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Quotes of the Week- [ Nov. 17, 2009 ]
"Louisianians don't want the federal government telling
us how to eat our oysters any more than we want a bureaucrat in
Washington telling us how to make a roux, and today the FDA heard that
loud and clear." — Rep. Charlie Melancon, joining forces
with Sen. Mary Landrieu on Nov. 10 to protest a Food and Drug
Administration proposal to ban the sale of fresh, live Gulf Coast
oysters during warm-weather months unless they are processed.
November 16, 2009
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Lee Zurik to WVUE-TV
Lee Zurik, the investigative reporter who
departed WWL-TV Nov. 5, was introduced to his new coworkers in the
WVUE-TV newsroom Nov. 10, concluding what was perhaps the worst-kept
secret in local media: Zurik was leaving the city's top-rated news
station for the local Fox affiliate, where the news division has been
beefed up since being sold by Emmis Communications to New Orleans
Saints owner Tom Benson. Zurik will be both an investigative
reporter and a weekday anchor at WVUE, which has been aggressively
courting several WWL alumni since the station hired ex-WWL assistant
news director Mikel Schaefer as its news director last November.
November 16, 2009
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New Sentence date for Ellenese Brooks-Simms
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman has ordered a
new sentencing date for former Orleans Parish School Board President
Ellenese Brooks-Simms, the key prosecution witness in the
Mose Jefferson bribery trial last summer. Brooks-Simms, who
pleaded guilty in June 2007 to corrupting the school board contracting
process, had been scheduled for sentencing this Thursday (Nov. 19).
November 16, 2009
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Anybody But Jay Batt?
At the beginning of 2009, outgoing Mayor Ray
Nagin reported $153,042.08 in campaign funds on hand for a "major
office TBD," according to a Jan. 12 campaign finance report — the
mayor's most recent filing as of late last week. Businessman David
A. White, the mayor's close friend and campaign treasurer, could
not be reached for comment on the report.
November 16, 2009
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Arthur Morrell Seeks Rehearing
Clerk of Criminal District Court Arthur Morrell
says he has evidence that should clear him of a conflict-of-interest
charge stemming from his 23 years as a state representative. In 2007,
the state Ethics Board ruled that Morrell, who is an attorney, violated
conflict-of-interest rules by proposing a House concurrent resolution
which sought to modify rules used by the state Department of Health and
Hospitals when dealing with suspended mental health providers.
November 16, 2009
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Fighting the Oyster Ban
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted
earlier this month to officially "disagree" with proposed federal
regulations that call for a ban on harvesting untreated oysters from
the Gulf of Mexico beginning in the summer of 2011. A commission
resolution requests that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
"reconsider" the ban, which is under review, and that all Louisiana
agencies work together to reduce the burden of the costly regulations.
November 16, 2009
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Tariffs Aid Alt-Energy Use
Renewable energy expert Craig Morris told the
Louisiana Public Service Commission last week that the state should
continue to encourage alternative energy sources via feed-in tariffs. A
feed-in tariff creates financial incentives for renewable energy
production, regardless of scale.
November 16, 2009
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Cameron Parish and Louisiana Geothermal
About $5 million in federal stimulus money will soon
make its way to Louisiana Geothermal, an up-and-coming company that
boasts it will be able to produce enough energy within the next two
years to power all of Cameron Parish. In fact, research suggests
there's enough alternative energy to power the parish for more than 130
years.
November 16, 2009
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Rob Couhig's Open Secret
Republican attorney Rob Couhig, who ran for mayor
in 2006, is getting closer to making a decision about his intentions
for the 2010 election. "I want to be mayor — that's no secret,"
Couhig told Gambit.
November 9, 2009
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Manny Bruno Runs Again
The campaign for mayor of New Orleans has another new
candidate — and perhaps some much-needed levity. He is Manny
"Chevrolet" Bruno, who campaigned for the city's top job in 2002
and 2006 with the inimitable slogan: "A Troubled Man for Troubled
Times."
November 9, 2009
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