Archive for June, 2010

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Judge wants to end moratorium

June 23rd, 2010 | Posted in BP Oil Spill, Courts by bloom | No Comments »

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman stated that there should be an injunction on the federal moratorium for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico during the next six months.  Instead of allowing the executive branch to perform its duties with regard to environmental safety, Feldman believes that there is no focus on the human safety with regard to economic concerns.  After hearing of this motion from the judge, the White House pronounced an appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, located in New Orleans.  Some fear that this process will draw out, and wind up as a standstill even after the six month moratorium is finished. 
 
With more information released about Judge Feldman, rumors that he still has investments in Transocean Ltd., the company that owns the Deepwater Horizon Rig have started to form.  Considering that on his last two financial disclosure reports the company has been present, there have been many questions brought up to Feldman, but he has been unable to be reached. 

Truck driver busted with over 1,000 pounds of marijuana

June 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Drugs by bloom | No Comments »

Over the weekend, truck driver Nick Housinger was driving on I-12 and was pulled over by a state trooper for following his vehicle too closely.  After showing signs of nervousness, and inconsistencies with his travel agendas, the officer decided to search the truck for contraband.   Upon looking through the truck, officers found a hidden compartment, which contained 78 packages of marijuana wrapped up together.  The total weight of the 78 bundles exceeded 1,000 pounds, which is nearly $800,000 in street value.  Housinger was booked for following too close, and possession with the intent to distribute at the St. Tammany Parish Jail.

NOPD Cleaning Up

June 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Local Issues, NOPD by bloom | No Comments »

Nineteen-year NOPD veteran, Michael Roussel, was arrested Tuesday night by the FBI for suspicion of wire fraud.  Sheila Thorne, who spoke on behalf of the FBI, did not go into any further detail on the arrest.  The FBI was called in by Superintendent Ronal Serpas over a week ago after receiving news that there was such events possibly occurring within the department.  This move shows an effort on the NOPD’s part to clean up its act following the recent revelations of the Danziger Bridge and Glover incidents, which exposed corruption within the police force since Hurricane Katrina.

Man sets gas station ablaze, fired down by cashier

June 22nd, 2010 | Posted in Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

A man accused of setting the Fuel Zone off Chef Menteur Highway was arrested Tuesday morning after the cashier shot at him.
Michael Collins allegedly walked into the Fuel Zone wearing a motorcycle helmet, lit a bottle with fluid and launched it into the store. He then repeated this action with a second bottle, and began to flee from the store.
The cashier grabbed a gun and shot Collins in the leg.
Collins entered the hospital on his own good condition.
Police are expected to book him with aggravated arson and aggravated battery upon his release from the hospital.

Teen shot 12 times in back by NOPD after allegedly pointing rifle at officers

June 22nd, 2010 | Posted in Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

Amid intense scrutiny of the NOPD’s use of excessive force, another brutal incident occurred Sunday night that resulted in the death of a 17 year-old.
Jamyrin Points was shot 12 times, all in the back of his body, after allegedly pointing and raising an assault rifle at three New Orleans police officers.
Marlon Defillo, the New Orleans Police Department’s assistant superintendent, said private surveillance footage shows the main raising the rifle at officers. The tape will be turned over to the district attorney.
A report of gunfire at McCue park in the 2500 block of Franklin Avenue prompted the officers to the scene where they saw a teen running from the area with an assault rifle in his hands, according to Defillo.
Officer Nicholas Williams, officer Lawrence Jones and officer Cleveland Johnson approached Points at the steps of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, when Points “raised the weapon and leveled it at the officers,” Defillo said.
The three officers fired 12 times at Points, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officers retrieved the assault rifle, with a fully loaded magazine and a bullet in the chamber at the scene.
The coroner’s office reported Points’ wounds were in the back parts of his leg, the upper area of his back, and one in the back of his head.

Internet Bullies Beware of New Bill

June 21st, 2010 | Posted in Internet/Technology by bloom | No Comments »

Today, a bill creating the crime of “cyberbullying” passed through legislation, and is now waiting for final approval from Governor Jindal. The new bill stipulates the way threats and harassment are to be treated when they occur over the Internet, or through text messages. If an individual over the age of 17 is involved in such conduct with someone under said age, the offender could possible receive a six month jail sentence, and/or a $500 fine. If both parties are under the age of 17, then the offender will be advised to undergo counseling, along with that person’s parents. If that does not prove to work, then the minor could receive charges of “cyberbullying” from the district attorney, which are only misdemeanor penalties, or possibly “cyberstalking,” which could end with a federal conviction.

NOPD Cover-up Unraveled

June 14th, 2010 | Posted in Local Issues, NOPD by bloom | No Comments »

On Friday, five former and current NOPD officers were indicted in the Henry Glover case, which occurred a few days following Katrina. Glover was allegedly shot by former officer David Warren in Algiers on September 2, 2005 from a second story balcony. Warren claims that he had no knowledge of his bullet actually hitting someone after he fired at a group of men that were “putting his life at risk.” Glover’s brother, Edward King, and a stranger, William Tanner who had responded to the cries of concern, put Glover’s body in the backseat of a Chevy Malibu and drove to the makeshift SWAT office at a nearby school. Upon arrival, the two were allegedly beaten by Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann and officer Greg McRae, who then drove off with the vehicle containing Glover’s body. Prosecutors contend that the two set the car on fire with the body inside, and covered the story up by charging the owners of the car with looting. Lt. Travis McCabe and Lt. Robert Italiano later “authored and submitted a false and misleading official report” which was intended to end further investigation.

This is not the first case of corruption by the NOPD to be revealed recently from the direct aftermath of Katrina. The Danziger Bridge incident, where two people were killed and four wounded in the days after the storm, has five officers being charged with collaboration to its cover-up. The men being indicted in the Glover case are facing long-term sentencing, depending on the verdict of the case.

New Regulations for Airlines

June 12th, 2010 | Posted in Legislation, National Issues by bloom | No Comments »

Getting bumped from a flight may have a little more sugar coating in the future. Federal officials are expected to announce a raise in the maximum amount allowed to be paid to travelers who have their tickets taken away on oversold flights. Currently, the rates are set at $400 and $800 respectively depending on the length of delay for the traveler.

Bumping by airline companies has increased in three of the last four years with a shocking ten percent increase in 2009 raising the total to 762,422. That means that one in 763 passengers was removed from a flight due to overbooking. In response to this problem, the Transportation Department has planned to increase the rates to $800 and $1200. A passenger would be paid $800 if the airline gets the passenger to his destination between one and two hours late and $1200 if later than two hours.

There are two notable exceptions. First, planes with less that 30 seats are excluded. Second, any late arrival can be stripped of his ticket.

Currently, American Eagle, American Airlines’ regional company, is the most likely to bump passengers. It is followed by US Airways, Continental ExpressJet, and Southwest. The airline least likely to bump passengers for several years is JetBlue.

NOPD and its Problems with the First Amendment

June 11th, 2010 | Posted in NOPD by bloom | No Comments »

Recently, the Tulane Law Clinic along with the ACLU filed suit against the New Orleans Police Department on accounts of wrongfully arresting two men during the Carnival season of 2007. The two were videotaping police actions, and when the officers realized this, they overextended their powers and arrested both men. Yet the March verdict of this case ended with a seven-person jury rejecting the claim of these men.

The ACLU has collected some 15 accounts of police officers abusing citizens’ first amendment rights from people in the New Orleans area during the last five years. They desire a change and better education of the officers by the new department leaders, especially superintendent Serpas, to ensure that all officers do not disenfranchise citizens of their rights protected under the Constitution.

Inefficiency Causing Concerns for Louisiana’s Coast

June 11th, 2010 | Posted in BP Oil Spill, Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

BP executives tried to defend their actions on Wednesday at the State Capitol during a hearing about the unresolved issues resulting from the oil spill. Fingers were pointed at BP and also the federal government for a lack of efficiency in dealing with protection of the coast, processing of claims, shortages in funding, and insufficient seafood contamination tests. Many fear that there will not be enough resources to adequately fix the problems resulting from the oil washing up along the Louisiana coast. Without a proper plan on how to protect the coast, many are left questioning the authorities and the inefficient manner with which they are going about this.

Executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, Curt Eysink, is disappointed with how BP is dealing with those who have lost their jobs as a result of the oil spill. He said that BP is not even giving precise information about their database of claims. While on the other hand, BP sais they have set up 25 offices in the region with 700 employees to deal with the claims on a daily basis. Only 21 payments have been made of $5,000 to those companies that have filled out claims, but they will not be able to survive on that small amount of money.

This slow resolve will lead to many abandoning their occupations in the seafood industry, and send them to unemployment lines to acquire food stamps and other forms of payment to live on. Terrebonne Parish President Michael Claudet fears that this will have a strong psychological effect on the people, which will surely outweigh the physical damages of this catastrophe.

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