Columns
Blanco has another shot at redemption
BATON ROUGE — Gov. Kathleen Blanco is on the threshold of her potential resurgence, with six weeks of the regular session behind her and just as much time remaining. […]
Jeremy Alford
Columns
Blanco only a speedbump on the road to more gambling, says lobbyist
BATON ROUGE — Rep. Ernest Wooten has his name attached to a set of bills that increase the number of video poker machines in truck-stop casinos and ups the maximum bet players can stick into the one-armed bandits. […]
Columns
Assessor issues interesting as usual this session
BATON ROUGE — From the looks of it, the legislation was one of those no-brainers, a local bill that lawmakers historically give the nod to out of courtesy and have no need to question. […]
Columns
Open door policy
BATON ROUGE — It is widely known as “sunshine,” that willingness by government to open up its books and meetings and operations to the general public.
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Columns
Oil, gas and lawsuits
BATON ROUGE –If there were ever a poster child for so-called legacy sites, the distinction would likely belong to William Dore’s 9,000 acres of marshland in Cameron Parish. He has made a profitable living leasing out his land to oil and gas prospectors, but it has come at a hefty price. […]
Columns
Blanco catches second wind
BATON ROUGE — Castration for sex offenders, human cloning, cockfighting, flag burning, computer-assisted hunting, an official state song. […]
Columns
Abortion bills could produce another heated debate
BATON ROUGE — It has been 16 years since the Legislature took up the issue of abortion in a real way, and many people still remember what a circus it was. […]
Columns
Hurricane recovery could be overshadowed during regular session
BATON ROUGE — When six feet of Katrina’s water rushed down Bayou Savage along the eastern side of New Orleans, Pete Gerica rescued his elderly mother from the surge and strapped her to the top of a tree using a cable wire. […]
Columns
‘Hardball’ issue on oil royalties has difficult history, future
BATON ROUGE — President Harry S. Truman offered Louisiana a sweet deal in 1949, an arrangement that state officials are still trying to get the feds to duplicate even today. […]