An election to fill two statewide vacancies is a little over three weeks away, but it would be an understatement to say that the general public is not, as yet, paying much attention. Most voters have no idea a major election is just around the corner. Look for a big advertising blitz to begin for...Read More

We have heard the message over and over again for months. The whole Katrina recovery effort will take time. There are checks and balances we must build in, but with a great deal of effort, we hopefully will soon get back to our pre-Katrina life. Just hang in there with us, say our public officials,...Read More

Does anyone still take serious vacations? In the “good old days,” schools did not start again until the Monday after Labor Day. The last two weeks in August used to be a popular time for families to get away to the beach for a final summer fling. But not anymore. The American family vacation seems...Read More

Special statewide elections in Louisiana are only six weeks away. At the top of the ballot on September 30th will be an office second in line to the governorship. All the candidates are harping on the same theme. Each wants to be the business development voice of the state. Will the Governor let that happen?...Read More

Could the entire federal, state and local justice system operating in New Orleans be more dysfunctional? It’s hard to imagine how things can get much worse. From federal and state judges to a police department that seems to have lost any set of priorities, there seems to be almost unanimous consensus that the present system...Read More

The threat of Allstate Insurance Company leaving Louisiana put insurance issues on the front burner and on the front pages of the state’s daily newspapers all this week. Would the state’s second largest insurance company actually pick up and pull out? Yes says the current insurance commissioner (Jim Donelon). Nothing but a hoax says major...Read More

Allstate Insurance Company stirred up a fire storm this week by announcing that they planned to drop hurricane coverage for some 30,000 of its Louisiana policy holders in 18 coastal parishes. But this could just be the tip of the iceberg as other companies selling property insurance along the gulf Coast consider the same option....Read More

I have penned several recent columns about how appointed judges on both the state and federal level often seem to be exempt from basic rules of accountability. That is why in a number of state legislatures throughout the country, as well as in Congress itself, proposals are being offered for more accountability and limiting the...Read More

Whatever final result is reached in the current high profile investigation of New Orleans Congressman Bill Jefferson, there are plenty of losers all around. Whether or not the six-term Congressman is indicted and convicted, his days of serving as a major Louisiana elected official seem to be on a track to come to an early...Read More

Legislators at the state level and members of Congress in Washington are becoming more and more concerned about how appointed judges throughout the country are exempt from basic rules of accountability. In Washington, Congress is seriously considering legislation to establish an Inspector General, who will have the power to investigate federal judges. Simply put, a...Read More

Everyone knows a man’s home is his castle – Agreed? The basic right of privacy in one’s place of residence has been a fundamental founding principle in any Democratic system, going back to England in the 1600s. William Pitt expressed this concept well in the English Parliament in 1763, “The poorest man may, in his...Read More

Remember the 1978 movie “Heaven Can Wait?” Julie Christie looks up at Warren Beatty and says, “You’re the quarterback. You’re the one.” I guess there’s nothing like hanging out with the quarterback. And that’s exactly what I got to do last week in Shreveport at the Doug Williams Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic. Doug was quite...Read More

Louisiana’s Governor says it’s time to play “hardball” with Washington, so she plans to file a lawsuit stopping the federal government’s planned August 17th offshore oil lease sale. She is drawing the line in the dirt unless Louisiana starts receiving 50 percent of the offshore oil revenues now going exclusively to the federal government. Now...Read More

Would you believe it? The nation focused on the recent Mayor’s Race in New Orleans and you would assume there would be a break. Not so. A major election, involving the selection of two statewide officials as well as congressmen, and many other local officials, is only four months away. A hotly contested race is...Read More

Business executives and academics are joining forces all this week on the North Carolina coast to debate and pinpoint America�s future in the 21st century. How does our country fit into the global flow of ideas, commodities, and rapid development of technology? Will the U.S. continue to lead, or be swept up in the cross...Read More

The polls in New Orleans open up in less than 48 hours. And by Saturday night, we will know the results of one of the most watched and scrutinized mayor’s races in the country. When the smoke settles and all of the votes are cast, whoever wins will not just be “the Man” in New...Read More

Less than three weeks. June 1st. It’s almost here. Hurricane season again. Is Louisiana ready? You be the judge. First of all, we’ve been told by reliable sources that New Orleans’ levees are prepared for no more than a Category 2 storm, and that the repairs being done to the levee system throughout this area...Read More

A 21-year-old Louisiana soldier was killed in Iraq last week. He is the 54th service man from Louisiana who has died since the combat began in March 2003. And you would have a hard time reading about this young man’s death. It was buried in the back pages of his hometown newspaper. Have we become...Read More

In the New Orleans mayor’s race, the two run-off candidates began posturing late election night when it became obvious that the incumbent and the Lieutenant-Governor would face each other for the top prize. Their messages were pretty much the same. Stick to the issues and keep race out of the run-off. And you know what?...Read More

My dog, Shorty, a five-and-a-half pound Yorkie, travels a lot with me. I have written about her before. We included wife Gladys this time around, and headed out a month ago on an extended trip to the west. A family wedding, visits with numerous relatives along the way, spiced up with stops for skiing, hiking,...Read More

Taking a break from a family vacation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, I went to the Internet and checked on all the local news back home in Louisiana. The insurance news for homeowners, particularly in Louisiana, was bleak. Headlines blaring 49 percent rate increases, companies refusing to pay claims, little known causes that completely wipe...Read More

My wife, Gladys and I were in Shreveport last week attending a funeral. Because of a houseful of guests at my mother’s house, we decided to stay at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, a bustling enterprise on the Red River in Bossier right across from downtown Shreveport. Gladys wondered off to the gift shops as...Read More

For weeks, the LSU Board of Supervisors has been embroiled in a controversy over the selection of a new president for the LSU system. Rumors have been flying for months that incumbent head William Jenkins was being pushed aside by a handful of the present Board with his successor already handpicked. In a recent special...Read More

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco says it’s time to play hardball. Many would say it’s about time. But is attempting to block the sale of federal mineral leases off the coast of Louisiana the way to begin? Even Chris Mathews might raise his eyebrows on this one. Here’s the background. The U.S. Department of the Interior,...Read More

If there is going to be a defining issue in the fall race for Insurance Commissioner, it’s going to be property insurance in Louisiana. Both pre-Katrina and post-Katrina, finding affordable property insurance for homes and businesses has become more and more difficult. The cost has skyrocketed, and many homeowners are dramatically underinsured. And unfortunately, under...Read More

Availability and affordability. The buzzwords when it comes to insurance for small consumers and big businesses alike. The insurance climate wasn’t much before Katrina. But the overall insurance climate took quite a dip in the last five months. Get ready for a knock down drag out on what’s important to the insurance buying public. We...Read More

Now let me get this straight. As part of levee board reform, the Louisiana Legislature, with the Governor’s blessing, will split the oversight of flood protection in New Orleans between two levee boards with a third board over these two boards. And this is supposed to be progress? Up until now, our state has taken...Read More

Do you want to know how disjointed and out of focus the Louisiana Democratic Party is right now? Just look at what happened in last week’s election for a state party chairman. Baton Rouge lawyer and long-time party loyalist, Chris Whittington was the early favorite, and ended up winning a big victory. But look who...Read More

In Louisiana, politicos are always looking to the next political race, or a new vacancy that needs to be filled. And with speculation that present Lieutenant-Governor Mitch Landrieu is about to announce his candidacy for Mayor of New Orleans, the rumor mill has already begun as to who will take his place if his campaign...Read More

In a normal election cycle, 2006 would be a somewhat dull election year with a contested congressional election or two. Not a lot to spark the average voter’s interest. But no more. Get ready for a whole litany of contests, from possible three statewide elections, to a series of hot congressional matches as well as...Read More

A major effort is being made to recall Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. A website set up to give information about the recall effort received, according to those organizing the effort, some 200,000 hits in the first day alone. Petitions are being circulated, and there is supposedly a major effort underway to obtain the required signatures...Read More

Here in the Crescent City, the lines would seem to have been drawn in the dirt. Many residents want a quick election to pass judgment on those who want to govern the city in the future. Others want to delay the election. And political motives are attributed to both sides. Who benefits by the changing...Read More