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BOUQUETS & BRICKBATS
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08 19 03 |
The Best and the Worst of the Week
Touro Infirmary
recently presented 10 portable automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to the
New Orleans Fire Department for use in city fire vehicles. AEDs assess a patient's
heart rate and deliver electric shocks to restore the heartbeat in the case
of cardiac arrest. The gift is part of Touro's partnership with the American
Heart Association and other area hospitals to reduce heart attack fatalities,
a leading cause of death in the New Orleans area.
The City of Slidell
was recognized by the Louisiana Municipal Association for exceptional accomplishments
for its efforts to rejuvenate the city's Olde Town district. The project --
a $4 million shot in the arm for Slidell's aesthetics, historical preservation,
economy, recreation and culture -- won the "Exceptional Achievement in Community
Achievement Award" at a recent LMA awards banquet.
BASF Corp.
added insult to injury last week when the company gave 17 employees
a scant half-hour notice that they'd lost their jobs at the Geismar plant. A
union official said the laid-off workers, who were told they had 30 minutes
to gather their belongings and leave, had been working at BASF about two years
and drew base salaries of about $50,000. A plant spokesman said the layoffs
were the result of rising natural-gas prices.
Honeywell
International Inc.-Baton Rouge
again made headlines for another dangerous accident, the chemical plant's third
in less than a month. One worker suffered a chemical burn and another experienced
respiratory problems after an Aug. 13 hydrochloric acid spill. Honeywell was
cited for failure to make a timely report of the incident, state police said.
The other two chemical leaks, on July 20 and 29, killed one employee and sent
several workers and residents to the hospital.
Other Stories This Week in News & Views:
Commentary
News Feature
Politics
Penny Post
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