Mary Landrieu
Saturday, October 1, 2011
"Save Our Shipyard" demands jobs and future at Avondale Shipyard
Posted by Alex Woodward on Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 1:41 PM
Avondale Shipyard, Northrop Grumman's sprawling West Bank shipbuilding facility, is set to close in 2013. Rolling layoffs will impact thousands of workers. Local and national campaigns fight, hope (and pray) to keep it open — and this morning, hundreds of union members, laborers, families and others joined a march and rally to help save the shipyard. (Read more in Gambit.)
Hundreds gathered at the foot of Champions Square, carrying signs representing their unions or the campaign to keep the yard open. Mayor Mitch Landrieu shook hands in the crowd before making his way to a small stage and emphasizing the importance of keeping the yard open, both for the Westwego and West Bank communities and New Orleans. "Everyone (here) helped rebuild America," he told the crowd. "Let's get to work."
Among the unions and organizations in the march were NAACP, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers, and laborers, boilermakers, teachers, musicians and several other local union affiliates.
The police-escorted march began on Poydras Street outside Champions Square and made its way to the Hale Boggs Federal Building several blocks away. Jefferson Parish President John Young and labor leaders, led by the Treme Brass Band and Rev. Jim VanderWeele of New Orleans Interfaith Worker Justice, carried Save Our Shipyard banners and marched in the front. Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, and Rep. Robert Billiot, D-Westwego marched among dozens of groups following the lead.
"It's a nuclear bomb," Morrell said of the economic impact of a potential Avondale closure. "And the state doesn't have a sense of urgency."
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
BP dollars closer to Coast, while oil regulators are "Gestapo"
Posted by Alex Woodward on Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 12:26 PM
In July, a bipartisan group of Gulf Coast senators introduced the RESTORE Act, which, they promised, would ensure 80 percent of the fines BP incurs from Clean Water Act violations for the Gulf oil disaster would be divvied among states on the Gulf Coast — rather than the feds.
The act passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and now makes its way to the Senate floor.
"This is the most important step Congress can take to ensure that the Gulf Coast recovers from the economic and ecological destruction caused by the oil spill,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu in a statement. “By directing BP penalty money back to the states that are dealing with the clean-up and restoration from this devastating spill, we help ensure that the Gulf Coast continues to thrive for decades to come." Landrieu also thanked Sen. David Vitter, who co-sponsored the bill.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, defended his statement that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) is "like the CIA and the Gestapo" when he wasn't able to meet with BOEMRE staff to discuss stalled drilling permits. He defended his choice of words to Politico:
I mean at the end of the day it's a term referencing how the actions are being out there. ... I mean I'm not going to get into this political niceness. You know, it's a fact. The man is not allowing U.S. congressmen to visit their offices. There's something wrong with that. ... The people in my district are suffering down there. I've got no apologies, if anything (BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich) owes me and the people in my district an apology. ...It is what's wrong with Washington in the federal bureaucracy. We — the people of my district along with every other United States citizen — pays their check. It isn't the other way around. No apologies."
In a letter to Landry, Bromwich was none too pleased with being compared to a Nazi: "Your comparison of the minor inconvenience you experienced to the tactics and methods of the Nazi secret police is simply unacceptable from anyone, but especially from a public official.”
Godwin's law states that any discussion or argument ultimately will reduce itself to "Well, you're a Nazi," or, "Well, that makes you Hitler." Apparently we've reached that point in the drilling debate.
Monday, August 29, 2011
This morning's Katrina memorial in the Lower Ninth Ward: Photos
Posted by Charles Maldonado on Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 2:47 PM
Neighborhood residents and local, state, and national dignitaries (including Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Senator and keynote speaker Mary Landrieu and District E councilman Jon Johnson, who represents the neighborhood and organized the event) gathered this morning at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial on North Claiborne Avenue between Tennessee and Reynes in the Lower Ninth Ward, to honor the memory of the storm—and the lives lost and altered in its path—that devastated the neighborhood, resulting in a nearly 80 percent population loss between the 2000 and 2010 Census counts.
The event began with a performance by the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter High School band:
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Gulf senators: Send BP dollars to the coast
Posted by Alex Woodward on Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 5:54 PM
A bipartisan group in the Senate today called for Clean Water Act fines for last year's oil disaster be distributed among Gulf Coast states. The RESTORE Act, they proposed, would set up a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, backed by 80 percent of the penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties in the oil disaster.
According to Sen. Mary Landrieu and Sen. David Vitter, both co-sponsors, 35 percent of the funds would be shared across the states (and specific to "restore our ecosystem and support our travel, tourism and seafood industries that were devastated by the spill"), while 60 percent goes to a "Federal-State Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council." The remaining 5 percent would set up a Science and Technology program through Centers of Excellence focusing on coastal restoration, fisheries, offshore energy research and development, commercial development, and "port, harbor, and waterway construction and maintenance."
The current provision would distribute — ahem — 100 percent of fines to the feds, for future oil spill mitigation.
Not only is the RESTORE Act a massive bipartisan, multi-state effort, it also was a "duh" recommendation from the National Oil Spill Commission, which determined yes, in addition to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, the Gulf obviously, and deservedly, benefits from the fines. (The several billions of dollars BP would likely have to pay wouldn't make much of a dent in the gazillion-dollar national deficit, anyway.) Their conclusion:
Congress—recognizing that dedicated, sustained funding is necessary to accomplish long-term Gulf of Mexico ecosystem restoration—should direct 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties imposed for the spill to support implementation of a region-wide restoration strategy. Directing such payments to the Gulf could, for the next 10 years, provide significant funding.
In a statement, Emily Woglom, director of government relations with the Ocean Conservancy, applauded the bill's endowment for a long-term Gulf research program, saying, "This is simply about fairness for the Gulf."
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Let them eat ... king cake?
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 4:11 PM
Today, as the freshman class of the U.S. House of Representatives was being sworn in, outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed her successor, incoming Speaker John Boehner, in a handing-over-the-gavel ceremony. In Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office, a different sort of ceremony was taking place, as Landrieu welcomed new Rep. Cedric Richmond to Washington, D.C. with a king cake.
- MATTHEW D.R. LEHNER/OFFICE OF SEN. MARY LANDRIEU
- Sen. Mary Landrieu and new Rep. Cedric Richmond share king cake on the first day of the 112th Congress.
The veteran senator and the newbie representative got the jump on the Mardi Gras by one day — Twelfth Night, the kickoff for Carnival season, was one day away. Perhaps more significant was the politicians’ blithe attitude toward the Marie Antoinette-ish symbolism of the powerful eating cake.
“Here’s a bit of king cake for bipartisanship and recovery,” Landrieu was quoted as saying in a statement. She and Richmond are the only two Democrats in Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Senator Mary Landrieu, U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, Gulf Coast Officials Launch "Ready 4 Takeoff Coalition"
Posted by Matt Davis on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 10:46 PM
Sen. Mary Landrieu joined U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon and other Gulf Coast leaders at the downtown Marriott hotel this afternoon to launch the "Ready 4 Takeoff Coalition," a broad-based lobbying and public relations effort to attract federal compensation and defense spending to the region in the wake of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
- The senator was ushered off to her next appointment without taking questions. The press kit for the event was short on details but said the coalition was "committed to building a better tomorrow for the innumerable families, workers, suppliers, manufacturers, and small and large businesses within the region."
Ready 4 Takeoff — get it?
- "There's going to be a significant amount of money paid to the federal government in the aftermath of the spill," Landrieu said in prepared remarks. "And our congressional group is claiming that 80 percent of that money be spent in the Gulf of Mexico region. Whether it's $5 billion or $20 billion, depending on if the courts find BP simply or grossly negligent, we're going to spend that money from Florida to Texas.
- "BP is going to replace every blade of grass, every fish destroyed, every pelican oiled, and we are going to hold BP accountable."
- The other politicians and commerce leaders from Mississippi, Florida and Alabama talked in similarly broad terms about BP being made to pay, but were also short on specifics when it came to defense spending, even though the coalition's members include Airbus Americas, which is owned by EADS North America and stands to benefit directly from the tanker contract.
- In addition to the refueling jet, the initiative seeks to push the federal government to purchase more Gulf Coast seafood for military and school contracts, accelerate revenue sharing from offshore oil and gas development, and acquire federal money for projects like the U.S. High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program in Alabama and Mississippi.
- The roundabout nature of the rhetoric stood in contrast to the specific request for a $40 billion defense contract.
- "We're talking to each other, building relationships and coalitions," Mobile Mayor Sam Jackson said after Landrieu had left the building.
- "People are scared of what they can't see, and what they don't know," Melancon said. "It's important the message gets out to people that the beaches are open and the seafood is safe to eat."
Monday, June 21, 2010
Mayor Landrieu Eats Seafood, Tours Gulf Coast With U.S. Conference of Mayors
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 8:34 PM
Mayor Mitch Landrieu was joined by mayors from 21 cities around the country this morning, taking a tour of the Gulf Coast in the wake of the oil catastrophe. The mayors toured the emergency operations center at Laffite, and viewed oil damage in the marshes there. They then returned to New Orleans for a press conference and seafood dinner at the Bon Ton Cafe on Magazine Street.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu introduces Mayor Helene Schneider of Santa Barbara, California, to the Debbie's Salad at Bon Ton Cafe this afternoon.
"We're very concerned about the six month moratorium," said Mayor Annise Parker of Houston, Texas. "Many of the families who are affected by the seafood industry are also relying on income from servicing the oil industry. We need to remember that there is a balance. We don't ground all the airlines when one plane crashes."
"We can make sure we don't do foolish things like not use products from this region," said Mayor Bob Foster of Long Beach, California. "The real test is three to five years down the road, and we're going to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mayor Landrieu to make this region succesful."
"We're fighting a battle against the oil but we're also fighting a battle of perception," said Mayor Frank Hibbard of Clearwater, Florida. "Many of the areas on the Gulf Coast have not been affected by the oil and I would ask that accuracy be the top of the agenda. I hope we don't make a manmade disaster worse."
Mayor Landrieu was also honored today by being named chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors committee on tourism, arts, parks and sports. "There is not a mayor who better understands the importance of the tourism industry," said Mayor Elizabeth Kautz from Burnsville, Minnesota, chair of the conference. "We learned the hard way after 911 just how important tourism is to our country."
The mayors supported Senator Mary Landrieu's call for energy revenue sharing in the Gulf region before 2017, and said a coordinated command structure is important for tackling the oil disaster. Landrieu said it was also very important to recognize the excellence of the Bon Ton Cafe, and its proprietors Wayne and Debbie Pierce.
Gambit asked Wayne Pierce what's on the mayoral menu for this afternoon: Shrimp cocktail; Debbie's salad (a mixture of crabmeat, shrimp and greens); crabmeat au gratin; shrimp and crab gumbo; redfish bon ton; redfish Alzina; bayou jambalaya (made with crawfish and shrimp); pan broiled jumbo shrimp; oysters Alvin (Alvin and Alzina were founders of the cafe — oysters Alvin is fried oysters topped with a lemon butter sauce); fried soft shell crabs; and bread pudding with whisky sauce.
The mayors are scheduled to eat all of that in 45 minutes before returning to the Roosevelt Hotel.
Friday, May 28, 2010
This guy wants to take over Louisiana, kindly offers Bobby Jindal a job under the new regime
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 11:20 PM
My inbox is constantly filled with the desperate pleas of Nigerian princes and Chinese widows that miss my spam folder, where so many fake bank statements and male enhancement offers go to die. I routinely delete these messages, and the message I received from a Robert Philippe Webb de Orleans with the subject line "URGENT" nearly received the same fate. But a quick glance at this message told me this guy is not some spambot, firing phishy missives from somewhere in Africa: he appears to be a real life crazy person, and he wants to be the king of Louisiana.
- Addressed to Mitch Landrieu, Bobby Jindal, James D. “Buddy” Caldwell, Mary Landrieu and David Vittler, the 2,172-word email begins with Webb claiming to be the descendant of royalty, a relative of Robert E. Lee and a member of the Lykes shipping family.
He advocates seceding from the union, doesn't like President Obama very much, talks about some conspiracy theories, is sore about the Louisiana Purchase, and would totally let Jindal and crew have jobs under his leadership. Here some of the highlights:
- • "President Barrack Obama worries me deeply. He is part of a massive Nazi and Mafia based Eugenics Conspiracy underway in The Federal Government’s intelligence circles."
• "I am writing to formally express my willingness in this turbulent time to lead The People of New Orleans, Louisiana and The Louisiana Purchase Territory as lawfully installed King of Louisiana. There is no clear leadership in these lands which rightfully belong to me and my Family."
• "I would be willing to offer each of you a Title and position in a new government which I propose to lawfully put in place with International United Nations Laws and the support of all The Citizens in my Homeland."
• "There are many of these violations but in particular I cite The United States Federal Government’s creating The HIV and AIDS Virus in 1970 at Ft. Detrick, Maryland’s Biological Weapons Laboratory."
• "It is our legal right to bear arms against a Tyrannical and unwanted oppressive Government. I do however advocate my peaceful installation."
- I checked out his website, and apparently he's an architect? I guess with this oil disaster going on, we all want to do something. While some of us just want to donate hair that may or may not be used for oil booms, or scrub oil-slicked ducks with Dawn soap, or never go to a BP gas station ever, ever again, this guy wants to be king. Just his way of coping. And it's in his blood.
- The entirety of his weirdo email is after the jump.
Monday, March 22, 2010
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