Sand berms being used to rehab barrier islands

The sand berms that were built after the BP oil spill to stop oil from flowing onto the coast of Louisiana are serving a second purpose. They are being used as part of the reconstruction of several barrier islands, which is much needed.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers reluctantly let Gov. Bobby Jindal and the state build the berms after the spill, claiming they weren’t worth the effort. As a result, only 39 of the 120 miles requested by the state were approved by the Corps.

Thank goodness for that 39 miles. Our coast now has at least one plus factor in its reconstruction efforts. And those berms reportedly are holding up after critics said they would wash away in no time.

Of course, the berms built are said to have captured only 1,000 barrels of the 4.1 million barrels of oil said to be released by the spill. Well, that is 1,000 barrels that didn’t get into our state’s infrastructure.

We suspect that Gov. Bobby had a purpose in mind in addition to stopping oil when he sought permission to build the berms. And it may be coming into fruition in helping to rebuild our barrier islands to help save the Louisiana coast.

Primary system needs re-tooling

Now that the presidential primary season is over, we should consider retooling the primary system the United States has in selecting its leaders. It’s outdated and not in harmony with our democratic ideals.

Having would-be candidates belong to parties is fine because it unifies political thought into fewer directions, especially in a basically two-party system. And it makes it easier to vote for a candidate that would represent a voter better in office.

Also, it is beneficial to have party primaries so the field can be narrowed down to vote in the general election. It gives the public an overall idea of candidates’ views and how they would represent them. Then they can base other considerations on the candidates’ individual campaigns.

But choosing delegates who represent voters at caucuses is an unnecessary step now. Back in the old days when communication was scarce, it was necessary to select those delegates to represent the people in electing our officials.

Nowadays, we can hear and watch the candidates first hand on television and make our own decision as to who we prefer. Then we can march to the voting booth on election day and vote to elect them, with our vote counting, and not have another person do it for us at caucuses.