Race to keep Mississippi open
‘‘Rumors of a river closure have been greatly exaggerated,’’ Mike Petersen, an Army Corps spokesman in St. Louis, told the Associated Press on Thursday.
Related: Mississippi Post Runs Dry
That's the AmeriKan media for you, but now we have a different problem:
"Barge hits Mississippi bridge and leaks oil" Associated Press, January 28, 2013
VICKSBURG, Miss. — A barge carrying 80,000 gallons of oil hit a railroad bridge in Vicksburg on Sunday, spilling light crude into the Mississippi River and closing the waterway for 8 miles in each direction, the Coast Guard said.
A second barge was damaged.
Investigators did not know how much had spilled, but an oily sheen was reported as far as 3 miles downriver of Vicksburg after the 1:12 a.m. accident, said Lieutenant Ryan Gomez of the Coast Guard’s office in Memphis.
Oh, no. Forget all the fart mist, this is an immediate and tangible fouling!
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the second barge also hit the bridge or if it ran into the first barge, he said. The first barge was still leaking late Sunday afternoon, and emergency workers set out booms to absorb and contain the oil, Gomez said.
The river’s closure halted at least five northbound and two southbound vessels, he said.
The bridge was found safe for trains, said Petty Officer Carlos Vega.
You know, I think I'll just go around. I know that won't help emissions, but that oil on the water isn't good either.
--more--"
Oh, I know, I know, good old government cleaning it up:
"Oil spill cleanup begins in Mississippi; River closed; damage unclear" by Holbrook Mohr | Associated Press, January 29, 2013
VICKSBURG, Miss. — Cleanup crews with booms skimmed oily water from the Mississippi River a day after a barge with more than 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge near Vicksburg, spreading a sheen of light crude that kept part of the waterway shut to ship traffic Monday, authorities said.
It remained unclear Monday how much oil had leaked into the river, according to the Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. Petty Officer Third Class Jonathan Lally, a Coast Guard spokesman, said oil was still discharging, but slowly.
Coast Guard -- along with all other government and media entities -- simply lack credibility these days, readers. I read it, I acknowledge it, I take it at face value, I understand the cover-up code, and I move on don the mighty Mississipp.
Lally said crews were looking for oil roughly 50 miles downriver from the site. Officials expect little, if any, environmental impact there because of the swift current.
(Blog editor just drops chin to chest and sighs. Yup, nothing to see here. Current took it out. Oh, yeah? I thought the thing was running dry but now its roaring, and to where does that current flow? We'll get to that a bit later below)
Officials said they did not know how long it will take to transfer oil from the damaged barge to another barge or how long the river would remain closed to traffic.
The spill backed up at least 24 tugboats, barges, and other vessels on the normally bustling corridor, said Kavanaugh Breazeale, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg. The river was closed to traffic for 16 miles — 8 miles north and 8 miles south of Vicksburg....
--more--"
"Oil spill closes Miss. River for third day" by Holbrook Mohr and Janet McConnaughey | Associated Press, January 30, 2013
VICKSBURG, Miss. — The Coast Guard said Tuesday that about 7,000 gallons of crude oil were unaccounted for aboard a leaking barge that had rammed a railroad bridge near Vicksburg on the Mississippi River, which remained closed for a third day as crews slowly pumped out oil.
Well, I think we can take a pretty good guess where it went. Already low-balling the total like the Gulf Gusher, huh?
Petty Officer Third Class Jonathan Lally said it is not clear that all of the 7,000 gallons leaked into the river. Some of it, he said, could have seeped into spaces inside the barge.
Well, something around here is seeping, and it seems to be coming from the newspaper to the left of me.
Lally said a plan to pump oil from the stricken barge onto another barge — a process known as lightering — had been approved but it was unclear how long that would take or when the river might reopen to vessels. He said the other barge was en route.
Environmental impact, Lally said, has been minimal because a boom is containing the leak around the barge and the leak is slow.
Yeah, okay, whatever you guys say, yup.
The economic impact is another matter....
Yup.
--more--"
This must have gotten washed out to sea because it didn't appear in my printed copy:
"Restricted vessel traffic permitted on Miss. River" by HOLBROOK MOHR | Associated Press, February 01, 2013
JACKSON, Miss. — The Coast Guard is permitting restricted commercial vessel traffic on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Miss., as crews work to remove oil from a leaking barge, a Guard spokesman said Thursday.
Chief Petty Officer Paul Roszkowski said southbound commercial traffic will be allowed to pass through the area during daylight hours and northbound commercial traffic can move at night.
A 16-mile stretch of the river was closed Sunday after two oil barges hit a railroad bridge and one of them started leaking light crude.
‘‘We understand the impact that the closure has had on industry and commerce. One of our main goals besides cleaning up the accident is getting traffic moving again. We will push to keep traffic moving as long as it is safe and doesn’t impact operations,’’ Roszkowski said.
At times there have been dozens of vessels and hundreds of barges idled at that section of the river, which separates Mississippi and Louisiana.
Crews began pumping oil from the leaking barge onto another barge — a process known as lightering — on Wednesday.
Roszkowski said the main concern was that the barge could shift in a way that would accelerate the leak.
The Coast Guard said 7,000 gallons of crude oil were unaccounted for, but it’s not clear if it all spilled into the river or if some went into empty spaces inside the barge. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
--more--"
More Mississippi these last few months from the Boston Globe:
Mississippi crash victims mourned
Funerals will be held this week for five young siblings and an adult who died when a sport utility vehicle driven by the children’s father ran off an eastern Mississippi road and into a creek.
Funerals will be held this week for five young siblings and an adult who died when a sport utility vehicle driven by the children’s father ran off an eastern Mississippi road and into a creek.
All of the victims of Saturday’s crash near Philadelphia were members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and lived in the Pearl River community. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and no charges were immediately filed."
I suppose Indians get used to being forgotten.
"Mississippi criticized on school discipline; Rights advocates say policies harsh" by Holbrook Mohr | Associated Press, January 18, 2013
JACKSON, Miss. — Civil rights advocates say harsh disciplinary practices at many Mississippi schools lead to children being expelled and even incarcerated for minor infractions, policies that disproportionately affect minorities.
A joint report by groups including the ACLU and NAACP says the problems are more widespread than just the city of Meridian, where the Justice Department has filed a suit claiming officials are running a ‘‘school-to-prison pipeline’’ for minor infractions.
We saw that in Pennsylvania, too!
Also see: US says arrests in east Miss. violate students’ rights
The groups say the Meridian lawsuit is just one example of a problem ‘‘that has plagued Mississippi schools statewide for years.’’ The report was a joint project of the state chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP with the Mississippi Coalition for the Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse and the Advancement Project.
‘‘The bottom line is that there are no successful schools in America that have high expulsion, suspension, and arrest rates,’’ Scott Roberts, a coordinator for Advancement Project, said at a news conference in Jackson.
The report comes less than three months after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Jackson alleging that students in the southeastern city of Meridian have been sent to juvenile detention for infractions such as flatulence or dress code violations, and that mostly black and disabled children are affected.
The defendants deny the allegations and the city said in court records that the police department amended its arrest policies before the suit was filed. Youth court judges in Lauderdale County also denied the allegations in court documents.
The new report says many schools in Mississippi use zero-tolerance policies and students end up incarcerated or kicked out of school ‘‘often for the most trivial misbehaviors.’’
The report also cites a study of 115 school districts in Mississippi that found black students were three times more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than whites and the number was higher in certain districts.
--more--"
The sad truth is Amerika's schools are looking more like prisons every day, although I suppose many kids felt that way even before.
And while we are down there:
I suppose Indians get used to being forgotten.
"Mississippi criticized on school discipline; Rights advocates say policies harsh" by Holbrook Mohr | Associated Press, January 18, 2013
JACKSON, Miss. — Civil rights advocates say harsh disciplinary practices at many Mississippi schools lead to children being expelled and even incarcerated for minor infractions, policies that disproportionately affect minorities.
A joint report by groups including the ACLU and NAACP says the problems are more widespread than just the city of Meridian, where the Justice Department has filed a suit claiming officials are running a ‘‘school-to-prison pipeline’’ for minor infractions.
We saw that in Pennsylvania, too!
Also see: US says arrests in east Miss. violate students’ rights
The groups say the Meridian lawsuit is just one example of a problem ‘‘that has plagued Mississippi schools statewide for years.’’ The report was a joint project of the state chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP with the Mississippi Coalition for the Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse and the Advancement Project.
‘‘The bottom line is that there are no successful schools in America that have high expulsion, suspension, and arrest rates,’’ Scott Roberts, a coordinator for Advancement Project, said at a news conference in Jackson.
The report comes less than three months after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Jackson alleging that students in the southeastern city of Meridian have been sent to juvenile detention for infractions such as flatulence or dress code violations, and that mostly black and disabled children are affected.
The defendants deny the allegations and the city said in court records that the police department amended its arrest policies before the suit was filed. Youth court judges in Lauderdale County also denied the allegations in court documents.
The new report says many schools in Mississippi use zero-tolerance policies and students end up incarcerated or kicked out of school ‘‘often for the most trivial misbehaviors.’’
The report also cites a study of 115 school districts in Mississippi that found black students were three times more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than whites and the number was higher in certain districts.
--more--"
The sad truth is Amerika's schools are looking more like prisons every day, although I suppose many kids felt that way even before.
And while we are down there:
Deepwater Horizon owner settles for $1.4b
Still, the penalty struck some as light.
We call it chump change on the blog.
Also see: Tight-Lipped on Louisiana
I have been, and so has the Globe.
UPDATES:
"Man charged with shooting officers
I have been, and so has the Globe.
UPDATES:
"Man charged with shooting officers
CHARENTON — Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff’s deputies who were responding to a mobile home fire near a south Louisiana casino. A Chitimacha tribal officer was pronounced dead at the scene near Charenton, while two St. Mary’s Parish sheriff’s deputies were critically wounded and taken to local hospitals, said State Trooper Stephen Hammons. He said the officers were responding to a fire at a mobile home when the unidentified man allegedly shot them (AP)."
Now that gun control is on the agenda the AmeriKan media are reporting every shooting, suspicious or not, even though incidents of gun violence are actually down.
