Wanted: Little Used Portable Levees
Anybody know where I can get some low mileage portable levees? I got to git me some of dem, me.

Shut Up!
Informed sources tell TPRTK that, on separate occasions within the last two weeks, Parish Administrator Cullen Curole and DPW Chief Ray Cheramie have met with, at least, the Lockport field office personnel and advised them to keep their mouths' shut. OOPS! I guess by the information contained in the first sentence above getting out, the gag order ain't working.

Yo Charorge! There once was a political scandal called Watergate, similar to our Generatorgate, Credit Cardgate and Cowpasturegate scandals. One of the lessons to be learned from that scandal is that it ain't the crime that will git ya', its the COVERUP!

You can't prevent employees from leaking information, especially if they ain't happy.

Who Said Kenna Was Crookit?
"The chief administrative officer position will remain open for now, Muniz said. Capitano's chief, Cedric Floyd, remains suspended without pay, pending an investigation into whether he committed malfeasance in office by allegedly storing hurricane-relief supplies at his home." Times-Picayune, Wednesday, June 28, 2006

That's how they do things in Kenner.

In Lafourche Parish, our DPW Chief lends generators to his family after Katrina and uses Parish equipment to do work on his and his friends' private property, besides being cited for battery of a Councilman, and he is lauded as a hero.

Dude! What am I missing?

Charlotte Randolph: Leader, Prima Donna or Hypocrite?
I stumbled upon an interesting story from the Comet datelined April 23, 2004. In the article, Charlotte is addressing the Council on Aging. She suggests that instead of asking for a tax increase, the Council should adopt some cost cutting measures. One was that the agency's vans would begin using gasoline from the parish maintenance barns in order to reduce expenses.

Sounds like a sensible measure to me. Guess what? It ain't good enough for Charlotte. She tanks up at retail fuel distributors and not at the parish barns. I guess when it comes to saving the Parish money, Charlotte can't be personally inconvenienced, but everybody else can. (Totals spent by Charorge on retail gas coming soon!)

Leadership? Charlotte, you got alot to learn. Hypocracy? You're the expert!

Charorge: In Denial, Head in the Sand, or Living on Another Planet?
In speaking on behalf of beleaguered DPW Chief Ray Cheramie during the debate over Tommy Lasseigne's resolution to ask Queen Charlotte to terminate his employment at Tuesday's Council meeting, she stated that he has her vote of confidence because he has done a fabulous job for the parish. She also stated that the Parish is on the brink of greatness, that a very few people want to dwell on the negative and not the positive, that the voters voted out the negative dudes, except, she implied, the demonic Daniel Lorraine, 2 1/2 years ago and they want to see the parish move forward and to see Parish Government act professionally.

OK, where do we start? Within the last two weeks it has been revealed that Ray Cheramie has not only lent three public generators to members of his family, but has also used parish equipment and a worker to perform work on his private property. Additionally, Mr. Cheramie has been cited for simple battery of a Councilman and Mr. Cheramie signed many right-of-way agreements and performed drainage work on private property owned by his friends over nearly a two years period without Council approval. If that's a FABULOUS and PROFESSIONAL job on Charlotte's planet, I would hate to see what mediocrity would require.

As for Queen Charlotte, it appears that when she was sworn in, she apparently believed that Parish property became her personal property. She charged travel, food and alcohol to Parish credit cards for her husband. She allowed her husband to drive a Parish vehicle, which he then wrecked, with us paying for the damages. She paid salaried employees overtime. She's been bitch slapped by the DA and the Comet for scheduling Council meetings without giving Public notice. Many members of the Public have complained at Council meetings and on KLRZ that she does not return phone calls. Her administration botched an appointment to the St. John Fire District, that Mr. Dwaine Andras was up for, so badly that it ain't even funny.

Is this a pattern of an administration with an air that they are simply not accountable for actions that would get you and I jail time or fired? Are you starting to see the parallels between Charlotte Randolph and George W. Bush yet? That positive/negative gibberish is sounding an aweful lot like that goober thing Bush says "they hate us for our freedom".

Is it negative to bring this information to the Public's attention or is it a public service? Is keeping this information secret being positive or signs of an administration with a desire to cover-up the facts that show them in a bad light? In Charlotte's book, does being professional mean towing the company line or does it mean a code of conduct that requires you to follow a certain standard of behavior and working until the job is done?

Like Bush, Charlotte hasn't gotten the message that it is not "a very few negative" people talking bad about them, it is the weight of Public opinion that is decidely negative towards both.

OxyRush Can't Git It Up?!?!
AP story reports OxyRush was detained at the West Palm Beach airport by Customs for having a bottle of Viagra, but no prescription for it to be found.

Portable Levee System
I wanted to share this witchya'll. Great idea! Portable Levees.

Ray, Wreck and Public Drinking
Councilman Tommy Lasseigne has added a resolution to the agenda for Tuesday's Council meeting recommending Charlotte requests Mr. Ray Cheramie's resignation as Public Works Director of Lafourche Parish.

Also on the agenda is a resolution sponsored by Councilman Daniel Lorraine requesting a DA's opinion on whether the Council approving the payment of damages in George's wreck was legal.

Additionally, Councilman Mark Atzenhoffer has placed a proposed ordinance on the agenda to prohibit public consumption of alcohol.

(Let's see how consistent Mark will be. He's OK with Charlotte and Ray misusing their positions, but wants to prohibit us from drinking a cool beer in our yard after work or at a Mardi Gras parade.)

Why Can Dat Asshole Say All That Stuff?
Because of New York Times v. Sullivan, a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision which set out the rule on defamation cases by public officials. A public official can recover in a libel action only if and when a court finds that the libelous statement about the official was made with " ‘actual malice'—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not."

The burden of proof is a very difficult one to meet in these type cases. That is why so few public servants bring, much less win, defamation lawsuits for statements made criticizing them.

Additionally, those who thrust themselves into the public eye are considered to invite close scrutiny and are therefore treated as public officials. Meaning they must also show "actual malice" in order to prevail in a defamation action. An example of this would be George Randolph, Charlotte's stage husband and former chauffeur.

Nero Fiddles While Rome Burns!

The AC in the courthouse annex in Thibodaux, which houses two divisions of court and the clerk of court's office, failed completely this week, after being on the fritz for the prior two weeks. This is but the latest failure by Charlotte Randolph's Adminstration to get the job done. Are the money problems being experienced by the Parish due to Charlotte's mismanagement, which she doesn't want you to know about, while trying to distract your attention away from the problem with photo ops, going to hamper the timely repair of the system? Without AC at this time of the year, the court system in this Parish will come to a grinding halt. Now Charlotte has all the Judges and Clerk of Court personnel, as well as a few attorneys and members of the Public attending court, miffed at her. Maybe this is a good time to file suit against the Parish.;)

(Note: A large portable AC unit on a trailer was installed either late Thursday or early Friday.)

A few less photo ops and a little more time spent at your desk would have made a big difference, Queen Charlotte. But now, it's too late.

To end on a positive note, the cattle grazing in all those pastures between Larose and Lockport are quite satisfied with all the millions of dollars of drainage provided by the Parish.

Baby, Won't You Drive My Car?
Would the reader who wrote "[i]s it the Parish President's husband driving her car over the weekend in Grand Isle????" please call me. I'm in the book. I know that you or someone else communicated a similar allegation to a friend of mine.

Unless you step up to the plate, there is nothing we can do to stop it. Imagine if we are faced with a car full of dead kids, instead of only $17,000 of property damage. Do you want that on your conscience?

A Public Purpose
I once defended a man charged with attempted second degree murder. The person he shot was a notorious crack dealer. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of aggravated battery, a less severe crime. Did not my client's act serve a public purpose by taking one of our community's parasites off the streets for a couple of months? Yet, the jury held my client accountable, nothwithstanding whatever service he may have provided our community.

I suspect we will be hearing, in the near future, alot about how certain drainage work on Mr. Ray Cheramie's property served some public purpose. When you hear that, think about my client. I think he has about 5 more years of his sentence to serve.

Comet Story on DPW Chief Battery Citation
Here's the Comet story on Ray Cheramie's battery charge. Arraignment is set for July 7.

Parish Equipment And Employees Performed Work On DPW Chief's Private Property, Part 1
In late June, 2005, Lafourche Parish Public Works Director Ray Cheramie used Parish equipment operated by a Parish employee to perform work on land he owns in Larose.

Documents obtained from the Parish Administration reveal that Mr. Cheramie signed a "Temporary Servitude Grant" on June 1, 2005 granting the Parish, through the Council, a "servitude through and across along and adjacent to an existing drainage ditch on" his property "for the purpose of sweeping and cleaning said drainage ditch". Although it is the common practice of President Charlotte Randolph's Administration for Mr. Cheramie to sign such agreements on behalf of the Parish, no one signed in that capacity in this agreement. The agreement simply contains Mr. Cheramie's signature as grantor.

A "Daily Maintenance Report" from the Lockport Field Office, dated June 28, 2005, reveals that a Parish employee and excavator performed work at "R C Cattle pasture". "R C Cattle Co." appears on a wrought iron sign over Serville Lane, where Mr. Cheramie resides. Research in the Louisiana Secretary of State's corporations database reveals that Ray Joseph Cheramie was Director of R. C. Cattle Company, Inc. until its charter was revoked on February 17, 1999.

By letter dated December 21, 2005, DA Cam Morvant advised the Council that the Parish Charter required that all so-called one-time right-of-way agreements, like the one signed by Mr. Cheramie, first must be approved by Council ordinance. The agreement signed by Mr. Cheramie was never approved by the Parish Council.

In addition to this work appearing to be in violation of the Charter, similar use of public property and personnel for a public servant's personal purposes or to improve his personal property is clearly prohibited by law and has resulted in criminal prosecutions and malfeasance, theft and unauthorized use of a movable convictions in other Parishes in the past.

La. Revised Statute 42:1461 provides, in part, that any public official, whether elected or appointed, by accepting such office or employment assumes a personal obligation not to misuse any property belonging to or under the custody or control of the public entity in which he holds office or is employed. The breach of such an obligation gives rise to an action in favor of the public entity for the recovery of any such property and for any other damages resulting from the breach.

In other words, this statute requires all public officials to administer public property entrusted to them for public purposes and as a fiduciary. See La. Atty. Gen. Opinion No. 03-0393

The same Attorney General's Opinion goes on to say "[i]mproper administration of public funds and property can also give rise to an action for malfeasance in office. In State v. Groce, 786 So.2d 200, a Mayor was convicted of malfeasance in office for pawning a gun owned by the city in order to obtain cash for his personal use. The court determined that such action was 'clearly in violation of Article VII, Sec. 14 of the Louisiana Constitution and Revised Statute 42:1461.'"

In State v. Hudnall, 522 So.2d 616 (La. App. 4 Cir., 1988), the defendant was Superintendent of the Plaquemines Parish Belle Chasse ferry. During 1982-1984 he allegedly instructed several parish employees on various occasions to siphon diesel fuel and motor oil from the ferry and transport it in a parish vehicle to his privately owned shrimp boat, and to do repair and maintenance work on his boat during working hours. He did not pay the employees for those services nor was their parish pay reduced by the hours spent on the boat nor did he reimburse the Parish. The defendant was charged with six counts of malfeasance in office. He was convicted on all counts.


Copyright 2006, Carl A. Chauvin, All Rights Reserved

Next Big Thing
TPRTK will be revealing information this week which will eclipse the generator scandal, or at least it should. It won't have quite the moral outrage factor that the generator story did, but the activities the information reveals have far graver consequences in store for the actor. I have provided alot of foreshadowing or hints concerning this matter in the last several weeks, many through links to pictures. I have received the documents I need to post my findings, but I am awaiting some more that I want, which I should receive this week.

Ya'll just need to relax and enjoy the suspense. If ya'll want to speculate on what this information will reveal, this is a free country, feel free to do so. I can't stop you from spreading rumors.

Generator Story Electrifies Legislature! Can Hollywood Be Far Behind?
State Rep. Loulan J. Pitre, Jr. gave me a heads-up via email today that he has proposed the following amendment to two of Senator Jay Dardenne's ethics bills, one having to do with sport events tickets:

"§1113.1. Emergencies; prohibited preferences
No public servant shall offer, loan, or donate the property or resources of his governmental entity or loaned or donated to his governmental entity in cases of an emergency for the use of members of his immediate family in a manner that is preferential to members of his immediate family over members of the general public."

Unfortunately, a majority of the House has problems with not being able to accept Saints tickets from lobbyists, so this amendment will not likely become law this session.

Rep. Pitre informs me that, in that event, he plans on introducing the amendment as a stand-alone bill at the next possible session.

This is the second piece of legislation this session deemed necessary as a result of information brought to light by TPRTK. The first was a bill introduced by Rep. Damon Baldone due to information uncovered during the course of our investigation of Charlotte Randolph's expenses. The purpose of that latter legislation was to exempt public credit card account numbers from the Public Records Act.

More Trouble Every Day
According to documents obtained from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office, embattled DPW Chief Ray Cheramie was arrested Wednesday, June 7, for simple battery. The charge arose from an incident which allegedly occurred between Mr. Cheramie and Councilman Daniel Lorraine after the February 13 Council meeting, wherein Mr. Lorraine alleges that Mr. Cheramie pushed him.

No arraignment date is known. However, that first appearance is usually approximately one month after the date of arrest, so we can expect an early July date. Of course, that is contingent on the DA filing a bill of information. He has total prosecutorial discretion, which means that he may not be forced to prosecute all charges presented to him by the Sheriff. Sometimes, after evaluating the police report and witness statements, the DA determines not enough evidence is present in order to successfully prosecute a charge.

Stay tuned!

Cameron Parish Generators Redux
Dat asshole Carl A. Chauvin made a big d-d-deal (Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
Just because we had AC the week after Katrina and ya'll d-d-didn't (Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
Boy, that cold beer was awful cool, while you all just s-s-stewed (Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
Dey wasn't our generators, dey was jus' on l-l-l-oan (Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
I only gave 3 out of nine to my f-f-family (Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
I left 3 at da barn and 1 on my truck in case my family needed a-a-another(Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
Thanks for the overtime, I wish I could have kep' i-i-it(Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
Hope I stay out of jail, I jus' couldn't hep i-i-it(Talkin' 'bout Cameron Parish Generators)
I’m just talkin’ ’bout Cameron Parish G-G-Generators
I’m just talkin’ ’bout Cameron Parish G-G-Generators
I’m just talkin’ ’bout Cameron Parish G-G-Generators

These were Cameron Parish Generators
These were Cameron Parish Generators
These were Cameron Parish Generators, baybay!
These were Cameron Parish Generators, baybay!


- credit and apologies again to Pete Townsend

Generator Mania!
I spoke to a Councilman today who received 16 phone calls Saturday from constituents irate over Ray Cheramie handing out the generators to members of his extended family. The poor guy had not read the Friday Comet article revealing the outrage, so he was blind-sided and a bit confused. He told me he is ready to vote. Your job is to guess which way.

Another Councilman tells me that Mr. Cheramie reminded the Councilman of "all the things" Mr. Cheramie "had done for" the Councilman. Wow! Is that subtle enough persuasion? What is it about PUBLIC SERVICE that Mr. Cheramie doesn't understand?

Get to the Point, Kirk!
Capt. Kirk, the host of the wildly popular Talk on the Bayou on KLRZ FM 100.3, has started a blog. Check it out.

Hells Bells! The Gazette Reprints Comet Generator Article!
What awaits Parish President Charorge Randolph on their return from Washington, D.C. where Charlotte testified before a Senate (or was it House?) Committee? The Comet Generator story reprinted in its entirety in her former paper, the Lafourche Gazette, in today's widely distributed edition. I guess whoever is living from Raceland south to Grand Isle who hasn't heard about this scandal yet has now. For the fourth time in the last five days, one or more of our local media has covered this story.

Now, can we get some ACCOUNTABILITY? I don't think the Public will be satisfied with a simple verbal reprimand, discipline which Mr. Cheramie apparently is not taking very seriously.

Informed sources tell TPRTK that Queen Charlotte authorized Lord Cheramie to take the 5 generators in a staff meeting held within the air-conditioned confines of the Barrios building one day in early Sept., 2005 and that attempts to distribute the generators equitably were not as grueling as described in the article.

If Ray Cheramie has loaned Public property to his extended family, and is unrepentent about it, is it too much of a stretch to wonder what other private uses he may have made of our Public property?

Another question, did we return Cameron Parish's favor after Hurricane Rita leveled those poor people?

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. For you constituents of Phillip Gouaux, here are his phone numbers: 532-5226 and 532-4646. His cell number is 209-1499. He's cool with Ray Cheramie giving Parish generators to his family, just as long as Phillip keeps getting drainage for all those cattle pastures. Did any of ya'll have any family members with medical needs who could have used a generator?

Do ya'll want me to reprint the lyrics to Cameron Parish Generators, yet, baby?

Is it just me
Or did Parish Administrator Cullen Curole come off as a self-righteous, condescending, arrogant prick on KLRZ today?

Cullen is fond of questioning people's motives. He asks us, implicitly, to presume that his motives are as pure as the driven snow and superior, while the motives of those who have the audacity to question his position are suspect. Earth to Cullen! This is politics, baby! Everybodys' motives are suspect, yes, even your's. (After all, isn't, at least, some of your reputation riding on the successes and failures of this administration?) That's a given. Although the Randolph Administration underestimates the Public, the Public is sophisticated enough to understand that everyone's motives are self-serving to one degree or another. Debaters usually resort to attempting to divert our attention from the issue by questioning the motives of their opponent when the opponent has the killer argument.

It's whether an issue has merit, dear Cullen; that's what the Public wants to hear debated.

Ray on the Radio?
Capt. Kirk, the host of KLRZ 100.3 FM's Talk on the Bayou, informs me that Mr. Ray Cheramie, Lafourche Parish Dept. of Public Works Director, and Cullen Curole, Parish Administrator, are scheduled to be on the show Wednesday around 10:30.

I think I'll tape that one. The fur should fly!

That number again is 798-1003.

Comet Editorializes Again On Generators
In today's edition of the Comet, the editorial staff weighs in on the Generator scandal.

Darryl Blasts Away!
Check out Darryl's take on the Generator scandal.

So What?
There was around 35 to 40 minutes of discussion of the Cameron Parish Generator scandal on KLRZ's Talk of the Bayou program this morning. It was about 80% finding Mr. Cheramie had done wrong. Brandi, Mr. Cheramie's daughter, called in three times and accused the host, Capt. Kirk, of being biased. I guess bringing up the topic and taking calls from people on both sides of the issue is being biased in the nonaccountable, immoral and unethical universe of the Charlotte Randolph Administration.

Your's truly came in for some biting remarks. Brandi took offense with my linking her marriage announcement to prove the connection between Mr. Cheramie and the recipient of that particular generator. The link served its purpose and was removed today.

Additionally, Brandi accused me of being financed by somebody and associating with Daniel Lorraine, implying that Daniel is someone you shouldn't associate with. Her former accusation is false and even if it were true is irrelevant. The latter is true. Daniel is a friend of mine. Besides Daniel, I associate with alot of people Brandi would likely look down her nose at. But, that's her problem, not mine.

If I am to be judged, then I should be judged on whether I am credible. I accused Charlotte Randolph of misusing a Parish credit card. She hasn't denied it. In court, that would be an uncontested, proven fact. The DA punted that to the Attorney General. I accused Ray Cheramie of loaning public generators to his family. He hasn't denied it. That is also an uncontested, proven fact. The DA punted that to the Ethics Commission. I filed suit to obtain uncensored documents. The Council conceded the case.

Why I do what I do is irrelevant. The "why he does it" or my motive is a method used in argumentation to confuse; to take your attention away from the central issue. What is relevant is whether I can prove my accusations. Since I began my scrutiny of the Randolph Administration, I appear to be batting a thousand in that department.

The problem with Mr. Cheramie's actions is not so much that his mother got a generator. I think the Public could have let that go. The problem is that out of 5 generators he was "issued", 3 went to people with familial connections to him. That, the Public cannot forgive. And that, my friends, is the central issue in this story.

Houma Courier/Daily Comet Editorializes On The Generator Story
"Cheramie’s actions lend credence to the perception that your chance of getting served by government depends on who you know. Lots of people already distrust government; this kind of thing just makes it worse."

That quote appears in Keith Magill's editorial in today's edition.

I get accused of being over the top. What's new? The story got out. That's the purpose of this blog and all the satisfaction my ego requires.

An informed Public is essential to the preservation of this fragile thing we call democracy. I think that is a loose paraphrase of something Thomas Jefferson once said.

Offended by the Generator story?
If so, PLEASE voice your opinion at the Council meeting Tuesday, June 13 at 6 P.M. at the Barrios Center in Raceland. Public comments are at the beginning of the meeting. Just fill out a card and hand it to Brent Callais before the meeting.

Additionally, please call KLRZ Monday and Tuesday between 10 A.M. and Noon and express your feelings. The number is 798-1003. (Thank you God for Jerry "Truck" Gisclair, one of my heroes.)

Also, for you constituents of Phillip Gouaux, here are his phone numbers: 532-5226 and 532-4646. His cell number is 209-1499. He's cool with Ray Cheramie giving Parish generators to his family. Did you have any family members with medical needs who could have used a generator?

Don't let your or your loved ones' suffering in the aftermath of Katrina fade so easily from Charlotte Randolph's consciousness.

"They were basically sitting not being used" - Cullen Curole
You'll find that clap trap in the Comet lead story in today's edition about the Cameron Parish Generators.

O.K. Mr. Curole. Ya'll were monitoring KLRZ, right? And didn't ya'll hear a multitude of calls from people with medical needs asking for generators? Now, why did it not dawn on one of you who was getting paid double time and one half that you should call KLRZ and offer the generators for public use?

Now, Mr. Curole, you say that ya'll planned on using the equipment not given to Mr. Cheramie's family at the Galliano Annex to recharge cell phones and for ice, but the lights were turned on before you could get them there. Hurricane Katrina hit Monday, August 29. The Generators arrived in Lockport on Thursday, Sept. 1. Mr. Cheramie thought about getting two of them for his family on Friday. The lights didn't come on at the annex until Monday, Sept. 5. Why were those two not routed to the Galliano Annex instead?

Sorry, Cullen. That line of defense is either disingenuous, a sign of total and complete ineptitude, or par for the course operating in the corrupt and morally and ethically bankrupt environment that is the Randolph Administration.

Ya'll might be able to sell that line of bullshit to Phillip Gouaux since he is getting 44% of the drainage projects, but the Public just ain't going to buy it.

I Protect My Sources
I know that morale is low for Lafourche Parish Administration employees with all the uncertainty due to the chaos that has enveloped Charlotte Randolph's regime. You employees know alot that the Public needs to know. I know that I have only scratched the surface, considering all the rumors swirling around, the truthfulness of which I don't have enough corroberation to write about. Share what you know with me and rest assured that I will not need to use your name. ("Chauvin said his inquiry ... was prompted by a tip from a source he would not reveal" - Comet, June 9, 2006). Give me leads. Tell me what questions to ask or what kind of documents to ask for.

Specifically, I need information on work performed in cow pastures you may have moral, ethical or legal qualms about and grass seed.

You know its the right thing to do.

Yet Another Lafourche-centric Blog
Wayne emailed me a few days ago, but didn't give me his url. I stumbled upon his site today. Check out his blog

Is DPW Chief's Job On The Line?
TPRTK has had conversations with various Councilmen today that reveal that Parish President Charlotte "Clueless" Randolph and DPW Chief Ray Cheramie are trying to rally support to stave off a vote by the Council to terminate Mr. Cheramie's job at Tuesday's meeting prompted, in part, by the uproar caused by our revelation on May 26 that he loaned public generators to his family members in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Cheramie is trying to meet Councilmen individually so that he can try to convince them his actions were justified. Like, each Councilman doesn't know a large number of his constituents who needed a generator due to medical necessity that week after the storm?

What promises are being made in return? Don't we have a right to know? Councilmen, if you cut a deal to avoid firing Mr. Cheramie, how will you be able to face your constituents who ask why their sister who was dying of cancer or mother who has heart or lung disease wasn't entitled to a Parish generator?

By the way, besides Mr. Cheramie's actions being morally reprehensible and unethical, they were also illegal. The State Constitution prohibits loaning public assets to anyone. One exception to this prohibition is if the loan is for those in need and, in that case, there must be some objective critia in place to assure the neediest are those in receipt of the benefit. In other words, the Council would have to have had a policy in place which contained a test for neediness to avoid the playing of favorites which we saw in this case where Mr. Cheramie's family may have been needy, but what they all had in common was some familial connection to Mr. Cheramie, as opposed to the hundreds who were needy but not connected to Mr. Cheramie.

Why Must We Borrow Money?
WWL TV reported tonight that the Twin Spans connecting Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes will be replaced beginning in July at a cost of $629 million with financing coming from emergency federal funds. The project will be completed within three years.

Meanwhile, in one of the best public relations snow jobs I have seen, La. 1 Collision (misspelled by design) celebrated, as if we actually got something, the securing of the $66 million loan from TIFIA, or the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, to begin the Golden Meadow to Fourchon project. The loan will be repaid through the extraction of tolls from those poor people in Grand Isle and workers at Fourchon, who will have no alternative to get home or to work. (See Charlotte, Ted has mastered making BS appear to be diamonds.)

It might just be me, but the times I've been approved for a loan, I have not felt like throwing a party. If I earn a wad of cash I don't have to pay back, that calls for a celebration.

Now, how much public money was invested in La. 1 Collision for them to get us a loan? Who got the money for the Twin Spans? Maybe we should invest in them instead.

Parish-Wide Drainage Servitudes, 1-1-06 to 5-6-06
TPRTK has been provided the following study of Parish-wide drainage servitudes approved by the Parish Council between January 1 and May 6, 2006. The information was obtained from Council agendas for that period. Following is a breakdown of the Districts which got the work:

Phillip Gouaux - 14
Lindell Toups - 11
Brent Callais - 4
Tommy Lassaigne - 1
Mark Atzenhoffer - 1
Daniel Lorraine - 1
Tyrone Williams - 0
Mike Delatte - 0
Mike Matherne - 0

TOTAL - 32

On July 15, a proposition will be on the ballot for the renewal of a Parish-wide drainage tax of 3.4 mils. Is it fair to expect the voters of Lafourche Parish to renew this tax when it appears that an overwhelming amount of the work is done in only two districts? Sounds like the answer for those Districts is to form their own drainage district and tax themselves for their drainage needs.

President Randolph and DPW chief Cheramie live in Councilman Gouaux's District. With what you know about the self-serving history of these two people, how can you be surprised that the District they live in is the one getting 44% of the drainage work? How many cows are these drainage projects serving?

Why doesn't the Council propose a coastal restoration tax? Certainly the rest of the Parish would be willing to support such a proposition.;)

Comet Bitch-Slaps "Clueless", Finally
In a column in Friday's Comet, the viciousness of which shocks even me, Michael Gorman, the City Editor, vilifies hapless Parish President Charlotte "Clueless" Randolph for not knowing she needed to give public notice for that meeting with the Shell Oil executive and the Council, I have written about before.

(Personally, I think it is not as clear cut as DA Morvant stated. You can't assume that simply because a quorum is present that public notice must be given. What if, instead of wanting to discuss public business, the Shell executive wanted to provide some entertainment, such as a stripper? No public business would be transacted. It would be more like lobbying. Under those circumstances, I don't believe public notice would be necessary, even if a quorum of the Council was present.)

Gorman opines, as I have so many times, that when you don't know something, you should ask someone who does. "Clueless" doesn't seem to know when to ask.

To me, this issue is minor next to the credit card scandal, the attempt by the Council to raise the cost of public records copies to discourage my requests and the censorship of the records I requested. All those issues were ripe for editorializing, but the Comet's editorial page remained silent. At least, maybe, they are finally in the game. Good thing, cuz the game appears to be nearing an end.

The true test now for the Comet is whether they have the testiculars to go with the Cameron Parish Generator story. Stay tuned!

"Wouldn't kiss all the asses that they told me to". Neither Me!
Go out and buy the Dixie Chicks' new Taking the Long Way record today! This is one time when the record buying public and the critics are on the same page about a record. It debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Country and Pop charts selling more than 500K units in the first week and the critics are giving it glowing praise. The record mostly addresses the heart-breaking consequences of speaking their minds about W. Notwithstanding, they are unbowed and "Not Ready To Make Nice". Time and again Natalie Maines stuns with the passion expressed in her voice. The harmonies gave me the frissons. This is definitely a frisson record.

Gone are the days of hokey Country which prevented me from taking them seriously before the W comment. Produced by superproducer Rick Rubin, who did Johnny Cash's last four or five records, their sound is more rocking on this record.

Buy it for your woman, she'll think you've developed some sensitivity.

New Lafourche-centric Blog
I want to plug a new blog containing commentary on Lafourche politics - Facts And Opinions. Welcome aboard!