Courtesy reports

Well that sounds very polite.

Last month, an unknown amount and type of acid gas leaked from within the Domino Sugar refining facility in Chalmette, escaping into the air. The cause was also unknown, according to a notice sent to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality by the plant.

Such self-disclosures are sometimes known as courtesy reports, and are often the only way members of the public learn of unauthorized releases.

You might even call it "civil discourse."  Why would anyone object to such a friendly practice?

A move toward self-audits is heavily supported by Louisiana's oil, gas and chemical industries, who have pushed for some version of it since 1997. The state agency argues the program would be modeled after one designed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that aims to incentivize polluters to disclose and correct minor issues in plants more proactively. In exchange, companies may receive a reduction in fines and a veil of secrecy until settlement proceedings close -- or for two years, whichever comes first.

Instead of fixing a policy that upholds safe environmental standards under penalty of law, the legislature has proposed that we offer polluting industry, "incentives" to correct what the text of this article asserts are "minor issues." It's so dang nice of them!  Such a welcome change in tone from all the nasty epithets one usually hears thrown around to describe one of the nation's most cancer-ridden regions. Just ask Bill Cassidy. He knows. 

The concentration of chemical plants and refineries in mostly poor, Black areas of Louisiana drew international attention in January when President Joe Biden mentioned “Cancer Alley” in a speech about a series of executive orders targeting climate change and industrial pollution in areas with large non-white populations. Some Louisiana leaders bristled at the president’s use of the term, which many residents use to describe the Mississippi River corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge; Sen. Bill Cassidy called it “a slam upon our state.”

Besides, offering "incentives" rather than enforcing rules is clearly the most effective means the government has at its disposal for protecting the public from health hazards.  Everybody knows that.

But the primary aim of this bill is to keep any potential nastiness is kept out of the public discourse altogether. And, again, isn't that better for everyone's state of mind?

During the session, agency officials said information provided in self-audits that companies are already required to report would remain public. But those courtesy reports aren't legally required if the company finds that the amount released was below reportable quantities.

Bagert says it's unclear whether these notices would remain available to the public if they're provided through a self-audit.

"The question here is whether the public has a right to know information that its government is in possession of about toxic chemicals in their own community," he said. "We all could have debates about the appropriate regulation. This is something far simpler. It's even knowing that releases and spills of these toxic chemicals have taken place."

The Governor has until Thursday night to decide whether to veto this one.  But, again, why would he do that?  It seems so pleasant.  His own administration apparently lobbied for it, even.  

On the other hand, if he really wants to please everyone, he has a chance to do that too.  Since Together Louisiana and other environmental groups seem so adamant about it now, why not let rip with the veto pen this one time and make them happy.  The legislature can come back and override him later and it'll be out of his hands anyway.  That way everyone does everyone else a favor.  Perfectly courteous.

Why is Jared running?

Most political handicappers would tell you that when a scandal-damaged pol who has just lost a different election  jumps into the season's "marquee" citywide race, it probably is not because he can win.  But there is a reason he's in. What is it? Is this money just burning a hole in his pocket?

The strongest indicator in Brossett’s favor may be his funding, though it remains to be seen whether that will hold up as the race picks up.

Brossett headed into this year with more than $100,000 in his campaign account, a seemingly enviable war chest that dwarfed that of any other incumbent councilmember at the time. But the report also points to a potential vulnerability: less than $10,000 of the haul was raised last year and none of it came in after the crash.

The article goes on to point out that he would probably need to raise closer to half a million dollars in order to win this seat.  But that doesn't appear to be the pace at the moment.  Still, he does have enough money and enough clout to have some kind of effect. What does he intend that effect to be?

No, the problem is not a "worker shortage"

This article will tell you what the problem actually is but it doesn't do that until about 14 paragraphs in; long after the nonsense about "generous" unemployment benefits and well overshadowed by the OMG WHO WILL SERVE ME MY $12 BUD LITES AT THE SUPERDOME headline.  But it's in there. 

Worker representatives generally take the Biden view, noting that many of those who lost their jobs weren't eligible for assistance in the first place. Many are not anxious to return to low-paid jobs for a variety of reasons, including lack of child care, worries about their health and better alternatives on offer.

"Calling it a 'worker shortage' makes it seem like there are a lot of people too lazy to work," said Andrew Deibert, chief organizer for United Labor Unions in Louisiana.

"I think it should be framed as an 'ethical-employer shortage,' a shortage of companies willing to pay workers livable wages, provide decent benefits, and improve working conditions," he said. "Companies willing to do this don't seem to be having trouble finding workers."

Despite all the bizzaro world propaganda suggesting the opposite, the bosses have won a more precarious and desperate workforce in the pandemic.  The "worker shortage" manufactured crisis is just about locking it down.

 

Nature is healing

 In Louisiana we're back to hitting all the regular metrics.  And then some, really.

The combination of air pollution and poverty is triggering higher rates of cancer in Louisiana, according to a new study led by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.

Released this week, the study indicates low-income communities with high levels of toxic air pollution had average cancer rates of about 515 cases per 100,000 residents. That’s statistically higher than the 482-case average statewide and the 487-case average for low-income areas with less air pollution.

Speaking of the regular metrics, here is an article from last weekend that takes a look at how Formosa Petrochemical is meeting the requirements to maintain its generous tax incentives granted by the state to build a new plastics plant in St. James Parish. From the looks of things, they're meeting them by getting a grace period added. 

Negotiated starting in 2014 as a potential project, Formosa's ITEP application was submitted June 23, 2016, for construction to begin in June 2019 and wrap up by June 2022. The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry approved the 100% property tax abatement in April 2018.

While the investment decision has been pushed back since 2016, the overarching umbrella contract with the state, known as a cooperative endeavor agreement signed in 2017, isn't slated to have all the incentives expire until 2024 if the complex is not operational by then. 

With that date still three years out, it's possible that the state could amend the cooperative endeavor agreement with dates extending further out that also would apply to the property tax and other incentives contained in the overall contract. That would only require an administrative review and process that would not be open to public comment or debate, according to the Louisiana Economic Development department.

Despite overwhelming opposition from the community there and from environmental groups all over Louisiana, and beyond, there remains every expectation that the plant will eventually be built.  And then the healing can continue.

The end of the criminal legal reform era

 Just how big an industry is the tax farming business now? 

Across the United States, court debt has ballooned as states have turned to court costs, fines, and fees as revenue streams. A recent report by watchdog group Fines and Fees Justice Center found that court debt in the U.S. now totals at least a staggering $27.6 billion. That figure is a low estimate, the group noted in the report, because it relied on incomplete data collected from only 25 states.

To handle the collection of that debt, states and municipalities — as well as the Internal Revenue Service — are increasingly turning to private firms, which in some states can add up to 40 percent surcharges onto the fees. In aggregate, that can translate into billions of dollars of payouts for the debt collectors.

Those of us old enough to remember the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri will recall the central role that municipal fines and fees played in the system of predatory racism against which the people there rose up.  And here we are a thousand years, and several cycles of murderous police actions and uprisings later and still very little has fundamentally changed. 

In New Orleans, one could argue there has been some progress. But what's happened has been slow and slight. A 2020 law re-directs court fee  revenues away from control of the judges who impose them but does not abolish them altogether.  The City Council appeared to at least try and defy that law when it resolved to return the fees collected but I don't think we've been updated on how that's worked out.  As of this April, a series of lawsuits have resulted in a system whereby Orleans Criminal Court judges promise a kinder, gentler bail regime. 

A joint order from the judges in February formalized new bail rules that paved the way for the settlement. The agreement comes after drawn out wrangling over how judges in New Orleans can impose bail or fines and fees on thousands of defendants each year, the vast majority of them poor.

Under the new order, defendants must have an attorney when their bail is set. The judges also promise to inquire into defendants' ability to pay, to consider alternatives to cash bail and to explain their reasoning when they do keep defendants behind bars.

We'll see how that goes.  Last week, the City Attorney announced a mass dismissal of some 385,000 cases of municipal violations which should reduce the likelihood you will be ensnared by an attachment from some unpaid traffic fine from 10 years ago. That's all good news. But it's minimal compared to what is needed here and in every city where billions of dollars worth of bounties are still hanging over the heads of highly vulnerable people. 

Meanwhile the time for further progress is running short.  Local media is already daily beating the drums of crime wave panic and the tide is beginning to turn toward reaction. (In fact, here is WDSU specifically blaming lax collection of court fees.) Our newly elected "reformist" DA is already breaking his promise not to try children as adults. Major candidates jumping into the marquee race in this fall's municipal elections are already taking up demagogic "tough on crime" rhetoric in their initial messaging.  All of this is only going to get worse as that election approaches.  Afterwards, this group of politicians will go back to work with a new mandate to "get tough" and new rules that will allow them to do just that.  

Mr. Biden emphasized that state and local officials in areas experiencing surges in gun violence can use $350 billion in Covid-19 relief funding to hire more law-enforcement personnel, even if it raises the total number beyond its pre-pandemic level.

The window of opportunity to make real and lasting change is always so short. And when it shuts it can stay that way for a long time. Business as usual, on the other hand can last... well that's why they call it business as usual.

We are going on a gator hunt

Do you wanna come

According to a series of itemized campaign finance reports and documents filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State, since 2014, Jeff Landry has funneled more than $120,000 in campaign donations from his annual gator hunt to a company he owns, Bucks and Ducks Game Management LLC, ostensibly for the purchase of alligator hunting tags.

Hunting tags are not to be confused with alligator hunting licenses, the costs of which are listed separately by Landry’s campaign, which reported spending approximately $21,539 for alligator hunting licenses between 2015 to 2020.

 The problem with this accounting, however, is that whereas the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries charges for alligator hunting licenses ($25 for Louisiana residents and $150 for nonresidents), alligator hunting tags are given out for free.

The reason the tags are free and non-transferable is because that is how the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries keeps controls on how many gators are hunted and from where. The reason Landry passes campaign funds through a recreational hunting business he owns in order to skirt those laws is because he's raising tons more cash networking with other Republicans he invites to a gator hunt adventure weekend.

Landry has been hosting political fundraisers at the “camp” since 2011, the first year of his one and only term in Congress. Perhaps ironically, the event didn’t begin drawing significant attention until 2014. That year, a young congressman from Indiana named Todd Rokita took some heat back home when he turned up at the $5,000-a-head fundraiser in the thick of his own reelection campaign.

“Our little crew brought $30,000 for Jeff Landry from Indiana, because we believe he’s good for the country,” Rokita, who is currently serving as Indiana’s attorney general, boasted to Melinda Deslatte of the Associated Press. He wasn’t the only one of Landry’s former colleagues to make the pilgrimage. Then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy showed up as well.

The gator hunt quickly earned a spot on Team Trump’s calendar. Don Jr. and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle turned up in 2019, as did Citizens United chairman and former Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie and former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi.

Landry is already sending out Save the Date reminders for this year’s gator hunt, the 11th annual, which is set for Sept. 9 through Sept. 11. He’s also soliciting corporate sponsorships.

Pretty funny. But it's hardly the most egregious of Landry's several unethical business arrangements only the most.. um.. exotically themed.  And it's apparently been quite a successful little racket he's had going for over a decade now. It certainly gets attention from his rivals, anyway.  Here's a photo John Bel shared the same weekend that Landry had Don Jr. up at the "camp." 

No better way to start our Saturday. Sarah Ellen and I had a great morning in Point Coupee. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. #lagov pic.twitter.com/fVyJTzVDoh

— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) September 8, 2018

I guess we can read that as trolling, in a way? Although it also seems oddly competitive, maybe even pathetic.  I'm not sure the correct response to Landry's big gross corporate trophy hunt is, "Hello, I also kill these animals for sport, don't you know!"  

Of course, it could always be worse. 

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Pastor Tony Spell from Life Tabernacle Church in Central has been cited for alligator hunting violations back on June 5, 2021. According to a release from Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries, agents received information about Spell posting photos to social media about an alligator he had shot behind his church.

I'm not exactly an expert but Spell's gator appears to be a juvenile, maybe? Maybe I'm wrong. This says it's 6 feet long. 

Agents responded to the scene where they found the pastor in possession of a 6-foot alligator.

Alligator hunting season does not open until September 1.

Killing an alligator during a closed season and without a tag brings a $400 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail for each offense.

Spell also faces civil restitution totaling $375.80 for the replacement value of the illegally taken alligator according to agents.

Anyway, I'm sure they'll have no trouble at all getting the fine out of that guy.

Faubourg Stacy

Some of you kids are old enough to remember those bumper stickers.  They went a long way to communicating the post-Katrina aspirations of a certain segment of Uptown White voters without explicitly stating those aspirations. Of course Stacy was pretty explicit about it when she wanted to be. 

Anyway, here we are after a decade or so, a public housing demolition, hundreds of Airbnbs, and several blown kisses later, and the vision is really starting to fall into place. 

With qualifying for New Orleans’ municipal elections about a month away, politicos are eyeing the party, gender and ethnic make-up of the city’s voters overall and in the individual City Council districts.

A new analysis by seasoned demographer and consultant Greg Rigamer shows that there are currently 273,627 registered voters in Orleans Parish residing in 216,052 households. This includes 119,656 (43.7%) male voters and 153,681 (56.2%) female voters.

Of that total, 149,373 (54.6%) are Black; 99,821 (36.5%) are White; and 24,433 (8.9%) are registered as “other.” Democrats make up 64.2% (175,571) of the voters; “other party” 25.9% (70,748); and Republicans 10% (27,303).

Council District A has the highest percentage of White voters, and Council District E has the highest percentage of Black voters. For the first time in recent years, the percentage of White voters in Council District B exceeds the percentage of Black voters. 

Happy Anniversary!

Hey look, Waste Management's civil RICO suit against Fred Heebe and Jim Ward is turning 10 years old.

Both sides have lined up high-powered attorneys – Waste Management is represented by a group of lawyers from Phelps Dunbar, a white-shoe New Orleans law firm, as well as the Washington firm Baker Botts, while Heebe and Ward’s legal team includes, among others, Kyle Schonekas and Billy Gibbens, the lawyers that blew up the federal investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2013.

Given that legal horsepower, it’s perhaps not surprising that the litigation is about to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. There are more than 600 items in the online court docket, including dozens of complex motions, and the plaintiffs want to introduce more than 400 exhibits, a move Heebe and Ward are opposing.

Do you think all those big money lawyers are "celebrating" this cash cow? I think they are celebrating.  Ray Nagin, whose bribery conviction, obviously, figures into this case, once said he decided to go into politics because it was, "the dominant industry." And now everyone involved in this case has a decade's worth of stimulus checks to prove it. 

But that isn't the only interesting principle of politics this group of "high-powered attorneys" has proven in the course of their work.  They've also demonstrated that amassing great fortune and influence through corrupt political dealings and environmental endangerment, is nowhere near as serious a crime as commenting on websites. 

Heebe, meanwhile, was represented by some of the city’s most aggressive defense lawyers, who pushed back as federal investigators dug into how he secured a near-monopoly on the local landfill business. They didn’t wait for the feds to strike. Instead, they went on offense, revealing that two top prosecutors had routinely posted comments — using aliases — on news stories about cases the U.S. Attorney’s Office was handling.

The scandal turned the office upside down, ending the long reign of popular U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. More remarkably, it won Heebe and his stepfather, Jim Ward, his partner in the River Birch landfill in Waggaman, the equivalent of a pre-emptive pardon. The Department of Justice, which rarely even confirms the existence of investigations, announced that its probe of Heebe and Ward was over, and that neither would be charged.

This astonishing precedent was further cemented when we learned that commenting on websites is, in fact, so egregious an offense as to outweigh actual murders committed by police.  

“Legacyusa” turned out to be one of the top federal prosecutors in New Orleans. His post was just one of many anonymous barbs that led a federal judge Tuesday to throw out the convictions of those ex-cops in the Danziger Bridge shootings, which left two people dead and four seriously wounded.

In a 129-page ruling, District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt cited long list of “egregious and inflammatory” comments by at least three Justice Department officials using a variety of online identities. Those comments fueled a “21st century carnival atmosphere” that tainted the 2011 trial and will require a new one, Engelhardt wrote.

Engelhardt actually threw out the River Birch case at one point too, even though that ruling didn't stick.  Wonder how that happened. 

Engelhardt had connections to other players in the case. When Heebe and Ward pushed to unmask the pseudonymous commenters in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Engelhardt joined the crusade, eventually directing the Department of Justice to appoint a special prosecutor to probe the commenting scandal.

Engelhardt owed his appointment to the federal bench to then-U.S. Sen. David Vitter; he had served as Vitter’s campaign treasurer. Vitter was also an ally of Heebe and Ward. He was among the politicians who questioned decisions by the state DEQ to hastily open landfills around the region, moves that also drew scorn from environmentalists.

The "dominant industry" works in fascinating ways, doesn't it.  I mean.. look what happened even during the time it took me to type this up. 

This time, there was no 11th-hour surprise. But once again, Fred Heebe and Jim Ward, owners of the River Birch landfill in Waggaman, found a way to dodge a public accounting of what their detractors have long portrayed as an improper influence campaign meant to keep potential rivals at bay -- and as much local garbage going into their dump as possible.

On the eve of trial of a civil racketeering lawsuit that was filed a decade ago, the two men settled with their accuser, Waste Management, one of the largest garbage companies in North America. Terms of the settlement, noted in the case's lengthy docket on Friday by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, were not disclosed. The case was set for trial Monday.

Well, happy anniversary, in any case. To quote Nagin once more, thanks for "keeping the brand out there."

What's in it for Entergy?

Quite a deal they all announced this morning.  

🚨BIG WIN FOR THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS🚨

Promises kept: We are bringing reliable power to the Sewerage and Water Board without increasing rates to customers. https://t.co/TZLrnl71vf

— LaToya Cantrell (@LaToyaForNOLA) June 16, 2021

Made a big to-do about the roll out too. In fact it looked like they might have even put it out to the T-P under an embargo so the story (or the bones of it) could drop on the website  at the same time as the press conference. 

Currently, about half of the S&WB's pumps already are powered by Entergy.This plan would switch over the rest by building a new substation at the Carrollton Plant and installing frequency changers that would convert Entergy's power to the archaic standard used by about half of the S&WB's equipment.

The $75 million deal would be jointly paid for with state money set aside for the plan, city funds through the issuance of bonds and money from Entergy. The S&WB expects to generate savings of $5 to $6 million annually from what S&WB executive director Ghassan Korban said would be a cheaper source of power than the fuel currently used to power the turbines.

Of course it's not like they had to scramble to write up at least a sketch of the plan.  It's actually quite similar to a scheme that was floated back a few years ago.  

The calls to make the switch to Entergy became more urgent after the flooding in the summer of 2017, which was blamed in part on a lack of power. Former Mayor Mitch Landrieu specifically called for making the change as he prepared to leave office.

Despite those discussions, however, the process has moved slowly, beset by issues over funding the equipment needed to make the change. Entergy had originally sought to strike a deal where it would fund the entire project in exchange for permission to make a higher profit, a plan rejected by the City Council.

For more context on how that happened see my prior notes here.  At the time, the City Council, which regulates Entergy's monopoly to sell electricity in New Orleans, was in the middle of a negotiation over a new rate case agreement. This is where the council sets parameters that determine how much money Entergy can charge you for power. The mayor, who is not typically a party to these talks, intervened at the last minute on Entergy's behalf, arguing it should be allowed to charge higher rates to New Orleanians in return for a one time $75 million kickback in the form of a new substation serving S&WB. 

That would have been a bad deal for most New Orleanians. This one, at least so far, appears to be a bit better. Details here via The Lens.

The $74 million will come from three different sources. The initial $34 million investment to build the substation will come from Entergy. The Sewerage and Water Board will then pay Entergy back for that investment over time.

Officials said that the investment should have no impact on the bills of Energy and Sewerage and Water Board customers. Korban said that the new substation will save between $5 million and $6 million a year that would otherwise be spent on generator fuel and maintenance for the aging turbines. Those savings will be used to pay Entergy for the substation.

The second tranche of money will be $20 million in state capital outlay dollars to integrate the substation with the Carrollton plant. 

And last, the city will cough up $20 million from its own budget to install “frequency converters.” Some of the pumps in New Orleans require an antiquated type of electricity that is rarely used today, and is different from the form of electricity provided by Entergy. The “frequency changers” will allow the electricity from Entergy to power those older pumps.

That last $20 million comes from bond sales already approved in a citywide infrastructure ballot measure in 2019.  

So, if they aren't getting higher rates out of the deal, what's in it for Entergy this time?  Well for one thing it looks like they don't really spend any of their own money on the capital.  And, in the long run, they get to sell more power to SWB in perpetuity.  Also, as the sole supplier of power to the public utility, they gain a degree of leverage over the city they didn't have before. One would think that should be enough but, well, we have come to expect differently so keep an eye out.  More details are supposed to be available next week.

Holy hell it is already June

It's been quiet on the Yellow Blog for a few weeks and, I guess, for much of the year. I've been kind of slacking, I realize that. That's not to say I've been off in space or anything. The main point of this blog is basically note taking for stuff that goes on in the news or just things I read and hear in general. Trust me there are plenty of notes. The "drafts" folder here is quite prolific. I just haven't taken the time to sit down and organize them in a while.   That's not a great thing because if I don't process at least a little bit, it starts to feel like I might forget it all. Which.. again.. the main point of this blog is so I don't forget about things that happen. 

And there's a ton of stuff going on right now that I don't want to lose track of.  The legislature is wrapping up today.  I managed to get some of that down a few weeks ago, but things have not improved since.  Most notably, despite being in possession of an historic budget surplus flush with federal money to throw at whatever they like, lawmakers decided to fund a roads and infrastructure program by forcing more cuts to higher ed and health care. 

Today, we learned that they have decided to scrap two years of work toward a plan for automating expungements of criminal records because the State Police said it might cost too much. 

Davis said State Police still weren’t able to afford the proposal. He told legislators last month that  if James’ bill passed his agency might be forced to reduce the size of its next police academy class — a priority for several lawmakers — or cancel the purchase of new police vehicles. 

But lawmakers could have absorbed the entire cost in next year’s budget. The Legislature’s budget plan includes $17 million in unallocated funding that can still be spent. The Supreme Court is also sitting on millions of dollars of reserves that could be used for this purpose if it wanted to do so.

Anyway, there's more, of course. But that's not the only thing.  A bunch of stuff has been going on. Another building is collapsing downtown while we are still figuring out what to do about the last one.   A big municipal election is coming and some of your all time favs are back in the mix. It's hurricane season again and the turbines are.. not ready.  It's June now but the first of July is coming and that is going to be the worst first of the month yet for people facing eviction. 

Also other things! I have to make time to get this stuff in context before it all becomes a big blur and our consciousnesses disintegrate into the wind.  I'm trying.  

Meanwhile, holy hell it is already June. The myrtles are already in bloom and it hardly even feels like we're in 2021 yet.