Get a Game Plan!

It’s that time of year again — Hurricane Season started June 1.

Be sure to Get a Game Plan at www.getagameplan.org

(Oh, we built that site, too)

New Site Launched

As part of the Master Planning process for St. Tammany's Recreation District 14, we've launched a new site at: http://www.coquillemasterplan.org/

It's soliciting community feedback, and will be a place to review the plans as they're developed.

Check it out!

Family Road Storybook Ball

I’m looking for Silent Auction items for an upcoming fundraiser for Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge. Please let me know if you have something you’re willing to part with for this worthy cause! We’re hoping for items with a value of $50 or so, but are happy to take smaller items and pair them up with others’ donations. I also hope you’ll consider buying a ticket, and maybe bringing home some lovely auction item, and great memories from this amazing event.

ABOUT THE STORYBOOK BALL
Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge, along with the presenting sponsor, tipton associates
specializing in architecture, planning and interiors, announce the STORYBOOK BALL to
be held on March 14, 2009 6:00 – 10:00 pm at the Celtic Studios, 10000 Celtic Drive, Baton Rouge, LA, the newest, fully functional Hollywood movie studio in Baton Rouge.

The Storybook Ball is meant to create an enchanted and magical evening for the entire family. Plans are to have carriage rides from the parking lot to a magical entrance. Once inside, the “candy cane lane” setting will take you though life-sized Storybook modules. Every Storybook will have an activity or something for each child to take away with them. Music, dancing, food and beverage will make this a night to remember for all that attend. Dress for this event will be Cocktail attire and children are invited to dress as their favorite storybook character. Tickets will sell for $100 per adult and $25 per youth. Reserved tables for 10 can be purchased for $1000. Parking is free. Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.blacktie-louisiana.com/online_sales/rsvp_ticket_purchase.cfm?rsvpid=262

SILENT AUCTION ITEMS NEEDED
Here’s the Silent Auction commitment form, in case you’re willing to give us a Silent Auction item. We need the item at Family Road by March 10th. If you can fill out this form and send it in, then we can make the labels and auction sheets for it.

http://www.covalentlogic.com/assets/other/famRd/StorybookAuctionSponsorCommitment.pdf

Or just email me that you have something and I’ll fill out the form and submit it and such!!

If you need more info, call Alice Lubowicz at 225-317-2093 or alubowicz@familyroadgbr.org

ABOUT FAMILY ROAD
Family Road is a local non-profit that coordinates the services of over 100 social service agencies to customize financial, legal, social, psychological and personal help for families. We’re especially focused on the peri-natal period when folks are willing to ask for help and do what it takes to improve their lives. http://www.familyroadgbr.org

LaTrac: This is the coolest thing your government has ever done.

Today, La. state government announced its transparency database where the public can look at every dime that’s been given to any state agency or department and some Universities and see who it was given to. We’re one of eight states that has such a thing — You’ve got to check it out: http://wwwprd.doa.la.gov/latrac/index.cfm

Here’s the press release from earlier today:

State government launches online spending database

BATON ROUGE – Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis was joined today by LSU officials, faculty, staff, and students in the “SMART Lab” of Patrick F. Taylor Hall on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus for an event to launch LaTrac, the state’s new Transparency and Accountability Portal and Online State Spending Database.

The creation of the web portal was established by Governor Bobby Jindal in an executive order (BJ 2008-2) on his first full day in office, and authorized by legislation (Act 20) during the special legislative session on ethics reform.

LaTrac may be accessed through the Division of Administration’s web page at www.doa.louisiana.gov, through Louisiana government’s main web portal at www.la.gov, or directly at http://wwwprd.doa.la.gov/latrac/index.cfm.

“This is an important event, an extraordinary step forward, and a historic reform initiative for Louisiana and its pursuit of better, more accountable government,” said Davis. “Today we begin to empower four million citizen auditors to monitor what the state spends and to judge whether it’s wise, necessary, and achieving results.”

Though authorized earlier this year, Commissioner Davis emphasized the added importance of launching the web site in a time of national economic uncertainty and predictions of an upcoming state budget shortfall.

“If revenue projections are true, state government has some belt-tightening to do. We need the help of informed citizens looking at our expenditures and being a part of the process of budget savings,” Davis said.

LaTrac represents leadership in government transparency by making Louisiana:

• One of eight states to have online expenditures
• One of two states to include higher education
• Only state where the transparency website is established by both executive order and legislative statute; and
• Only state to link online expenditures to performance measures

“With the launch of this web portal, Louisiana will now lead the nation in government transparency. By improving performance indicators, providing that information to the public, and tying spending to performance, Louisiana will also lead the way in government accountability,” Davis said.

Commissioner Davis outlined the following goals for LaTrac:

• Foster openness in government
• Provide taxpayers user-friendly “financial statement” of how their money is spent
• Increase accountability
• Reduce potential waste, fraud, abuse, and conflicts of interest
• Increase efficiency and effectiveness of government programs and services
• Strengthen link between expenditure and performance
• Educate citizens and build trust through transparency
• Reduce wasteful or unnecessary spending

“The people of Louisiana, and businesses considering locating here, need to know there’s a level playing field, and that the people who hold the purse strings and sign the state contracts are not conflicted by personal financial motivations,” said Davis. “It is not by accident that, across the globe and throughout history, the most successful economies are those that flourish under the most open and transparent governments.”

LaTrac tools:

• Allows citizens to drill down to see every expenditure to date during current year, and previous year totals
• The detailed expenditure item will have the amount spent and vendor information
• Analytical tools allow sorting by category alphabetically (departments, agencies or vendor) or by amount
• The website also features bar and pie charts of the expenditure and expenditure categories
• Citizens searching expenditures by department can also click to open a link to that department’s performance measures
• Lists cabinet and appointed position salary information

Though launched two months ahead of schedule, Commissioner Davis stressed that LaTrac is not a “finished product” and will be continually upgraded and enhanced with new capabilities and the acquisition of technological means to capture more data.

Short-term improvements include:

• Adding agencies not on the state accounting system to the database (DOTD and all of Higher Education)
• Automating the data transmission and update process

Long-term improvements include:

• Sorting and searching by vendor
• A separate Budget tracking system
• When LaGov (ERP) becomes active, detailed purchasing information (exactly what was purchased)
• Downloadable database
• Online Lacarte Purchase Card information

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International Thespian Society Board

I'd love to find some of these folks:

1990- 91: ITS Student Board
Tim Conley, Chair, Tr. 2243, Fairmont Senior High School, West Virginia
Becky Bleckert, Tr. 3070, Christiansburg High School, Virginia
Bryant Lamer, Tr. 639, Salina Central High School, Kansas
Lyz Latson, Tr. 3851, A.C. Jones High School, Texas
Trent Moore, Tr. 3440, San Angelo Central High School, Texas
Brewer Stouffer, Tr. 3879, San Marcos High School, Texas
Stafford Wood, Tr. 504, Baton Rouge High School, Louisiana
Jim Worlein, Tr. 452, Clinton High School, Iowa