So far it appears likely that U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, will get his wish that Lafayette and Lake Charles remain in the same district.
Scientists investigating dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico have been gagged.
A bill going before the Legislature in the upcoming regular session would create a local agency that has the authority to seize adjudicated properties and either sell them to adjacent landowners or use the property for other development — much like the successful Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority.
In all likelihood there will be no small measure of final-furlong jockeying by the city commissioners to secure as much autonomy for the city of Lafayette as possible.
Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office is defending itself against criticism that it has been slow to respond to requests for opinions submitted by Lafayette Consolidated Government’s legal department concerning questions about the Lafayette Charter Commission.
Statewide conservative talk radio host Moon Griffon is adding another broadcast to his line-up, this time filling the airwaves of Baton Rouge with his emphatic rants on Louisiana politics.
LCG Community Development Director Ben Berthelot confirms in an e-mail that Henderson announced her resignation recently.
Louisiana’s state cigarette tax — at 36 cents per pack — is the 49th lowest in the country; only Virginia, with a state tax of 30 cents, was lower.
Debate continues as to whether or not the substance leaked into the Gulf of Mexico on March 20 is oil, silt, sheen or remants of a corporate America's lost soul.
Like swooning youngsters on the Mad Tea Party ride at Disney World, members of the Lafayette Charter Commission continue to spin wildly as the clock ticks down to their mid-April deadline.
A pardon request by former Iberia Parish President Will Langlinais, who resigned in disgrace four years ago following a no-contest plea to felony malfeasance charges, was unanimously denied Monday.
MAY 20 This post by blogger CB Forgotston draws parallels between Gov. Bobby Jindal and two individuals he probably doesn't want to be aligned with: President Obama and former governor Edwin Edwards. CB says Jindal's trying to jack up the debt ceiling (an Obama play, according to CB) and buy votes from GOP leges who normally wouldn't go for that (an Edwards play, CB says).
MAY 20 Here's a post in the Baptist Message from an alumnus of Louisiana College. The author, Larry Burgess, calls on the leadership of the private school to take care of some pressing problems. Physical plant issues are critical and unaddressed, some faculty make so little they need government health care, and there is an atmosphere that does not encourage honest discussion, he writes. It's time to get things back in order, he says.
MAY 20 This post in Gambit tells of a benefit concert scheduled to raise money for the 19 people shot during a Mother's Day second line on Frenchmen Street in NOLA. Among them was Gambit blogger Deb Cotton, who spoke frequently about violence in the city and reported on the city's second line culture. Gambit's foundation, along with other NOLA non-profits, also is selling t-shirts to raise money for the victims.
MAY 20 Blogger Robert Mann is critical of the personal interest some legislators take in their work here, sharing the comments one NOLA solon made in explaining his decision to vote against a bill that would require people to stop discriminating against female workers. His wife might lose some salary, so he was going to have to vote against the equal pay bill, Conrad Appel said. Appel and everyone who heard him should have been ashamed, but they weren't, and that's what is wrong in that building, Mann argues.
MAY 20 American Press columnist Jim Beam writes about the budget again here, urging kudos for the House and its efforts to try to fix the budget as opposed to passing on a flawed and messy rubber-stamped document as it usually does. The Senate already is poo-pooing the effort, but instead Senators should be trying to find a way to improve it as well, Beam argues. He also has some predictions in here from LABI and CABL.
MAY 20 Here's a link to the photo gallery from Tulane's graduation this past weekend. Dr. John and Allen Toussaint played together and received honorary degrees. The Dalai Lama was so entranced by their performance he got up from his seat and walked across the stage to stand next to them. He even participated in a second line with his own personal, saffron-colored umbrella. To the graduates, he urged them to think about creating a peaceful, hopeful life and society.
MAY 20 This Picayune story questions the rhetoric of NOLA officials who say the city, aside from having a "murder problem," is safe. The talking points generally are that the criminals are killing each other, but everything else is OK. The police chief there says that even Lafayette is more dangerous than NOLA. But crime experts interviewed here say that NOLA's numbers indicate one of two things: either people are so used to violence they don't report it, or somebody's "fudging the numbers."
MAY 20 The Advocate's Mark Ballard writes about some of the background maneuvering that took place during the development of budget alternatives in the Legislature. From Rep. Joel Robideaux being called a "tax and spend liberal" to robo-call influence, Ballard lets us in on some of the work that happens behind the scenes but usually doesn't make it into the Advocate's daily coverage of the session.
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