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These are the moments that can make or break politicians. Three years ago (almost to the day), Hurricane Katrina smashed into the Gulf Coast. As New Orleans flooded, state and federal governments were slow to react -- and the blame game began. SNIP It is now Jindal who finds himself in the hot seat as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the state. At 37, Jindal is widely seen as a rising star in the party as evidenced by his consideration as a potential vice presidential pick for John McCain earlier this year. He is certain to be on national television...

Okay show of hands. Who thinks this could be democrats worst nightmare? First you have their minions celebrating it happening during the RNC. But here's the real nightmare. Bobby Jindal is about to show how republicans handle these disasters in contrast to Nagin and Blanco. People are going to remember this in 4 or 8 years.

NEW ORLEANS -- Residents who try to ride out Hurricane Gustav will be making the biggest mistake of their lives, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned on Saturday. Nagin Warns Of 'Storm Of Century'! Video "You need to be scared. You need to be concerned. You need to get your butts out of New Orleans. This is the storm of the century," Nagin said. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Westbank starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, and mandatory evacuations of the Eastbank will begin at noon. "Riding it out would be the biggest mistake you could make in your life,"...

Gustav Gustav is already a Category 4 hurricane with winds exceeding 150 MPH. An estimated 1 million people have already fled the Gulf Coast as of Saturday evening. Gustav has taken 80 lives so far. Louisiana Update The lower ninth ward (St. Bernard Parish) was under mandatory evacuation at 4 p.m. Saturday. All of New Orleans is under an evacuation order Sunday morning at 8 a.m. New Orleans' airport closes tomorrow at 6. Contraflow on I-10 begins at 4 a.m. Texas Update Jefferson and Orange Counties are under mandatory evacuation taking effect 6 a.m. Sunday. This includes Beaumont, Port Arthur,...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Some survivors of Hurricane Katrina say they aren't getting enough attention from the Bush administration, so they're turning to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez for help. Ishmael Muhammad of the New Orleans Survivor Council has visited Venezuela three times to seek funding and forge ties. He says the group hopes to raise $45,000 for a center to house 50 people as they rebuild their homes.

Gustav aside, preparations for the annual Southern Decadence party are underway today in the French Quarter. It is the first day of the five-day Southern Decadence celebration in New Orleans' French Quarter. The Greater New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau calls it a long weekend of parties, parades and gay pride, as well as one of the oldest and largest gatherings of gays in the country. This is the 37th Southern Decadence in New Orleans. Each year there are protests of the event, which this year is promoting attractions like "the most amazing group of porn stars ever assembled for...

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal laid out the state's emergency preparedness plan this evening for the potential arrival of Hurricane Gustav, which he said could make landfall in Louisiana sometime early Tuesday. The state's catastrophic action team has been activated and the governor plans to hold a meeting Wednesday of his unified command group, who are key officials with state agencies that would be dealing with the emergency. If the storm continues to threaten the state, Jindal would declare a state emergency and request a federally declared emergency on Thursday. Those declarations trigger regulatory and financing programs to help...

Louisiana, Mississippi keeping eye on Gustav NEW ORLEANS -- As Friday's third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, officials in Louisiana and Mississippi are keeping an eye on a storm named Gustav. The storm was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm after moving over Haiti but forecasters expect it to regain strength and move into the Gulf of Mexico in a few days. Long-range forecasts say the storm could be a major hurricane threatening the central Gulf Coast by Monday. In New Orleans, where thousands were stranded after Katrina hit and flooded most of the city, officials are making...

It was way back in 1897 that 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to The New York Sun asking an editor there if it was true, as her friends said, that Santa Claus didn't exist. If she were around today, addressing newspaper writers with her trademark naiveté, one imagines that she'd be asking if it's true that scandal is to New Orleans what Santa is to the North Pole. "Please tell me the truth," she would write, "Is New Orleans as bad as everyone says it is? Is it the worst place around?" Unlike Francis P. Church, the Sun editor...

On one of his frequent visits to New Orleans, federal recovery coordinator Douglas O'Dell delivered a bruising critique of the Nagin administration on Thursday, saying "there is growing frustration" in Washington with the speed, efficiency and competence of City Hall's efforts to manage the local recovery after Hurricane Katrina. O'Dell, who consults with dozens of federal, state and local agencies and troubleshoots regulatory logjams, said Mayor Ray Nagin's recovery director, Ed Blakely, often does not return his calls and seems to be operating under the premise -- erroneous, O'Dell thinks -- that a new presidential administration next year "will reload...

Tiffany Woods should one day look at the autopsy pictures of her starved baby, a Caddo District Court judge said this afternoon as she found Woods and her boyfriend guilty of letting their baby starve to death. The child's mother and father, who were Hurricane Katrina evacuees, had money for beer and cigarettes but not money to properly feed their child, the judge added. Judge Jeanette Garrett, who decided the case in lieu of a jury, found Woods and Emmanuel Scott guilty of second-degree murder in the death of their 5-month-old baby. Woods, 28, and Scott, 21, face mandatory life...

Murder and attempted murder charges against seven New Orleans police officers, accused of shooting unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina, were tossed out by Criminal District Court Judge Raymond Bigelow, who concluded that an Orleans Parish prosecutor tainted the secrecy of the grand jury process by showing a piece of testimony to another officer. "The violation is clear, and indeed, uncontroverted. The state improperly disclosed grand jury testimony to another police officer," Bigelow said, reading his ruling from the bench. The judge also dealt a blow to the prosecution on two other pending defense challenges to the...

WINNFIELD, La. -- A former police officer who repeatedly jolted a handcuffed man with a Taser before he died has been indicted on a manslaughter charge. A spokesman for the Winn Parish district attorney's office says grand jurors also indicted former Winnfield police officer Scott Nugent on a charge of malfeasance in office. Grand jurors spent two days hearing evidence in the death of 21-year-old Baron Pikes before they handed up the indictments Wednesday evening. Pikes was shocked nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser as he was arrested on a drug possession warrant in January. Nugent was fired but is...

Federal investigators collected documents Monday from the shuttered New Orleans Affordable Homeownership Corp., the city-chartered and city-financed nonprofit that ran a home-remediation program in 2006 and 2007. Officials arrived just before 10 a.m. at the agency's Poydras Street offices, on the 10th floor of the Amoco building. They declined to speak in detail to a reporter. "We're guests" at the office, one of them said.

BATON ROUGE -- Some call it a blood sport. Others call it a way of life. But whatever the view, as of Friday cockfighting will be illegal in Louisiana, the last state in the nation to outlaw it. Those on both sides of the battle to end the spectacle that pits roosters with razor-sharp gaffs on their feet in a fight to the death, concede that the law will not eliminate the practice, but only send it deeper into the shadows. "You will have people saying they are going to keep fighting their roosters, " despite the law, said Chris...

A grand jury will decide whether to bring murder charges against a police officer. A grand jury in rural Louisiana considers Tuesday whether to bring murder charges against a Taser-wielding police officer in what may become a seminal case in the hotly debated history of stun guns. No US jury has ever convicted a police officer in connection with a death related to use of an electroshock weapon. But the number of deaths in which the guns have played a role has been growing, along with their use in law enforcement agencies. Now, the coroner in Winnfield, La., has found...

Party official calls him likely keynote speaker BATON ROUGE -- While Gov. Bobby Jindal appears to be sliding down the list of possible Republican vice presidential hopefuls, the nation's youngest chief executive could assume another prominent post at the party's national convention, delivering the keynote address four years after Democrats used their corresponding slot as Barack Obama's introduction to American voters. Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere said the campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has talked with Jindal's staff about the governor having "a prominent speaking role" at the convention. While cautioning that he does not know...

Dollar Bill Jefferson who allegedly had $90,000 of bribe money in cold hard cash in his freezer was confronted by Hot Air and the YAF. All the interviewer wanted to know was which product Dollar Bill preferred ZipLock or Hefty Bags. Jefferson has no sense of humor.

On a day typical in its heat and humidity, with the end of summer vacation fast approaching, a swim in a neighborhood pond seemed a fine idea to 11-year-old Devin Funck and two of his friends.Big Joe had other ideas.At 10 feet, 8 inches long and weighing an estimated 500 pounds, the alligator was a familiar sight in the ponds abutting Kingspoint and Fox Hollow subdivisions near Slidell, familiar enough that locals long ago gave the reptile its ominous nickname.As Devin and his companions splashed and frolicked in Crystal Lake on Wednesday afternoon, they spotted the imposing creature swimming toward...

In 1988, 16-year-old Piyush Jindal totaled his father's new car a few weeks before graduating from Baton Rouge High School. Piyush -- who then and now prefers the nickname "Bobby" he adopted from "The Brady Brunch" sitcom -- had to assess more than fender damage with his parents. "Which God do you have to thank for your safety?" Mr. Jindal, now governor of Louisiana, remembers his mother, Raj, a practicing Hindu, inquiring after he escaped from the wreck. For the child of Punjabi immigrants who had announced his Christian beliefs the previous summer, the question was difficult. Twenty years later,...

State Sen. Derrick Shepherd was released early Sunday morning after being arrested Saturday night, accused of punching his ex-girlfriend and stealing her cell phone and $100, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office reported. Shepherd, D-Marrero, was arrested Saturday about 6:45 p.m. and booked with unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, simple battery and theft of more than $500. Speaking to reporters after his release from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility, Shepherd said his mother and sister had been threatened, and he tried to take action on his own instead of calling police. He did not detail the nature of the alleged...

Most of you will remember a few years ago when I blogged about the story of Mark Edward Marchiafava, who was unlawfully detained, had his property confiscated and was subsequently told that his right to keep and bear arms was little more than a privilege subject to the interpretation of the Gonzales, La. police, despite what the Supreme Court or the laws of Louisiana say. Many of you will also remember a blurb by Say Uncle a few days ago that gave a small preview of the fact that Mark's case has finally been settled - AFTER MORE THAN TWO...

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...

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...

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...

Two men were arrested Wednesday after they allegedly stood by laughing as their pit bull ate a live kitten. Jeremy Johnson, 17, and Travis Johnson, 23, were arrested in a vacant lot in the 4900 block of Bradley Street after 911 dispatchers received an anonymous tip about the pair, a Baton Rouge police arrest affidavit says. When police and animal control officers arrived at 11:20 a.m., they saw Jeremy Johnson holding his pet pit bull’s leash while the dog consumed a kitten, according to police spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely and the affidavit.

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...

Bobby Jindal signs bill giving employees the right to have firearms in their automobiles "on company property".

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...

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...

Fleeing from St. Charles Parish authorities, a River Ridge man drove a stolen Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office squad car into the Mississippi River early Sunday, according to both law enforcement agencies. David Mitchell Jr., 22, of River Ridge managed to get out of the car as it started to sink about 30 yards from the river bank, said Capt. Patrick Yoes of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. A towboat operator dragged Mitchell aboard after he struggled in the current for some time. The incident started in Metairie at about 6:10 a.m., when a Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputy, after investigating...

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...

Yes, Mr. Jindal did make a blunder — and a big one — an unforgettable one. And then to say he could veto it, but he will not. To the general public, this is a slap in the face! When we see all the needs out there — Department of Social Services, the group homes, nursing homes — they are understaffed and underpaid. There is no money for the nursing-home workers, and they are working for a pittance. We wonder why there is such a large number of complaints. How are you going to get trained workers for the pay...

Gov. Bobby Jindal's legislative director has resigned after serving fewer than six months with the new administration, which is embroiled in a controversy over the Legislature's large pay raise. Tommy Williams, 65, said Sunday the decision to leave was his and that he left on good terms. He did not offer reasons for his departure, but said he plans to return to his career as a professional lobbyist. "I cannot tell you how much I've learned and what a great opportunity I had," Williams said. Williams' resignation comes at a moment of intensely strained relations between Jindal and the Legislature,...

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

Participants in a Federal Drug Administration (FDA) protocol at TCA Cellular Therapy utilizing stem cells to treat lower limb ischemia are experiencing increased mobility and decreased pain in lower legs. Lower limb ischemia is a condition where plaque build-up causes decreased circulation in the lower leg. Symptoms of the condition include intense pain and swelling. Study participants may have had different factors that contributed to their condition: a family history of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), history of smoking and other vascular conditions. Common among them however, were that more traditional treatments (utilizing stents and grafts) were ineffectual and that the...

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...

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...

Gov. Bobby Jindal was back in the New York Times this week, with a picture, but for all the wrong reasons. The toxic pay raise controversy enveloping him has gone national and his political world has changed. Within days, Jindal went from being a legitimate vice-presidential prospect to having his character questioned in his first crisis of public confidence, without his having done a thing. Meanwhile, pay raise-supporting legislators, who thought the worst was over, are now seeing recall movements popping up around them. So far, drives are directed at three freshmen represenatives and Speaker of the House Jim Tucker,...

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's officials say over $150,000 in weapons has been seized from a Slidell home. Investigators say they learned of the massive weapons cache after a man called them to report over $70,000 in weapons was stolen from his home. That prompted authorities to secure a search warrant for the home, which turned up some 50 additional weapons, ranging from semi-automatic pistols to a .50 caliber semi-automatic bolt action sniper rifle. "When the deputies responded to take the burglarly report, they became suspicious at how he was reporting the crime," said St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain. "As...

In a sweeping proposal, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. has asked Congress to allow private companies to begin selling flood coverage in hopes of getting more people to buy it, reducing the burden on the federal treasury in times of disaster and avoiding disputes over the causes of hurricane damage. Although the proposal comes as floods are destroying towns across the Midwest where only about 17 percent of homes have flood insurance, the program has its roots in Hurricane Katrina's watery devastation and the ubiquitous flood versus wind disputes along the Gulf Coast. Nationwide, which does not do business in Louisiana,...

BATON ROUGE -- House Speaker Jim Tucker, one of the major proponents of raising lawmakers' base pay from $16,800 to $37,500 a year, was hit with a recall petition Wednesday, while three more House members quietly submitted statements declining the doubling of their salaries and at least two legislators urged Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto the measure that has outraged many voters. Tucker, who cannot run for re-election to his House seat in 2011 because of term limits, is the fourth lawmaker this week targeted for removal from office by unhappy constituents. Under the new law, Tucker's base legislative pay...

Surrounding my condo entrance is a cedar fence. When Gov. Bobby Jindal was campaigning for election in 2007, I had no need to put up a sign to show my support and hope. A bumper sticker was already attached from his campaign four years earlier. The sign remained fresh, as the fence is covered by a patio and carport awning. This sign represented a feeling of hope and trust that Louisiana would finally elect a governor “of the people.” A leader who would live up to campaign promises and when it came time ... would do the right thing. I...

World’s Largest Reagan Statue To Be UnveiledJune 25, 2008 After four years and several setbacks, the world’s largest Ronald Reagan statue will be unveiled in Covington, Louisiana, this Friday. The statue was not Covington’s idea. “We had nothing to do with it,� said city council president Trey Blackall. A local oil tycoon, however, was interested in building a big Reagan tribute, and Covington volunteered itself as the site. “It’s a weird little story,� Trey conceded, “but when somebody offers something like this, you gladly accept it.�The big bronze Gipper, created by local sculptor Patrick Miller, stands nearly 15 feet tall...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that executing a Louisiana child rapist would be unconstitutional, concluding capital punishment is reserved for murderers. The ruling was a 5-4 decision.

Gov. Bobby Jindal admitted Tuesday that he blundered in allowing legislators to pass a bill that would more than double their base pay. “I’ve learned my lesson,” he said during a news conference outside the Governor’s Mansion. However, Jindal said he still plans to allow the pay raise to become law. Vetoing the bill would give legislators a reason to reverse his initiatives, including changes to the state’s ethics laws, he said. “Everybody knows it would be in my own self-interest politically to veto this bill,” he said. “I’d probably be the most popular governor in modern polling history if...

The reformist image of Gov. Bobby Jindal, considered by Republicans a top potential vice-presidential choice, has recently taken a beating after Mr. Jindal refused to veto a sizable pay increase that Louisiana legislators voted for themselves this month. The increase would more than double the salary of the part-time legislators effective July 8, to $37,500 from $16,800, with considerably more money available once expenses are added in. It has touched a nerve in this impoverished state. Conservative talk-radio show hosts and bloggers have denounced it, newspaper editorials have inveighed against it — The Times-Picayune of New Orleans called the increase...