Tag Archives: local

West Bank’s $3 billion flood-control ring finished; milestone ceremony planned Monday

Posted on June 14, 2013

Marking a major milestone in the New Orleansareas flood controlimprovements, the Army Corps of Engineers said it has finished all permanent structures in the $3-billion ring of levees and floodwalls around the West Bank of Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Charles parishes. Officials with the corps and other local agencies plan to hold a ceremony Monday to mark completion of the so-called West Bank and Vicinity project.

The 75-mile line of levees, floodwalls, gates and drainage pumps is designed to reduce flood risk on that side of the Mississippi River between Algiers and Ama. The system, which took more than 50 construction contracts to complete, is expected to protect that region from surge associated with a so-called 100-year storm, one with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given storm season.

With the exception of lower Plaquemines Parish, areas on the west bank of the Mississippi River escaped the devastation that came after Hurricane Katrina. But that was because the storms trajectory pushed most of the surge to the east bank of the river.

Like the rest of the New Orleans area, the West Banks pre-Katrina levees and floodwalls were a system in name only. Wide areas had no levees at all. And widely populated areas had levees and floodwalls that were not up to the 100-year standard.

The West Bank and Vicinity project sought to fix that by raising the height of existing levees, building better floodwalls and closing the gaps in the protection. Just as important, the corps installed the worlds largest pump station, the West Closure Complex at the Harvey Canal, to reduce flood risk.

From that spot, the system extends southeast through a levee just north of Lake Cataouatche, then snakes its way through a network of levees and floodwalls south of Westwego, Marrero, Harvey and Belle Chasse. There the system connects again to the Mississippi levee at Oakville in Plaquemines Parish.

Mondays ceremony is set to begin at 10 a.m. at the new U.S. 90 bridge near the Davis Pond guide levee.

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West Bank’s $3 billion flood-control ring finished; milestone ceremony planned Monday

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Youngest MP backs gay marriage

Posted on May 24, 2013

Federal parliament’s youngest MP has thrown his support behind legalising gay marriage.

Queensland Liberal backbencher Wyatt Roy, 23, says he wants coalition MPs to have a conscience vote on the issue.

“I support the right of same-sex couples to have their loving and committed relationships recognised in state-sanctioned marriage,” Mr Roy said in a statement.

He represents the conservative seat of Longman north of Brisbane.

“I remain vigilant in regard to the views of my local community – and I continue to work through the issues and concerns.”

Other coalition MPs who back gay marriage include frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull, backbencher Kelly O’Dwyer, senator Simon Birmingham and retiring senator Sue Boyce.

A coalition decision last year not to allow its MPs a conscience vote on a private members bill to change the Marriage Act, which was put before parliament by a Labor MP, led to its failure.

Earlier this week, former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd injected new life into the debate after announcing he’d changed his mind and now supported legalising same-sex marriage.

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Youngest MP backs gay marriage

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In West Bank, John Kerry Tries Out Turkey Schawarma

Posted on May 24, 2013

By Keith Johnson

Secretary of State John Kerry, in the middle of his fourth trip to the Middle East, is deeply invested in the peace process. On Thursday, he went all instopping his motorcade on a busy street in Ramallah, in the West Bank. He chose a popular schawarma shopSamers Restaurantto sample traditional Palestinian fare.

Well, fairly traditional. Mr. Kerry asked the owners what they recommended, and he got a turkey schawarma, which he dutifully tried to eat without making a mess in front of a swarm of cameras. After he got to talking with the Egyptian-educated owner of the place, Mr. Kerry gave his security team a fillip, and his sweet tooth a fix, by dashing across the street to Samers pastry shop. There he sampled a few Palestinian sweets and piping hot Arabic coffee, grilling the same owner about prospects for peace in the region. (Hed like some.)

Mr. Kerrys unscheduled visit, a rare stop indeed for the countrys top diplomat and especially so given concerns about diplomatic security overseas, underscores the kind of outreach that the U.S. is trying to make to jumpstart an apparently moribund peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.

He flew into Israel from Jordan Thursday morning, met with Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, then drove over to the West Bank for a chat withMahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority. In both meetings, Mr. Kerry stressed the need for economic development of the Palestinian territories as a way to nudge peace talks along, though concrete proposals remain scanty.

Mr. Kerry has sought since taking office earlier this year to pump fresh life into a peace process that all but collapsed during President Barack Obamas first term, but so far he has little to show for it other than abundant criticism from both sides in the local press. Israel right now is more concerned about the knock-on effects of a disintegrating Syria, not to mention Iran, while Palestinian leaders have plenty to worry about with Hamas.

Hell meet Mr. Netanyahu again Friday, as well as more Palestinian officials, before taking flight for Ethiopia to deal with Africas future, before doubling back to Jordan yet again.

In the end, Mr. Kerrys seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm for taking on problems that have long vexed his predecessors may collide with the crude realities of the region. As he told the owner of Samers, Inshallah.

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In West Bank, John Kerry Tries Out Turkey Schawarma

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Memorial Day services planned on the West Bank, East Jefferson

Posted on May 18, 2013

Two Memorial Day services are coming up in Jefferson Parish, one on the West Bank and one in East Jefferson Parish.

In East Jefferson, Jefferson Parish and members of American Legion Post 397, Harahan River Ridge, invite the public to a memorial on May 24 at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Square on the neutral ground at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Causeway Boulevard in Metairie.

On the West Bank, Branch 162 of the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) in Gretna will hold its annual Memorial Day “Two Bell” ceremony on May 27 at 11 a.m. at 703 Kepler St., Gretna, to honor departed shipmates and all others who have served their country.

The guest speaker will be Col. Bill Davis, retired from the Marines, commandant of the New Orleans Marine and Maritime Academy in Algiers.

The ceremony is open to the public, and several other local area veterans organizations will attend.

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Memorial Day services planned on the West Bank, East Jefferson

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Obama's Evolution On Gay Marriage

Posted on May 13, 2013

In the beginning President Obama approached the issue of gay marriage cautiously.

He had long supported civil unions. He had worked to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and he’d come out against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples legally married in their states.

But even when he became the first sitting president in May of 2012 to say that he thought gays and lesbians should be able to marry, he moved carefully.

When pressed by ABC’s Robin Roberts he suggested that the issue should be left to the states. “I continue to believe,” he said, “that this is an issue that is going to be worked out at the local level.”

But his endorsement influenced a cascade of politicians to switch positions on the issue. Even though 30 states still had language defining marriage as between a man and a woman in their constitutions, by November three more states would authorize gay marriage.

By the time of his inaugural address the president was speaking in sweeping terms.

He said, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law–for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

For gay rights activists the president’s words were deeply moving. “He made clear that support for the freedom to marry is not just important to gay people and our loved ones, but a central part of the American project, our journey toward liberty and justice for all,” says Evan Wolfson of the group Freedom to Marry.

By February, as expected, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. filed a Supreme Court brief in US v. Windsor, the DOMA case. Verrilli reiterated the administration’s position since February 2011 that the law is unconstitutional. Verrilli wrote that DOMA “denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples.”

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Obama's Evolution On Gay Marriage

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A shortage of water, but not hospitality, in the West Bank's fields

Posted on May 1, 2013

Abu Elias, a Jericho farmer, cultivates cucumbers, eggplants, ingenuity, and a good sense of humor.

Abu Elias is pretty much the man in Jericho, where he has raised his four children on the income he earns from growing cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. I met him in the town square on a dusty October day while reporting a story about water shortages in the West Bank; he invited me to come see his farm after he visited the local barber shop.

Jerusalem bureau chief

Christa Case Bryant is The Christian Science Monitor’s Jerusalem bureau chief, providing coverage on Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as regional issues.

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After he was all spiffed up, he had another idea: taking us to visit a local composting conference at a farm on the outskirts of town.

It didnt sound very useful for my story but we agreed to join him and Im glad we did. It turned out that the Palestinian minister of agriculture was there, along with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Amid manure piles and fish tanks, he introduced me to both.

Afterward we headed back to Abu Eliass tidy plot. He used to plant 20 dunams (about 5 acres) of land, but has cut back to half that due to a water shortage, which he blames on mismanagement by the Jericho municipality.

“The spring of Ein Sultan produces the same amount but the distribution and administration of water is very bad, its inefficient,” he says. “I am being given less water than what I deserve in terms of what I pay.”

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A shortage of water, but not hospitality, in the West Bank's fields

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Gay marriage won in RI with coordinated strategy

Posted on April 27, 2013

PROVIDENCE Phone banks, an army of volunteers and alliances with organized labor, business leaders and religious clergy propelled gay marriage to victory in Rhode Island this week, a savvy and coordinated strategy that relied on growing public support and old-fashioned bare-knuckle politics.

Gay marriage legislation had failed every year in Rhode Island since 1997, leaving the heavily Catholic state the lone holdout in New England as the five other states changed their marriage laws. Thats soon set to change. The state Senate voted Wednesday to allow gay marriage, and Gov. Lincoln Chafee plans to sign the bill into law following a final, procedural vote in the House next week.

The successful campaign could serve as a model for similar efforts in other states and reflects the increasingly sophisticated political strategy driving what just two decades ago was dismissed as a fringe issue with little public support, advocates and lawmakers alike say.

This was a victory won by many people, because thats what it takes, House Speaker Gordon Fox, a Providence Democrat who is gay and led House efforts to pass gay marriage, said Thursday. You bring everyone together, and youre stronger for it. Its a recipe that could definitely be replicated in other states.

Opponents, however, say their defeat in Rhode Island was less about dogged political strategy than it was the national conversation on gay marriage.

Its a campaign thats been promoted by Hollywood, by the news media, by educational institutions, said Scott Spear, a spokesman for the National Organization for Marriages Rhode Island chapter. I think the local group was just on that wave. They didnt create it, they just rode it.

Rhode Island will be the 10th state to allow gay marriage when the legislation takes effect Aug. 1. Supporters in Delaware and Illinois are also hoping to follow this year. Efforts are also underway in other states, including New Jersey, Oregon and Minnesota.

Polls show support has surged since 1996, when Gallup found that 27 percent of Americans backed same-sex marriage. Now Gallup finds that 53 percent support giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.

The momentum is clear in Rhode Island. Two years ago, gay marriage legislation didnt even get a vote in the General Assembly. This year, it passed the House 51-19 and the Senate 26-12.

We are close to the end of a journey that began in 1997, said Ray Sullivan, campaign director for Rhode Islanders United for Marriage, which led the push for the legislation. When we began this campaign in January, many thought wed never succeed in the Senate.

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Gay marriage won in RI with coordinated strategy

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RI on Track to Be 10th State With Gay Marriage

Posted on April 25, 2013

Phone banks, an army of volunteers and alliances with organized labor, business leaders and religious clergy propelled gay marriage to victory in Rhode Island this week, a savvy and coordinated strategy that relied on growing public support and old-fashioned bare-knuckle politics.

Gay marriage legislation had failed every year in Rhode Island since 1997, leaving the heavily Catholic state the lone holdout in New England as the five other states changed their marriage laws. That’s soon set to change. The state Senate voted Wednesday to allow gay marriage, and Gov. Lincoln Chafee plans to sign the bill into law following a final, procedural vote in the House next week.

The successful campaign could serve as a model for similar efforts in other states and reflects the increasingly sophisticated political strategy driving what just two decades ago was dismissed as a fringe issue with little public support, advocates and lawmakers alike say.

“This was a victory won by many people, because that’s what it takes,” House Speaker Gordon Fox, a Providence Democrat who is gay and led House efforts to pass gay marriage, said Thursday. “You bring everyone together, and you’re stronger for it. It’s a recipe that could definitely be replicated in other states.”

Opponents, however, say their defeat in Rhode Island was less about dogged political strategy than it was the national conversation on gay marriage.

“It’s a campaign that’s been promoted by Hollywood, by the news media, by educational institutions,” said Scott Spear, a spokesman for the National Organization for Marriage’s Rhode Island chapter. “I think the local group was just on that wave. They didn’t create it, they just rode it.”

Rhode Island will be the 10th state to allow gay marriage when the legislation takes effect Aug. 1. Supporters in Delaware and Illinois are also hoping to follow this year. Efforts are also underway in other states, including New Jersey, Oregon and Minnesota.

Polls show support has surged since 1996, when Gallup found that 27 percent of Americans backed same-sex marriage. Now Gallup finds that 53 percent support giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.

The momentum is clear in Rhode Island. Two years ago, gay marriage legislation didn’t even get a vote in the General Assembly. This year, it passed the House 51-19 and the Senate 26-12.

“We are close to the end of a journey that began in 1997,” said Ray Sullivan, campaign director for Rhode Islanders United for Marriage, which led the push for the legislation. “When we began this campaign in January, many thought we’d never succeed in the Senate.”

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RI on Track to Be 10th State With Gay Marriage

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Coordinated strategy propelled gay marriage in RI

Posted on April 25, 2013

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Phone banks, an army of volunteers and alliances with organized labor, business leaders and religious clergy propelled gay marriage to victory in Rhode Island this week, a savvy and coordinated strategy that relied on growing public support and old-fashioned bare-knuckle politics.

Gay marriage legislation had failed every year in Rhode Island since 1997, leaving the heavily Catholic state the lone holdout in New England as the five other states changed their marriage laws. That’s soon set to change. The state Senate voted Wednesday to allow gay marriage, and Gov. Lincoln Chafee plans to sign the bill into law following a final, procedural vote in the House next week.

The successful campaign could serve as a model for similar efforts in other states and reflects the increasingly sophisticated political strategy driving what just two decades ago was dismissed as a fringe issue with little public support, advocates and lawmakers alike say.

“This was a victory won by many people, because that’s what it takes,” House Speaker Gordon Fox, a Providence Democrat who is gay and led House efforts to pass gay marriage, said Thursday. “You bring everyone together, and you’re stronger for it. It’s a recipe that could definitely be replicated in other states.”

Opponents, however, say their defeat in Rhode Island was less about dogged political strategy than it was the national conversation on gay marriage.

“It’s a campaign that’s been promoted by Hollywood, by the news media, by educational institutions,” said Scott Spear, a spokesman for the National Organization for Marriage’s Rhode Island chapter. “I think the local group was just on that wave. They didn’t create it, they just rode it.”

Rhode Island will be the 10th state to allow gay marriage when the legislation takes effect Aug. 1. Supporters in Delaware and Illinois are also hoping to follow this year. Efforts are also underway in other states, including New Jersey, Oregon and Minnesota.

Polls show support has surged since 1996, when Gallup found that 27 percent of Americans backed same-sex marriage. Now Gallup finds that 53 percent support giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.

The momentum is clear in Rhode Island. Two years ago, gay marriage legislation didn’t even get a vote in the General Assembly. This year, it passed the House 51-19 and the Senate 26-12.

“We are close to the end of a journey that began in 1997,” said Ray Sullivan, campaign director for Rhode Islanders United for Marriage, which led the push for the legislation. “When we began this campaign in January, many thought we’d never succeed in the Senate.”

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Gay marriage measure passes French Senate

Posted on April 10, 2013

Opponents of gay marriage, gay adoption and medically-assisted procreation march in a demonstration in Paris on January 13, 2013. The demonstration, aimed at countering French President Francois Hollande’s pledge to legalize gay marriage in an upcoming parliamentary vote, drew large crowds from various parts of the country. UPI/David Silpa

License photo

PARIS, April 10 (UPI) — A key article of a bill that would allow same-sex unions in France cleared the Senate on a 179-157 vote following 10 hours of floor debate.

“The vote on this article marks a victory in the fight against homophobia and for tolerance and democracy,” said Francois Rebsamen, head of the Socialist group in the Senate, said in a statement after the vote Tuesday.

Despite efforts by Senate opponents of same-sex marriage, the measure was passed without amendments and on the first vote, meaning it won’t have to be returned to the lower chamber for consideration, France’s version of The Local reported Wednesday.

While the vote does not formally write same-sex marriage into French law, the Senate would have to reject the entire bill to prevent it from becoming law, officials said.

“The adoption of this article by a united Senate majority, puts an end to discrimination resulting from the sexual choices of our citizens,” Rebsamen said.

The Senate is expected to vote on the entire bill in several weeks.

France’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, which has the power to reject legislation if it is contrary to the country’s constitution, already said it would accept what lawmakers decide, The Local.fr reported.

France would become the 12th country to legalize same-sex marriage if lawmakers approve the bill.

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Gay marriage measure passes French Senate

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