Issues raised by Senate Bill 638 are not unfamiliar to residents in Lafayette Parish; it was one year ago this Wednesday that the Lafayette City-Parish Council voted 8-1 in support of a resolution against adding flouride to Lafayette Utilities System water, although in that instance flouridation was rejected not over health concerns — three dentists and a representative of the Louisiana Oral Health Program spoke in favor of adding flouride to water — but rather because of the cost of adding the chemical and because some council members viewed it as an unfunded mandate by the state.
Claitor last week told The Advocate that his bill is about making sure residents get adequate information about their water companies’ intentions with flouride by requiring water companies “to inform their customers of plans to fluoridate their water supplies and to forbid the purchase of the chemical additive from China.” The Times-Pic takes issue with Claitor’s expressed intention, arguing that the bill is a roundabout way of preventing flouridation through burdensome regulation:
Sen. Claitor’s bill attempts to tie fluoride to concerns about unsafe products from China. The bill says that any chemical or compound that’s been manufactured or packaged in China is deemed a public health hazard and prohibits its use in public water systems.
He’s raising a false fear. Alan Levine, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, points out that fluoride is heavy and costly to transport. Because of that, Louisiana water systems that fluoridate their water use chemicals manufactured in the United States.
But the bill could still hamper fluoridation. The federal government does not track the origins of fluoride, so the state would have to create its own tracking system. Secretary Levine said that would likely mean the state could not approve fluoridation projects. That would be a shame. While some people oppose fluoridation because they fear ill health consequences, the practice is supported by groups like the American Dental Association because fluoride prevents tooth decay.
Read the full editorial here.
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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