25 June 2007

the longest days of the year

monday sb14 watch
doc hines, joe salter, bob odom and the boys
"whip your ass" state bond commission bill....
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6:15 pm cdt monday 25 june 2007 the house just adjourned for the day. it looks good that sb14 is dead.
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10:19 am cdt monday 25 june 2007
message from JOHN KENNEDY
The House once again deferred consideration on SB 14 this morning. On a technical note, if the bill is not heard by 6:00 PM today, it will require a 2/3rd vote to even bring up for debate after 6:00 PM. We'll keep you posted. Thanks! JK
--END--
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screen grab from legis house chamber video feed
house speaker joe salter deferring sb14 on representative dorsey's motion.
9:42 am cdt monday 25 june 2007.
moments earlier speaker salter remarked that all senate bills must be finished by 6:00 pm this evening.
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9:42 am cdt representative dorsey moves to defer sb14.

updated house in session monday 25 june 2007
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4:36 pm cdt sunday 24 june 2007 the house just moved to defer sb14 for today.
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**updated at 4:19 pm cdt sunday 24 june 2007

the louisiana state house of representatives comes into session
sunday 24 june 2007 4:00 pm cdt

screen grab from legis video feed
speaker joe salter gavels the louisiana house of representatives to order
4:13 pm cdt sunday 24 june 2007
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click here for legis.state.la.us live video and/or audio feed
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1:29 pm cdt sunday 24 june 2007
message from JOHN KENNEDY
SB14 will sit on the calendar until the end of the session, so it could come up at any time...
--END--
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only about 100 hours remain in what is one of the worst legislatures in louisiana's history...then its onward to the fall elections...louisiana's jungle primary is on saturday 20 october 2007 and the runoff will be on saturday 17 november 2007.
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new orleans times-picayune sunday 24 june 2007 editorial on sb14:
EDITORIAL: Revenge isn't sweet

House members should reject a bill that would water down the authority of the state treasurer over the State Bond Commission, thereby making it easier for lawmakers to push boondoggles and pet projects.

Senate Bill 14 would create an executive committee of the Bond Commission, consisting of the Senate president, House speaker and state treasurer. That panel would set the agenda for the commission, a power that the treasurer, as chairman, now enjoys. It would also allow a majority of the full commission to put items on the agenda via written requests.

Senate President Donald Hines, sponsor of the bill, has reason to be unhappy with Mr. Kennedy. The treasurer fought efforts to use state bonds to build a syrup mill in Sen. Hines' district -- a mill that would have benefited the senator's son-in-law, who is a sugar cane farmer.

Sen. Hines has insisted that this bill has nothing to do with the syrup mill and is simply a matter of good public policy. But no one should be fooled. This is a political maneuver, and Mr. Kennedy shouldn't be punished for defeating an ill-conceived project. Moreover, his hands shouldn't be tied so that he can't fight the next one.

There was talk of amending this bill to require a unanimous vote of the executive committee -- an effort to prevent the two legislative members of the executive committee from ganging up on the treasurer. But it would be far better to kill this measure than try to make it slightly less deplorable.

If the House doesn't have the good sense to reject it, Gov. Kathleen Blanco should veto it.
link
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louisiana house of representatives convenes at 4:00 pm cdt sunday 24 june 2007 bills to watch are in the house order of the day
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**updated saturday 23 june 2007**
saturday latest on sb14

2:29 pm cdt saturday 23 june 2007
message from JOHN KENNEDY
Its been passed over on the house calendar, meaning the votes weren’t there. But its not over till its over.
--END--
wst... note: the louisiana house of representatives convemes at
4:00 pm sunday 24 june 2007
see: house of representatives order of the day for sunday 24 june 2007

on sunday, sb14 is still subject to house action
6. Senate Bills on Third Reading and Final Passage
Regular
SB14 HINES BONDS - Provides for the chairmanship and an executive committee of the State Bond Commission. (1/14/08)
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2:26 pm cdt friday 22 june 2007
message from JOHN KENNEDY
SB 14 HAS BEEN DEFERRED FOR TODAY
But it is still technically alive and on the calendar...
…still can be brought up at any time.
--END--

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updated at 2:10 pm without objection representative salter deferred sb 14.
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1:19 pm cdt 22 june 2007
sb14
will central louisiana's delegation stand with treasurer kennedy?
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  1. according to the senate vote, senator joe mcpherson did not
click here to view from legis.state.la.us
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www.legis.state.la.us
house in session
floor action prior to sb14 reading

representative shirley bowler explains to rep. jack smith why she opposes an amendment to sb223.
added 3:58 pm cdt 22 june 2007: there is a news report on the town talk online about sb223 a bill by pro-tax and fake republican RINO mike michot see "House agrees to raise minimum car insurance rates"
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more commentary on sb223 at louisiana legislature log see "Floor action, Jun. 22: SB 1, SB 223."
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when in session click here to watch the louisiana state house of representatives
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house.louisiana.gov video on demand: chamber and committees archived video
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1:06 pm cdt friday 22 june 2007
message from JOHN KENNEDY
SB 14, (the Hines Bond Commission bill) may be voted on by the House within the next few hours.
--END--
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**update** senate bill 14 is set for house final passage vote today friday 22 june 2007. please contact your state representative and ask him or her to vote "nay" to sb 14

central louisiana state representatives include:
billy chandler - constituent office 318.992.0887 - telephone
israel curtis - 318.487.5417 - telephone
charlie dewitt - 318.484.2216 - macarthur drive office
rick farrar - 318.484.2210 - telephone
see also legislative alert!!! by treasury sec'y john kennedy
and also central la politics blog: state treasurer asks for your help
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originally posted thursday 21 june 2007 11:44pm cdt
----ORIGINAL POST----
tom konvicka tells us on his weather blog (see link) that tomorrow - friday 22 june 2007 will be a day just like today sunny with low humidity...great.

nearest we can tell, today at 106pm cdt the summer solstice occurred here. for a little while, the days will have just over twelve hours of sunlight. by the first of december the day time will have diminished to a little over ten hours. we used the june and december charts for new orleans at timeanddate.com because we went on to the la department of wildlife & fisheries website to get tomorrows sunrise and sunset times to link to, but we cant see the data for june, may, july and august. its probably there but we arent looking at it right...or something.

this could be embarrassing, but if we're that blind we want to know -- below is the screen grab of the of the sunset-sunset table as it appears to us right now.
click picture to enlarge
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we looked on the news releases page for a random email address to someone that we could ask and found one there in a news release by mr. martin bourgeois "shrimp season to close in portions of zone 2". so we wrote mr. bourgeois and asked him to pass on our question ("sunrise-sunset table page problem?") about how to read the sunrise-sunset table or if four months were indeed missing. so we hope to hear something back. the page is here.

also tomorrow the louisiana house of representatives order of the day says that sb14 is set for its third reading and final passage vote.
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this is the syrup mill retribution bill in which state agricultural commissioner bob odom and his gang (led by doc hines and joe salter) promised to "whip your ass" with.

here is sec'y kennedy's side of it.

please contact your representer (heres the list of representatives by parish) and urge him or her to vote "nay" to sb14 final passage. you can also help to get the word out by calling talk radio.
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  • sec'y kennedy takes dotd to task
  • draft kennedy!
  • gov. blanco not to run
  • sb14 treasury sec'y kennedy needs your help!
  • sec'y john kennedy on lra & the road home
  • unanswered
  • cutting the budget kennedy puts pressure on blanco
  • more on la state treasurer john kennedy
  • state treasurer 'in shock' by the budget
  • EXTERNAL LINK