Here’s the latest from Lafayette Consolidated Government concerning Isaac:
Lafayette Parish officials participated in the final National Weather Service call at the Lafayette Emergency Operations Center for Hurricane Isaac this morning. The Emergency Operations Center is no longer on full activation.
Lafayette is no longer under a Tropical Storm Warning and is now under only a Wind Advisory. Wind gusts of 20-40 mph may continue throughout daylight hours today and are expected to slow somewhat at sunset. Rainfall totals could be up to 1 inch today.
Lafayette Consolidated Government is fully operational today. There are no curfews for Lafayette Parish today. LCG agencies reported mostly normal call volume yesterday and today, and the cleanup operations that are necessary are currently underway.
Due to the minor impacts of Isaac on our parish, Lafayette Consolidated Government will not require activation of its pre-positioned storm debris contract. All routine solid waste, recycling, yard waste, and storm debris will be collected by current vendors, Allied Waste and Recycling Foundation/IESI.
Bobby Guidry, Municipal Services Manager for Allied Waste gave the following details about Allied Waste’s cleanup efforts, “Blue crews’ coming from Texas will assist our area with collection. There will be an increase in volume of garbage due to Isaac. Automated system is still functioning and will be “cart contents only” as usual. Today, Allied Waste will begin picking up “bags” and bulky waste outside of the blue containers. Beginning Monday, normal routes will resume and other yard waste and branches will be picked up. Routes will be running later than normal, and residents are asked to be patient. Also, residents are asked to remove vehicles from the street to allow for pick up. A determination will be made in the coming days regarding the period of time that residents will be allowed to have extraordinary waste collection.”
City-Parish President Joey Durel thanked Lafayette following the storm, “I want to thank the citizens and emergency responders for their assistance in making sure that Isaac’s impact on Lafayette was minimal. Lafayette Parish was certainly fortunate to avoid the brunt of Isaac’s wrath, but there is no doubt that our residents and response professionals were instrumental to ensuring smooth responses to those issues that did occur. Thank you all for demonstrating the best of Lafayette over the last 48 hours.”
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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