Attention Wisconsin!

My open letter to the people of Wisconsin:

Dear Wisconsinites,

I had a chance to spend time in your great state last September. I was in Green Bay for the Saints/Packers season-opener and was very impressed with your hospitality. But I did, in fact, leave. I’ve only been in your state one other time, and that was during a visit to Kohler in 1998. I say this to assure you I’m not your governor and this isn’t his website. You should see the traffic I’m getting from Wisconsin!

As you’re well aware, your governor, Scott Walker, is set to face a recall election on June 5. I fully expect visits to this site and emails to increase exponentially in the coming days. And that’s fine. I’ll be just as welcoming to you here as you were to me there.

There are people though who are a bit confused, like the person who tweeted his family’s support to me this morning. There are many others like him. Reach out to them. Reveal the truth. Let them know that I have much better hair than your Scott Walker…and I’ll be in New Orleans anchoring the news on June 5.

Sincerely,

The OTHER Scott Walker

When I was in Green Bay last year there was a meeting of the Scott Walkers at Lambeau Field. Here’s that interview:

{Click to Watch}

Here are some of the other fun stories we did while in Green Bay:
> WISN-TV interviews me about my name
> The PackerPlex
> Packers Hall of Fame
> Titletown Brewery

Slideshow: Post-Katrina T-P Front Pages

The reporters and editors at The Times-Picayune did some of their finest work in the days and weeks following Hurricane Katrina. They won a Pulitzer for it. Here are some of the eye-catching and emotional front pages published, in order of publication.

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NY Post App Should Inspire Times-Picayune

During this transition period at the Times-Picayune, I’d love to see the paper’s iPad app mirror what the New York Post has done. It’s basically a digitized version of the paper. There are a number of subscription options, from $9.99 a month to $99.99 a year. I’d happily pay for a digital version of the T-P, especially since its iPhone and iPad apps don’t blow anyone away.

If The Times-Picayune is only going to publish a paper version three days a week, it should fire up an online version that gives readers the same look. NOLA.com could continue to exist (as awful as the new redesign is), but the NYPost-style iPad app would provide additional revenue at a time when the company clearly needs it.

The Demise of the T-P: My Thoughts

I don’t need to get into the value of The Times-Picayune to this city. It’s been clear for generations. It likely has never been through a finer period than the past six years. Whether it was chronicling the aftermath of Katrina (Pulitzer-winning coverage), the Gulf Oil Spill or the Saints’ run to the Super Bowl , it was always there. Consistently. Reliably.

But starting in the fall, the print version of the paper will only be there on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. No Monday-morning-after-a-Saints-game robust sports section. That’s upsetting. And the Twitter tweeps are pretty steamed, too.

Sure, I can read the stories on my computer, iPhone or iPad, but the NOLA.com redesign is awful and many stories are impossible to find. Technology is nice, but there’s still something I like about holding newspaper pages between my fingers. I’ll still be able to do it of course, but four fewer times per week. That seems so un-New Orleans.

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Behind the Scenes: Video from the Set

I went sort of Tout-crazy last night and posted a few videos during the 10 p.m. newscast. Watch the videos below (iPhone friendly) and you follow me on Tout HERE.

[VIDEO] Trial Date Set for 10-Time DWI Offender

George Semmes, a New Orleans man with 10 DWI arrests since 1984, has managed to avoid prosecution for nearly 30 years. That lengthy streak is scheduled to end later this month when he goes on trial for two of the DWI cases. In this I-Team follow up to my original story in February, we hear from George Semmes (briefly), his lawyer and a legal analyst.

[VIDEO] Week Ends, Pen Takes Off

At the end of Friday night’s 10 p.m. newscast, I inadvertently launched my pen across the studio. Nice end to the week.

Saints Sign Four Free Agents

The Saints just announced a handful of signings following the rookie minicamp over the weekend.

New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Monday the team has signed tackle Hutch Eckerson, cornerback Nick Hixson, guard DeOn’tae Pannell and linebacker Lawrence Wilson. The club has also waived tackle Dan Hoch, guard Nick Howell, linebacker Stephen Johnson, tackle Phil Trautwein and cornerback Josh Victorian. All four new additions participated in last weekend’s rookie minicamp.

Here’s the full release from the Saints.

Mother’s Day Humor

On this Mother’s Day, how many moms (and dads) can relate to this quote?

“Everyone should have kids. They are the greatest joy in the world. But they are also terrorists. You’ll realize this as soon as they are born, and they start using sleep deprivation to break you.” – Ray Romano

Happy Mother’s Day!

Facebook Comments of the Week

[VIDEO] NOPD Horse Connected to Racing Royalty

Satan’s War, a thoroughbred with 20 years of service to the NOPD, is the grandson of racing legend Secretariat. I loved doing this story. The photographer I worked with, Megan Spencer, did a phenomenal job shooting and editing it.

[VIDEO] Caterpillar Excavator vs Big Ol’ Tree

This will definitely be the highlight of my day. From the “something you don’t see every day” file, around 12:30 this afternoon I happened upon this excavator pushing on a tree. I had my doubts that this approach would work, but sure enough…

Social Media Overload: Now I’m on Tout, Too

I’ve been experimenting with a lot of social media platforms lately to try to figure out how to maximize the sharing of what I do on a daily basis: text, pictures and videos. I’ve been using Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for ages, but in recent weeks I’ve added via.me and Posterous to my social media arsenal. I like both of them, but am still trying to figure out the best ways to implement them on a consistent basis.

Now I’m trying out Tout, the video sharing service that only allows you 15 seconds to make your point. That’s a difficult concept for someone like me to adjust to, but the reality is that people are more likely to watch a video they know is short.

Here’s my first Tout. Camille Whitworth and I are like the grandparents trying to figure out how to use their webcam.

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[PIC] I’M FILLING IN FOR DREW BREES!

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That got you to click, didn’t it? It’s kind of true. Sort of. If Drew Brees were here, in this picture, he’d surely be handing off to Saints fullback Jed Collins instead of me. WDSU colleagues Travers Mackel and Randi Rousseau are blocking for Jed. What a lineup, right?

We had a great time today at the Special Olympics Super SOL Bowl out in Harahan at Colonial Bowling. This was my third year participating and today’s event had the best turnout of them all.

Check out more pics HERE.

[VIDEO] New Growth in Oil-Tainted Marsh

In the oil-stained marshland of Bay Jimmy in Plaquemines Parish, there is reason to be optimistic two years after the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history. While extensive oil damage is still visible and many challenges remain, there is also new growth in places where marsh grass was once feared lost.

This is my story that aired on Friday, the two-year anniversary of the spill. It features the view from the air and water, and interviews with Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser and the president of the BP Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, Mike Utsler.