After Hurricane Gustav in 2008, north Baton Rouge residents were left without electricity for nearly two weeks. Across the street at Exxon Mobil's Baton Rouge refinery, the second-largest refinery in the country, workers were dealing with their own mess.
The refinery hadn't properly shut down before the storm and, as a result, a cooling tower that was still operational toppled over in the winds. More than 500,000 pounds of pollutants were released to the flare, burning for 12 days.
That accident put refinery workers in danger and the fumes and pollutants coming off the flare added another burden to nearby residents. They couldn't stay inside because of the loss of power and stifling heat, and they couldn't stay outside because of the toxic chemicals billowing from the refinery.
So, Obama narrowly won East Baton Rouge Parish, and almost straight down racial lines (as went the state).
I'm half-inclined to believe that this is partially due to lower investment in Louisiana from the Obama campaign. Sure, we're not the prize that Virginia, Florida, or Ohio would have been, and it would have been a lot more work to win Louisiana.
So, it definitely appears that downticket races didn't have quite the coattails we were hoping for. But, it definitely helped Mary Landrieu win re-election, and by a healthier margin this go round.
This morning, in less than 3 hours, the Bush Legacy Tour will be coming to the State Capital up in Baton Rouge. It'll be there from 11 AM to 1:30 PM.
Then it'll swing down to New Orleans, parking across from Tulane University's Howard Tilton Memorial Library on Newcomb Drive from 4 PM to 6 PM tonight. Then it heads to Ground Zero of the Bush Legacy: the Lower Nine. On Saturday, it'll be at the Lower Ninth Ward Village at 1001 Charbonnet Street, at the corner of Rampart, from 11 AM to 1 PM. After that, according to the bus schedule, it's going to Shreveport for a Monday visit at 3924 Greenwood Road.
Y'all ought to stop by ... it's a damning indictment against the Bush Administration and its' conservative ideology, which John McCain hopes to continue inflicting on us all.
UPDATE: I'll be live-blogging the results from Jim Harlan's Victory Party tonight. It's being held at the Holiday Inn's Pontchartrain Room in Covington. The address is 501 N. Highway 190.
Today is primary day. There are 4 Congressional races that will be impacted by today's vote, as well a slew of races throughout the rest of the state:
LA-01: The Democratic Primary in this district is pretty much a formality, as Vinnie Mendoza has run numerous times in the past while not coming anywhere near close to winning.
LA-02: This is a big one. Congressman Jefferson has been indicted, and the trial starts next winter. He's facing off against 6 Democrats - James Carter, Troy "C" Carter, Byron Lee, Helena Moreno, Cedric Richmond, and Kenya Smith. It'll go to a run-off to be held on November 4th ... which is tantamount to election, as there are few Republicans in this district to make a difference. The question is, WHO will be in the run-off?
LA-04: Both the Democrats and Republicans have party primaries today. The Democratic Primary is largely a formality, as Paul Carmouche is very well-known in the district, having served as the Caddo Parish D.A. for the past 30 years.
On the Republican side, it's going to a run-off. There are 3 candidates - John Fleming, Chris Gorman, and Jeff Thompson. It's gotten mighty nasty, and I expect the run-off to be even nastier.
LA-05: This is a Republican primary, which will decide the election, as no Democrat stepped forward to challenge the ethically-challenged Rodney Alexander. He faces off against 25 year old Andrew Clack, who is running a shoe-string campaign.
New Orleans: There are a lot of races on the ballot, the most important of which is the District Attorney's race, as well as some very important questions regarding permanently funding the Inspector General's office and a bond for building yet more jails in Orleans Parish.
Baton Rouge: The Mayor, the entire City Council, and the District Attorney's offices are up for re-election. The current Mayor, Kip Holden, has done a fine job, and should cruise to re-election without the need for a run-off.
The current District Attorney, Doug Moreau, is retiring. The two candidates running to replace him - Democrat Hillar Moore and Republican Dan Clatoir - have been campaigning for over two years now. This should be settled tonight.
I haven't been keeping up with the rest of the state's elections ... what else is out there that you want me to live-blog the results of later tonight y'all?
So I made it back to New Orleans late last night, to find that all the grocery stores were closed - Whole Foods just because, and Winn-Dixie because they didn't have a damn thing left on the shelves last night that was non-perishable. I'm sticking to non-perishables until Hurricane Ike gets its ass far away from the shores of Louisiana.
Morning, folks. I'm coming at cha live from Netroots Nation in Austin, TX. Being here deep in the heat of Texas makes me pine for the breezy shores of New Orleans!
Yesterday, the Democratic Party kicked off their Register For Change tour. The DNC chairman, Howard Dean visited the Republican retirement village otherwise known as Crawford, TX to kick off their tour. As the name suggests, the tour will be heading to battleground states, including some that at first glance don't seem like battleground states, like Georgia and North Carolina. While Obama may not win Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, the Obama campaign and the DNC understand a fundamental truth about American politics - you have to run a 50 state strategy in order to effect fundamental change. And the way to do that is not just to win the White House, though it is a HUGE help. It's to take back the Congress with even BIGGER majorities. And we've got 4 races for Congress right here in Louisiana to help effect fundamental change and start dealing with things like health care, high gas prices, energy independence, the economy, and on and on.
I wish I could be there to join in the fun, but alas, I'm in Austin. Governor Dean gave a pretty good speech yesterday explaining why the Party is funding the Register For Change tour:
The question had to do with judges. Mr. McCain's answer can viewed below:
All those people clapping are sadly misinformed about legislating from the bench. If they knew of some of the statutory laws of this country, they would DEMAND that judges legislate from the bench by declaring laws unconstitutional. Here's one such issue I suspect that most Americans would appreciate that a judge legislate from the bench:
(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
That sounds all nice and dandy, don't it? It makes it against the law for any employer to discriminate against his employee because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin of said employee. Well, here's the part that most Americans don't know:
(1) A charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred and eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred and notice of the charge (including the date, place and circumstances of the alleged unlawful employment practice) shall be served upon the person against whom such charge is made within ten days thereafter ...
And guess what happens when you don't file that charge within 180 days, folks? You LOSE.
That last link will bring you to a case called Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire Company. From the dissent of Justice Ginsburg:
Lilly Ledbetter was a supervisor at Goodyear Tire and Rubber's plant in Gadsden, Alabama, from 1979 until her retirement in 1998. For most of those years, she worked as an area manager, a position largely occupied by men. Initially, Ledbetter's salary was in line with the salaries of men performing substantially similar work. Over time, however, her pay slipped in comparison to the pay of male area managers with equal or less seniority. By the end of 1997, Ledbetter was the only woman working as an area manager and the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and her 15 male counterparts was stark: Ledbetter was paid $3,727 per month; the lowest paid male area manager received $4,286 per month, the highest paid $5,236.
Justice Alito, the kind of judge that Senator McCain wants to appoint to the bench, wrote the opinion for the Court ... here's the compassion that strict constructionists have for us ordinary folk:
Ledbetter should have filed an EEOC charge within 180 days after each allegedly discriminatory pay decision was made and communicated to her. She did not do so, and the paychecks that were issued to her during the 180 days prior to the filing of her EEOC charge do not provide a basis for overcoming that prior failure.
How many of y'all know what your co-workers make? Yeah, I thought so ... ain't it scary that Senator McCain wants to put more Alitos on the bench?
(I am working with someone who was there this morning to get video ... hopefully, I'll have it sometime tomorrow. - promoted by ryan)
I got there early, hoping to get a seat. However, I began to get the feeling once I sat down that everything was staged. I was directed to go to the crowd seated behind McCain with other veterans.
McCain gave his scripted address and then began to ask for questions. The audience was directed to raise their hands if they had a question.
My moment of realization that this was a sham..... Certain people just stood up and were called on. I thought to myself, "wait but this is random right?" "These people never raised their hands!"
I have never seen such softball questions in my life. These people were clearly planted in the audience. The only thing sweet in all this is I got two interviews with local media. Oh yeah and McCain looked down at my shirt and saw my VoteVets lapel pin when we shook hands :)
UPDATE: CenLamar has more ... including a question for McCain, whom they call McSame, on why he has yet to sign onto a proposal for rebuilding the 9th Ward.
Well, it turns out that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will be coming to Louisiana this week. He starts off with a rally in Kenner, LA on Tuesday night. Then he follows that up with a Town Hall meeting Wednesday morning here in Baton Rouge. After that Town Hall event, he's holding a fundraiser in Baton Rouge, where you can shell out $1000 to $2300 to sit down in the same room as him for lunch. The more you pay, the closer you get. If you click on the links, they will take you to a page where you can RSVP to attend the event(s).
I am hopeful that many of you readers in Baton Rouge will use the fact that he's holding a Town Hall meeting here in town to ask him some pointed questions about his views. Here are some news articles to get y'all started:
John McCain Opposes Minimum Wage Increase John McCain Lets Lobbyists Shape HIS Economic Policy John McCain Wants to Privatize Social Security John McCain Defends Free Trade Deals Like NAFTA John McCain Wants To Stay In Iraq For 100 Years John McCain Doesn't Support Giving Children Health Care John McCain Opposes 21st Century GI Bill John McCain Wants To Overturn Roe v. Wade John McCain Defends Bush's Iraq War Strategy
Got any questions for McCain? Put them in the comments! If you go, I hope to hear about your experiences there in a diary!
I broke the story late Friday night that there were robocalls being made to voters in East Baton Rouge Parish designed to depress voter turnout. The text of the calls was:
"I'm very upset that the National Democratic Party favored Don Cazayoux from New Roads over Michael Jackson. The Democratic Party raised $850,000 for Don Cazayoux which is the only reason Michael Jackson lost in the Democratic runoff. The National and State Democratic Parties always seem to back the white democrat over the black democrat and that's wrong. Alot of us who are supporting Michael Jackson feel the National Democratic Party need to be taught a lesson. We're not voting for Don Cazayoux because we believe Woody Jenkins will be a lot easier to beat in November when Senator Barack Obama is on the ballot. You haven't heard many black elected officials supporting Don Cazayoux. On Saturday we're going to stay home and see how the National Democratic Party do without us."
"Paid for by Friends of Michael Jackson."
On Saturday night, I spoke with various folks within the Louisiana Democratic Party, and they all told me that Michael Jackson denies anything to do with the robocalls. I was also told that he signed an affidavit to that effect.
Earlier today, I received an email from a list-serv email group which stated:
Yesterday morning before I had a chance to vote, I received a robocall from a representative of the Michael Jackson campaign. The call originated from Magnolia Computers of Baton Rouge.
The voice on the phone explained that the State and National Democratic Party had given large amounts of money to the Cazayoux campaign and had left the Jackson campaign to fend for itself. For
that reason, they asked that all Democrats refrain from voting and allow Woody Jenkins to win the seat. Why? Because, the voice continued, Michael intends to run for the seat in November and they
feel they could then beat Woody at a time when Barack Obama is on the ballot.
My caller id showed the number as Magnolia Computer (225-766-7886).
And guess who owns Magnolia Computers LLC? That would be Darrell W. Glasper of Baton Rouge, who was a very controversial BREC chairman.
And guess who the only donation Mr. Glasper has made on the federal level within the last 4 years went to? The National Republican Congressional Committee, back in 2005.
Here's where it gets really interesting. If you were to reverse phone look-up that phone number, it is registered to a Raymond Wright of East Baton Rouge. Did Magnolia Computers use a phone number not registered to them to make the phone calls in an attempt to cover it up? Or is Raymond Wright complicit in this sordid mess? Or are the phone records not current? The phone records ARE NOT CURRENT. Only time will tell.
UPDATE: Paul over at TPM Muckraker interviewed Darrell Glasper! He is apparently unapologetic about making the calls. I quote:
"This is America, you can say what you want."
UPDATE II: According to the TPM article I mentioned before, it says that (emphasis added):
"Glasper, an African-American, said that he was an acquaintance and supporter of Jackson's, but that he'd made the calls without Jackson's knowledge and had stopped the calls at Jackson's request. He'd made 10,000 or so by that time, he said."
Pray tell, if he made the calls without Jackson's knowledge, how did Jackson know to ask Mr. Glasper to stop?
The move will bring 30 jobs to Baton Rouge, adding about $7 million in payroll to Baton Rouge. That's an average of more than $200,000, y'all. They're moving jobs for wealthy folks to Baton Rouge. YIPPEE! I'll be more impressed when they decide to open a manufacturing plant that employs the brothers from North Baton Rouge.
"As the governor came in, it became an easy decision."
Would that be the ethics session? Or the fact that Governor PBJ's wife Supriya used to work for Albemarle? Or the fact that Governor PBJ repaid Albemarle for their generous campaign contributions - Albemarle Corporation donated $5,000 to Governor PBJ's '07 campaign, Albemarle CEO Mark Rohr donated $1,000 to Governor PBJ's failed campaign against Blanco in 2003 - with the $4.2 million in relocation incentives? Or was it the nice tax breaks that Jindal secured for businesses here in Louisiana back during the 2nd special session that made them want to come here?
Even though the next election for Metro Council members is quite a few months away, there are two Baton Rouge area seats well worth watching.
Metro Council District 10 - Lorri Burgess, the former holder of this seat, which encompasses Downtown, old South Baton Rouge, the Garden District, much of Mid-City, and Istrouma was term-limited out, and was unsuccessful in her bid to win become the representative for House District 67 (Patricia Smith won that seat).
Historically, the three biggest names in the area have been Yvonne Dorsey (who now holds a the seat for Senate District 14), Patricia Smith, and Lorri Burgess. As there are no contenders for Metro Council 10, this is prime time for a newcomer to step in.
Larry Selders, a young (I believe he's 23) associate of BREC Commissioner Collis Temple, Jr. has announced his intentions to run for the seat, and has been putting up signage everywhere.
There have been one or two other 'might runs', and we'll see who emerges in the next few months.
Metro Council District 12 - As Mickey Skyring has earned the ire of a good number of Pollard Estates and Southdowns residents for his support of the Thomas Spinoza's Rouzan Traditional Neighborhood Development, so much that a recall effort was put forth (and ultimately failed), you can expect Southdowns and Pollard to find a candidate more to their liking.
Skyring is unpopular for a variety of other reasons and it's quite likely that Alex St. Amant will be running against him in December.
(Interesting news, especially considering that I just put up a post calling for State Senator Don Cravins, Jr. to run as a Democrat in the 7th .... - promoted by ryan)
Not sure if you caught this over at the Rolfe McCollister's Daily Report, but:
The state Democratic Party's hopes of winning long-held GOP congressional seats could be undermined by plans discussed by three black legislators to run as independents this fall in the 4th, 6th and 7th congressional districts. Sen. Lydia Jackson of Shreveport, Rep. Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge and Sen. Don Cravins Jr. of Opelousas say there are seriously considering bypassing the Democratic primary to file as independents on the November general election ballot. In that way, they could take advantage of the Obama-driven minority turnout without having to first survive a Democratic primary or two
against better-funded white candidates. Other Democrats worry that the legislators' strategy would split party voters and enable Republicans
to hold the seats.
On Wednesday night, April 16th, I will be hosting a Drinking Liberally event at Chelsea's in Baton Rouge at 7 PM. This will be the 3rd such event. Look for the table with the Drinking Liberally sign.
See you there!
There is a Drinking Liberally get together tomorrow, Wednesday, April 2nd at 7 PM at Chelsea's Cafe in Baton Rouge. It's essentially an excuse to get together with progressive folks and talk politics, music, whatever, over a few drinks.
Their parking lot is off Perkins Rd. right before the overpass that takes y'all to the Garden District.
I am elated to report that East Baton Rouge voters passed all 3 of the public school sales tax renewals by comfortable margins, despite the campaign waged against it by Rolfe McCollister, the publisher of the Baton Rouge Business Report.
Here are the final results for all three measures:
(There is some confusion as to what the Coook Political Report did. From a Democratic perspective, it upgraded the race, meaning that there is a stronger chance for a Democratic candidate to win the seat. From a Repewblican perspective, they downgraded the race, as there is a stronger chance the GOP can lose the seat)
Charlie Cook, the longtime publisher of the The Cook Political Report, an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President; has downrated the LA-06 race from Leans Republican to Likely Republican.
From behind the subscription wall, here is the shortened analysis (due to copyright concerns):
National Democrats believe they have found a candidate who can put this GOP-leaning Baton Rouge district in play in what is likely to be a May 3rd special election ... A special primary election will be held March 8 th , and a special primary runoff is likely to follow on April 5th.
That candidate is eight-year Democratic state Rep. Don Cazayoux, a 41 year-old, pro-life former prosecutor from rural Point Coupee Parish who sports A ratings from the NRA. He has raised twice as much money as the next leading Democrat between the beginning of the year and mid-February. But he starts out the primary race with a relatively low profile in the Baton Rouge population center of the district and must first get by three other serious Democratic contenders for the nomination, two of whom are African-American. An April runoff is likely.
This district's PVI of R+7 would suggest a real uphill climb for Democrats, but the district's political character has not truly been measured since Hurricane Katrina added thousands of new, mostly black residents to the Baton Rouge area.
The real GOP headache in this race is the possibility of a Cazayoux- [Woody] Jenkins match up, which is far from certain at this stage. National Republicans worry that if Jenkins were to prevail in a low-turnout primary or runoff with the aid of his devoted supporters, his appeal beyond the district's religious conservative base would be limited in a race against a Democrat. If Cazayoux or another Democrat were to make inroads with moderate, less socially oriented Republicans and mobilize the district's black voters - African-Americans are just about a third of the population here - it is easy to see how this could turn into a clear steal opportunity. For now, this race moves to the Lean Republican column.
It seems that Cook sees this race as "leans Republican" so long as State Rep. Don Cazayoux gets out of the Democratic primary, which is being held next Saturday, March 8th. I think a run-off is likely, which means that all the candidates and campaigns should work their tails off, organize their voters, and make sure their voters get out to vote. And we'll what happens when the dust settles on March 8th.
Hat Tip to Adrastos for posting the New Orleans voting locations
There is an election this Saturday, March 1 for Louisiana Democrats to select their delegates to the Convention in Denver.
I repeat, the Louisiana Democratic Party is holding an election this Saturday to select delegates to the Convention in Denver. The Baton Rouge area voting locations are listed below:
Louisiana Democratic Party Headquarters - 701 Government St., Baton Rouge, LA
Denham Springs City Hall - 941 Government Dr., Denham Springs, LA
Livingston Town Hall - 20550 Circle Dr., Livingston, LA
Sibly Law Firm - 19 North 1st St., Greensburg, LA
Baker Civic Center - 2225 Groom Rd., Baker, LA
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 198 - 5888 Airline Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA
Louisiana Leadership Institute - 5763 Hooper Rd., Baton Rouge, LA
Jewel & Jewel Law Firm - 143 East Main Street, Baker, LA
The election is being held from 9 AM to 5 PM. When you arrive at the polls you will ask for a Clinton or an Obama ballot. Declared Clinton delegates are on the Clinton ballot and declared Obama delegates are on the Obama ballot. You are allowed only one ballot. Candidates get delegates in proportion to the vote they received in the February 9th election in each Congressional Districts.
I assume many regular blog-readers are familiar with Drinking Liberally.
They get plugged regularly at Atrios' site and elsewhere, they look to be a social networking outfit, much like Meetup. There isn't a chapter here in Baton Rouge, though there is one in New Orleans.
As someone who's not native to the city, who'd a) like to meet some people with whom I have some common interests, and b) like to learn about worthwhile local activities and/or organizations, I thought it might be worthwhile to see if there's any interest in getting a local chapter started.
Regular local blog-readers may not be aware, however, that there's a Yahoo Group for BR area Democrats. After all, the group is pretty moribund, there were a grand total of about 15 posts for the entirety of 2006 and 2007.
I posted on that list to see if there was any interest. It's generated some surprising responses, which I want to talk about later when I have more time. But if anyone reading this has any interest, the place and time being kicked around is Chelsea's next Wednesday (3/5) at 7:00 pm.
For folks in East Baton Rouge Parish, the Presidential Primary is not the only thing on the ballot tomorrow. The other thing on the ballot is the referendum regarding Pinnacle Entertainment's Casino Riviere on River Rd, by Gardere Lane, in Baton Rouge.
The plan for Casino Riviere is to build it in phases, with the first phase including:
The project, designed to be built in phases, features a world-class gaming resort at the heart of a dynamic new entertainment and residential community. Phase One will be anchored by a state-of-the-art, single-deck riverboat casino with approximately 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games. An adjoining 100-guestroom first-class hotel will offer visitors an atmosphere of casual elegance. An array of restaurants and lounges, ranging from simple to spectacular, will tempt guests with high-quality cuisine in attractive surroundings. Several of the restaurants will be located above the casino and will take advantage of the site's sweeping views of the Mississippi River. An entertainment venue will offer live music and other exciting attractions. This first phase of development is expected to cost $250 million.
And that's just the FIRST phase. As the press release goes on to say:
Future planned phases of Riviere include a residential community with more than 400 single-family and 240 multi-family units; a 100-guestroom hotel expansion; and a separate 100-guestroom extended-stay hotel. Recreation and leisure are planned to include a full-service spa and health club; tennis club; equestrian center and riding trails; and a championship golf course, with the historic Longwood Plantation Mansion serving as its clubhouse. The casino hotel will be convenient to the planned new residential community, but also separated from it by River Road and the Mississippi River levee.
A pedestrian-oriented town center and village green will integrate retail shops, water features and live/work spaces. The development will take advantage of its approximately 7,000 feet (1-1/3 miles) of frontage along the Mississippi River and will integrate parks, walking, bike and equestrian trails, water features, lush native landscaping, carefully preserved wetlands and batture to reflect the area's natural beauty.
Folks, this is going to be a helluva lot better looking than the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino or the Hollywood Casino downtown. They're not just planning on building a casino. They're planning on building new housing, new shopping centers, and finally building along the riverfront. I mean, my God, we have a river that we're not capitilizing on at all! And they're willing to spend the money to help us do that! While they'll get the rents, the city will get the sales taxes and property taxes from it all.
In addition, I know that A6, a group of citizens that studied why and how Austin turned itself around and became a destination in its own right in an attempt to impart that wisdom to Baton Rouge, has endorsed the Pinnacle Project. Their press release on the topic stated:
"The Project group believes that the positives far out weight the negatives on
the issues surrounding the proposition. Accordingly, A6 supports the passage of the
proposition under consideration on February 9."
Now I know that some folks are worried about the traffic. I know that some folks are worried about the influence of gambling. I know that some folks are worried that Pinnacle won't follow through.
Well, you know what? There are more and more people moving into Baton Rouge for lots of other reasons. Traffic will increase regardless of whether Pinnacle builds here or not. And perhaps that energy should be spent convincing the Metro Council to better fund public transportation, and perhaps create a railway system similar to what other big metro areas have done - like New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. - have done. Obviously, the big difference between one here and what they've done is that it will largely be above ground.
Folks are worried about the influence of gambling? Well, then, dang, perhaps we oughta worry shut down the lottery, the parts of popular hang outs throughout Louisiana that have video poker, and even crack down on all those Super Bowl pools and those March Madness pools too!
Finally, Pinnacle's kept their promises up in Shreveport. They paid for the road improvements up there out of their own pocket. They've kept their promises with Boomtown New Orleans.
But most importantly, they will create jobs. Now I'm leery of it being service industry jobs, as I think we need to find better ways to diversify Louisiana's economy, and add more than just service industry and petrochemical industry jobs, but right now, they're offering 1200 new jobs in Baton Rouge.
For all the above reasons, I'm voting YES on Pinnacle. And I encourage you to do the same.
This morning, in less than 3 hours, the 
Well, it turns out that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will be coming to Louisiana this week. He starts off with a rally in 
