Stuck pigs squeal over upholding rule of law

Over Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ and his mandarins’ puerile objections, some Louisiana elected officials did strive to see that the rule of law is upheld.

Thursday, the State Bond Commission voted to deny New Orleans a non-cash line of credit worth $39 million for a water and sewerage project. This delays implementation of that for at least a month, when the SBC can reconsider, although at this point because of its lowest priority ranking any delay would have little substantive impact on eventual project completion as testimony and questions and answers during the meeting confirmed.

The deferral came as most of the SBC, and all of the Republican statewide elected officials (some through representatives) and legislators, wanted to express their displeasure at New Orleans officials – its mayor, city council, the district attorney, and sheriff – saying through their various capacities that they would not enforce Louisiana law that makes almost all abortions illegal. Earlier in the week, Republican Atty. Gen. Jeff Landry had called for the SBC not to approve several projects forwarded by the city or its related units as a means to reverse their defiance.

Perkins' first stone comes from his glass house

This won’t go well for Shreveport Democrat Mayor Adrian Perkins to win reelection if this is his opening salvo against new challenger Democrat state Sen. Greg Tarver.

Tarver formally announced his candidacy yesterday, to which Perkins responded pithily by questioning whether Tarver was running for mayor of Shreveport, because Perkins said he didn’t live in the city. This constitutes a veiled attempt to question Tarver’s commitment to the city versus his own fortunes that serves as a specter casting doubt over his overall character, playing to Tarver’s checkered past.

Residency has both legal and political dimensions. Tarver has been bedding down with his wife at a residence on 14 acres outside of any city limits, and outside of his senate district, but he doesn’t own any part of it nor is he registered to vote there. Instead, he says he pays his wife rent, claims himself domiciled at the address of his business, inside both the city and district, and is registered to vote there.

Tarver entry shakes up Shreveport mayor's race

If you’re not a fan, especially if a Democrat, of Democrat Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins and the sometimes-questionable ethical choices he has made in office, the good news is he has picked up a heavyweight challenger from his party to contest his reelection this fall. The bad news is that challenger is the sometimes-ethically questionable Democrat state Sen. Greg Tarver.

In his maiden 2018 election, in the runoff Perkins faced off with an incumbent Democrat twice his age who decades ago shot and killed her spouse in self-defense. Now running as the incumbent, it seems nothing changes, as he might well contend in a runoff against an elected Democrat twice his age who decades ago allegedly was shot by his spouse.

If Perkins gets that far. At the start of the week, Perkins looked to be in pretty good shape to make it that far and onto a second term. He faced only two major competitors, one in the form of Republican former city councilor Tom Arceneaux, but who has been out of office for over three decades and running as a conservative Republican seems unlikely to peel off enough votes from the black Democrat plurality in the electorate to win even if making the runoff.

Report makes LA water mgt reform more compelling

Maybe legislators will start paying closer attention to Republican Sen. Robert Mills’ efforts to ensure Louisianans get the appropriate bang for their buck with the state’s water resources.

Last week, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor released a report regarding regulation and valuation of surface water in the state. It concluded that the state not only virtually was giving away water owned in common for short-term uses, but also even for long-term use existing state law forcibly undervalued water. Impediments to proper pricing derived from the state having no water management plan, its failure to require cooperative endeavor agreements, and through slipshod administration of what CEAs exist by the Department of Natural Resources.

This issue is statewide but of particular importance in north Louisiana, which has an abundance of larger bodies of surface water and is a hotbed of hydraulic fracturing activity that exhibits great thirst, hence Mills’ interest. His district includes Lake Bistineau, then presence of which has sparked activity from energy exploration firms who have bypassed the CEA process and basically suck up water from there for free.

BC free spenders suddenly chintzy on bridge

The Bossier City Council graybeards have no problem in blowing hundreds of millions of dollars in needless or overly grandiose construction, but – with one of their emeritus members – put up resistance to negligible costs in sweeping away some detritus.

At issue in its initial July meeting was a memorandum of understanding among the city, Shreveport, Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish, the state Department of Transportation and Development, and its Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism concerning the disposition of the Jimmie Davis Bridge. With the state getting money for a project to replace the existing two-lane span with a four-lane version slightly upriver, the opening steps to kick off the long process need accomplishing.

That begins from the premise that the old bridge must stand regardless not only because it has been used a by protected species as a nesting habit but also because it qualifies under federal law as a Section 106 historic structure. So, the state essentially has proposed that it transfers the ownership of the structure from the state highway system to its parks system – and actually changed state law on the request of Republican state Sen. Barrow Peacock to make this legal – whereupon the state remains responsible for almost all maintenance.