Reform In Louisiana

I read this editorial in today's T-P and it mentioned some interesting points regarding Jindal's reform package. Here is an excerpt:


The public ought to know the financial interests of officials who shape public policy and spend public resources. That includes local officials, who determine matters ranging from zoning issues to property tax rates and who spend billions of taxpayers' dollars. Judges also should be included, as the governor proposes, since the public should know if judges handle cases in which they have a financial interest.

Just as important is to prevent real or perceived conflicts of interest. Gov. Jindal is appropriately proposing that legislators, their families and businesses be banned from getting state contracts -- whether negotiated or bid -- while in office and for one year after. Not surprisingly, some legislators are grumbling, saying that would discourage some people from seeking public service.

But avoiding conflicts of interests is more important than preserving the livelihood of some current or potential public officials. After all, no one is obligated to run for office. Opponents of reform always claim change is going to scare away candidates -- and it just isn't true.

In order to attract new businesses and restore public trust, Louisiana has to clean up house.

Study Finds Glacier Sediments Adding To Louisiana Coast's Sinking

A science team led by Erik Ivins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., hypothesized that Earth's very slow gravitational flow response to the weight of the sediments, combined with a 130-meter (427-foot) rise in sea level that took place thousands of years ago, are contributing to the sinking of a 199,000-square kilometer (77,000-square-mile) section of coastal Louisiana.

To test their theory, the team developed a physical model of sinking caused by both the weight of the sea level rise and the flow of glacial sediments into the Gulf of Mexico following the retreat of the great ice sheet that covered much of North America some 22,000 years ago. The model spanned the past 750,000 years. Results were compared with actual global positioning system measurements and other geophysical data for southern Louisiana and the Gulf, collected from multiple sources over the past 60 years.

The scientists found the model results were in good agreement with the actual geophysical data, predicting sinking of between 0.1 centimeters (0.04 inches) and 0.8 centimeters (0.3 inches) a year. The highest sinking rates were observed where coastal land loss is greatest, near the center of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Delta complexes. The sediments pose a particular challenge for New Orleans, causing it to sink irreversibly at a rate of about 0.4 centimeters (0.17 inches) a year, according to data from a network of global positioning system stations and a model of sediment data collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Delta.

Gov. Bobby Jindal On 'Hot Seat' For Ethics Violation

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who positioned himself as the crusader for ethics reform, has found his own ethical behavior under the microscope:

His campaign failed to report $118,265 spent by the Republican Party of Louisiana for direct mail on his behalf last June. The party disclosed spending the money, but Jindal should have noted it in his own reports as an "in-kind" contribution as well.

Melissa Sellers, Jindal's press secretary, said Friday that the governor has sent instructions to his accountant to pay the fine "as soon as possible."

But Ethics Administrator Richard Sherburne said the fine cannot be paid until Jindal reaches a settlement with the Board of Ethics and the board votes to approve the deal.

Was this an oversight on the governor's part? Let's hope so. Louisiana is in desperate need of true ethics reformers.

Should We Stand by an Accept Discrimination in Louisiana

Rev. Jackson seeks Congressional probe into CCC bridge blockade
Posted by West Bank bureau November 02, 2007 11:42AM

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is seeking a Congressional hearing on the police blockade that kept evacuees fleeing New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina from crossing the Crescent City Connection.

Jackson's call came one day after an Orleans Parish grand jury refused to indict a Gretna police officer for firing a shotgun in the air as evacuees attempted to cross. Gretna police along with deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and Crescent City Connection police officers decided to close the bridge Sept. 1, 2005 amid the chaos in New Orleans and a fire that looters set at Oakwood Center in Terrytown.

The grand jury's action Wednesday essentially ended the criminal case in New Orleans.

On Thursday, Jackson, founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said that federal funding to Louisiana should be stopped "until officials can ensure freedom of movement.''

"The Crescent City Connection is a state bridge and was built with federal funds,'' Jackson said. "The Gretna Police Department did not have the authority to barricade the bridge and prevent citizens from seeking safe ground.''

Gretna officials have said they stand by their decision to close the bridge, citing the lack of resources on the West Bank and the mall fire.