings changed as it grew; the Esplanade Avenue art treehouse “moved” to St. Claude Avenue; and Plan B will move later this year after its relatively smooth eviction from the A.R.K., which is being renovated into luxury apartments. Bywater and Faubourg Marigny neighborhood associations voice support for the arts in their respective neighborhoods, but the city’s recent code enforcement campaigns are the rule. Morrison worries, “Is it possible in the Bywater anymore?” Trouser House’s mission statement defines the space as “a model of sustainability defined by community involvement and public education. As a catalyst for social change, Trouser House advocates food activism and contemporary art as vehicles for improving public health and personal well-being.” Exhibits were planned through May 2012 but now will have to find new exhibition spaces. The city, Morrison said, isn’t kicking out Trouser House tenants or closing its doors, but it can’t run as is without proper permits. City officials were “receptive,” Morrison said, and “to an extent encouraging.” She added that folks in the Landrieu administration are working for the arts and are willing to help as long as Trouser House moves. “We continue to work with cultural workers and businesses to help get the permits and licenses they need to keep
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