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Audrey2Katrina
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HIGHER GROUND
Two small Acadiana towns, struggling even before Rita's storm surge swallowed them, look for a way to rebuild and rejuvenate
Monday, July 10, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Laura Maggi
Staff writer
ERATH -- When the group of outside planners first set up shop in Vermilion Parish to talk about the future of the small Acadiana towns hit hard by Hurricane Rita, the proposal that caught everyone's attention was for moving the entire town of Erath, which has repeatedly flooded over the years, to higher ground.
Mayor George Dupuis listened to all the dreamy discussions and knew that neither the idea -- nor the town -- was going anywhere.
The phone calls began pouring into the Erath City Hall immediately after the proposal was first explained, he said, with elderly residents most offended by the idea of moving from their longtime homes.
"It was not the right thing to say to old Cajun people," said Dupuis, who wondered if perhaps the experts weren't "idiots."
Faced with so much opposition during the weeklong discussions led in February by renowned architect and urban planner Andres Duany, the plan soon was changed to a proposal to develop a parcel of land just north of Erath as a higher-ground addition to the town, where people could move if they wanted.
"As long as you are not telling people what they have to do, they thought it was a great idea," said Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas, executive director of the Center for Planning Excellence in Baton Rouge, which has been working with state officials on the planning exercises, called charrettes.
Indeed, Dupuis thinks the planners actually came up with a good concept, saying an expansion might be just the thing to revitalize a small town that has been hampered both by its flooding problems and a recent highway bypass that essentially destroyed many longtime downtown businesses. Carol Broussard, mayor of nearby Delcambre, also was pleased with the idea of creating a "safe harbor" for boats and an attractive waterfront in the center of town to attract new residents.
Financial uncertainty
But now that the local residents have decided what they think the future of their towns could be, they are confronted by a new problem: getting the money to implement fairly ambitious plans for towns that before the storm were each home to about 2,000 people.
When the changes were first proposed, Duany's firm suggested using federal hazard mitigation money. While state officials say that is still a possibility, it is not clear how much will be available or whether the towns will have to compete with a number of other projects to get the needed support.
"The ideas were wonderful," said Broussard, who has served as Delcambre's mayor for 16 years. But he added that the financial situation has him unsure whether the projects can ever get off the ground. When the Category 3 winds of Hurricane Rita began pushing water up the canals and waterways that run off of Vermilion Bay on Sept. 24, parts of Delcambre were inundated. The surge came right up the canal that cuts through the small shrimping community, which some local residents say flooded nearby houses with as much as 7 feet of water.
The water eventually also crept up smaller waterways to Erath, where as much as 3 feet of water flooded 80 percent of the homes, Dupuis said.
Before the water swamped lower Vermilion Parish, Erath and Delcambre weren't exactly thriving. The downturn of the Louisiana shrimping industry can be seen right on the Delcambre Canal, where just a handful of boats were docked on a recent afternoon, compared with the dozens that local residents recall from a few decades ago.
Despite what locals say are good public schools, Erath has not been able to retain young families or attract many new home buyers. The population is disproportionately elderly, according to a review by Duany's firm, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., and sectors of town have flooded repeatedly in recent years during heavy rains.
The extensive planning exercise in Vermilion Parish was one of three in the state sponsored by the Louisiana Recovery Authority's support organization. The small towns of Vermilion boast many of the charms of rural Acadiana, but -- like the surrounding agricultural landscape -- have been on the decline.
In Abbeville, which did not flood during Rita, the focus of the planners was to revive the dormant downtown, which has been hampered by a Louisiana 14 bypass, in keeping with the New Urbanism philosophy that advocates a return to walkable, compact towns.
The Delcambre plan would first involve a buyout of residents and businesses where the waterfront project would be located, said Gene Sellers, an Abbeville engineer who works for the Vermilion local governments.
Sellers said a letter of intent already has been submitted to the state to tap short-term hazard mitigation money to proceed with that first step. But the more extensive project of improving the drainage, creating the harbor and the creation of an attractive waterfront will have to wait until longer-term mitigation money is available, he said.
The solution offered for the much-flooded Erath is particularly pressing, as many homeowners appear to be plowing ahead on their own, not waiting to see whether the expansion goes forward. On each town block, there inevitably is a house being raised, sometimes on high pilings, while others have been perched on smaller cement piers. Other homeowners -- including Dupuis, the mayor -- rebuilt without raising their homes.
'It is home'
Erath is a quintessential Cajun town, where stop signs also include the French command "ARRET" and locals are proud of a six-day Fourth of July Festival that includes a nightly fais dodo.
Several residents said that another characteristic of people from Erath is that they aren't about to move, even after a devastating flood. "It is home," said Laura Derouen, who works in the town post office and has seen many other people return to their homes.
For Robert Vincent and his mother, Jackie Vincent, the decision to remain in their home and raise the house in line with flood elevations had to be carefully considered, as Robert, 27, has a form of muscular dystrophy and will have a tough time getting into their much-higher home without some kind of lift. But in the end, it just made sense to put the house up on sturdy rebar-and-concrete pillars, which will be covered in brick, said Jackie.
Robert Vincent, who attended the charrette, said he thought the idea of a higher-ground area for development made sense as a way to attract new people to town, but said he suspected few current residents would want to move.
Steve Oubre, a Lafayette architect who has been working with Duany's organization on the planning sessions and implementation, disagreed, saying he has seen fewer residents move forward with elevating in place since the meetings.
"People have been waiting and listening to the report," said Oubre, who added that things will have to move quickly if the owners of houses that have flooded repeatedly want to take advantage of moving to the new part of town.
"The whole objective is not only getting them out of harm's way, but creating an economically viable community that is attractive not only to current residents but people who grow up there," he said. The current situation is far different, where too many of the young people move away, he said.
Founded in 1899 along a railroad line, much of Erath was built on low-lying land, making it vulnerable to flooding by heavy runoff from the Lafayette area to the north, particularly when southern winds fill the local canals with water from Vermilion Bay. There have been several floods since the early 1980s, Sellers said.
The idea is to buy a parcel of land just north of the town, along the highway bypass. To build up the land's elevation, canals would be dug around the new settlement, along with a retention pond at the northern end of the property that could intercept the runoff that was such a problem in the past. The dirt then would be used to build up the property, raising the elevation for future houses.
Dupuis has been negotiating with the owner of the property, which happens to be adjacent to a piece of land owned by the local School Board. New schools to replace the ones that were flooded could be built there, which would help create an ideal neighborhood where children could walk to school, Oubre said.
Mitigation money
The design of the new addition is in keeping with the New Urbanism philosophy: a compact neighborhood characterized by street patterns that encourage walking, public spaces and a mixed commercial and residential strip along the highway.
But a major crimp was put in Dupuis' efforts in late May, when state officials indicated that the bulk of the hazard mitigation money that would have been tapped for the projects needed to be channeled to the Road Home housing program to assist individual homeowners.
Since the state in June received another multibillion-dollar injection of federal Community Development Block Grants, John T. Landry, a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said he thinks the estimated $14 million in mitigation money necessary to do the projects in Delcambre and Erath will be made available.
"It is too big and too important," said Landry, director of development for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who lives in Abbeville.
Paul Rainwater, director of hazard mitigation for the recovery authority, said both towns likely will be able to apply for mitigation grants or other money. It is not clear when that money will be available.
The first priority has to be fixing all of the devastation left by the hurricanes, which is the focus of the $250 million in mitigation money that will be divvied up among parish and city governments, Rainwater said. The bulk of the rest of the first round of that money will be spent on the Road Home program, where it will be used to help individual homeowners raise houses to comply with new flood elevations.
But over time, there will be more mitigation money that communities will be able to tap for more ambitious projects, Rainwater said, although it is likely that the money will be distributed on a competitive basis. He added that the state plans to help smaller communities figure out how to apply for various grants beyond the recovery dollars.
Two small Acadiana towns, struggling even before Rita's storm surge swallowed them, look for a way to rebuild and rejuvenate
Monday, July 10, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Laura Maggi
Staff writer
ERATH -- When the group of outside planners first set up shop in Vermilion Parish to talk about the future of the small Acadiana towns hit hard by Hurricane Rita, the proposal that caught everyone's attention was for moving the entire town of Erath, which has repeatedly flooded over the years, to higher ground.
Mayor George Dupuis listened to all the dreamy discussions and knew that neither the idea -- nor the town -- was going anywhere.
The phone calls began pouring into the Erath City Hall immediately after the proposal was first explained, he said, with elderly residents most offended by the idea of moving from their longtime homes.
"It was not the right thing to say to old Cajun people," said Dupuis, who wondered if perhaps the experts weren't "idiots."
Faced with so much opposition during the weeklong discussions led in February by renowned architect and urban planner Andres Duany, the plan soon was changed to a proposal to develop a parcel of land just north of Erath as a higher-ground addition to the town, where people could move if they wanted.
"As long as you are not telling people what they have to do, they thought it was a great idea," said Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas, executive director of the Center for Planning Excellence in Baton Rouge, which has been working with state officials on the planning exercises, called charrettes.
Indeed, Dupuis thinks the planners actually came up with a good concept, saying an expansion might be just the thing to revitalize a small town that has been hampered both by its flooding problems and a recent highway bypass that essentially destroyed many longtime downtown businesses. Carol Broussard, mayor of nearby Delcambre, also was pleased with the idea of creating a "safe harbor" for boats and an attractive waterfront in the center of town to attract new residents.
Financial uncertainty
But now that the local residents have decided what they think the future of their towns could be, they are confronted by a new problem: getting the money to implement fairly ambitious plans for towns that before the storm were each home to about 2,000 people.
When the changes were first proposed, Duany's firm suggested using federal hazard mitigation money. While state officials say that is still a possibility, it is not clear how much will be available or whether the towns will have to compete with a number of other projects to get the needed support.
"The ideas were wonderful," said Broussard, who has served as Delcambre's mayor for 16 years. But he added that the financial situation has him unsure whether the projects can ever get off the ground. When the Category 3 winds of Hurricane Rita began pushing water up the canals and waterways that run off of Vermilion Bay on Sept. 24, parts of Delcambre were inundated. The surge came right up the canal that cuts through the small shrimping community, which some local residents say flooded nearby houses with as much as 7 feet of water.
The water eventually also crept up smaller waterways to Erath, where as much as 3 feet of water flooded 80 percent of the homes, Dupuis said.
Before the water swamped lower Vermilion Parish, Erath and Delcambre weren't exactly thriving. The downturn of the Louisiana shrimping industry can be seen right on the Delcambre Canal, where just a handful of boats were docked on a recent afternoon, compared with the dozens that local residents recall from a few decades ago.
Despite what locals say are good public schools, Erath has not been able to retain young families or attract many new home buyers. The population is disproportionately elderly, according to a review by Duany's firm, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., and sectors of town have flooded repeatedly in recent years during heavy rains.
The extensive planning exercise in Vermilion Parish was one of three in the state sponsored by the Louisiana Recovery Authority's support organization. The small towns of Vermilion boast many of the charms of rural Acadiana, but -- like the surrounding agricultural landscape -- have been on the decline.
In Abbeville, which did not flood during Rita, the focus of the planners was to revive the dormant downtown, which has been hampered by a Louisiana 14 bypass, in keeping with the New Urbanism philosophy that advocates a return to walkable, compact towns.
The Delcambre plan would first involve a buyout of residents and businesses where the waterfront project would be located, said Gene Sellers, an Abbeville engineer who works for the Vermilion local governments.
Sellers said a letter of intent already has been submitted to the state to tap short-term hazard mitigation money to proceed with that first step. But the more extensive project of improving the drainage, creating the harbor and the creation of an attractive waterfront will have to wait until longer-term mitigation money is available, he said.
The solution offered for the much-flooded Erath is particularly pressing, as many homeowners appear to be plowing ahead on their own, not waiting to see whether the expansion goes forward. On each town block, there inevitably is a house being raised, sometimes on high pilings, while others have been perched on smaller cement piers. Other homeowners -- including Dupuis, the mayor -- rebuilt without raising their homes.
'It is home'
Erath is a quintessential Cajun town, where stop signs also include the French command "ARRET" and locals are proud of a six-day Fourth of July Festival that includes a nightly fais dodo.
Several residents said that another characteristic of people from Erath is that they aren't about to move, even after a devastating flood. "It is home," said Laura Derouen, who works in the town post office and has seen many other people return to their homes.
For Robert Vincent and his mother, Jackie Vincent, the decision to remain in their home and raise the house in line with flood elevations had to be carefully considered, as Robert, 27, has a form of muscular dystrophy and will have a tough time getting into their much-higher home without some kind of lift. But in the end, it just made sense to put the house up on sturdy rebar-and-concrete pillars, which will be covered in brick, said Jackie.
Robert Vincent, who attended the charrette, said he thought the idea of a higher-ground area for development made sense as a way to attract new people to town, but said he suspected few current residents would want to move.
Steve Oubre, a Lafayette architect who has been working with Duany's organization on the planning sessions and implementation, disagreed, saying he has seen fewer residents move forward with elevating in place since the meetings.
"People have been waiting and listening to the report," said Oubre, who added that things will have to move quickly if the owners of houses that have flooded repeatedly want to take advantage of moving to the new part of town.
"The whole objective is not only getting them out of harm's way, but creating an economically viable community that is attractive not only to current residents but people who grow up there," he said. The current situation is far different, where too many of the young people move away, he said.
Founded in 1899 along a railroad line, much of Erath was built on low-lying land, making it vulnerable to flooding by heavy runoff from the Lafayette area to the north, particularly when southern winds fill the local canals with water from Vermilion Bay. There have been several floods since the early 1980s, Sellers said.
The idea is to buy a parcel of land just north of the town, along the highway bypass. To build up the land's elevation, canals would be dug around the new settlement, along with a retention pond at the northern end of the property that could intercept the runoff that was such a problem in the past. The dirt then would be used to build up the property, raising the elevation for future houses.
Dupuis has been negotiating with the owner of the property, which happens to be adjacent to a piece of land owned by the local School Board. New schools to replace the ones that were flooded could be built there, which would help create an ideal neighborhood where children could walk to school, Oubre said.
Mitigation money
The design of the new addition is in keeping with the New Urbanism philosophy: a compact neighborhood characterized by street patterns that encourage walking, public spaces and a mixed commercial and residential strip along the highway.
But a major crimp was put in Dupuis' efforts in late May, when state officials indicated that the bulk of the hazard mitigation money that would have been tapped for the projects needed to be channeled to the Road Home housing program to assist individual homeowners.
Since the state in June received another multibillion-dollar injection of federal Community Development Block Grants, John T. Landry, a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said he thinks the estimated $14 million in mitigation money necessary to do the projects in Delcambre and Erath will be made available.
"It is too big and too important," said Landry, director of development for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who lives in Abbeville.
Paul Rainwater, director of hazard mitigation for the recovery authority, said both towns likely will be able to apply for mitigation grants or other money. It is not clear when that money will be available.
The first priority has to be fixing all of the devastation left by the hurricanes, which is the focus of the $250 million in mitigation money that will be divvied up among parish and city governments, Rainwater said. The bulk of the rest of the first round of that money will be spent on the Road Home program, where it will be used to help individual homeowners raise houses to comply with new flood elevations.
But over time, there will be more mitigation money that communities will be able to tap for more ambitious projects, Rainwater said, although it is likely that the money will be distributed on a competitive basis. He added that the state plans to help smaller communities figure out how to apply for various grants beyond the recovery dollars.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Guard gets federal money to rebuild
Construction projects are put on fast track
Monday, July 10, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Paul Purpura
West Bank bureau
Using Defense Department money to pay for an unprecedented construction spree, the Louisiana National Guard has fast-tracked a $480 million building program to replace several facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina and launch other projects that were in the works before the storm.
The financing was included in the Defense Department's fiscal 2006 military construction budget, which requires no matching money from Louisiana to rebuild the state-owned facilities, said Lt. Col. Doug Mouton, the Guard's director of construction and facilities.
With the money secured through the Department of Defense, the Guard will not have to compete with local communities for other state or federal money to rebuild its facilities, said Mouton, who also commands the 225th Engineer Group, based in Pineville.
"It was one of our highest priorities," Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said Friday of securing the money for military facilities. "We were really extraordinarily successful in this first major effort."
The construction program is the largest in the history of the National Guard nationwide, Mouton said. The $480 million includes construction, architectural and engineering costs, furnishings and equipping buildings with fiber optics for communications, he said.
Landrieu, a member of the Senate Appropriation Committee's military construction subcommittee, which oversees military installations worldwide, said bases serve as "engines that help bring back communities."
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard, echoed Landrieu's view Thursday when she announced that Jackson Barracks will get a $200 million makeover, of which $173 million is federal money.
"An investment in Jackson Barracks will provide a catalyst to the surrounding communities," Blanco said. "It will spark new life in the areas most devastated by Katrina."
Weeks after Katrina, the Guard began assessing damage to its facilities statewide. Design planning began in January, and now the Guard is preparing to award construction contracts, Mouton said.
The expedited process was made possible by a new state law that allows the Louisiana Military Department to begin construction even while plans are in the design phase, Mouton said. The "design/build" process, used widely by the Defense Department, was crucial because the Guard had to use the federal money before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, or else lose it.
"The timeline is mind-boggling," Mouton said. "Every (project) will be under contract by the end of August, 30 days ahead of deadline."
The work is expected to be complete by August 2009.
A look at the projects:
-- $110 million for the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport, which will be the home of the Army Guard's 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment and its fleet of 20 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, whose facilities at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport were heavily damaged by Katrina's wind and surge.
The Guard has leased 122 acres at the Hammond-owned airport, where officials plan to build a 164,000-square-foot Army aviation support facility that includes hangars. The $110 million investment includes a $35.8 million, 114,000- square-foot "readiness center," what the Guard now calls its armories.
Hammond will be the permanent home to part of the 204th Air Traffic Service Group, displaced by Katrina from Jackson Barracks, as well as a detachment of aviators who operate the Guard's C-12 corporate jet.
Since the Guard's lease at the Lakefront Airport has ended, the facilities have reverted to the Orleans Parish Levee Board, which will repair the hangar and building the Guard used, airport director Randolph Taylor said. "We're going to restore it and use it," he said.
-- $17 million to build a readiness center for the Marrero-based 2225th Multi-Role Bridge Company, which has 190 soldiers. The 50,000-square-foot facility will be located near the Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Center on Ames Boulevard.
-- $14 million for a readiness center in Covington. The nearly 30,000-square-foot building will be the new home to Company A, 205th Engineer Battalion, which has about 90 soldiers.
-- $14 million for a 40,000-square-foot readiness center in Reserve for the 175 soldiers of the 1084th Transportation Company. The Guard last month finalized a lease agreement with the St. John the Baptist Parish government for the land on which the center will be built.
-- $12.9 million for a 27,000-square-foot field maintenance facility at Camp Villere, near Slidell, that can support 739 soldiers. The facility replaces one at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Mouton said.
-- $137.9 million in military construction money for new buildings at Jackson Barracks, including $43.8 million for the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment; $39.1 million for a new Joint Forces Headquarters; $25.4 million for the 61st Troop Command; $19 million for infrastructure improvements; and $10 million for gate houses and fences.
Another $37 million in state money will be used to restore historic antebellum homes, the Jackson Barracks Military Museum and other projects at the 100-acre base on the Orleans-St. Bernard parish line.
-- $14.6 million for a new readiness center in Bogalusa, home to the 205th Engineer Battalion headquarters, designed to support 114 soldiers.
-- $31 million for a 70,000-square-foot Joint Forces Headquarters building at Camp Beauregard in Pineville. The headquarters will serve as a detachment to the Joint Forces Headquarters at Jackson Barracks, Mouton said.
-- At least $10.5 million in federal money, not included in the military construction budget, is being used to repair facilities that received damage from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in central and southwestern Louisiana, Mouton said. That amount "is growing," he said.
La. National Guard will build new facilities in Hammond, leaving behind complexes at Lakefront Airport.
Construction projects are put on fast track
Monday, July 10, 2006 TP/NOLA.com
By Paul Purpura
West Bank bureau
Using Defense Department money to pay for an unprecedented construction spree, the Louisiana National Guard has fast-tracked a $480 million building program to replace several facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina and launch other projects that were in the works before the storm.
The financing was included in the Defense Department's fiscal 2006 military construction budget, which requires no matching money from Louisiana to rebuild the state-owned facilities, said Lt. Col. Doug Mouton, the Guard's director of construction and facilities.
With the money secured through the Department of Defense, the Guard will not have to compete with local communities for other state or federal money to rebuild its facilities, said Mouton, who also commands the 225th Engineer Group, based in Pineville.
"It was one of our highest priorities," Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said Friday of securing the money for military facilities. "We were really extraordinarily successful in this first major effort."
The construction program is the largest in the history of the National Guard nationwide, Mouton said. The $480 million includes construction, architectural and engineering costs, furnishings and equipping buildings with fiber optics for communications, he said.
Landrieu, a member of the Senate Appropriation Committee's military construction subcommittee, which oversees military installations worldwide, said bases serve as "engines that help bring back communities."
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard, echoed Landrieu's view Thursday when she announced that Jackson Barracks will get a $200 million makeover, of which $173 million is federal money.
"An investment in Jackson Barracks will provide a catalyst to the surrounding communities," Blanco said. "It will spark new life in the areas most devastated by Katrina."
Weeks after Katrina, the Guard began assessing damage to its facilities statewide. Design planning began in January, and now the Guard is preparing to award construction contracts, Mouton said.
The expedited process was made possible by a new state law that allows the Louisiana Military Department to begin construction even while plans are in the design phase, Mouton said. The "design/build" process, used widely by the Defense Department, was crucial because the Guard had to use the federal money before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, or else lose it.
"The timeline is mind-boggling," Mouton said. "Every (project) will be under contract by the end of August, 30 days ahead of deadline."
The work is expected to be complete by August 2009.
A look at the projects:
-- $110 million for the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport, which will be the home of the Army Guard's 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment and its fleet of 20 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, whose facilities at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport were heavily damaged by Katrina's wind and surge.
The Guard has leased 122 acres at the Hammond-owned airport, where officials plan to build a 164,000-square-foot Army aviation support facility that includes hangars. The $110 million investment includes a $35.8 million, 114,000- square-foot "readiness center," what the Guard now calls its armories.
Hammond will be the permanent home to part of the 204th Air Traffic Service Group, displaced by Katrina from Jackson Barracks, as well as a detachment of aviators who operate the Guard's C-12 corporate jet.
Since the Guard's lease at the Lakefront Airport has ended, the facilities have reverted to the Orleans Parish Levee Board, which will repair the hangar and building the Guard used, airport director Randolph Taylor said. "We're going to restore it and use it," he said.
-- $17 million to build a readiness center for the Marrero-based 2225th Multi-Role Bridge Company, which has 190 soldiers. The 50,000-square-foot facility will be located near the Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Center on Ames Boulevard.
-- $14 million for a readiness center in Covington. The nearly 30,000-square-foot building will be the new home to Company A, 205th Engineer Battalion, which has about 90 soldiers.
-- $14 million for a 40,000-square-foot readiness center in Reserve for the 175 soldiers of the 1084th Transportation Company. The Guard last month finalized a lease agreement with the St. John the Baptist Parish government for the land on which the center will be built.
-- $12.9 million for a 27,000-square-foot field maintenance facility at Camp Villere, near Slidell, that can support 739 soldiers. The facility replaces one at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Mouton said.
-- $137.9 million in military construction money for new buildings at Jackson Barracks, including $43.8 million for the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment; $39.1 million for a new Joint Forces Headquarters; $25.4 million for the 61st Troop Command; $19 million for infrastructure improvements; and $10 million for gate houses and fences.
Another $37 million in state money will be used to restore historic antebellum homes, the Jackson Barracks Military Museum and other projects at the 100-acre base on the Orleans-St. Bernard parish line.
-- $14.6 million for a new readiness center in Bogalusa, home to the 205th Engineer Battalion headquarters, designed to support 114 soldiers.
-- $31 million for a 70,000-square-foot Joint Forces Headquarters building at Camp Beauregard in Pineville. The headquarters will serve as a detachment to the Joint Forces Headquarters at Jackson Barracks, Mouton said.
-- At least $10.5 million in federal money, not included in the military construction budget, is being used to repair facilities that received damage from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in central and southwestern Louisiana, Mouton said. That amount "is growing," he said.
La. National Guard will build new facilities in Hammond, leaving behind complexes at Lakefront Airport.
Last edited by Audrey2Katrina on Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Katrina milestone: First trial of insurance lawsuit set to open
7/10/2006, 12:22 a.m. CT TP/NOLA.com
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
The Associated Press
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A trial set to open here Monday is expected to be the first legal test of the wind-versus-water debate that has pitted thousands of Gulf Coast policyholders against their insurance companies since Hurricane Katrina.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Pascagoula police officer against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. after the insurer refused to cover damage to his home, will be heard by a federal judge, not a jury.
The case is believed to be the first Katrina-related insurance suit to be tried since the storm roared ashore Aug. 29 and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of Gulf Coast homes.
Police Lt. Paul Leonard and his wife, Julie, claim Nationwide denied their claim without thoroughly investigating whether Katrina's wind or "storm surge" was responsible for the damage to their house, which is several hundred yards from the Mississippi Sound.
The Leonards, who purchased their policy more than a decade ago, also claim that their insurance agent had assured them that they didn't need to buy flood insurance for their home because their policy would cover all hurricane damage.
While Nationwide homeowners' policies cover wind damage, the Columbus, Ohio-based insurer argues that damage from flood waters, including wind-driven "storm surge," is excluded from coverage.
"Essentially, the Leonards are asking the court to change their contract after the fact," said Nationwide spokesman Joe Case. "They're asking for flood damage to be covered, and they didn't purchase flood insurance, regrettably."
In June, U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled that Nationwide's policies cover damage from hurricane winds but not from "water or water-borne materials (other than damage caused by rain, driven through roof or wall openings made by direct action of wind)."
The Leonards are represented by high-profile attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who helped secure a landmark, multibillion dollar settlement with tobacco companies in the late 1990s.
"Everyone is going to be watching the result of this," Scruggs said of the trial, which is expected to last a week or two. "It won't be binding for other cases, but the precedential effects of this will be enormous because it's the first one."
Scruggs represents around 3,000 policyholders on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, including his brother-in-law, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., whose Pascagoula home was demolished by Katrina.
Senter presides over the Leonards' case and others that Scruggs has filed for hundreds of policyholders against other insurers, including Allstate Insurance Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., State Farm Insurance Cos. and United Services Automobile Association.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood also is suing insurance companies, arguing they should pay for all of Katrina's property damage, whether it was caused by wind or wind-driven water.
Dr. Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute in New York, warned that a victory by the Leonards would "create chaos in insurance markets all over the country" because it would send a message that contracts can be "retroactively rewritten" after a disaster.
"That creates an impossible business environment," he said.
Scruggs and other plaintiffs' hope that winning this and a handful of other cases would pressure insurers into settling thousands of other Katrina-related lawsuits.
"The outcome will at least set the tone for future cases against all (insurance) companies," Scruggs said.
Hartwig, however, downplayed that scenario.
"Insurers will be looking at every single case on its merits," he said.
Leonard, whose house sustained an estimated $100,000 in damage, has spent roughly $20,000 out of his own pocket to repair his home.
"The goal here is to make my home whole again," he said of his lawsuit. "If it helps someone else, that's great. But I'm fighting for my family's future."
7/10/2006, 12:22 a.m. CT TP/NOLA.com
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
The Associated Press
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A trial set to open here Monday is expected to be the first legal test of the wind-versus-water debate that has pitted thousands of Gulf Coast policyholders against their insurance companies since Hurricane Katrina.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Pascagoula police officer against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. after the insurer refused to cover damage to his home, will be heard by a federal judge, not a jury.
The case is believed to be the first Katrina-related insurance suit to be tried since the storm roared ashore Aug. 29 and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of Gulf Coast homes.
Police Lt. Paul Leonard and his wife, Julie, claim Nationwide denied their claim without thoroughly investigating whether Katrina's wind or "storm surge" was responsible for the damage to their house, which is several hundred yards from the Mississippi Sound.
The Leonards, who purchased their policy more than a decade ago, also claim that their insurance agent had assured them that they didn't need to buy flood insurance for their home because their policy would cover all hurricane damage.
While Nationwide homeowners' policies cover wind damage, the Columbus, Ohio-based insurer argues that damage from flood waters, including wind-driven "storm surge," is excluded from coverage.
"Essentially, the Leonards are asking the court to change their contract after the fact," said Nationwide spokesman Joe Case. "They're asking for flood damage to be covered, and they didn't purchase flood insurance, regrettably."
In June, U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled that Nationwide's policies cover damage from hurricane winds but not from "water or water-borne materials (other than damage caused by rain, driven through roof or wall openings made by direct action of wind)."
The Leonards are represented by high-profile attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who helped secure a landmark, multibillion dollar settlement with tobacco companies in the late 1990s.
"Everyone is going to be watching the result of this," Scruggs said of the trial, which is expected to last a week or two. "It won't be binding for other cases, but the precedential effects of this will be enormous because it's the first one."
Scruggs represents around 3,000 policyholders on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, including his brother-in-law, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., whose Pascagoula home was demolished by Katrina.
Senter presides over the Leonards' case and others that Scruggs has filed for hundreds of policyholders against other insurers, including Allstate Insurance Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., State Farm Insurance Cos. and United Services Automobile Association.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood also is suing insurance companies, arguing they should pay for all of Katrina's property damage, whether it was caused by wind or wind-driven water.
Dr. Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute in New York, warned that a victory by the Leonards would "create chaos in insurance markets all over the country" because it would send a message that contracts can be "retroactively rewritten" after a disaster.
"That creates an impossible business environment," he said.
Scruggs and other plaintiffs' hope that winning this and a handful of other cases would pressure insurers into settling thousands of other Katrina-related lawsuits.
"The outcome will at least set the tone for future cases against all (insurance) companies," Scruggs said.
Hartwig, however, downplayed that scenario.
"Insurers will be looking at every single case on its merits," he said.
Leonard, whose house sustained an estimated $100,000 in damage, has spent roughly $20,000 out of his own pocket to repair his home.
"The goal here is to make my home whole again," he said of his lawsuit. "If it helps someone else, that's great. But I'm fighting for my family's future."
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Audrey2Katrina
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Tangipahoa hospital system planning huge expansion
7/10/2006, 11:14 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
HAMMOND, La. (AP) — Tangipahoa Parish's largest hospital system plans to spend $200 million for expansions over the next five years to handle the area's population boom.
From July 2002 to May 2006, North Oaks Medical Center's inpatient load increased by 23.3 percent, its outpatient load by 34.11 percent and its emergency room use by 10 percent, said hospital spokeswoman Melanie Zaffuto.
"All indications are that we are going to continue to grow," Zaffuto said.
Last year, the board of directors for Tangipahoa Parish Hospital District No. 1, the governing board for North Oaks, approved spending $200 million over the next 10 years to expand the hospital, said Brian Hannah, North Oaks facility development and project management officer.
Those plans include building a new medical office complex, adding a fourth and fifth floor to the main hospital building to add 60 inpatient beds, building 14 new operating suites, creating a Women's Center with a neonatal intensive care unit and 60 inpatient beds, and constructing a 450-car parking garage.
"The board made the commitment to spend the money," Hannah said. "We have not yet designed the buildings or planned the phases."
Hannah said the hospital's heavy use, especially after Hurricane Katrina, means the 10-year plan should be compressed to five to six years. Officials have yet to decide what will be built first and when this construction will begin, he said.
For example, construction of the medical center depends on how many physicians sign leases with the hospital to house their private practices, Zaffuto said.
"There has been a lot of attention paid to physicians in the areas devastated by the storm being recruited out of state," Zaffuto said. "Do they rebuild in this community, in surrounding communities or out of state?"
7/10/2006, 11:14 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
HAMMOND, La. (AP) — Tangipahoa Parish's largest hospital system plans to spend $200 million for expansions over the next five years to handle the area's population boom.
From July 2002 to May 2006, North Oaks Medical Center's inpatient load increased by 23.3 percent, its outpatient load by 34.11 percent and its emergency room use by 10 percent, said hospital spokeswoman Melanie Zaffuto.
"All indications are that we are going to continue to grow," Zaffuto said.
Last year, the board of directors for Tangipahoa Parish Hospital District No. 1, the governing board for North Oaks, approved spending $200 million over the next 10 years to expand the hospital, said Brian Hannah, North Oaks facility development and project management officer.
Those plans include building a new medical office complex, adding a fourth and fifth floor to the main hospital building to add 60 inpatient beds, building 14 new operating suites, creating a Women's Center with a neonatal intensive care unit and 60 inpatient beds, and constructing a 450-car parking garage.
"The board made the commitment to spend the money," Hannah said. "We have not yet designed the buildings or planned the phases."
Hannah said the hospital's heavy use, especially after Hurricane Katrina, means the 10-year plan should be compressed to five to six years. Officials have yet to decide what will be built first and when this construction will begin, he said.
For example, construction of the medical center depends on how many physicians sign leases with the hospital to house their private practices, Zaffuto said.
"There has been a lot of attention paid to physicians in the areas devastated by the storm being recruited out of state," Zaffuto said. "Do they rebuild in this community, in surrounding communities or out of state?"
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Audrey2Katrina
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Hornets president leaves organization
7/10/2006, 11:16 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — New Orleans Hornets President Paul Mott has left the organization, a team spokesman said Monday.
"I can confirm that Paul Mott is no longer with the organization," said Michael Thompson, director of corporate communications for the Hornets. "Club policy prevents us from commenting further."
It was unclear whether Mott resigned or was fired.
Mott, who oversaw the team's day-to-day business operations, was hired April 28, 2005. He previously worked for the NBA's league office in New York, where he worked as senior director of team marketing and business development.
In that position, Mott worked with eight league franchises, including the Hornets, on marketing development, ticket sales and community relations.
Before joining the NBA's league office in 2001, Mott spent five years with Major League Soccer.
7/10/2006, 11:16 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — New Orleans Hornets President Paul Mott has left the organization, a team spokesman said Monday.
"I can confirm that Paul Mott is no longer with the organization," said Michael Thompson, director of corporate communications for the Hornets. "Club policy prevents us from commenting further."
It was unclear whether Mott resigned or was fired.
Mott, who oversaw the team's day-to-day business operations, was hired April 28, 2005. He previously worked for the NBA's league office in New York, where he worked as senior director of team marketing and business development.
In that position, Mott worked with eight league franchises, including the Hornets, on marketing development, ticket sales and community relations.
Before joining the NBA's league office in 2001, Mott spent five years with Major League Soccer.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Shaw Group earnings dip; reveals error in previous results
7/10/2006, 12:27 p.m. CT
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Shaw Group Inc., an engineering company heavily involved in the post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, reported a third-quarter loss Monday, saying revenue from disaster relief had been less than anticipated. Its shares tumbled 16 percent.
The company also said a series of errors had led it to overstate its second-quarter results by $3.5 million.
Shaw, headquartered in Baton Rouge, reported a net loss of $16.7 million, or 21 cents per share for the quarter ending May 31. It's a less severe drop than a year ago, when Shaw reported a plunge of $21.7 million, or 31 cents per share. Helping Shaw in the third quarter were lucrative new projects including several in the Middle East, which buoyed revenue 38 percent to $1.2 billion, versus $891 million in the previous-year period.
Still, the company overestimated how much it would reap from hurricane-related work, and its bottom-line suffered when numerous contracts failed to pan out.
"Revenues from emergency response and disaster relief work were less than anticipated, as certain task orders totaling in excess of $100 million were canceled," said chairman and chief executive J.M. Bernard Jr.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast a profit of 37 cents per share on sales of $1.2 billion.
Shaw shares fell $4.16 to $21.59 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company said it would restate its second-quarter earnings to $21.8 million, or 27 cents per share, down from a previously reported $25.3 million, or 31 cents per share.
It's the result of a clerical error in calculating revenue from a contract and wrongful accounting for minority interest in a variable interest entity under generally accepted accounting rules. Shaw said the errors resulted from weak internal controls, which it would correct.
"We have initiated an assessment of our internal controls to determine the specific corrective actions to be taken," said chief financial officer Robert Belk.
The company also said it would file an amended quarterly report to correct the errors, and may request an extension of the filing date for the third quarter 10-Q report.
Shaw reported a record backlog of $8.1 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year, a third of which is primarily the result of government contracts, including the post-Katrina response.
Shaw also reported it won $37 million from an arbitration panel in a positive legal ruling involving its Harquahala project, an amount it will record in the current fourth quarter.
7/10/2006, 12:27 p.m. CT
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Shaw Group Inc., an engineering company heavily involved in the post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, reported a third-quarter loss Monday, saying revenue from disaster relief had been less than anticipated. Its shares tumbled 16 percent.
The company also said a series of errors had led it to overstate its second-quarter results by $3.5 million.
Shaw, headquartered in Baton Rouge, reported a net loss of $16.7 million, or 21 cents per share for the quarter ending May 31. It's a less severe drop than a year ago, when Shaw reported a plunge of $21.7 million, or 31 cents per share. Helping Shaw in the third quarter were lucrative new projects including several in the Middle East, which buoyed revenue 38 percent to $1.2 billion, versus $891 million in the previous-year period.
Still, the company overestimated how much it would reap from hurricane-related work, and its bottom-line suffered when numerous contracts failed to pan out.
"Revenues from emergency response and disaster relief work were less than anticipated, as certain task orders totaling in excess of $100 million were canceled," said chairman and chief executive J.M. Bernard Jr.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast a profit of 37 cents per share on sales of $1.2 billion.
Shaw shares fell $4.16 to $21.59 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company said it would restate its second-quarter earnings to $21.8 million, or 27 cents per share, down from a previously reported $25.3 million, or 31 cents per share.
It's the result of a clerical error in calculating revenue from a contract and wrongful accounting for minority interest in a variable interest entity under generally accepted accounting rules. Shaw said the errors resulted from weak internal controls, which it would correct.
"We have initiated an assessment of our internal controls to determine the specific corrective actions to be taken," said chief financial officer Robert Belk.
The company also said it would file an amended quarterly report to correct the errors, and may request an extension of the filing date for the third quarter 10-Q report.
Shaw reported a record backlog of $8.1 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year, a third of which is primarily the result of government contracts, including the post-Katrina response.
Shaw also reported it won $37 million from an arbitration panel in a positive legal ruling involving its Harquahala project, an amount it will record in the current fourth quarter.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Low water pressure in Uptown, CBD expected to be resolved this afternoon
By Michelle Krupa TP/NOLA.com
Staff writer
Water pressure was expected to be restored to areas of Uptown New Orleans and the Central Business District early this afternoon, after a busted turbine at the Carrollton Water Plant caused pumps that sustain water pressure to homes, businesses and fire hydrants to lose power, Sewerage & Water Board spokesman Robert Jackson said.
The turbine, or engine, went down at the Uptown facility around 11:50 a.m., Jackson said. He said the failure was due to a problem with the 25-cycle electricity provided to the turbine by the S&WB’s power plant, which fuels the city’s water distribution system.
When employees realized they problem, they switched the turbine to commercially provided 60-cycle electricity.
Though the cause of Monday’s water pressure reduction was unusual, loss of water pressure has been a frequent problem in New Orleans since crews began fixing pipes that fractured during Hurricane Katrina.
An estimated 85 million gallons of drinking water have been leaking everyday out of cracked pipes, broken fire hydrants and other faulty infrastructure. To repair the leaks, workers must reduce water pressure in those areas.
By Michelle Krupa TP/NOLA.com
Staff writer
Water pressure was expected to be restored to areas of Uptown New Orleans and the Central Business District early this afternoon, after a busted turbine at the Carrollton Water Plant caused pumps that sustain water pressure to homes, businesses and fire hydrants to lose power, Sewerage & Water Board spokesman Robert Jackson said.
The turbine, or engine, went down at the Uptown facility around 11:50 a.m., Jackson said. He said the failure was due to a problem with the 25-cycle electricity provided to the turbine by the S&WB’s power plant, which fuels the city’s water distribution system.
When employees realized they problem, they switched the turbine to commercially provided 60-cycle electricity.
Though the cause of Monday’s water pressure reduction was unusual, loss of water pressure has been a frequent problem in New Orleans since crews began fixing pipes that fractured during Hurricane Katrina.
An estimated 85 million gallons of drinking water have been leaking everyday out of cracked pipes, broken fire hydrants and other faulty infrastructure. To repair the leaks, workers must reduce water pressure in those areas.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Petrified tree dug up at Clio believed rate in Wiregrass area
7/10/2006, 3:24 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
CLIO, Ala. (AP) — A petrified tree has been dug out of the ground on property in Barbour County just outside Clio, a find that is not common in this part of southeast Alabama.
A couple of members of the Panama City Gem and Mineral Society who live in the Wiregrass found the 32-foot-long petrified tree two weeks ago. When extricated Saturday, it was mostly hollow and broke into more than a dozen large pieces, the biggest weighing 6,500 pounds. The total weight of the tree approached eight tons.
"That is unusual for Barbour County because most of the petrified wood is found further north," Lewis Dean, a geologist with the Geological Survey of Alabama, told The Dothan Eagle.
He said it will be somewhat difficult to identify just what kind of tree it was and how old the petrified wood is.
"There's no way to tell the age of it without identifying the wood and determining the age of the geological formation it was found in," Dean said.
Those digging out the mud-covered tree on Bernard Easterling's property estimated the petrified wood to be between 1 million and 2 million years old. It took about a half-dozen workers four hours to get the tree out of the excavation ditch and onto a flatbed truck.
It wasn't immediately known where the tree may end up. "It would make an excellent museum specimen," Dean said.
7/10/2006, 3:24 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
CLIO, Ala. (AP) — A petrified tree has been dug out of the ground on property in Barbour County just outside Clio, a find that is not common in this part of southeast Alabama.
A couple of members of the Panama City Gem and Mineral Society who live in the Wiregrass found the 32-foot-long petrified tree two weeks ago. When extricated Saturday, it was mostly hollow and broke into more than a dozen large pieces, the biggest weighing 6,500 pounds. The total weight of the tree approached eight tons.
"That is unusual for Barbour County because most of the petrified wood is found further north," Lewis Dean, a geologist with the Geological Survey of Alabama, told The Dothan Eagle.
He said it will be somewhat difficult to identify just what kind of tree it was and how old the petrified wood is.
"There's no way to tell the age of it without identifying the wood and determining the age of the geological formation it was found in," Dean said.
Those digging out the mud-covered tree on Bernard Easterling's property estimated the petrified wood to be between 1 million and 2 million years old. It took about a half-dozen workers four hours to get the tree out of the excavation ditch and onto a flatbed truck.
It wasn't immediately known where the tree may end up. "It would make an excellent museum specimen," Dean said.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Questions raised in Mobile County over wrong ballots handed out
7/10/2006, 1:31 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Questions have been raised over whether some voters in precincts with more than one state House race were given the wrong ballot in the June 6 primary in Mobile County, which was making the switch to paper ballots from electronic voting machines.
State Rep. Joseph Mitchell of Mobile did not receive a single vote at the First Assembly of God precinct in the Democratic primary for House District 103, and neither did his opponent, Thelma Cooke-Thrash, even though 108 voters in the House district are assigned to the precinct.
"Everybody would have had to skip the vote," said Mitchell's wife and campaign manager, Janetta Whitt-Mitchell. "Do you think the poll watcher working for us would have not voted for us?"
The Press-Register reported Monday that claims of being given the wrong ballot were made in other precincts with more than one House race. In such split precincts — there are 25 in Mobile County — voters are to be given the ballot containing the race for the district in which they live.
Betty Gartman, a member of the Alabama New South Coalition who analyzed the election returns, said she suspects confused poll workers at the First Assembly of God precinct gave voters who live in District 103 the ballot intended for those who live in House District 101, which shares the precinct and had no contested House race.
Gartman said she does not believe the outcome of any race was changed by the problems. Mitchell, who won easily, said the problems were widespread and has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate.
Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis, who oversees elections, said some voters did complain of being handed the wrong ballot during the June 6 primary, "but there's really no way for us to verify whether that occurred. Everybody's ballot's secret."
He said extensive efforts were made to train poll workers on the new paper ballots and how to deal with split precincts.
But Cooke-Thrash said she believes poll workers struggled on June 6.
"I don't think they really understood, first of all, the paper ballots. And I don't think they understood the split voting," she said.
Janice Kirksey told the Press-Register that she noticed the House District 103 race was not on the ballot she was given at the Rock of Faith Baptist Church precinct. When she brought it to the attention of the poll inspector, she said, she received no help.
"He was rude," she said. "He made me so mad with his response."
Kirksey said she ended up with the ballot intended for voters in House District 97, which had no contested legislative race.
"I voted on what I was given. And I wasn't able to vote for Dr. Mitchell. And I wasn't able to vote for his opponent," she said.
7/10/2006, 1:31 p.m. CT
The Associated Press
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Questions have been raised over whether some voters in precincts with more than one state House race were given the wrong ballot in the June 6 primary in Mobile County, which was making the switch to paper ballots from electronic voting machines.
State Rep. Joseph Mitchell of Mobile did not receive a single vote at the First Assembly of God precinct in the Democratic primary for House District 103, and neither did his opponent, Thelma Cooke-Thrash, even though 108 voters in the House district are assigned to the precinct.
"Everybody would have had to skip the vote," said Mitchell's wife and campaign manager, Janetta Whitt-Mitchell. "Do you think the poll watcher working for us would have not voted for us?"
The Press-Register reported Monday that claims of being given the wrong ballot were made in other precincts with more than one House race. In such split precincts — there are 25 in Mobile County — voters are to be given the ballot containing the race for the district in which they live.
Betty Gartman, a member of the Alabama New South Coalition who analyzed the election returns, said she suspects confused poll workers at the First Assembly of God precinct gave voters who live in District 103 the ballot intended for those who live in House District 101, which shares the precinct and had no contested House race.
Gartman said she does not believe the outcome of any race was changed by the problems. Mitchell, who won easily, said the problems were widespread and has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate.
Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis, who oversees elections, said some voters did complain of being handed the wrong ballot during the June 6 primary, "but there's really no way for us to verify whether that occurred. Everybody's ballot's secret."
He said extensive efforts were made to train poll workers on the new paper ballots and how to deal with split precincts.
But Cooke-Thrash said she believes poll workers struggled on June 6.
"I don't think they really understood, first of all, the paper ballots. And I don't think they understood the split voting," she said.
Janice Kirksey told the Press-Register that she noticed the House District 103 race was not on the ballot she was given at the Rock of Faith Baptist Church precinct. When she brought it to the attention of the poll inspector, she said, she received no help.
"He was rude," she said. "He made me so mad with his response."
Kirksey said she ended up with the ballot intended for voters in House District 97, which had no contested legislative race.
"I voted on what I was given. And I wasn't able to vote for Dr. Mitchell. And I wasn't able to vote for his opponent," she said.
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Audrey2Katrina
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Gulf Coast News: UPDATE 7/10/06
From Gulfcoastnews.com
Many Coast children are exhibiting detached behavior to deal with post-Katrina stress...The first notifications of closings for the state's Homeowner Grant Program will be sent out this week by the Mississippi Development Authority according to Scott Hamilton with the MDA. Hamilton spoke with GCN this morning. At the closings, homeowners will receive a check to help pay to rebuild their homes destroyed by Katrina's storm surge. The MDA is still asking for people to sign up for phase II of the program, which will include moderate income homeowners who suffered flooding even in the flood zones..A Hancock County contractor ordered to halt debris pickup there says he was told by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the government is "short of money"...MDOT says it will expedite a program to synchronize U.S. 90 traffic lights... East Ship Island was so badly damaged by Katrina that it might disappear...Despite recent rains burn bans are still in effect along the Coast as the Coast is in a extreme drought. FEMA reports that more than 101,900 people are housed temporarily in 37,745 FEMA-provided trailers nearly ten months after Katrina. The Coast is still in relief mode not recovery more than ten months after Hurricane Katrina. 7/10/06 9:04 AM
From Gulfcoastnews.com
Many Coast children are exhibiting detached behavior to deal with post-Katrina stress...The first notifications of closings for the state's Homeowner Grant Program will be sent out this week by the Mississippi Development Authority according to Scott Hamilton with the MDA. Hamilton spoke with GCN this morning. At the closings, homeowners will receive a check to help pay to rebuild their homes destroyed by Katrina's storm surge. The MDA is still asking for people to sign up for phase II of the program, which will include moderate income homeowners who suffered flooding even in the flood zones..A Hancock County contractor ordered to halt debris pickup there says he was told by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the government is "short of money"...MDOT says it will expedite a program to synchronize U.S. 90 traffic lights... East Ship Island was so badly damaged by Katrina that it might disappear...Despite recent rains burn bans are still in effect along the Coast as the Coast is in a extreme drought. FEMA reports that more than 101,900 people are housed temporarily in 37,745 FEMA-provided trailers nearly ten months after Katrina. The Coast is still in relief mode not recovery more than ten months after Hurricane Katrina. 7/10/06 9:04 AM
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Audrey2Katrina
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Moss Point debates outsourcing
Reverse osmosis plant to open in 2007
By DONNA HARRIS posted 7/10/06
SUN HERALD
MOSS POINT - As plans continue for construction of a water treatment plant in Moss Point, aldermen are deciding whether to use city employees to run the facility or outsource the work to a qualified firm.
Aldermen will hear presentations from OpTech of Georgia and Severn Trent Service of Jackson later this month. United Water of Indiana made its presentation Wednesday night. After hearing from all three, the board will make a decision as soon as possible, said alderwoman at large Aneice Liddell, who is chairing the reverse osmosis committee.
The plant should be online by September 2007, but United Water President J.C. Goldman suggested that the firm chosen be on board for at least the last six months of construction to serve as consultants on the project.
The plant and the overhaul of the water system in Moss Point is funded by Rohm & Haas through a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental regulators.
The company provided $9.4 million toward the replacement of water lines and wells throughout the city, and will pay for the construction of the new reverse osmosis plant.
The new plant on Palmetto Avenue will be the center of the reverse osmosis process. The project includes three new wells and one existing well.
New wells were constructed because most of the city's existing wells could not accommodate the 4,500 gallons of water per minute that will flow through them.
Goldman said it will take three to five workers to man the reverse osmosis plant in two shifts. The third shift will be unmanned, with a digital alert system that will alert employees of problems.
Goldman said workers should expect to be paid around $15 an hour, though experienced workers could make as much as $20 an hour.
Reverse osmosis is a filtration system that cleans water of all impurities, removing odor, discoloration and sulfurous tastes by forcing it through a series of filters.
This process removes most inorganic chemicals such as salts, metals and minerals as well as microorganisms and many organic compounds, leaving water clear.
Pascagoula already uses a reverse osmosis process for its water supply.
The project is solely funded by Rohm & Hass, which owned two plants in Moss Point that closed in 2001. The company was fined for environmental infractions, which would ordinarily be paid in a lump sum to the federal government.
Instead, the plant manager initiated the Supplemental Environmental Project, in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Justice Department allow fines to be dispersed for environmental projects.
About $4 million was allotted to replace private sewer lines, which allowed the program to smoke test lines throughout the city, replacing and repairing along the way.
The reverse osmosis plant and wells came from the $9.4 million from Rohm & Hass.
Reverse osmosis plant to open in 2007
By DONNA HARRIS posted 7/10/06
SUN HERALD
MOSS POINT - As plans continue for construction of a water treatment plant in Moss Point, aldermen are deciding whether to use city employees to run the facility or outsource the work to a qualified firm.
Aldermen will hear presentations from OpTech of Georgia and Severn Trent Service of Jackson later this month. United Water of Indiana made its presentation Wednesday night. After hearing from all three, the board will make a decision as soon as possible, said alderwoman at large Aneice Liddell, who is chairing the reverse osmosis committee.
The plant should be online by September 2007, but United Water President J.C. Goldman suggested that the firm chosen be on board for at least the last six months of construction to serve as consultants on the project.
The plant and the overhaul of the water system in Moss Point is funded by Rohm & Haas through a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental regulators.
The company provided $9.4 million toward the replacement of water lines and wells throughout the city, and will pay for the construction of the new reverse osmosis plant.
The new plant on Palmetto Avenue will be the center of the reverse osmosis process. The project includes three new wells and one existing well.
New wells were constructed because most of the city's existing wells could not accommodate the 4,500 gallons of water per minute that will flow through them.
Goldman said it will take three to five workers to man the reverse osmosis plant in two shifts. The third shift will be unmanned, with a digital alert system that will alert employees of problems.
Goldman said workers should expect to be paid around $15 an hour, though experienced workers could make as much as $20 an hour.
Reverse osmosis is a filtration system that cleans water of all impurities, removing odor, discoloration and sulfurous tastes by forcing it through a series of filters.
This process removes most inorganic chemicals such as salts, metals and minerals as well as microorganisms and many organic compounds, leaving water clear.
Pascagoula already uses a reverse osmosis process for its water supply.
The project is solely funded by Rohm & Hass, which owned two plants in Moss Point that closed in 2001. The company was fined for environmental infractions, which would ordinarily be paid in a lump sum to the federal government.
Instead, the plant manager initiated the Supplemental Environmental Project, in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Justice Department allow fines to be dispersed for environmental projects.
About $4 million was allotted to replace private sewer lines, which allowed the program to smoke test lines throughout the city, replacing and repairing along the way.
The reverse osmosis plant and wells came from the $9.4 million from Rohm & Hass.
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
AROUND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
Registration extended for free construction classes
Registration has been extended for construction classes at the Jefferson Davis campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
The free program will begin July 17 and meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for four weeks. Participants will learn carpentry, plumbing, masonry, drywall, electrical and painting skills so they can become employed with contractors and construction companies working in the area. Space is limited to 25 participants.
Details: 896-2512.
BILOXI
Social event for veterans to be held this week
The VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, Biloxi Division, will host a watermelon social at 2 p.m. Tuesday for veterans and staff. Members of the Elberta, Ala., Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 5658 donated more than 80 watermelons for the event, which will be held under the oaks by the Canteen, Building 57.
- SUN HERALD
JACKSON COUNTY
Extension Service to give away disaster information packets
The Jackson County Extension Service is giving away disaster information packets at all county libraries or at the Extension Service's temporary office at the fairgrounds in Pascagoula in Building No. 8.
The packets include Mississippi and Alabama highway maps, a coloring book for children, and a disaster recovery booklet. The booklet covers 13 issues, such as packing emergency kits before the storm and cleaning mold after a storm. Some 1,000 packets are available.
Details: Extension office, 769-3048.
- SUN HERALD
PASS CHRISTIAN
Summer books on St. Stanislaus, Our Lady Academy lists available
The library recently announced it has purchased all of the books listed on the St. Stanislaus College and Our Lady Academy summer reading list.
Library officials hope to acquire required books for other schools. The library is at 324 E. Second St., in War Memorial Park. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
- SUN HERALD
PICAYUNE
Social Security Administration resumes monthly service
The Social Security Administration has resumed service in Picayune once a month.
The agency will be available Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Church of the Way, 6509 U.S. 11 North in Picayune. The church is across from the Hide-Away-Lake entrance.
The normal dates of service, the first Tuesday of the month, moved in July because of the Fourth of July holiday.
Details: (800) 772-1213 or http://www.social security.gov.
- SUN HERALD
WAVELAND
Americorps volunteers extend needs assessment hours
Americorps volunteers working with the Hancock County Long Term Recovery Committee have announced they will extend their needs assessment hours.
The new hours will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. County residents do not need an appointment to complete the survey process at the Walk-In Center, 510 South Central Ave., Waveland, but residents are asked to have their FEMA date of registration and control number available.
Details: 466-8266 or 466-8267.
- SUN HERALD
WIGGINS
Foundation awards $15,000 grant to repair course at Camp Tiak
The Gulf Coast Community Foundation awarded a $15,000 grant to the Boy Scout's Pine Burr Area Council for repairs to the ropes challenge course at Camp Tiak. The course and the camp sustained significant damage during Hurricane Katrina but are open this summer.
- SUN HERALD
Registration extended for free construction classes
Registration has been extended for construction classes at the Jefferson Davis campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
The free program will begin July 17 and meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for four weeks. Participants will learn carpentry, plumbing, masonry, drywall, electrical and painting skills so they can become employed with contractors and construction companies working in the area. Space is limited to 25 participants.
Details: 896-2512.
BILOXI
Social event for veterans to be held this week
The VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, Biloxi Division, will host a watermelon social at 2 p.m. Tuesday for veterans and staff. Members of the Elberta, Ala., Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter 5658 donated more than 80 watermelons for the event, which will be held under the oaks by the Canteen, Building 57.
- SUN HERALD
JACKSON COUNTY
Extension Service to give away disaster information packets
The Jackson County Extension Service is giving away disaster information packets at all county libraries or at the Extension Service's temporary office at the fairgrounds in Pascagoula in Building No. 8.
The packets include Mississippi and Alabama highway maps, a coloring book for children, and a disaster recovery booklet. The booklet covers 13 issues, such as packing emergency kits before the storm and cleaning mold after a storm. Some 1,000 packets are available.
Details: Extension office, 769-3048.
- SUN HERALD
PASS CHRISTIAN
Summer books on St. Stanislaus, Our Lady Academy lists available
The library recently announced it has purchased all of the books listed on the St. Stanislaus College and Our Lady Academy summer reading list.
Library officials hope to acquire required books for other schools. The library is at 324 E. Second St., in War Memorial Park. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
- SUN HERALD
PICAYUNE
Social Security Administration resumes monthly service
The Social Security Administration has resumed service in Picayune once a month.
The agency will be available Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Church of the Way, 6509 U.S. 11 North in Picayune. The church is across from the Hide-Away-Lake entrance.
The normal dates of service, the first Tuesday of the month, moved in July because of the Fourth of July holiday.
Details: (800) 772-1213 or http://www.social security.gov.
- SUN HERALD
WAVELAND
Americorps volunteers extend needs assessment hours
Americorps volunteers working with the Hancock County Long Term Recovery Committee have announced they will extend their needs assessment hours.
The new hours will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. County residents do not need an appointment to complete the survey process at the Walk-In Center, 510 South Central Ave., Waveland, but residents are asked to have their FEMA date of registration and control number available.
Details: 466-8266 or 466-8267.
- SUN HERALD
WIGGINS
Foundation awards $15,000 grant to repair course at Camp Tiak
The Gulf Coast Community Foundation awarded a $15,000 grant to the Boy Scout's Pine Burr Area Council for repairs to the ropes challenge course at Camp Tiak. The course and the camp sustained significant damage during Hurricane Katrina but are open this summer.
- SUN HERALD
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Houma man got magical start early on
Matthew Noel, 24, a local magician, juggler and yo-yo trickster entertains a group of kids Friday afternoon at the Terrebonne Parish Main Library in Houma
03:05 PM CDT on Monday, July 10, 2006
Houma Courier
HOUMA -- Matthew Noel, a local juggler, magician and trickster extraordinaire, didn’t just learn tricks by watching his grandfather, he also learned how to perform.
When Matthew Noel was a boy, his grandfather, Mitchel Winegeart, told him a story about Mexican currency and inflation.
Winegeart placed a Mexican centavo and a U.S. dollar coin in his hand and closed his fingers around them. He told Noel inflation was so high, the centavo was almost gone. And when his grandfather opened his hand, the Mexican coin had disappeared.
His demeanor was slow and deliberate, Noel said of his grandfather’s magic tricks, and utilized everyday objects and stories to create a personal connection with his audience.
The 24-year-old Houma native said he tries to emulate his grandfather in his performances, which mix magic, juggling, yo-yo’s, music and audience participation.
"The basis of magic is not a trick," Noel said. "It’s connecting on a personal level and telling a story."
The trick his grandfather showed him was also his first, performed when he was 8 years old, Noel said.
Noel honed his craft and started performing professionally when he was just 17. He is a frequent performer at area libraries and schools.
Winegeart died about eight years ago, Noel said, and never saw him perform professionally. "I wish he had been alive to see me perform," he added.
After his grandfather’s death, Noel inherited his shoebox full of magic tricks. Since then, Noel has been studying ways to bring together magic and storytelling, along with juggling and yo-yo tricks.
Noel said he tries to get his audiences to visualize the story he tells. Anyone can learn a trick, but you can’t breathe life into it until you connect with your audience, he said.
Experimenting with tricks and finding his own unique way of doing them is how.
Noel stands out, said Jon Racherbaumer, a friend and long-time magician, writer and entertainer. Racherbaumer and Noel met six years ago through Knights of Sleights, a group of magicians and entertainers who meet once a week on the West Bank in New Orleans.
"Noel came out of skateboarding, yo-yo and juggling," Racherbaumer said. "I knew he had the coordination to do complicated tricks."
Noel tries to find a connection with younger people, who are looking for something different, Racherbaumer said.
Noel’s also been looking for ways to mix forms of entertainment with cooking.
As a culinary student at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Noel said he wants to create a cooking show that would take television viewers inside the homes of magicians and cooks. It would be about exploring magic and food, Noel said.
In the meantime, Noel has been performing his entertainment routine at local group events, birthday parties and Terrebonne Parish libraries.
On Friday, Noel stood in a room at the Main Library that was packed room with more than 100 kids. He kept their attention by asking for magic assistants, telling jokes and performing yo-yo and juggling tricks.
"Do you want to know the secret to magic?" Noel said to the kids. "Parents cover your ears. … It’s using your imagination. If you believe it, it will happen."
Noel’s talent has already been noticed outside of Houma. He has shown off his tricks in competitions around the country and worked as a double for a lead character in a Disney Channel movie.
"I hope to eventually go national," Noel said of his career. "But I also feel that I’m going to end up doing several different things in life."
Noel said his ideal job as an entertainer would working with Cirque du Soleiu, a European circus, magic and musical group that tours the world.
"I would love to work with them. It would blow my mind."
Matthew Noel, 24, a local magician, juggler and yo-yo trickster entertains a group of kids Friday afternoon at the Terrebonne Parish Main Library in Houma
03:05 PM CDT on Monday, July 10, 2006
Houma Courier
HOUMA -- Matthew Noel, a local juggler, magician and trickster extraordinaire, didn’t just learn tricks by watching his grandfather, he also learned how to perform.
When Matthew Noel was a boy, his grandfather, Mitchel Winegeart, told him a story about Mexican currency and inflation.
Winegeart placed a Mexican centavo and a U.S. dollar coin in his hand and closed his fingers around them. He told Noel inflation was so high, the centavo was almost gone. And when his grandfather opened his hand, the Mexican coin had disappeared.
His demeanor was slow and deliberate, Noel said of his grandfather’s magic tricks, and utilized everyday objects and stories to create a personal connection with his audience.
The 24-year-old Houma native said he tries to emulate his grandfather in his performances, which mix magic, juggling, yo-yo’s, music and audience participation.
"The basis of magic is not a trick," Noel said. "It’s connecting on a personal level and telling a story."
The trick his grandfather showed him was also his first, performed when he was 8 years old, Noel said.
Noel honed his craft and started performing professionally when he was just 17. He is a frequent performer at area libraries and schools.
Winegeart died about eight years ago, Noel said, and never saw him perform professionally. "I wish he had been alive to see me perform," he added.
After his grandfather’s death, Noel inherited his shoebox full of magic tricks. Since then, Noel has been studying ways to bring together magic and storytelling, along with juggling and yo-yo tricks.
Noel said he tries to get his audiences to visualize the story he tells. Anyone can learn a trick, but you can’t breathe life into it until you connect with your audience, he said.
Experimenting with tricks and finding his own unique way of doing them is how.
Noel stands out, said Jon Racherbaumer, a friend and long-time magician, writer and entertainer. Racherbaumer and Noel met six years ago through Knights of Sleights, a group of magicians and entertainers who meet once a week on the West Bank in New Orleans.
"Noel came out of skateboarding, yo-yo and juggling," Racherbaumer said. "I knew he had the coordination to do complicated tricks."
Noel tries to find a connection with younger people, who are looking for something different, Racherbaumer said.
Noel’s also been looking for ways to mix forms of entertainment with cooking.
As a culinary student at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Noel said he wants to create a cooking show that would take television viewers inside the homes of magicians and cooks. It would be about exploring magic and food, Noel said.
In the meantime, Noel has been performing his entertainment routine at local group events, birthday parties and Terrebonne Parish libraries.
On Friday, Noel stood in a room at the Main Library that was packed room with more than 100 kids. He kept their attention by asking for magic assistants, telling jokes and performing yo-yo and juggling tricks.
"Do you want to know the secret to magic?" Noel said to the kids. "Parents cover your ears. … It’s using your imagination. If you believe it, it will happen."
Noel’s talent has already been noticed outside of Houma. He has shown off his tricks in competitions around the country and worked as a double for a lead character in a Disney Channel movie.
"I hope to eventually go national," Noel said of his career. "But I also feel that I’m going to end up doing several different things in life."
Noel said his ideal job as an entertainer would working with Cirque du Soleiu, a European circus, magic and musical group that tours the world.
"I would love to work with them. It would blow my mind."
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Judge says raid on Jefferson's office was legal
By Bruce Alpert 7/10/06 TP/NOLA.com
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON - Federal agents conducting a criminal investigation of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson were entitled to raid his congressional office, a federal judge ruled Monday, and prosecutors can immediately begin reviewing seized material, including the computer hard drives seized from the congressman and his staff.
The May 20-21 search, the first ever of a congressional office, was carried out as part of a nearly 16-month political corruption probe that has targeted the eight-term New Orleans Democrat. It had been challenged by attorneys for Jefferson and House leaders of both parties who argued that the search was unnecessary to advance the investigation and that it violated the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch and the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.
But Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in a 28-page ruling rejected all the arguments, saying their theories, if carried to their logical conclusion, would allow members of Congress to hide evidence of criminal activities.
"Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the speech or debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime," said Hogan, who had approved the search warrant for the May 20-21 search of Jefferson's office.
Jefferson 's attorney, Robert Trout, vowed to appeal Hogan's ruling, but the fact that the judge, an appointee of President Reagan, said the material can be reviewed immediately by the Justice Department, may indicate he won't be willing to stay his ruling during what could be a lengthy appeals process. Law enforcement officials have said they would expect a decision by a Virginia grand jury on whether to indict Jefferson fairly soon after the material taken from the office was made available.
Hogan rejected the contention by Jefferson's attorneys that the search wasn't necessary because the Department of Justice had not exhausted less intrusive approaches to obtaining the evidence and that the FBI agents had taken privileged material related to Jefferson's legislative duties.
"While the search here entailed an invasion somewhat greater than usual because it took place in a congressional office certain to contain privileged legislative material, the government has demonstrated a compelling need to conduct the search in relation to a criminal investigation involving very serious crimes and has been unable to obtain the evidence sought through any other reasonable means," Hogan ruled.
Separation of powers
As to whether the search violated the separation of powers, as argued by Jefferson's attorneys, Hogan said he actually found the opposite to be the case.
"Rather, the principle of the separation of powers is threatened by the position that the Legislative branch enjoys the unilateral and un-reviewable power to invoke an absolute privilege thus making it immune from the ordinary criminal process of a validly issued search warrant," Hogan said.
Trout, Jefferson's attorney, vowed to appeal, and that appeal is expected to be filed today. Initially, it's likely that the appeal would be heard by a three-judge panel of U.S. District Court, and after that panel's ruling, the matter could come before the U.S. Supreme Court.
'Unprecedented' raid
Trout said the raid "was unprecedented, unnecessary, and unconstitutional."
"In this case, 15 FBI agents spent 18 hours looking at every piece of paper in the Congressman's office, and they carted away his computer hard drive as well as the hard drives of every single member of his staff," Trout said. "A bipartisan group of House leaders joined us in court to argue that these procedures were in direct violation of the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which the Framers specifically designed to protect legislators from intimidation by the legislative and judicial branches. While a congressman is not above the law, the executive branch must also follow the law."
Hogan said it is true that members of Congress, under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, may not be questioned by a member of the executive branch, including federal prosecutors, for their legislative work. But that's not what happened, he said.
"No one argues that the warrant executed upon Congressman Jefferson's office was not properly administered," Hogan wrote. "Therefore, there was no impermissible intrusion on the Legislature. The fact that some privileged material was incidentally captured by the search does not constitute an unlawful intrusion."
The Justice Department has been investigating Jefferson since March 2005. The major allegation is that he accepted payments in return for using his congressional position to assist a small Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., in getting Internet and cable television contracts in Nigeria and Ghana. The CEO of iGate, Vernon Jackson, one of two people to plead guilty in the probe, has said that he paid a company controlled by Jefferson's family more than $400,000.
Lori Mody, an iGate investor who has been cooperating with federal investigators and has worn a wire during meetings and telephone discussions with Jefferson, was videotaped handing the congressman a briefcase with $100,000 - reportedly to be used as a bribe for the vice president of Nigeria. All but $10,000 of the money was later found in the freezer of Jefferson's Washington home.
Jefferson has said he has an honorable explanation for the allegations against him. He has not been charged in the case and predicts he ultimately will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
Pelosi's views
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who led the move to strip Jefferson of his seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee because of the allegations against him, said the ruling shows that "no one is above the law."
Still, Pelosi, who challenged the raid along with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., continued to question the way the raid was carried out - without allowing a representative of the House counsel's office to observe.
"This particular search could have been conducted in a manner that fully protected the ability of the prosecutors to obtain the evidence needed to do their job while preserving constitutional principles," she said.
In his ruling, Hogan said there is no provision in federal rules for search warrants that allow someone to observe the search. Pelosi and a Department of Justice spokesman said discussions continue on procedures that both sides would agree to follow in any future raid of a congressional office.
"We are pleased with this decision, which allows us to move forward in this investigation using the documents that the court has concluded were lawfully obtained," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. "At the same time, we will also continue our discussions with Congress about harmonizing policies and procedures for possible future searches."
By Bruce Alpert 7/10/06 TP/NOLA.com
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON - Federal agents conducting a criminal investigation of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson were entitled to raid his congressional office, a federal judge ruled Monday, and prosecutors can immediately begin reviewing seized material, including the computer hard drives seized from the congressman and his staff.
The May 20-21 search, the first ever of a congressional office, was carried out as part of a nearly 16-month political corruption probe that has targeted the eight-term New Orleans Democrat. It had been challenged by attorneys for Jefferson and House leaders of both parties who argued that the search was unnecessary to advance the investigation and that it violated the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch and the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.
But Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in a 28-page ruling rejected all the arguments, saying their theories, if carried to their logical conclusion, would allow members of Congress to hide evidence of criminal activities.
"Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the speech or debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime," said Hogan, who had approved the search warrant for the May 20-21 search of Jefferson's office.
Jefferson 's attorney, Robert Trout, vowed to appeal Hogan's ruling, but the fact that the judge, an appointee of President Reagan, said the material can be reviewed immediately by the Justice Department, may indicate he won't be willing to stay his ruling during what could be a lengthy appeals process. Law enforcement officials have said they would expect a decision by a Virginia grand jury on whether to indict Jefferson fairly soon after the material taken from the office was made available.
Hogan rejected the contention by Jefferson's attorneys that the search wasn't necessary because the Department of Justice had not exhausted less intrusive approaches to obtaining the evidence and that the FBI agents had taken privileged material related to Jefferson's legislative duties.
"While the search here entailed an invasion somewhat greater than usual because it took place in a congressional office certain to contain privileged legislative material, the government has demonstrated a compelling need to conduct the search in relation to a criminal investigation involving very serious crimes and has been unable to obtain the evidence sought through any other reasonable means," Hogan ruled.
Separation of powers
As to whether the search violated the separation of powers, as argued by Jefferson's attorneys, Hogan said he actually found the opposite to be the case.
"Rather, the principle of the separation of powers is threatened by the position that the Legislative branch enjoys the unilateral and un-reviewable power to invoke an absolute privilege thus making it immune from the ordinary criminal process of a validly issued search warrant," Hogan said.
Trout, Jefferson's attorney, vowed to appeal, and that appeal is expected to be filed today. Initially, it's likely that the appeal would be heard by a three-judge panel of U.S. District Court, and after that panel's ruling, the matter could come before the U.S. Supreme Court.
'Unprecedented' raid
Trout said the raid "was unprecedented, unnecessary, and unconstitutional."
"In this case, 15 FBI agents spent 18 hours looking at every piece of paper in the Congressman's office, and they carted away his computer hard drive as well as the hard drives of every single member of his staff," Trout said. "A bipartisan group of House leaders joined us in court to argue that these procedures were in direct violation of the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which the Framers specifically designed to protect legislators from intimidation by the legislative and judicial branches. While a congressman is not above the law, the executive branch must also follow the law."
Hogan said it is true that members of Congress, under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, may not be questioned by a member of the executive branch, including federal prosecutors, for their legislative work. But that's not what happened, he said.
"No one argues that the warrant executed upon Congressman Jefferson's office was not properly administered," Hogan wrote. "Therefore, there was no impermissible intrusion on the Legislature. The fact that some privileged material was incidentally captured by the search does not constitute an unlawful intrusion."
The Justice Department has been investigating Jefferson since March 2005. The major allegation is that he accepted payments in return for using his congressional position to assist a small Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., in getting Internet and cable television contracts in Nigeria and Ghana. The CEO of iGate, Vernon Jackson, one of two people to plead guilty in the probe, has said that he paid a company controlled by Jefferson's family more than $400,000.
Lori Mody, an iGate investor who has been cooperating with federal investigators and has worn a wire during meetings and telephone discussions with Jefferson, was videotaped handing the congressman a briefcase with $100,000 - reportedly to be used as a bribe for the vice president of Nigeria. All but $10,000 of the money was later found in the freezer of Jefferson's Washington home.
Jefferson has said he has an honorable explanation for the allegations against him. He has not been charged in the case and predicts he ultimately will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
Pelosi's views
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who led the move to strip Jefferson of his seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee because of the allegations against him, said the ruling shows that "no one is above the law."
Still, Pelosi, who challenged the raid along with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., continued to question the way the raid was carried out - without allowing a representative of the House counsel's office to observe.
"This particular search could have been conducted in a manner that fully protected the ability of the prosecutors to obtain the evidence needed to do their job while preserving constitutional principles," she said.
In his ruling, Hogan said there is no provision in federal rules for search warrants that allow someone to observe the search. Pelosi and a Department of Justice spokesman said discussions continue on procedures that both sides would agree to follow in any future raid of a congressional office.
"We are pleased with this decision, which allows us to move forward in this investigation using the documents that the court has concluded were lawfully obtained," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. "At the same time, we will also continue our discussions with Congress about harmonizing policies and procedures for possible future searches."
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
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- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Editorial Comment:
Personally I think this
is WAY overdue! Were this any other politician, and they'd have been run out of town on a rail. (Strictly the editorial opinion of the thread editor)
Personally I think this
is WAY overdue! Were this any other politician, and they'd have been run out of town on a rail. (Strictly the editorial opinion of the thread editor)
Last edited by Audrey2Katrina on Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
New clerk digging out of chaos left by storm, predecessor
By Brian Thevenot TP/NOLA.com 7/10/06
Staff writer
In a dank hole of a room beneath the city's criminal courthouse, a huge pile of bullets lay scattered on the floor next to racks of rusty sawed-off shotguns that police pulled off the streets of New Orleans, evidence that prosecutors have yet to use in a court system stuck in slow motion.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Ed Lombard, the man appointed to sort through the mess in the flooded property and evidence rooms, strolled through the wreckage one day last week, surrounded by workers hired to painstakingly clean and salvage mountains of damaged documents and evidence.
"It's enough to arm Nicaragua," he cracked of the mountainous stacks of rusted weaponry.
Lombard, the former clerk of Orleans Criminal District Court appointed to the task by the state Supreme Court, couldn't say whether the firearms and other weapons - in one case a brick, used in an assault by assailant "John Doe" - belonged to open or closed cases. He estimated nearly half of the evidence may come from cases that have long ago been dropped.
Sorting through piles of disheveled evidence is just one of the monumental challenges facing a clerk's office struggling with sharply reduced staffing, cramped quarters and the transition from the administration of the widely derided ex-clerk, Kimberly Williamson Butler. Butler, who was thrown in jail for contempt of court in March before announcing her long-shot bid for mayor, is now under investigation by three agencies. (She dropped her re-election bid for clerk to run for mayor, and pulled in less than 1 percent of the vote).
Simply vanished
The newly elected clerk, former state Rep. Arthur Morrell, said Butler simply vanished during the transition, leaving him to sort through the complexities of serving a stumbling court system and prepping upcoming elections with a depleted staff and budget. Most of her top staff walked out without offering much guidance as well.
"There was no transition," Morrell said. "I asked some people to serve on a transition team, but when the time came, she (Butler) just left."
Now presiding over what once might have been considered a largely invisible backwater of city politics, Morrell must breathe life into what is a high-profile linchpin of the ailing criminal justice system.
Before and after the storm, Butler had raised the office's profile in less than desirable ways. In 2004, she botched the delivery of voting machines for an election. Then just before exiting the clerk's office, she engaged in a standoff with judges that earned her three days in jail for contempt. The dispute stemmed from the appointment of Lombard to take over the stalled FEMA application and property room cleanup that state Supreme Court judges stripped from Butler's purview.
While Butler spurned Lombard's help as an affront to her duly elected authority, Morrell welcomes it. And Lombard has made substantial progress. Outside the room with disheveled piles of guns, dope and other evidence, he showed off several others where evidence has been cleaned and filed away in waterproof plastic bags on shelves above the watermark on the walls. Butler had hired a Florida company, Biodefense America, to salvage the evidence at a cost of $8 million, a contract later canceled by Lombard. Now, a new contractor, Munters, a Chicago outfit, has nearly completed the work ahead of schedule for just $4 million.
Broken protocol
Meanwhile, state Attorney General Charles Foti is investigating Butler's letting of the first contract in an investigation spokeswoman Kris Wartelle called "very active." Butler earlier said she understood that investigators were looking into allegations of a "previous relationship" she had with the company. She denied any wrongdoing.
The attorney general is also looking into Butler's unsanctioned transfer of large amounts of cash evidence into bank accounts, an action she took without required court orders, Wartelle said. That matter also is being probed by District Attorney Eddie Jordan, according to a spokeswoman for his office, and by state Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot. Theriot, Wartelle and Jordan spokeswoman Leatrice Dupre all declined to provide further details on the investigations.
Butler could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, John Reed, said he believes his client has provided investigators all the documentation they need to dismiss the matter.
"I believe everything has been handled satisfactorily and will conclude happily," he said.
Criminal Court judges and others have expressed fear that Butler's depositing of the cash, which was taken off suspects, would nullify its evidence value in corresponding cases. Chief Judge Raymond Bigelow said Butler had no authority to move the cash for any reason without a court order. Reed asserts his client only deposited cash from closed cases in which the cash was no longer needed for evidence. She may have broken protocol, but no laws, he said.
Staffing shortage
Looking forward, Morrell said his office is now muddling through with about three dozen employees, compared with previous staffing levels of more than 100. He has budgetary authority to hire about a dozen more, and hopes to have them working by July 17. But that will still leave him far short of the staffing he believes will ultimately be required to service the court system and organize upcoming elections on Sept. 30, Nov. 7 and Dec. 9.
The clerk's office used to have two or three employees serving each of the 13 sections of the criminal courts. Now it has one per section, Morrell said. That's not such a problem right now, because the judges are holding court only half as often because of a shortage of air-conditioned courtrooms.
"But if the judges said tomorrow they were opening all 13 courts, we'd be in real trouble," Morrell said.
The office's budget, once $2 million annually, has been cut nearly in half, Morrell said, although some of that gap will be filled by a one-time federal recovery grant for about $3 million. For ongoing expenses and additional staff, Morrell said he plans to seek more money from City Hall. Of course, he'll be waiting in a long line.
City Hall spokesman Terry Davis referred questions on the clerk's budget to Richard Ieyoub, the former attorney general recently appointed by Mayor Ray Nagin to serve as a liaison with the criminal justice system. Ieyoub could not be reached for comment Friday.
Even if the office had all the money it needed, it would still face the same difficulty in hiring faced by most large organizations in the post-Katrina era, particularly ones that pay poorly.
Replenishing the ranks
"It's hard to hire somebody at a low salary when Burger King and Popeyes are paying $10 an hour," Judge Bigelow said.
To prepare for elections, Morrell has hired back Teresa MacMurray, a longtime employee under Ed Lombard who was fired by Butler. Working as executive assistant to Morrell, whom she worked for during his runoff campaign, MacMurray is preparing a recruitment drive to replenish the depleted ranks of election commissioners.
During the recent mayoral race, Secretary of State Al Ater provided a substantial number of employees from clerks' offices statewide to help run the New Orleans elections. But the office can't count on that kind of help in upcoming statewide elections because other clerks' offices will be serving their own local voters.
The office needs a minimum of 250 new commissioners, MacMurray said. To find them, she plans to seek help from civic groups such as the Urban League and neighborhood associations around the city, as well as political science departments at local colleges.
Office space, too, remains in short supply. With its first-floor offices un-airconditioned and out of commission, Morrell's staff is crammed into a second- floor office, some working on tables instead of desks and all with large stacks of files surrounding them on the floor.
Criminal Court Judge Calvin Johnson, one of Butler's biggest critics on the bench, said he believes the clerk's office will ultimately get the money it needs, and has made substantial progress in a short time, given the state of disarray.
"We've accomplished a lot, much more than most said was possible," he said.
By Brian Thevenot TP/NOLA.com 7/10/06
Staff writer
In a dank hole of a room beneath the city's criminal courthouse, a huge pile of bullets lay scattered on the floor next to racks of rusty sawed-off shotguns that police pulled off the streets of New Orleans, evidence that prosecutors have yet to use in a court system stuck in slow motion.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Ed Lombard, the man appointed to sort through the mess in the flooded property and evidence rooms, strolled through the wreckage one day last week, surrounded by workers hired to painstakingly clean and salvage mountains of damaged documents and evidence.
"It's enough to arm Nicaragua," he cracked of the mountainous stacks of rusted weaponry.
Lombard, the former clerk of Orleans Criminal District Court appointed to the task by the state Supreme Court, couldn't say whether the firearms and other weapons - in one case a brick, used in an assault by assailant "John Doe" - belonged to open or closed cases. He estimated nearly half of the evidence may come from cases that have long ago been dropped.
Sorting through piles of disheveled evidence is just one of the monumental challenges facing a clerk's office struggling with sharply reduced staffing, cramped quarters and the transition from the administration of the widely derided ex-clerk, Kimberly Williamson Butler. Butler, who was thrown in jail for contempt of court in March before announcing her long-shot bid for mayor, is now under investigation by three agencies. (She dropped her re-election bid for clerk to run for mayor, and pulled in less than 1 percent of the vote).
Simply vanished
The newly elected clerk, former state Rep. Arthur Morrell, said Butler simply vanished during the transition, leaving him to sort through the complexities of serving a stumbling court system and prepping upcoming elections with a depleted staff and budget. Most of her top staff walked out without offering much guidance as well.
"There was no transition," Morrell said. "I asked some people to serve on a transition team, but when the time came, she (Butler) just left."
Now presiding over what once might have been considered a largely invisible backwater of city politics, Morrell must breathe life into what is a high-profile linchpin of the ailing criminal justice system.
Before and after the storm, Butler had raised the office's profile in less than desirable ways. In 2004, she botched the delivery of voting machines for an election. Then just before exiting the clerk's office, she engaged in a standoff with judges that earned her three days in jail for contempt. The dispute stemmed from the appointment of Lombard to take over the stalled FEMA application and property room cleanup that state Supreme Court judges stripped from Butler's purview.
While Butler spurned Lombard's help as an affront to her duly elected authority, Morrell welcomes it. And Lombard has made substantial progress. Outside the room with disheveled piles of guns, dope and other evidence, he showed off several others where evidence has been cleaned and filed away in waterproof plastic bags on shelves above the watermark on the walls. Butler had hired a Florida company, Biodefense America, to salvage the evidence at a cost of $8 million, a contract later canceled by Lombard. Now, a new contractor, Munters, a Chicago outfit, has nearly completed the work ahead of schedule for just $4 million.
Broken protocol
Meanwhile, state Attorney General Charles Foti is investigating Butler's letting of the first contract in an investigation spokeswoman Kris Wartelle called "very active." Butler earlier said she understood that investigators were looking into allegations of a "previous relationship" she had with the company. She denied any wrongdoing.
The attorney general is also looking into Butler's unsanctioned transfer of large amounts of cash evidence into bank accounts, an action she took without required court orders, Wartelle said. That matter also is being probed by District Attorney Eddie Jordan, according to a spokeswoman for his office, and by state Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot. Theriot, Wartelle and Jordan spokeswoman Leatrice Dupre all declined to provide further details on the investigations.
Butler could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, John Reed, said he believes his client has provided investigators all the documentation they need to dismiss the matter.
"I believe everything has been handled satisfactorily and will conclude happily," he said.
Criminal Court judges and others have expressed fear that Butler's depositing of the cash, which was taken off suspects, would nullify its evidence value in corresponding cases. Chief Judge Raymond Bigelow said Butler had no authority to move the cash for any reason without a court order. Reed asserts his client only deposited cash from closed cases in which the cash was no longer needed for evidence. She may have broken protocol, but no laws, he said.
Staffing shortage
Looking forward, Morrell said his office is now muddling through with about three dozen employees, compared with previous staffing levels of more than 100. He has budgetary authority to hire about a dozen more, and hopes to have them working by July 17. But that will still leave him far short of the staffing he believes will ultimately be required to service the court system and organize upcoming elections on Sept. 30, Nov. 7 and Dec. 9.
The clerk's office used to have two or three employees serving each of the 13 sections of the criminal courts. Now it has one per section, Morrell said. That's not such a problem right now, because the judges are holding court only half as often because of a shortage of air-conditioned courtrooms.
"But if the judges said tomorrow they were opening all 13 courts, we'd be in real trouble," Morrell said.
The office's budget, once $2 million annually, has been cut nearly in half, Morrell said, although some of that gap will be filled by a one-time federal recovery grant for about $3 million. For ongoing expenses and additional staff, Morrell said he plans to seek more money from City Hall. Of course, he'll be waiting in a long line.
City Hall spokesman Terry Davis referred questions on the clerk's budget to Richard Ieyoub, the former attorney general recently appointed by Mayor Ray Nagin to serve as a liaison with the criminal justice system. Ieyoub could not be reached for comment Friday.
Even if the office had all the money it needed, it would still face the same difficulty in hiring faced by most large organizations in the post-Katrina era, particularly ones that pay poorly.
Replenishing the ranks
"It's hard to hire somebody at a low salary when Burger King and Popeyes are paying $10 an hour," Judge Bigelow said.
To prepare for elections, Morrell has hired back Teresa MacMurray, a longtime employee under Ed Lombard who was fired by Butler. Working as executive assistant to Morrell, whom she worked for during his runoff campaign, MacMurray is preparing a recruitment drive to replenish the depleted ranks of election commissioners.
During the recent mayoral race, Secretary of State Al Ater provided a substantial number of employees from clerks' offices statewide to help run the New Orleans elections. But the office can't count on that kind of help in upcoming statewide elections because other clerks' offices will be serving their own local voters.
The office needs a minimum of 250 new commissioners, MacMurray said. To find them, she plans to seek help from civic groups such as the Urban League and neighborhood associations around the city, as well as political science departments at local colleges.
Office space, too, remains in short supply. With its first-floor offices un-airconditioned and out of commission, Morrell's staff is crammed into a second- floor office, some working on tables instead of desks and all with large stacks of files surrounding them on the floor.
Criminal Court Judge Calvin Johnson, one of Butler's biggest critics on the bench, said he believes the clerk's office will ultimately get the money it needs, and has made substantial progress in a short time, given the state of disarray.
"We've accomplished a lot, much more than most said was possible," he said.
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Murder suspect arraigned in Jefferson Parish
TP/NOLA.com 7/10/06
A Houston man accused of shooting and killing a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriffs deputy in June pleaded innocent Monday to a host of felony charges in Jefferson Parish connected to a crime spree after the shooting.
Johnnie Lee Cheek, 31, was arraigned on 11 counts of armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, possession of stolen property, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm as a felon in Jefferson Parish magistrates court. He is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in lieu of $1.6 million bond.
Cheek was charged in connection with crime spree in Jefferson Parish that authorities say he and accomplice Crystal Reed, 27, took after killing of Capt. Octavio Gonzalez, 40, the commander of the St. John Sheriffs narcotics division, on June 16.
TP/NOLA.com 7/10/06
A Houston man accused of shooting and killing a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriffs deputy in June pleaded innocent Monday to a host of felony charges in Jefferson Parish connected to a crime spree after the shooting.
Johnnie Lee Cheek, 31, was arraigned on 11 counts of armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, possession of stolen property, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm as a felon in Jefferson Parish magistrates court. He is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in lieu of $1.6 million bond.
Cheek was charged in connection with crime spree in Jefferson Parish that authorities say he and accomplice Crystal Reed, 27, took after killing of Capt. Octavio Gonzalez, 40, the commander of the St. John Sheriffs narcotics division, on June 16.
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Audrey2Katrina
- Category 5
- Posts: 4252
- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
Suspect in deputy slaying pleads innocent
By Allen Powell II TP/NOLA.com 7/10/06
Westbank bureau
A Houston man accused of killing a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's deputy in June pleaded innocent Monday to a host of felony charges in Jefferson Parish connected to a crime spree after the shooting.
Johnnie Lee Cheek, 31, was arraigned on 11 counts of armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, possession of stolen property, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm as a felon in Jefferson Parish magistrate's court. He is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in lieu of $1.6 million bond.
Cheek was charged in connection with crime spree in Jefferson Parish that authorities say he and accomplice Crystal Reed, 27, took after killing Capt. Octavio Gonzalez, 40, the commander of the St. John Sheriff's narcotics division, on June 16.
Gonzalez was traveling to a St. John hospital from his Kenner home to visit St. John Detective Monty Adams who authorities say was shot by Cheek during a traffic stop.
While in route to the hospital, Gonzalez decided to check on a complaint of a suspicious vehicle, and was shot three times in the back and side in the Spring Meadows subdivision in LaPlace. Cheek has been booked with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the Gonzalez shooting, and is awaiting indictment in St. John Parish.
According to court documents, after the Gonzalez shooting Cheek and Reed stole Gonzalez's car, robbed a Kenner family at gunpoint in their home, stole that family's car and then engaged in a car chase with police. Cheek also is accused of holding an 81-year old River Ridge man hostage in his home for several hours before he surrendered to police.
Cheek was expected to be arraigned Friday, but that was delayed because his attorney was not present. That attorney was not present on Monday as well, but the judge assigned Cheek's case to the Jefferson Parish Indigent Defender Board. When asked by his public defender if he understood the charges against him in Jefferson Parish, Cheek responded with a simple nod, before being instructed by the judge to say "yes."
By Allen Powell II TP/NOLA.com 7/10/06
Westbank bureau
A Houston man accused of killing a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's deputy in June pleaded innocent Monday to a host of felony charges in Jefferson Parish connected to a crime spree after the shooting.
Johnnie Lee Cheek, 31, was arraigned on 11 counts of armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, possession of stolen property, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm as a felon in Jefferson Parish magistrate's court. He is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in lieu of $1.6 million bond.
Cheek was charged in connection with crime spree in Jefferson Parish that authorities say he and accomplice Crystal Reed, 27, took after killing Capt. Octavio Gonzalez, 40, the commander of the St. John Sheriff's narcotics division, on June 16.
Gonzalez was traveling to a St. John hospital from his Kenner home to visit St. John Detective Monty Adams who authorities say was shot by Cheek during a traffic stop.
While in route to the hospital, Gonzalez decided to check on a complaint of a suspicious vehicle, and was shot three times in the back and side in the Spring Meadows subdivision in LaPlace. Cheek has been booked with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the Gonzalez shooting, and is awaiting indictment in St. John Parish.
According to court documents, after the Gonzalez shooting Cheek and Reed stole Gonzalez's car, robbed a Kenner family at gunpoint in their home, stole that family's car and then engaged in a car chase with police. Cheek also is accused of holding an 81-year old River Ridge man hostage in his home for several hours before he surrendered to police.
Cheek was expected to be arraigned Friday, but that was delayed because his attorney was not present. That attorney was not present on Monday as well, but the judge assigned Cheek's case to the Jefferson Parish Indigent Defender Board. When asked by his public defender if he understood the charges against him in Jefferson Parish, Cheek responded with a simple nod, before being instructed by the judge to say "yes."
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Audrey2Katrina
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- Age: 75
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Metaire, La.
No specific hurricane protection for Louisiana in Corps report
7/10/2006, 6:57 p.m. CT
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration issued guidelines Monday for deciding how to protect Louisiana from the most dangerous hurricanes — plans that state officials said ignore specific fixes that could begin quickly.
The much-awaited report, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, marked the first step in two years of planning how to rebuild New Orleans' levees, bolster Louisiana's coastline and develop other programs to control flooding from Category 5 storms.
But five specific recommendations Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, described as urgently needed to protect the state had been stripped out of the Corps' proposal since a draft was circulated last month.
Instead, Corps officials said they would put off embracing any particular plans to avoid uncoordinated or incomplete safeguards during the process. The rebuilding could take over a decade.
"It's too early to recommend projects for authorization," Corps planning and policy chief Col. Tom Waters told reporters Monday afternoon. "We must, as we look at increased levels of protection, determine the comprehensive system, and appropriately apply projects."
He also said the Corps may issue interim reports between now and December 2007, when the final plan is due, to begin work on specific projects as warranted. Still, the Corps will not complete an internal review of proposed projects until October. What the Corps released Monday were guidelines for that review.
No cost estimate for a comprehensive plan was released, and a Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said fiscal concerns were one reason the Corps was directed to develop a careful review process.
But with the current storm season already a month old and the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, Louisiana's two senators criticized the Corps report.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., called it "nothing more than another slap in the face of Louisiana" and said the Army "decided to gut the report and remove all substance."
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she would demand congressional hearings to investigate omission of the five recommendations. "Levee and flood control is a life-or-death situation for the people of coastal Louisiana," she said. "So it is very disappointing that this report fails to do what Congress mandated."
Last fall after Katrina, Congress approved $20 million to develop plans for protecting the region from future life-threatening storms. Katrina was a Category 3 storm — on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the worst — when it ransacked New Orleans last Aug. 29. The hurricane surge produced massive flooding when levees failed, leading to at least 1,577 deaths in the state and billions of dollars in damage.
The federal aid law called for "information based on the Corps' expertise in a timely manner and unfiltered by the policy goals of the administration."
In a June 27 letter to Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, Blanco outlined five projects she called "fundamental to reduce future risk." They include plans to restore deteriorating coastline, build a New Orleans hurricane barrier on the Mississippi River's east side, and close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
[editor's emphasis added]
7/10/2006, 6:57 p.m. CT
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration issued guidelines Monday for deciding how to protect Louisiana from the most dangerous hurricanes — plans that state officials said ignore specific fixes that could begin quickly.
The much-awaited report, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, marked the first step in two years of planning how to rebuild New Orleans' levees, bolster Louisiana's coastline and develop other programs to control flooding from Category 5 storms.
But five specific recommendations Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, described as urgently needed to protect the state had been stripped out of the Corps' proposal since a draft was circulated last month.
Instead, Corps officials said they would put off embracing any particular plans to avoid uncoordinated or incomplete safeguards during the process. The rebuilding could take over a decade.
"It's too early to recommend projects for authorization," Corps planning and policy chief Col. Tom Waters told reporters Monday afternoon. "We must, as we look at increased levels of protection, determine the comprehensive system, and appropriately apply projects."
He also said the Corps may issue interim reports between now and December 2007, when the final plan is due, to begin work on specific projects as warranted. Still, the Corps will not complete an internal review of proposed projects until October. What the Corps released Monday were guidelines for that review.
No cost estimate for a comprehensive plan was released, and a Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said fiscal concerns were one reason the Corps was directed to develop a careful review process.
But with the current storm season already a month old and the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, Louisiana's two senators criticized the Corps report.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., called it "nothing more than another slap in the face of Louisiana" and said the Army "decided to gut the report and remove all substance."
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she would demand congressional hearings to investigate omission of the five recommendations. "Levee and flood control is a life-or-death situation for the people of coastal Louisiana," she said. "So it is very disappointing that this report fails to do what Congress mandated."
Last fall after Katrina, Congress approved $20 million to develop plans for protecting the region from future life-threatening storms. Katrina was a Category 3 storm — on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the worst — when it ransacked New Orleans last Aug. 29. The hurricane surge produced massive flooding when levees failed, leading to at least 1,577 deaths in the state and billions of dollars in damage.
The federal aid law called for "information based on the Corps' expertise in a timely manner and unfiltered by the policy goals of the administration."
In a June 27 letter to Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, Blanco outlined five projects she called "fundamental to reduce future risk." They include plans to restore deteriorating coastline, build a New Orleans hurricane barrier on the Mississippi River's east side, and close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
[editor's emphasis added]
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