From The Advocate: Six months after a million dollar incentives package helped lure the discount airline to Baton Rouge, Frontier Airlines has announced it will be dropping services on April 14. This will mean, among other things, higher ticket prices for travelers flying out of Baton Rouge. Read more
Following “repeated” inquiries from the Associated Press, the Jindal administration has finally provided details on who got the suite tickets to last month’s Hannah Montana concert.
Apparently, Gov. Jindal’s highly-touted “gold standard” for ethics reform is something of a moving target. After the administration and legislature yesterday watered down Jindal’s signature ethics piece, House Speaker Jim Tucker assured legislators that the bill still represents a gold standard of some sort. Jindal, of course, is nowhere to be found for comment these days. Read more
From WAFB 9News: Jim Shannon reports on how Governor Bobby Jindal’s Chief of Staff Timmy Teepell cashed in on his office (and credibility) for three skybox suite tickets to last month’s Hannah Montana concert at the New Orleans Arena. The almost unbelievable revelation comes just a day after the Louisiana Senate unanimously passed a measure that would ban freebie tickets. And though WAFB reports that regular tickets range in price from $26 to $66, any parent of young children can attest that kind of money couldn’t even get you into a decent parking spot at one of the pre-teen sensation’s shows. As for the cost of box suite tickets? Figuring that would require the assistance of an economist. Read more
In a radio interview this morning with WRKF’s Jim Engster, Republican state Sen. Bill Cassidy expressed some mild concerns over Gov. Jindal’s efforts to weaken the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
When a caller asked the senator about the bill, and the potential for abuse if the Ethics Board is removed from the process, Cassidy responded that he liked the current process by which the Ethics Board is selected - with the governor and legislature choosing its members, based on recommendations by the state’s universities. Read more
MSNBC Political Director Chuck Todd and his team of political guru types lay out the numbers on the Presidential primaries - and things are starting to look a little bleak for Team Hillary. According to MSNBC’s analysis, Clinton has to significantly outperform Obama in the remaining states to have a chance of regaining the lead in pledged delegates. Read more
The Advocate’s Marsha Shuler reports on a bill backed by Governor Jindal that would allow closed-door settlements of ethics violations.
The Jindal administration dropped legislation Tuesday that would have added a new level of secrecy to operations of the Louisiana Board of Ethics at a time when he is pushing transparency.
This might be an opportunity to apply an “Edwin Edwards” test to this situation. That is, if this bill were introduced by former Gov. Edwards, rather than Gov. Jindal, what would the perception of that bill be among those who champion ethics reform?
Meanwhile, as further evidence that the governor may have bitten off more than he could chew in his haste to move ethics reform through the legislature, the Daily Advertiser looks at the unintended consequences of the governor’s proposal including how even school janitors could get swept into the rules.
Just a few minutes after the polls have closed, CNN has projected that Barack Obama has won the Democratic contest in Virginia.
Update: Obama also wins Maryland and the District of Columbia, sweeping the Potomac Primaries.
The AP reports that the House and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved Gov. Jindal’s plan to weaken the authority of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
The Times-Picayune reports that former Kenner city councilman Nick Baroni and his son, Keith, were sentenced to a year and a day in prison for defrauding the U.S. Navy.
