Did a company bidding to monitor the New Orleans Police Department’s federal consent decree misrepresent the employment status of a local narc now under fire for possible ethics-law violations? The company says it didn’t. But in its bid, currently being reviewed by the city and U.S. Department of Justice, KeyPoint Government Solutions indicated a half-dozen […]
Category: Government & Politics
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Hey, all you bloggers out there: Any word from Perricone lately?
Ouroboros: the beast that devours its tail. Wikipedia To “Jack,” an open letter: Many thanks for your comment on my Dec. 11 column about U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s resignation. Your overarching message seems to be that Letten’s disgraced former assistant Sal Perricone really did nothing wrong in commenting publicly on federal cases the office was handling. Informed feedback […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Politics and prosecutors: tortuous route to an all-powerful office
Aspirants to the office of United States Attorney don’t openly campaign for it. That’s unseemly. Protocol dictates that they urge friends to lobby political party leaders on their behalf—governors, senators and representatives on down. The partisan bigwigs then narrow the list of aspiring candidates based on… what precisely? Loyalty? Patronage? Owed favors? We’ll never find […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Jindal gaining reputation for punishing those who stand in his way
One October evening at the Chimes restaurant in Baton Rouge, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco leaned across the table to Robert Mann. “You do have tenure, don’t you?” Mann, a communications professor at Louisiana State University, gets that ominous question just about every day. Mann does indeed have tenure, meaning LSU officials cannot terminate him without […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
With Letten gone, ’tis the season for intrigue and wild rumors
Mob boss Carlos Marcello. Wikimedia It’s transition time at the local U.S. attorney’s office, now that Jim Letten, the nation’s longest-serving federal prosecutor, and his top three lieutenants have retired in the wake of a scandal involving anonymous online comments. No doubt candidates aspiring to replace Letten have quietly expressed interest to U.S. Sen. Mary […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Overlooked population metric key to analyzing state’s performance
Hurricane Katrina hurt Louisiana, says ex-Gov. Roemer, but “Louisiana was already hurting.” The reasons why are complex. A solution begins with dedicated trust funds for the state’s colleges and universities. photo: NASA It’s surprisingly difficult to measure how a state is “doing.” Politicians do a lot of bragging about what they’ve accomplished but tend to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Report: Teacher pension plans drowning in red ink nationwide
The accrued deficit that now plagues Louisiana’s teacher pension plan is part of a 40-state trend, according to a report released Thursday by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana’s $10.8 billion deficit is part of a larger sea of red ink resulting from risky investments, erroneous market predictions and […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Ex-governors run true to form at luncheon get-together
Gathering Wednesday in Baton Rouge, each of Louisiana’s four former governors fell into a familiar role. Kathleen Blanco was the earnest public servant, describing how she grappled with recovery in Katrina’s aftermath while facing a hostile Republican administration in Washington. Mike Foster played the ordinary Joe. What he most misses from his time in office, […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Speakers at public hearing favor charters' return to elected board
Money and control are key concerns of Algiers Charter School Association officials facing the decision to switch three of the organization’s schools to Orleans Parish School Board governance, board members said Tuesday night. The charter operator has a Jan. 7 deadline to decide whether to allow high-performing schools Dwight Eisenhower Academy, Martin Behrman Charter School, […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Letten lesson: Even the best officials need ‘terrible scrutiny’
Teddy Roosevelt aimed his elephant gun at elephants, not house flies. News stories have talked up the “irony” of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s resignation, which is effective today. We’ve been reminded that in 2001 businessman Fred Heebe was the top candidate to replace then-interim U.S. Attorney Letten. But allegations of domestic abuse derailed Heebe’s candidacy, […]