What exactly was the New Orleans Pop Festival and who played?
Does anyone know if Louisiana lawmakers get their health insurance paid for in full? Why is it so hard to find out what the perks or benefits are for lawmakers?
What exactly was the New Orleans Pop Festival and who played? A lot of locals seem to be taking credit for organizing it.
Milena
Dear Milena,
Think Bethel, N.Y., mid-August 1969, Woodstock Music Festival, but on a smaller scale. The New Orleans Pop Festival was a Frank Andrews Production that took place within weeks of Woodstock, over the Labor Day weekend. Aug. 30, 31 and Sept. 1 brought crowds to the Louisiana International Speedway, an oval-shaped race track in Prairieville, on the outskirts of Baton Rouge.
It was an overnight outdoor event that featured a lineup you wouldn't believe: White Fox, Snowrabbit, Deacon John and the Electric Soul Train, Whizbang, Axis, Sweetwater, Lee Michaels, Oliver, Jam Session, Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys, Spiral Staircase, It's a Beautiful Day, Country Joe and the Fish, the Byrds, the Youngbloods, Canned Heat, Pot Liquor, Chicago Transit Authority, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Santana, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin.
The poster that advertised the event and listed all of the performers and the times they would play also came with a caution: 'Narcotics are prohibited by federal and state law. At least one person died at WOODSTOCK this month from bad ACID. Do not buy DRUGS at the festival. We are told that plain clothes detectives will be in the crowd. If you are smart you will AVOID OBVIOUS CONSUMPTION OF DRUGS." As a further precaution, the poster added, 'Police will remain outside the speedway unless our private guards are unable to keep order. IT'S UP TO YOU."
I'm sure that every one of the 40,000 to 50,000 folks who attended had a time to remember.
Hey Blake,
Does anyone know if Louisiana lawmakers get their health insurance paid for in full? Why is it so hard to find out what the perks or benefits are for lawmakers?
Kathleen
Dear Kathleen,
Our state lawmakers get lots of benefits in addition to their salaries. Even though they are only part-time employees, they get health care provided by the state. However, the state pays only 75 percent, while legislators pay the rest.
Many other benefits for legislators are not hidden; you just have to know where to look. For one, lawmakers who spend the night in Baton Rouge often stay in the Pentagon Barracks apartments. The state subsidizes much of the cost, including utilities.
There are other perks that go with the job. For example, lawmakers get $6,000 in unvouchered expenses a year, and they don't have to explain what they spend the money on. They also get $2,000 in vouchered expenses. These they use to pay for renting and running an office. Then there's the per diem. Every day that the legislators are in session, including holidays, or have a committee meeting, they get $143. This year, most legislators will get about $18,000 extra.
Currently, the base salary for a state legislator is $16,800. At the last session in June, legislators tried to give themselves a raise, but after much public criticism, Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed it.
Hey Blake,
Tom Anderson was the owner of Tom Anderson's Annex at 201 Basin St. at the intersection with Iberville Street. Was Arlington Annex the same place?
Jann
Dear Jann,
Yes, it was. Tom Anderson, whose motto was 'The Best of Everything," combined the duties of pimp and Louisiana legislator and became known as the Mayor of Storyville. Anderson acquired the Fair Play Saloon in 1897. He rebuilt it and opened it for business in 1901. In 1905, he renamed it in honor of Josie Arlington, the notorious madam.
This renowned establishment was the center of Storyville, but if you desired entertainment or dining elsewhere in 'Anderson Country" there were any number of other places from which to choose.
The Secretary of the Navy closed down Storyville in 1917, saying it posed a risk to the health of World War I soldiers. Anderson kept the Annex open for a while. It was torn down in 1931. Anderson died on Dec. 10 of the same year.
