March 2018

Political vision needed in Louisiana

There were several gatherings at the state capitol in Baton Rouge last week. Former legislators gathered for their annual reunion to catch up on old friendships and reminisce about past legislative accomplishments. And the few living delegates from the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention were honored for their service as talk of a new convention was being debated in the capitol halls. One theme ran through both gatherings. Why aren’t problems being solved? Why so little cooperation? Where is the vision?

“Adventure Time” is over

WHEELIN’ & DILLON

In a clip posted by the Cartoon Network website, moments from “Adventure Time,” — my favorite cartoon as well as one of my favorite television shows — were put into a compilation and set to nostalgic music. This clip seemed to have an air of actual finality to it that I found odd, as I had not expected the show to be ending in the near future. I looked it up and sure enough, this was for a reason. I had known this would be the last season of the show, but I was gobsmacked to find that the next four episodes would indeed end the show.

Legislators should let the people decide

The Louisiana Legislature has killed an effort to allow local governments to seek gas taxes to pay for critical infrastructure improvements.

That’s a shame.

The bill that was effectively killed earlier this week would not have imposed taxes on anyone. It would have simply allowed local voters to decide whether they want to pay extra gas taxes.

That seems fair, regardless of what one thinks about the particular merits of any given tax question.

What the Legislature did, though, was deny local taxpayers across the state the ability to decide for themselves.

Relatives await bodies after fire kills 68 at Venezuela jail

VALENCIA, Venezuela (AP) — Relatives of 68 people killed in a fire at a Venezuelan police station jail waited Thursday for officials to turn over the remains of their loved ones, after having spent much of the previous day clamoring for information and clashing with police.

The fast-moving fire on Wednesday swept through a station where prisoners were being kept in crowded cells, becoming one of the worst catastrophes involving the nation’s prison system.

Tigers battle Miss. State in Sec tilt at The Box

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Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-13, 1-5 SEC) at #19 LSU Fighting Tigers (16-10, 3-3 SEC)

DATES/TIMES

Thursday, March 29 – 7 p.m. CT

Friday, March 30 – 7 p.m. CT

Saturday, March 31 – 2 p.m. CT

STADIUM

Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)

Tickets available at https://bit.ly/2E2InaI

RANKINGS

LSU – No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 21 by Baseball America

MSU – unranked

RADIO

Kentucky police kill suspect in wife’s death outside school

RADCLIFF, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s governor is praising the quick response to a man who allegedly killed his wife and then was fatally shot by officers outside his son’s high school.

Authorities said the area’s schools were locked down just eight minutes after law enforcement learned of a possible homicide, and officers then fatally shot the man about five minutes after encountering him in the school’s parking lot. It was all over in about 20 minutes.

Trump: Good chance NKorean leader will do ‘what’s right’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday there’s “a good chance” that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will “do what is right for his people and for humanity” and make moves toward peace.

In a pair of morning tweets, Trump says he received a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping that a meeting Xi had with Kim this week “went very well.”

Trump says that according to Xi, the North Korean leader “looks forward” to meeting the American president. The White House has said Trump plans to meet Kim by May amid nuclear tensions between the two nations.

Female candidates stress gender, motherhood

ATLANTA (AP) — Women running for governor in Wisconsin and Maryland breastfeed their infants in their campaign videos. Another in Georgia tells voters that “the folks who have held the office of governor don’t look like me.”

The record number of women expected to run for office this year are already breaking barriers, upending traditional campaigning by emphasizing their gender as they introduce themselves to an electorate they hope is eager for change.

Egypt votes on final day, with all eyes on turnout

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities have warned people to vote or risk paying a fine, as they look to boost turnout in a lackluster election that is virtually guaranteed to hand President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi a second four-year term.

El-Sissi faces only a token opponent in the vote, which resembles the referendums held by autocrats for decades before the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 briefly raised hopes of democratic change.

Hamas prepares for mass rallies along Gaza-Israel border

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s embattled Hamas rulers are imploring people to march along the border with Israel in the coming weeks in a risky gambit meant to shore up their shaky rule, but with potentially deadly consequences.

Beginning Friday, Hamas hopes it can mobilize large crowds to set up tent camps near the border. It plans a series of demonstrations culminating with a march to the border fence on May 15, the anniversary of Israel’s establishment, known to Palestinians as “the Nakba,” or catastrophe.