SKINNER NOT RUNNING FOR DA Disappointingly, it’s over before it officially began. Former U.S. Attorney Mike Skinner, who had been planning to mount a challenge to 15th Judicial District Attorney Mike Harson this fall, says he will not seek the office. “Basically it came down to a decision of not being able to do two things well at the same time,” Skinner says. “The harder I have tried to get the campaign off the ground, the busier I have gotten in my practice. It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t have the time to adequately devote to each of them.”
Skinner has a thriving solo law practice that primarily focuses on business and commercial litigation and transactions, as well as white collar criminal defense and governmental relations work. The financial strain of giving up his practice was another factor, as Skinner’s two children are in college, with son Winston heading to Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville this fall.
Skinner’s campaign unofficially got under way early last year when he passed out lapel stickers at the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce’s Building Community Conference at Toledo Bend. He served as U.S. attorney for the Western District from 1993 to 2000 and chaired the Louisiana Democratic Party from 2003 to early 2005.
“Mike would have been a fine candidate for any position,” says attorney Gary McGoffin, a friend and supporter. “We need more good citizens running, but I can understand the personal and professional decisions he made.”
The 15th Judicial District includes Acadia, Lafayette and Vermilion parishes.
ACADIANA LEGISLATORS SAY "ENOUGH" TO SURPLUS SPENDING A bipartisan coalition of Acadiana legislators wants to put the brakes on state surplus spending. Six state House members, led by Rep. Joel Robideaux of Lafayette and Fred Mills of St. Martinville, have filed legislation requiring any additional state surplus dollars that may come in this year be returned to taxpayers in the form of rebates. The proposed bill establishes an “enough is enough” fund to collect any additional revenues identified at the state’s May Revenue Estimating Conference and calls on the Legislature to formulate a plan for rebates. In addition to Robideaux and Mills, the other legislators backing the bill are Taylor Barras (New Iberia), Simone Champagne (Jeanerette), Page Cortez (Lafayette) and Jonathan Perry (Kaplan).
The group notes that the state has already spent a surplus of more than $1 billion for fiscal year 2006-2007, and nearly another $1 billion for fiscal year 2007-2008. “The people of Louisiana are struggling financially,” says Mills. “With the high price of gasoline and groceries, it’s ridiculous that the state is spending every extra billion it gets. Enough is enough. The state spending spree must stop. It’s the people’s money, let’s give it back to the people.”
ROBIDEAUX WADES INTO IMMIGRANT DEBATE Illegal immigrants are one of many lawmaker targets during the ongoing legislative session. GOP Rep. Tim Burns of Mandeville has legislation that would ban unauthorized aliens from renting property. Fellow Republican Rep. Brett Geymann of Lake Charles has another bill that would prohibit state agencies from contracting with businesses that employ illegals. Additionally, there are other measures that increase penalties for contractors violating hiring laws, create new tracking systems and force courts to pay for interpreters for non-English speaking persons involved in criminal trials.
One of the more heated debates may come from Lafayette Rep. Joel Robideaux, who has no party affiliation. His House Bill 1233 would allow those with a J1 visa, provided to foreign citizens participating in an internship/exchange program, to take part in the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana. The J1 visa is intended for students needing practical training that is not available in their home country.
Despite constitutional concerns (opponents believe the feds should be handling many of these issues), Louisiana isn’t the only state taking a swing at sovereignty right now. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 1,100 immigration-related bills were introduced in 44 state legislatures during the first quarter of this year. A NCSL report found that the top three issues were law enforcement, employment and driver’s licenses or other identification.
HOUSE APPROVES HAND-HELD CELL PHONE BAN Legislation banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving passed the Louisiana House of Representatives last week. With 55 members voting for the ban and 43 against, the lower chamber approved House Bill 852, which requires the use of hands-free devices, such as wireless Bluetooth. It was a narrow win, as a bill needs at least 53 votes for House approval. Violators face fines of up to $250, depending on how many times they are pulled over. The measure now heads to the Senate.
HB852 allows for the use of handheld cell phones to call 911 in an emergency, in addition to a physician, fire department, ambulance or law enforcement authority. The ban also applies to text messaging, which critics say is 50 percent more dangerous while driving than talking on handheld cell phones.
Rep. Austin Badon, D-New Orleans, said he sponsored HB852 because state Highway Safety Commission statistics in 2007 showed that cell phone usage played a role in 2,285 accidents in Louisiana, causing 1,247 injuries and 10 deaths, including a 16-year-old.
Contributors: Leslie Turk, Nathan Stubbs and Jeremy Alford
JUNE 17 If anyone ever wonders why Saints fans hate Atlanta with a capital H, here's a good indication. Radio "professionals" at an Atlanta station created an entire segment around making fun of former Saints player Steve Gleason, who is now paralyzed by ALS. Listen, nobody's ever accused DJs of being rocket scientists. But how could someone think it is amusing to pretend to ask a man with a degenerative, fatal disease if he will be alive next week? The DJs have been fired, and are now whining about how gutless their former bosses are. Wow.
JUNE 18 Here's the latest from the Advocate on the fatal hit-and-run accident allegedly involving the president of the Livingston Parish School Board. He's accused by police of hitting a 21-year-old man on a highway early Sunday and driving away. The man died at a hospital later. On Monday, police seized the president's truck and towed it away. But he's available for board meetings: apparently a $500 bond is sufficient for this type of thing over in St. Helena Parish.
JUNE 18 Former broadcast journalist Griffin Scott has posted this plea on his blog for financial assistance from his readers. Scott, who says he was fired after he wrote something fairly innocuous (for Facebook) on his wall, is suing a media giant for his job back. He's framed himself as David going after a bloated media giant, and he's probably not far off.
JUNE 18 Here's a fairly absurd column posted on DIG Magazine about the completely absurd practice of naming killer storms. Tornadoes don't have names. Blizzards don't have names. But hurricanes do, and there's a big process to bestow them, Jacques Cormery writes. He's right about the crazy assemblage of names -- this year, there's everything from Tanya to Humberto -- and his idea that we don't waste good names on killer storms is a good one.
JUNE 17 Political columnist John Maginnis has some advice for Louisiana Republicans: grow up. After the schism that occurred in this past session - fiscal hawks teaming up with Democrats to spank the Republican "majority" and hand Gov. Jindal his, er, aspirations for continued solon control -- they need to figure out how to get along with each other, Maginnis writes.
JUNE 17 Here's the Picayune's obit story for Dorothy 'Miss Dot' Domilise, the lady who made poboys at the uptown restaurant that bears her name. Miss Dot moved to New Orleans during World War II, where she met and married her husband Sam. When she passed away Friday she was 90, and had spent more than 60 of those years working at the restaurant on Annunciation Street.
JUNE 17 This editorial in the Advocate speaks in favor of the consent decrees that have federal judges overseeing police operations and the sheriff's parish prison in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu and Sheriff Gusman can't get along, so outside forces, like the Inspector General and the judges, are needed to make sure things run right, the editorial opines.
JUNE 18 Here's a post from Manny Schewitz on Forward Progressives that is good for a chuckle. Manny had an epiphany back in November, and is sharing it with us today: he believes that Fox "News" is killing the GOP by pandering to right wing nuts. Now, don't get it twisted: Manny's not broke up about it. He says he enjoys watching the downward spiral with a shot of whiskey and "a schadenfreude chaser."
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