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NEW ORLEANS, LA – A 35-year veteran police officer with the New Orleans Police Department was suspended, with only 15 minutes left on his last shift, for wearing the wrong uniform shirt. Sergeant Bobby Guidry was moving his personal belongings from his office to his car when he was informed by a supervisor that the older, powder-blue uniform shirt he was wearing was out of regulation. The department had recently changed from the powder-blue shirts to an unpopular all-black uniform following Hurricane Katrina. Superintendent Warren Riley, who has defended Sergeant Guidry’s suspension, says there are plans to switch back to...

Eliot Kamenitz / The Times-PicayuneWorkers along the Mississippi River try to contain the hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel oil from a barge and ship collision on Wednesday. The river is now closed to the Gulf of Mexico. The massive oil spill that remains a major threat to the area's fragile delta ecosystem now stretches from New Orleans to the mouth of the Mississippi River -- a distance of 100 miles, Coast Guard officials said early Thursday.

One day after it was revealed that Sen. John McCain was to hold a closed-door meeting with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, Jindal said Wednesday that there is no way he will fill the bottom half of the GOP presidential ticket. "I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president," Jindal told Fox News. "I'm going to help Sen. McCain get elected as governor of Louisiana." "Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I've got the job that I want," Jindal said. It's not uncommon for those being considered for...

I just want to see who you think McCain should pick to be his running mate. This thread is not about "Juan McCain" and please spare us "he should pick Fred or Duncan and step down". I think it should be: Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Wednesday he does not want to be considered as vice president on the GOP ticket, making him among a growing number of those pulling themselves out of the race. ” I look forward to continuing to be governor of Louisiana. This is a once in a lifetime chance to improve our state. We’ve cut six taxes but we’ve got a lot more work to do right here in Louisiana,” Jindal told “FOX & Friends” on Wednesday.

While Barack Obama is speaking about international affairs in Germany before thousands of fans tomorrow, John McCain will be talking about a pressing domestic issue with an equally striking if very different backdrop. Weather permitting, McCain will helicopter from Louisiana to an oil rig in the Gulf Coast to make the case for expanded off-shore drilling, says a McCain aide.

This past Tuesday a University student, Cassie LeBlanc, was robbed while getting into her car after leaving the library around 9:30 p.m. The robber forced her against her car and asked for her wallet, then he discovered there was no cash. He decided he didn't want it, but after seeing text books on the front seat, the thief decided to take those instead. I was very glad to hear LeBlanc was alright, but a very important question came to mind: What if she had a firearm to defend herself? Would this incident have happened? My answer is probably not. The...

All six crew members aboard a U.S. B-52 bomber that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Guam earlier this week are dead, the U.S. Air Force said on Wednesday. The plane crashed on Monday, while on its way to participate in a flyover to mark a Liberation Day parade in Guam, a U.S. territory.

Drum roll. Suspense. Who will it be? In this corner, we have Stormin' Mormon Mitt Romney. In the other, we have Brain-Buster Bobby Jindal. Amid speculation that John McCain will announce his vice presidential pick soon, political nail-biters have begun placing bets. Favorites include Louisiana Gov. Jindal, with whom McCain is meeting Wednesday, and former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, whose resume is familiar. Can McCain's former foe become his new best friend? Romney would bring more than squeaky clean qualifications and youthful good looks to the ticket. New polling in Michigan by Ayres, McHenry & Associates shows that Romney gives McCain...

SPRINGHILL, LA (KSLA) - Governor Jindal will welcome republican presidential candidate senator John McCain to the Bayou State on Wednesday -- a state that political analysts expect McCain to carry without a problem. So the question of where governor Jindal ranks on McCain's list of vice presidential nominees is on the mind of many in Louisiana. The governor answered with a confident no about the possibility of accepting the nomination for the vice presidency. "I'm not going to be VP. I've already got the job that I want. I want to be Governor. I told the people when I was...

WINNFIELD, LA. -- At 1:28 p.m. on Jan. 17, Baron "Scooter" Pikes was a healthy 21-year-old. By 2:07 p.m., he was dead. What happened in the 39 minutes in between -- during which Pikes was handcuffed by police and shocked nine times with a Taser while reportedly pleading for mercy -- is spawning suspicions of a political cover-up in this lumber town infamous for backroom dealings.

WASHINGTON -- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is expected to be in New Orleans on Wednesday night amid reports that he'll sit down with Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is often mentioned as a possible running mate for the Arizona senator. Jindal said he has no meeting with McCain on his schedule, but McCain staffers told WashingtonPost.com that McCain will be talking to the governor. The New Orleans stopover raised eyebrows in political circles because it broke with McCain's schedule of appearances in battleground states -- he is well ahead in Louisiana -- and provided no details about his agenda...

WASHINGTON -- Former Gov. Edwin Edwards and former Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown are among the more than 2,000 people convicted of federal crimes awaiting word on whether President Bush will give them a pardon or commute their sentences during his final months in office. Edwards, who turns 81 on Aug. 7, will be eligible for release from the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale on July 6, 2011. He's serving a 10-year sentence for corrupting the state's riverboat casino licensing process. "I'm hopeful," said former Gov. David Treen, who joined former U.S. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston in filing the request on...

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA -- Standing near a mound of rotting floorboards and door frames outside his home near the Cedar River, Steve Aldrich shouted to the volunteers who had driven 1,000 miles to muck out his finished basement and carve 4 feet of soaked drywall from the walls of the first floor. "I love you guys, thank you so much," he said as he headed off to the city planning department of the Midwestern university town, hoping to learn whether he would have to raise his house a foot above the 100-year flood plain in order to rebuild. "I'll be...

p> WAFB TV Channel 9, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana pulled out all the stops for this ridiculous report claiming that "some women" in the Pelican State are resorting to working in strip clubs because gasoline is so expensive. To prove it, WAFB found one woman that said so. I'd say that clinches this as "fact," then, wouldn't you? In typical sensationalistic news fashion, WAFB TV assumes that because gas is more expensive, women across the state are throwing away their morals to work as strippers. During these tough economic times, many people are struggling to make ends meet. The city's...

Teddy Roosevelt impressed the nation with his focus on conservation and while he was president was responsible for pushing to conserve our nation's wilderness in the form of sundry national parks, mostly in the western U.S. This was a worthy enterprise, few can deny. But what is the true purpose of these conservatories but to set aside tracts of land away from developers so that nature can prevail? Is it not a given that these lands should be governed by nature and but set aside by government? So, we all agree that government may take the unspoiled wilderness and save...

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu now attracts 49% of the vote in her bid for re-election while Republican challenger John Kennedy earns 44%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows that, when “leaners” are included, it’s Landrieu 51% Kennedy 45%.

The woman - who according to several witnesses announced that she was a New Orleans police officer - had come to the Treme Community Center to pick up a 7-year-old nephew and, for reasons unknown, became enraged at the driver of the car in front of her in the pickup line, witnesses said. Numerous witnesses said the woman relentlessly honked her car horn. As the situation escalated, she yelled expletives at the other driver and got halfway out of her car and brandished a gun, they said. At that point one of the witnesses called 911... Police Department spokesman Bob...

NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Louisiana State University are forecasting that the "dead zone" off the coast of Louisiana and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico this summer could be the largest on record. The researchers are predicting the area could measure a record 8,800 square miles, or roughly the size of New Jersey. In 2007, the dead zone was 7,903 square miles. The largest dead zone on record was in 2002, when it measured 8,481 square miles. The official measurement of this year's dead zone is slated to be released in late July. Researchers began...

AMITE — Former Hosanna pastor Louis D. Lamonica will not face charges that he sexually abused a 2-year-old girl at his upcoming aggravated rape trial, Assistant District Attorney Don Wall said in court Monday. That case will be severed from the rape charges involving Lamonica’s two sons, ages 11 and younger at the time of the alleged abuse, on which Lamonica will be tried next month in 21st Judicial District Court. Lamonica, 49, of Holden, is among the seven members of the former Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula indicted in 2005 in the abuse of the three children. His trial is...

ToughTimes, Tough Decisions (MATURE CONTENT) BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - During these tough economic times, many people are struggling to make ends meet. The city's housing market is in a slump, gas and food prices are rising, and some say it's either sink or swim. Now, some women are going to great lengths to make some extra cash right in Baton Rouge. It's a fantasy, an escape for some attempting to close off the outside world. However, for the women inside who are barely clothed and strapped into high heels, exotic dancing can be a way to survive. "All of...

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office got information from three more victims against Charles L. Bergeron Sr. Bergeron is currently incarcerated on other sex charges. According to CPSO, a 20-year-old man said Bergeron performed oral sex on him at different times when the victim was 16-years-old. The victim also said this happened at Bergeron's house. Bergeron was charged with 25 counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile. Judge Michael Canaday set his bond at $2.5 million. A 23-year-old man said Bergeron gave him alchohol with Somas and Xanax before performing oral sex on him. Bergeron was charged with forcible rape and...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Both of the major candidates in this year’s U.S. Senate race in Louisiana report raising more than $1.5 million in the last three months, although the incumbent has a big advantage right now in cash on hand. Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s campaign reports cash on hand of $5.5 million. State Treasurer John Kennedy, a Republican, has $2.7 million for his campaign to unseat Landrieu. The figures are from press releases distributed by the campaigns. The campaigns’ reports were due with the Federal Elections Commission Tuesday but had not been posted on the FEC Web site as...

LAFAYETTE — An Amelia businessman who is the husband of a former state representative has pleaded guilty in federal court to harboring illegal aliens. Lenny J. Dartez of Morgan City now faces a sentence of up to five years in jail and a possible maximum $250,000 fine for harboring aliens, according to court records. He will be sentenced in federal court Oct. 22. As part of his plea agreement, Dartez agreed Monday to pay $45,000 in civil penalties to the Department of Homeland Security, $5,000 of which will be paid on or before sentencing with the remainder to be paid...

The total savings will amount to over $16 million dollars. Click "full story" to see the full list of the items vetoed. Monday, July 14, 2008 (From a press release) - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he has line item vetoed 258 items in the state’s operating budget for FY 2008-2009 (HB 1), accounting for more than $16.14 million in non-governmental and governmental projects. Governor Jindal’s 258 vetoes in HB1are more than double the vetoes for all the state’s previous 12 budgets combined. Previously, Governor Kathleen Blanco had 39 line item vetoes in her house budget bills during her...

Washington, D.C. has changed Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu. After years in Washington, more often than not, it's smoke and mirrors from Mary. The latest example is Landrieu's contradictory responses to allegations of bribery. Until Mary Landrieu gives Louisianans an answer, the question remains -- Did Mary Landrieu push a $2 million federally-funded earmark for Washington, D.C. schools in exchange for $30,000 in campaign contributions?

Census Bureau says New Orleans is the fastest-growing large city in the nation, recovering from being wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After being pummeled by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans is showing signs of recovery - ranking as the fastest-growing large city in the nation, according to a government report released Thursday. The Census Bureau said New Orleans' population rose 13.8%, to 239,124, in the year ended July 1, 2007. That was a faster growth rate than any other city with a population of 100,000 or more.

A bill protecting the critical analysis of evolution by Louisiana public school teachers outraged committed Darwinists last month when it cruised through both houses of the state legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. Not a single state senator voted against the Science Education Act and just three of 97 state representatives opposed it—this despite strong public relations campaigns condemning the legislation from several high-profile organizations and individuals. In the wake of that crushing defeat, the rhetoric of the bill's opponents morphed into threats of costly lawsuits. The Louisiana Coalition for Science called the development an "embarrassment" and warned that it would...

Is Gov. Bobby Jindal at odds with LSU? Better put, does Jindal have a beef with LSU system president John V. Lombardi, or vice versa? Those are fair questions to ask in light of the governor's recent appointments to the LSU Board of Supervisors, a powerful board that's responsible for setting the direction of the state's flagship university. The new men on the block, or Jindal's appointments, are R. Blake Chatelain of Alexandria and James W. Moore of Monroe. If confirmed by the state Senate, Chatelain and Moore will represent the 5th District on the LSU board, or the two...

July 08, 2008, 6:00 a.m. Louisiana Confounds the Science Thought PoliceNeo-Darwinism is no longer a protected orthodoxy in the Bayou State's pedagogy. By John G. West To the chagrin of the science thought police, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has signed into law an act to protect teachers who want to encourage critical thinking about hot-button science issues such as global warming, human cloning, and yes, evolution and the origin of life. Opponents allege that the Louisiana Science Education Act is “anti-science.� In reality, the opposition’s efforts to silence anyone who disagrees with them is the true affront to scientific...

You may have heard his name mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate, but if you don't know anything more about Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, you should. Governor Jindal is leading a revolution of conservative reform in Louisiana. He is the most transformational young governor in America today. The principles that motivate his Louisiana Revolution are the same pro-innovation, pro-competition, anti-bureaucracy and anti- big government principles that I urge each week in this newsletter - the same principles that are so desperately needed in Washington, D.C. For those of you who don't yet know him, I'd like to...

Is it really true that the people of Iowa and Wisconsin are morally superior to the residents of New Orleans? That certainly seems to be the attitude of some Wisconsin State Journal readers who send me e-mails on a daily basis crowing about how victims of the floods of Cedar Rapids aren't whining or asking for hand-outs, unlike the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The messages take the same perspective: When floodwaters drowned downtown Cedar Rapids, people got to work filling sandbags and helping one another. When the residents of New Orleans were drowned in the floodwaters unleashed...

Celebrate the courage of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in the fight for freedom. He has shown tremendous courage in signing the Louisiana Science Education Bill, an important blow for academic freedom. "Our freedom to think and consider more than one option is part of what has given America her competitive edge in the international marketplace of ideas,” said biology scientist Caroline Crocker to the Louisiana House Committee on Education. "The current denial of academic freedom rights for those who are judged politically incorrect may put this in jeopardy.” Crocker was testifying on the bill allowing supplemental materials into Louisiana public...

Atlanta, GA (AHN) - High level of formaldehyde have been detected in trailers and mobile home occupied by victims of Hurricane Katrina, says a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Formaldehyde, a preservative commonly used in construction materials, is carcinogenic and can cause breathing problems. The trailers were provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to hurricane victims in 2005. The agency no longer provides them, but the mobile homes are still in use.The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California was tasked by CDC to measure formaldehyde concentrations in trailers and emissions from specific...

Dead Men Walking Why Kennedy v. Louisiana could spell the beginning of the end of the death penalty. by Erin Sheley THERE IS MUCH TO find loathsome about Justice Kennedy's opinion in Kennedy v. Louisiana, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Louisiana statute allowing capital punishment for child rapists is unconstitutional. Most morally disgusting is the Court's conclusory recognition of "an incongruity between the crime of child rape and the harshness of the death penalty," which in this case would have been imposed on a man whose assault on his eight-year-old stepdaughter tore her internal organs away from...

Link only per posting guidelines: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080703/NEWS01/807030324/1060

Outlook 1. From the standpoint of morale, enthusiasm, and confidence, the presidential election can be called no contest—Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain. The Republican candidate has not used the long period since he clinched the nomination to establish an effective campaign strategy. The level of depression among Republicans outside the McCain inner circle is worsening as Obama inches his way rightward, toward the middle of the road (at least rhetorically). 2. Actually, it still looks like a close race on a state-by-state basis. Despite the enthusiasm gap, this remains a winnable race for McCain in a terrible Republican...

Politicians in Louisiana are suddenly discovering a sudden, hitherto unnoticed, urge to retire from public life and become private citizens once again. This eureka moment for about 140 (and growing by the hour!) politicians just “happens” to coincide with the approach of the date when Louisiana’s new ethics laws will come into effect. Perhaps the politicians are nervous—and for good cause. A 1996-2007 study of all states with a population greater-than 2 million found Louisiana to be the most corrupt state, based on public official convictions. The average between the 35 states surveyed was just under 3 convictions per 100,000...

Gov. Bobby Jindal will have to repair his credibility after reneging on his promise to lawmakers not to veto a pay raise doubling their salaries, some of his key legislative leaders said Tuesday. Senate President Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, and House Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, said Jindal's sudden about-face on the pay raise will make it hard for some lawmakers to believe him in the future. "He needs to rebuild trust and do a better job of articulating his position," said Chaisson, who promised he will continue to work with the governor on key issues for...

THE interim between the primaries and the parties’ nominating conventions is, according to ancient writ, a fertile period for presidential campaigns to talk about how they plan to expand the political map in the fall. This year is no different. Barack Obama’s strategists are suggesting that the first African-American presidential nominee of a major political party can parlay increased turnout among black voters into a string of victories in the South. Given that roughly half of all African-Americans live in the 11 former Confederate states, the idea seems intuitive enough. It’s also wrong. Prying Southern electoral votes away from the...

Area lawmakers who opposed raising their pay praised Gov. Bobby Jindal’s veto of the volatile increase on Monday. But two Democratic lawmakers interviewed said Jindal broke his word and others said the veto may jeopardize his proposals in the Louisiana Legislature. “When someone gives you his word and takes it back, you lose a lot of respect,” said state Rep. Damon Baldone, D-Houma and a supporter of the increase. The legislation, Senate Bill 672, would have raised the pay package of rank-and-file lawmakers from about $38,000 per year to nearly $60,000. It was set to take effect today. But Jindal...

BREAKING Bobby Jindal will veto the pay raise. The Governor announced his decision during an 11 a.m. press conference. WWL broke the story. UPDATE x2: Just got word from Steve Sabludowsky - the rally has been canceled. UPDATE: Jindal’s official press release Jun 30, 2008 Governor Jindal Vetoes Legislative Pay Raise Bill BATON ROUGE – At a press conference announcing his line item vetoes in the supplemental spending bill today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he has vetoed the legislative pay raise bill to more than double legislators’ pay, SB 672. “I have opposed this pay raise at every turn...

Breaking News from Louisiana: BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal announced today that he has vetoed the legislative pay raise. After days of saying he would not reject the unpopular measure, Jindal said this morning that he had rejected the measure. Lawmakers in the most recent session voted to raise their annual base salary from $16,800 to $37,500. Jindal has been criticized for his inability to stop the raise before it was passed and his refusal since then to veto the pay raise bill. He pledged during his gubernatorial campaign last year to prohibit an immediate legislative pay raise. The...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal this week signed into law the Louisiana Science Education Act, which allows school districts to permit teachers to present evidence, analysis and critique of evolution and other prevalent scientific theories in public school classrooms. The law came to the governor's desk after overwhelming support in the legislature, including a unanimous vote in the state's Senate and a 93-4 vote in the House. The act has been criticized by some as an attempt to insert religion into science education and hailed by others as a blow for academic freedom in the face of pressure to ignore flaws...

Of this, there can be no dispute: Gov. Bobby Jindal's honeymoon is over. The consensus at home is that Jindal lost his luster by declining to veto the Legislature's lavish pay raise. But Jindal is also playing to a national audience these days, and on that front, he's taking a different sort of hit. While Louisiana voters are up in arms over the revelation that Jindal is not above cutting political deals, the deal killer elsewhere in the country could be an unrelated bill that he signed last week, state Sen. Ben Nevers' "Louisiana Science Education Act." snip

BATON ROUGE -- In a sign that the public frustration about the legislative pay raise has spread to Gov. Bobby Jindal's base, a political novice and former Jindal supporter from Jefferson Parish has filed a recall petition against him. Ryan and Kourtney Fournier of Jefferson submitted paperwork to the secretary of state's office that allows them to attempt to collect the nearly 1 million signatures needed during the next 180 days to force a recall election of the governor. The papers were mailed Thursday and arrived Friday. Ryan Fournier, 32, said he is a registered Republican and was "a huge...

- Louisiana public school teachers can now educate their students about the theory of intelligent design and scientific criticisms of Darwinian evolutionary theory thanks to a new law signed this week by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The Louisiana Science Education Act now allows teachers to supplement the state's curricula with additional scientific materials, but groups opposed to any debate over the "origin of the species" have warned that the new law will become the origin of the lawsuits if they believe it facilitates religion. Lawmakers, however, were enthusiastically in favor of the Act signed by Jindal. The state Senate had...

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has signed a stealth creationist bill into law, and American educational standards take a huge step backward: Science law could set tone for Jindal. The creationist front group called the Discovery Institute is quietly crowing, and maintaining the fiction that the bill is not religiously-based.

Officials in the Louisiana Secretary of State's office say a recall petition has been filed for Governor Bobby Jindal, making him the fifth elected official to face a recall attempt since the state legislature voted itself a payraise earlier this month. For a recall election to be called, the signatures of one-third of all registered voters in the state must be collected. That would be a total of 960,285 voters. Ryan Fournier of Jefferson submitted the recall petition. Other lawmakers facing recall attempts include House Speaker Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown), Rep. Steve Pugh (R-Ponchatoula), Rep. Joseph Lopinto (R-Metairie) and Rep. Franklin...

Hurdles of language, mistrust addressed: A burgeoning Hispanic population has helped rebuild New Orleans during the past two and a half years. Now officials are coming to grips with the challenge of moving and finding safe refuge for that population should another hurricane threaten. Since Hurricane Katrina, as many as 14,000 Hispanic immigrants have arrived in New Orleans to provide muscle and skills for the recovery effort. Now civic groups as well as government officials say overcoming cultural and language barriers between emergency officials and Spanish speakers -- especially the undocumented -- has taken on new urgency.