Scuttlebutt: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

Advice … and a warning

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:44:00 -0500

A lot of folks can take credit for convincing Gov. Bobby Jindal to “park” his much-maligned “tax reform” plan last week, none more so than Dan Juneau, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). In the Capitol’s pack of lobbying hounds, LABI is The Big Dog — particularly on tax matters.…

Separated at birth?

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:55:00 -0500

When was the last time you saw Marlin Gusman and Ray Nagin on the same courthouse steps … or on the same beach in Jamaica? Uh-huh.…

Jindal’s 47 Percent Solution

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:49:00 -0500

(NOTE: There's an UPDATE to this post on the jump page regarding the current sales tax exemptions that Gov. Jindal wants to keep if his tax plan is passed.)

Gov. Bobby Jindal finally unveiled his tax-swap plan last week — almost. After promising to produce a bill by March 15, he instead gave lawmakers a two-page summary of high-minded but vague talking points, which at least was more than the one-page summary he previously used.…

Election set to succeed Rep. Ligi

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:21:00 -0600

Louisiana House Speaker Chuck Kleckley has called a special election to succeed state Rep. Tony Ligi, R-Metairie, who has prospectively resigned his seat representing House District 79. Ligi will become the executive director and legal counsel for the Jefferson Business Council.…

Jan, Jim Mann to "retire" by Friday

Clancy DuBos — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:52:54 -0600

Sources at federal court confirm that veteran assistant U.S. Attorneys Jan and Jim Mann will "retire" by the end of the day Friday. Both have been under scrutiny — Jan Mann under fire — in connection with the ongoing online commenting scandal that led to the retirement of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.…

After Letten

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:47:11 -0600

The late Mayor Dutch Morial once told me, “In this game, it’s not your enemies you have to worry about. It’s your friends — they’ll do you in every time.” I thought of that as I watched U.S. Attorney Jim Letten resign.…

John LaBruzzo running for legislative seat again?

Clancy DuBos — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:57:00 -0600

When then-state Rep. John LaBruzzo of Metairie lost a hotly contested race against fellow state Rep. Nick Lorusso of Lakeview in the 2011 statewide elections, many concluded his political career was over, or at least in sidetracked for a while. LaBruzzo and Lorusso, both Republicans, were thrown into the same legislative district after the 2010 Census and redistricting.…

The Gospel of Lucas

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:20:00 -0500

Now it happened that at this time Caesar Piyush issued a decree that vouchers should be made available to every undereducated child in the land. These vouchers — the first — issued while many public schools in Louisiana were failing, and so every prophet with an eye for profit went to enroll as many students as possible, each in his own parish.…

Supreme Standoff

Clancy DuBos — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 23:51:22 -0500

The nastiest political fight in Louisiana this year won’t be the presidential race, or even the pitched battle in the 3rd Congressional District between U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry, two GOP incumbents cast into the same district by reapportionment.

No, the real donnybrook will be the fight to become Louisiana’s next chief justice.…

Shocked … SHOCKED!

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:21:26 -0500

The recent debacle over Louisiana’s tax credits for vehicles that run on alternative fuels reminds me of a memorable scene from Casablanca. In the classic 1942 film, Capt. Louis Renault, the ethically malleable chief of the local gendarmes, loudly blows his police whistle and announces to an overflow crowd at Rick’s Café that he is closing the popular nightclub and casino.…

ENONAC fundraiser Sunday

Kandace Graves — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 20:31:11 -0500

The Eastern New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission (ENONAC) is hosting a Spring Fling Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 10, at Southern Oaks Plantation (7816 Hayne Blvd.; www.southernoaksplantation.com).…

Hospitality Zone Bill Appears Dead

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:21:24 -0500

Sources say the proposed "Hospitality Zone" bill appears dead for this year’s legislative session. That news comes after a Senate committee amended the proposed measure at the request of state Sen. Karen Carter-Peterson, D-New Orleans.…

‘Reforms’ in need of reform

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:50:56 -0500

After four years of touting ethics “reforms” that were largely window dressing, Gov. Bobby Jindal finally acknowledges that his “gold standard” needs some polishing. Jindal is backing a handful of bills in the current legislative session to tweak the 2008 changes that he rammed through a special session with little opposition and even less thoughtful analysis.…

Answering Sal Perricone in kind

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:41:00 -0500

Local criminal defense attorneys were among the favorite online targets of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sal Perricone, who posted anonymous rants at nola.com under the moniker Henry L. Mencken1951 and probably several other noms de plume. Last week, one of them decided to answer Perricone in kind — but not anonymously.…

Science vs. politics, Round 2

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:49:00 -0600

The Louisiana Legislature convenes next week, and that means another showdown between science and politics. So far, politics is winning.…

Young and Quinn to tie the knot

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:32:00 -0600

Jefferson Parish President John Young announced this morning (Friday, Feb. 24) that he and former state Sen. Julie Quinn, R-Metairie, are officially engaged. The two have been an item, politically and personally, for several years now.…

Committee votes to keep Council utility advisors

Clancy DuBos — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:46:05 -0600

The selection process for hiring utility advisors to the New Orleans City Council is set to conclude at the next council meeting, when council members will consider the unanimous recommendation of its Utilities Committee to keep the current advisory team in place.

Washington-based attorney Clint Vince of SNR Denton has led the council’s utility advisors for 28 years and racked up an impressive record of wins against Entergy New Orleans (ENO) and its parent company on a variety of fronts.…

GOP-backed candidate uses fake Jindal pic against his opponent

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:13:00 -0600

A candidate for the Louisiana Senate who is supported by some leading Republicans in the district has faked a photo of Gov. Bobby Jindal shaking hands with his opponent — in an attempt to discredit her among her mostly black constituents. Former state Sen. Greg Tarver of Shreveport, who has substantial GOP support in northwest Louisiana, is in a heated runoff against incumbent Sen. Lydia Jackson, also of Shreveport.…

Apartments in The ARK, and an FMIA election update

Alex Woodward — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:55:27 -0500

In May, Julian Mutter announced his property at 511 Marigny St. (known as The ARK) would eventually be renovated into an apartment building with retail space on its bottom floor (currently, artists rent the top floor for studio space).…

St. Charles DA Harry Morel to resign May 31; Sen. Joel Chaisson likely to run for his job

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:59:00 -0500

Veteran St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel Jr. has submitted his resignation papers effective next May 31, and the leading candidate to succeed him is state Senate President Joel Chaisson of Destrehan. The two men are political allies.…

Following Fielkow: timing and turnout

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:07:00 -0500

The love fest that showered outgoing New Orleans at-large Council-man Arnie Fielkow quickly gave way to a behind-the-scenes battle over when to schedule the election to succeed him. It’s a good thing Fielkow is merely resigning and not dead — the speed with which some of his colleagues climbed over him to seek his office would have looked pretty unseemly had he been laid out in a coffin.…

Rep. Charmaine Stiaes won't seek re-election

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:42:00 -0500

State Rep. Charmaine Marchand Stiaes, D-New Orleans, announced today (Aug. 26) that she will not seek re-election to the House in the October primary.

Stiaes, whose District 99 in the 9th Ward was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, would have had to run against new incumbent and fellow Democrat Wesley Bishop, who won a special election in eastern New Orleans to succeed Cedric Richmond after Richmond won a congressional seat in 2010.…

Da Winnas & Da Loozas

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:07:00 -0500

Louisiana lawmakers generally avoid divisive, controversial issues in election-year sessions, and Louisiana governors generally have their way with lawmakers. What a difference a $1.6 billion revenue decrease makes.…

Lessons of the St. Pierre Trial

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:37:43 -0500

The guilty verdicts rendered last week against former City Hall vendor Mark St. Pierre sent a thunderous message about the wages of corruption and arrogance. The fact that jurors convicted St. Pierre on all 53 counts should also embolden federal prosecutors in their ongoing investigation into the Nagin Administration — and give future defendants pause.…

A bloody process

Clancy DuBos — Sat, 21 May 2011 23:12:00 -0500

The failure of a bill to merge the University of New Orleans (UNO) and Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) offers several lessons about the politics and psychology of legislative sessions. Chief among those lessons is that sometimes a bill’s fate has nothing to do with the merits of the bill itself.…