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Danny Hertzberg and Justin Ouimet
left New Orleans a parting gift before graduating from Tulane University -- the two recently organized a successful fundraiser for the local nonprofit KIDsmART. TwiRoPa Mills hosted the event for KIDsmART, which teaches positive life skills to underprivileged kids through art. 'Danny and Justin cleared $4,410 on their event -- with almost no help from KIDsmART!' said executive director Echo Olander, who praised them for 'this great community service.'

Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley
showed his disdain for taxpayers last week in his crude and unapologetic defense of an outrageous perk he has awarded himself: two state-paid luxury vehicles in two years. Wooley told a frustratingly lax House Appropriations Committee that controversy over his latest ride (a fully loaded $40,000 Harley-Davidson truck) is 'a pimple on a bee's ass.' Wooley opined that his perk is justified because he saves his agency money in other ways.

State Rep. Willie Hunter, D-Monroe,
is delinquent in paying his 2004 property taxes, according to Ouachita Parish Tax Collector and Sheriff Richard Fewell. Hunter was among three elected officials (along with Monroe City Judge Daryl Blue and City Councilman Robert Johnson) included in a list of delinquent taxpayers that Fewell published last week in Monroe's News-Star newspaper.

Former Gov. Mike Foster
left the state to cough up nearly $1 million this year for 7,800 rounds of golf that nobody played. Foster's administration had brokered a deal in 2001 with a New Orleans-area golf course, guaranteeing a minimum number of golf bookings; the state would compensate the Tournament Players Club for every unbooked round. The ill-considered contract means the state now has to shell out $975,000 as legislators ponder deep budget cuts for state services.

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Gambit, Butler Reach Agreement

Politics
I Remember John

Penny Post
On the Road: Romania