"La. senator’s residency at issue in campaign" by David S. Joachim and Jonathan Weisman | New York Times August 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — The embattled reelection campaign of Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana was damaged further Friday by the revelation that she uses her parents’ home address to establish her residency in the state.
Landrieu, a Democrat whose campaign is one of a handful that could determine control of the Senate, is registered to vote at a home in New Orleans that is owned by her parents, but she lists her Capitol Hill home as her address in regulatory documents, the Washington Post reported, based on the senator’s filings.
On Friday, the senator’s main opponent pounced.
“Senator Landrieu belongs in Washington, D.C. She just chooses Louisiana to get reelected,” the challenger, Republican US Representative Bill Cassidy, posted on Twitter.
Landrieu’s campaign defended the senator’s living arrangements, noting that she and her family own the New Orleans home together and that Landrieu and her husband pay taxes and vote in the state.
In a written statement, Landrieu said: “I have lived at my home on Prieur Street most of my life and I live there now, when not fulfilling my duties in Washington or serving constituents across the state.”
The Post quoted a memo from her lawyers stating that she was “not disqualified simply because she maintains a residence in the District of Columbia in order to serve Louisiana.”
It is unclear how the question of Landrieu’s residency might affect her standing with voters. In 2012, Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, a Republican who had been in office for three decades, lost his reelection bid after reports that he stayed in hotels when he visited his district.
The Landrieu family has deep roots in the state. The senator’s brother, Mitch Landrieu, is the mayor of New Orleans.
Bernie Pinsonat, a Louisiana pollster, said the question of Mary Landrieu’s residency reminded him of a similar episode involving another Louisiana Democrat, former senator John B. Breaux. Breaux had prepared to run for governor in 2007 but then abandoned the effort after the state attorney general refused to declare him a Louisiana citizen under the state’s Constitution.
“I don’t need a poll to tell that it doesn’t sit well with voters when public officials vacate Louisiana and don’t really live here anymore,” said Pinsonat, who works for both Democrats and Republicans. “I don’t know what will happen, but I don’t think it’s a positive revelation for her.”
--more--"
"La. sues US over education standards; Jindal raising profile in possible presidential bid" by Melinda Deslatte | Associated Press August 28, 2014
BATON ROUGE, La. — In a move certain to bolster his national standing with conservatives, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal sued the Obama administration Wednesday, hoping to strike a blow against the controversial Common Core education standards and raising his profile as he builds a possible presidential campaign.
Jindal’s lawsuit accuses the Department of Education of illegally manipulating federal money and regulations to force states to adopt Common Core by dangling $4.3 billion in grants and policy waivers that encouraged them to adopt uniform standards and testing.
‘‘The federal government has hijacked and destroyed the Common Core initiative,’’ Jindal said in a statement. ‘‘Common Core is the latest effort by big government disciples to strip away state rights and put Washington, D.C., in control of everything.’’
While even supporters of the lawsuit question its likelihood for success, the legal challenge represents a new attack on the multistate standards, with Jindal at the forefront of the dispute between conservatives and President Obama.
And the lawsuit comes as opposition to Common Core grows nationally, particularly with Republicans.
The Common Core standards are math and English benchmarks describing what students should know after completing each grade. They were developed by states to allow comparison of students’ performance. More than 40 states, including Louisiana, have adopted them.
A PDK/Gallup Poll released Aug. 20 found 60 percent of those surveyed don’t support the standards. Among Republicans, opposition was 76 percent.
Jindal’s lawsuit says the federal education department’s policy ‘‘effectively forces states down a path toward a national curriculum’’ in violation of the state sovereignty clause in the Constitution and federal laws that prohibit national control of education content.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Baton Rouge.
Praise for the legal challenge quickly poured in from conservative groups.
‘‘Governor Jindal is defending the liberties of citizens and the constitutional structure intended to protect those liberties,’’ Emmett McGroarty, education director of the Washington-based American Principles Project, said in a statement.
When the Louisiana education board embraced the standards in 2010, Jindal supported them, saying they would help students prepare for college and careers. He reversed course earlier this year, calling the standards an effort by the Obama administration to meddle in state education policy.
The governor’s change of heart is not shared by state lawmakers, the education board, or his hand-picked education superintendent. They refuse to jettison Common Core from Louisiana’s classrooms.
--more--"
Also see: Louisiana Getting Rid of Good Old Boy Cops
So are a few other states nearby:
"In the aftermath of the police shooting in Ferguson, some police departments are renewing efforts to reach out to black communities to build trust — holding public meetings, fielding questions, and letting people voice the anger they feel toward officers who patrol their neighborhoods. Dallas has had 14 police shootings so far this year, including one early Wednesday. Nine people have been killed. That follows last year’s tally of 22 shootings and six deaths, according to police. To reassure the public, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins recently said he would begin sending two prosecutors to independently investigate each police shooting."
Related: Racein in the Sun
And just over the border:
"Oklahoma and other states have had problems in recent years obtaining lethal injection chemicals after major drug makers stopped selling them for use in executions. That has forced the states to find alternative drugs, purchased mostly from loosely regulated pharmacies that custom-make medications. Many states refuse to name the suppliers and offer no details about how the drugs are tested or how executioners are trained."
It's the meningitis thing all over again.
Related: Nothing in Common With Oklahoma
Can't just keep them alive, huh?
