On Wednesday, July 21, a crowd of 11,000 (joined by 4,000 online) packed the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA for the Rally for Economic Survival. The message was clear and bipartisan (not in the post-modern, ironic sense common in Washington these days): the President’s deepwater drilling moratorium is an economic disaster for Louisiana. Please excuse my shortcomings as a videographer.
The 2008 elections saw the Democrat Party’s advantage in the State House of Representatives shrink from 16 seats to 2. Now, with the announcement of Rep. Simone Champagne (D R – New Iberia) of her intention to switch parties, the balance is now 51 D, 51 R, 3 I. Party politics don’t dominate Louisiana’s state government. For example, the governor has a say in the | Read More »
It will be a long time before Louisiana and the Gulf South recover from the devastation. I’m not referring to the oil spill. No, it’s the willful and senseless act of a President, desperately searching for some way to control events. It might have made sense to slow down, to reconsider safety procedures, or to step up regulatory vigilence. Instead, Obama leaped off a cliff | Read More »
In one of the bigger ‘duh!’ headlines of the year, the Times-Picayune observes: Offshore drilling ban could be a blow to Louisiana economy The president and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement late last week to halt all deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico “at the first safe stopping point” while the Interior Department figures out what regulatory changes are necessary for offshore oil prospecting | Read More »
God willing, the Gulf Coast may be spared Prince-William-Sound-like images of waves of tarry goo slapping ashore, while wild birds and cuddly mammals struggle for survival in asphaltine muck. Last Friday, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported on the rescue of the first oil-covered bird Louisiana: It was the only animal being cleaned late Friday morning, but rescuers expected many more to come in throughout the | Read More »
First former Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) was found guilty on Federal bribery and racketeering charges, his 13-year sentence being the longest ever meted out to a former congressman. Then Bill’s brother Mose was sentenced to ten years for his role in bribing the head of the Orleans Parish School Board. Now…
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have achieved a key break in their investigation of the New Orleans Police Department and the shooting of six civilians (two fatally) during Hurricane Katrina’s chaotic aftermath. According to Letten’s bill of information, none of the victims were armed. Former NOPD Lieutenant Jim Lohman has entered a guilty plea to federal charges of conspiracy to | Read More »
Chances are, where you live it’s just Tuesday, the day after a Federal holiday. Maybe you recognize the day before the beginning of Lent as Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day, if you happen to live in Liberal, KS). From Mobile to Galveston, though, today is Mardi Gras.
For those who may have missed the comments to yesterday’s post on New Orleans’ mayorial election, current Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu defeated a large field of challengers to take the election without a runoff. Mitch Landrieu claims New Orleans mayor’s office in a landslide – NOLA.com. Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, son of a former mayor and brother of a U.S. senator, routed five major challengers | Read More »
New Orleans voters to cast ballots for Ray Nagin’s successor today – NOLA.com Despite wall-to-wall coverage of the Saints’ first-ever Super Bowl appearance in Miami, a high voter turnout is expected in today’s local and special state elections in New Orleans. A 40-45% percent turnout is expected based on the unusually high number of early and absentee ballots cast: over 17,000 out of 272,000 registered | Read More »
The Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange (LA-SAFE) today issued a notice titled Suspicious Activity: Helicopter Leasing Facilities for aviation interests in Louisiana. We received it at work via our membership in the Offshore Operators Committee. Oil and gas operators use helicopters routinely to access platforms and rigs. There are several large shore bases across the Gulf that serve this activity. Walk-up inquiries about helicopter | Read More »
Mose Jefferson sentence of 10 years is maximum allowable | NOLA.com William Jefferson had the limelight as the congressman from New Orleans, but Mose, schooled in the rough and tumble world of Chicago politics, was the architect of his brother’s rise. Now, unless their appeals are successful, both Jefferson brothers will be doing significant time in federal prison. The family of nine brothers and sisters | Read More »
Check out this headline in the (reliably liberal) Baton Rouge Advocate: GOP win may cost La. $300 million Even though the deal struck to get Mary on board the Health Care Reform bandwagon was widely regarded as a “payoff”, it had a reasonable justification. The money was to be used to help fill a gap the state faces because of a federal funding formula that | Read More »
Charter schools work – on so many levels. Charter schools educate kids. Charter schools promote local control and parental involvement. Charter schools succeed in stark contrast to the failed policies of the NEA and the Department of Education. One New Orleans charter school changes the culture, sees the results New Orleans’ corrupt, decrepit Orleans Parish School Board was mortally wounded before Katrina. The State-run Recovery | Read More »
Expelled student plans future — Baton Rouge, LA Is it asking too much to expect “professional educators” to exercise just a tiny amount of judgment and common sense in the administration of anti-weapons policies? In this case, the knife was a present from his dad with the words “To Luke, always know that I love you” engraved upon it. The 17-year-old said he used the | Read More »
Incredible. Memo to Ray: We’re trying hard to reverse 30 50 75 150 plus years of public corruption in this state. Do you really think these remarks help?
Former Democratic Congressman William Jefferson, convicted on bribery and racketeering charges and sentenced to a Congressional-record 13-year sentence, recently received a couple of significant holiday-season gifts from Judge T.J. Ellis III. Recently, Judge Ellis decided that Jefferson is not a flight risk and may remain free pending appeal, a process that may take a year or more. During that time, Jefferson must wear a monitor | Read More »
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers mismanaged the maintenance of the shipping channel known as the “Mister GO” (the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, MR-GO), leading directly to the flooding of thousands of homes and businesses in St. Bernard Parish and the New Orleans neighborhood known as the Lower Ninth Ward. The case directly involves $700,000 in damages | Read More »
State investigators taking dozens of computers from ACORN office on Canal Street Early last month, Caldwell’s office issued subpoenas for records from ACORN’s New Orleans office, where the organization — now moving its national headquarters to Washington — has long been based. … In a statement, ACORN’s attorney Pamela Marple said the group was told the raid was ordered because of reports that workers loyal | Read More »
Friday night, prosecutors in the case of The United States v. William Jefferson (D-LA) issued a memorandum recommending a prison sentence of 27 to 33 years for the former congressman from New Orleans, consistent with Federal sentencing guidelines. Such a long sentence is justified, according to the memo, by the severity of the crimes, flight risk, and the possibility of hidden assets. Anything approaching the | Read More »
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