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Dee WillettThe Coffee House - July 2007 (2007)

This month in THE COFFEE HOUSE:

ARE SLOTS THE SALVATION OF HORSE RACING AND FISCALLY STRAPPED STATES?
With attendance at horse races steadily declining, and Maryland facing structural budget shortfalls into the foreseeable future, Gov. Martin O’Malley and Senate President Mike Miller are once again floating slots at race tracks as the horse racing industry’s and the state’s fiscal salvation. But based upon the experience of neighboring states, the Baltimore Sun’s Andrew Green reports that slots actually displace interest in live racing rather than enhance it. And Bernie Horn, policy and communications director at the Center for Policy Alternatives maintains that at least in their first three years, slots will have a negligible impact on the state budget hole and will cause a range of costly social ails. (Host: Mark Cohen)

A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER KATRINA: WILL NEW ORLEANS SURVIVE?
Eighteen months after Katrina, in March 2007, the Big Easy was anything but. With its population halved, New Orleans nonetheless still led the country in crime. The Lower 9th Ward bore an eerie resemblance to Beirut in the 1980s. Public schools were shuttered or effective police states. The main public hospital was still closed. The city’s underground pipes were leaking more water than people were using. And reputable studies found that the purportedly repaired levees were riddled with defects. Meanwhile, Nature’s first line of defense against future hurricanes -- the wetlands and cypress swamps -- are rapidly dying off. Still, there are hopeful signs as tens of thousands of volunteers descend on New Orleans to lend a hand and residents are trickling back, mindful that they live in one of the truly unique cultural oases of America. (Produced by Mark Cohen)

PRODUCING WEST AFRICAN FOOD IN MARYLAND
Yao Afantchao emigrated to Maryland from Togo. With the help of the University of Maryland's Small Farm Institute, Yao is attempting to serve a growing market of emigres with vegetables and smoked fish familiar from West Africa but produced here. (Produced by Mark Cohen and Dorie Blaisdell)

Also… Cincinnati-based Joe Jencks makes his music and his living on the road, where the singer-songwriter has built a following among folkies and labor activists. He stops by THE COFFEE HOUSE to share two songs, about the life of a migrant laborer and being true to one’s calling. Plus, we’re joined by poets Sunil Freeman (“Wash”) and Maritza Rivera Cohen (“Little Cat Feet“).


This movie is part of the collection: Coffee House TV

Director: Dee Willett
Producer: Mark Cohen
Production Company: MPD PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Sponsor: www.coffeehousetv.org
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: news; public afairs; arts; New Orleans; gambling; agriculture; singer-songwriter; poetry
Contact Information: Mark Cohen markc@coffeehousetv.org

Creative Commons license: Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0

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