FRENCH QUARTER SOMETIME SOON. After reading over last week’s column, now I understand why some of you thought I was heading to New Orleans. I alluded to the fact that I couldn’t wait to get there again, now that the Super Bowl Saints have brought so much more energy and optimism to that Katrina-devastated area. This excerpt from that column certainly makes one think I was on my way:

“I love New Orleans. The food and fun (and the beignets) are to die for! I haven’t seen my cousin in more than a year, and it’s time I get there to enjoy Bourbon Street and celebrate!”

However, I wasn’t planning to get there soon, but I do hope to make it within six months. My column just goes to show that sometimes we write (and speak) in such a way that our real thoughts don’t communicate well. It’s important that writers and speakers deliver their message in a way that’s easily understood. Well, I didn’t, and my journalism instructors 35 years ago wouldn’t have liked the column at all. It was quite misleading. While this seems like a rather insignificant issue coming to you readers at a time when the world is changing every day, it’s always important to set the record straight.  As soon as I do get to the bayou and New Orleans, you will be the first to know.

However, as I write this I’m in an airplane to Washington, D.C., heading there to participate in a press conference with Senator Barbara Boxer who will be urging the United States Department of Agriculture to change its definition of “natural” poultry. Today when you buy a chicken that says “natural” you may also be getting plenty of salt, water and other ingredients. Companies like Foster Farms, that really do sell “natural” chicken (that contains no additional weight and sodium) want the law changed. Boxer and other politicians alike Congressman Dennis Cardoza have been fighting for this new definition for years. I’m seeing some light now at the end of a long tunnel.

ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM.  This isn’t a great (or fun) time to be an elected official in cities, counties, state government or in Congress. Budgets are strapped everywhere these days following an economy that has been in turmoil for a couple of years now. Home foreclosures have led the way in a depressed mood around government offices. What once brought cities and counties millions of dollars in building fees and economic stimulus now is sinking many government ships. I applaud any man or woman who wants to serve in government these days, because it’s more difficult than ever to make things work with very little money. Cutting budgets, and layoffs, sometimes are necessary. This goes for schools as well……If you’ve read the newspapers lately, schools and local governments are looking for ways to balance their budgets, and this may mean cuts in programs many people like. Groups are protesting cuts in music, sports, books, teachers, park cleanups, and the list goes on. But friends, our leaders MUST cut somewhere; every area WILL NOT be saved. These are serious times for government, and if our leaders don’t find ways to balance their budgets, our cities, schools and counties could be led to bankruptcy. As we look outside the West Side, that is the threat at some schools and cities today. So it’s important to provide your input to your leaders, and let them make decisions for us. If those decisions don’t turn out to be good ones down the road, you’ll have plenty of time to find others to serve when you vote at the ballot box. These are not easy times for the men and women making decisions that affect all of us; but it’s a great time to understand what must be done to keep our cities and schools working until this economy turns around.