Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Road to Nowhere
Posted by Will Coviello on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 11:32 PM
It's hard to forget the Congressional earmark for the Bridge to Nowhere ($233 million to connect Ketchikan, Alaska, to an airstrip on the island of Gravina), especially since GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin is repeatedly saying that she opposed it (which turns out not to be true). She draws big applause with the line that if Alaska needs a bridge, they'll build it themselves. Locals should remember a few things though. Katrina helped kill the Bridge to Nowhere - in November 2005. It was against the backdrop of the debate about what amount the federal government should spend to rebuild the Gulf Coast that the Bridge to Nowhere died in the sunshine of public scrutiny. Ironically, the bridge project was terminated, but the earmark wasn't. Alaska got the money but diverted it to other projects. When Palin ran for Governor, she still supported the project (video of her supporting it here). Regardless of when Palin changed her mind, Alaska is still building a Road to Nowhere. The state received $24 million for a road from the Gravina airport to the point at which the bridge was supposed to be built. The alternative to building that road is returning the money to Washington. (Read the details in the Anchorage Daily News.) Sounds more like a parking lot for pork.
Saints Fans Discuss NFL Fan Conduct Policy
Posted by Alejandro de los Rios on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 6:36 PM
So there's been much ado about the NFL's new Fan Conduct Policy that's taken effect this season. While New Orleans is certainly renowned for its alcohol consumption, you can't really argue that the fans have been known to be spiteful or mean. At least not like Jets fans. Or Raiders fans. Or...you get the idea.
Although those Bucs fans had a different take on it.
Limbo Schtick
Posted by Michael Giordano on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 5:55 PM
If there’s one thing these evacuations have taught me it’s that most people… OK, I can’t speak for everyone… it’s that I (and probably many others) despise being in a state of limbo. Hurricane season puts us in that state repeatedly and in so many ways that I’d suggest we call it Limbo Season if that didn’t also happen to be the name of that charming tropical balancing game that inebriated tourists enjoy so much on Caribbean vacations. How is it that being bent over backwards precariously perched halfway between standing and falling while trying to negotiate an ever more narrow window of opportunity provides raucous entertainment in the context of palm trees, pina coladas, ukuleles and grass skirts while the analogous situation in the context of a hurricane threat causes nothing but torturous anxiety?
Hurricane limbo sucks.
Condolences to Bruce Daigrepont and family
Posted by Kevin Allman on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 6:20 AM
Keep a good thought for Bruce Daigrepont, who plays Tipitina's regular Sunday fais-do-do; his parents Albert and Jennie Rita Daigrepont were killed a week ago Sunday in Mississippi as they attempted to evacuate the city in advance of Hurricane Gustav. Our best to the Daigrepont family and their many friends.
The 99 Cent Only store raises its price
Posted by Kevin Allman on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 3:00 AM
It sounds like a late-night talk show joke ("How bad is the economy? So bad that...") but it's not:
99 Cents Only Stores announced price increases Monday -- by almost a penny an item. The chain's new top price: 99.99 cents, or essentially $1 at the cash register most of the time.The price increases take effect later this month, and the City of Commerce chain has no plans to change its name or logo at its 277 stores....
"We've absorbed it for as long as we can and as hard as we can, but we've reached a point where we can't absorb it anymore, and we have to do something," said Chief Executive Eric Schiffer. "This will give us plenty of breathing room."
Based on last year's sales, Schiffer estimated that the chain would take in an extra $12 million at the cash register.
Will the 99 Cent Only store's New Orleans competitor, Dollar Tree, follow suit? A much more difficult proposition...because their items are already a dollar. Though when I passed by my neighborhood Dollar Tree today, I saw that they already had Christmas items on the sidewalk next to the Halloween stuff.
Shop often. Shop early. Shop cheap.
