Criminal Justice
Wounded writer speaks of surviving Mother’s Day shooting | FOX 8 WVUE — Second-line chronicler Deborah Cotton is recovering after eleven surgeries after gunshot wounds she suffered while covering a parade on Mother’s Day. The interview says that the shooting “crystallized her perspective on crime. She blames the systemic problems in New Orleans: on crooked politicians who have stolen funds and resources for schools and poor neighborhoods.”
Budget manager, auditor for Sheriff’s Office admit to seven-figure mistakes | The Lens – The city grilled Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s financial experts, and argued that Gusman misspends the money he receives.
Environment
Rig crew activated BOP before abandoning blown out well | WWL-TV –
A Gulf of Mexico rig crew tried to activate their blowout preventer’s shear rams to cut a pipe and shut off the well before they were forced to flee Tuesday, sources close to the investigation told WWL-TV.
But for reasons that investigators will now try to determine, the device didn’t stem the flow of natural gas that caught fire 15 hours later and melted portions of the cantilevered jack-up rig Wednesday.
Isaac: the rest of the story, Part 3 | Fix the pumps – Blogger Matt McBride continues his in-depth analysis of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ response to pump failures that occurred last summer during Hurricane Isaac.
Water main break shows need for overhaul of sewer system | WDSU – The director of the Sewerage & Water Board claims that new fees will enable the board to fund more “predictive maintenance” and reduce the chances of pipe failures, which can lead to street flooding and boil water advisories.
Government & Politics
Jindal demands East Bank levee authority drop lawsuit against oil, gas, pipelines | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – The governor claims the lawsuit is misguided and that greedy trial layers have hijacked the board that filed a historic lawsuit against nearly 100 oil and gas companies for their role in accelerating coastal loss.
House narrowly defeats amendment to block NSA telephone data collection | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – One of the reasons that surveillance issues are so interesting is that they create vote breakdowns like these: “The Louisiana delegation produced an unusual split. Voting for the measure were Reps. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson; Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans; Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge; and John Fleming, R-Minden. Voting against the measure were Reps. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman and Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette.”
Brazile: Reid’s threat gets Senate moving | Amarillo Globe-News – This column by Donna Brazile highlights a quote by Sen. Mary Landrieu that encapsulates the infuriating gridlock in the U.S. Senate.
Schools
Tennessee’s school takeover plan sees gains, setbacks in first year | The Tennessean – Uneven results a year after the state took over the Nashville and Memphis school districts.
How much time do school districts spend on standardized testing? | The Washington Post – “Over the years, the time taken up by test prep and testing has risen, as have the costs and the lost instructional time.”
Land Use
Are the Suburbs Where the American Dream Goes to Die? – Matthew O’Brien | The Atlantic – A new study shows less social mobility in the Deep South, though Louisiana fares better than many of its neighbors.
Slidell annexes future gas station site over parish objections | The Advocate – Intriguing conflict between city versus parish.