Well it was. There’s no denying it, much as some of you might like. As if 2008 wasn’t memorable enough, the last 11 months (it’s only 11 at this writing) have brought beauty and angst, fear and loathing, and enough eyebrow-raising events to make it even more memorable than ’08. Really.
Top Story of the Year. Hands down. As if there was any doubt: Mandeville. Enough said… almost.
“Hysteric Mandeville on the Lake.” After the saga began in early 2008 with allegations of a misused police benevolent fund, the situation in Mandeville city government escalated – or deteriorated, depending on your perspective. And it escalated rapidly. A couple of alleged DWIs, an indictment for perjury, a state audit, the “forced retirement” of the 30-year police chief and… well… it wasn’t pretty. It got even less pretty in October 2009, when the mayor pled guilty to federal charges and resigned. It was, for the second year in a row, the top story. Now served by interim Mayor Bubby Lyons, who has promised not to seek the office in the March special election, the city is returning to something like “normal” while candidates line up to seek the remainder of the mayor’s term, which will end in 2012.
“He Said, He Said.” And in second place, the St. Tammany sheriff and parish president went at it tooth-and-nail, with accusations of misspent tax dollars, threats of a virtual shutdown of the parish jail, and appeals to the State Auditor from both players. The situation remains unresolved at this writing, but with the sheriff requesting (nay, demanding) more money from the Parish Government to operate the jail and the Parish repeatedly saying, “no,” it has the potential of becoming a brewing fandango to end all fandangos… or a tempest in a teapot. It just depends on what they can make work, and how quickly. And there’s more than just politics to consider: The outcome will affect public safety, government solvency, and the political futures of both men.
Thereafter… well, honestly, everything else kind of pales in comparison. But we’ll try.
“Look! Up in the Sky!” Construction finally begins on the I-12 / Hwy. 1088 Interchange. Sort of. There are cranes in the sky, but whether it’s more constellation or decoration than progress remains to be seen. It’s been an on-again/off-again love affair with infrastructure. Money for the project was approved when Bobby Jindal was still a congressman. Yes, that long ago. Or do you even remember that Louisiana’s jet-setting chief executive once represented the northshore in Washington. It seems like forever ago. But once the money was approved, there were more hurdles: engineering and environmental impact studies; questions as to whether the new interchange is warranted; bureaucratic holdups at the state level, and some very angry people at Parish Government and the School Board – which built Lakeshore High School, in part, based on increasing access from the new interchange – raising heck. Now, at last, it seems to be moving forward, if only with baby steps.
“Learning Curve.” Lakeshore High School opened north of Mandeville. Despite the anomalous name, given its actual lack of proximity to Lake Pontchartrain, the state-of-the-art facility is a marvelous institution of learning. And despite the brouhaha over how the school’s district boundaries would be drawn… it rocks. Currently housing only 9th and 10th grade students, the census will grow each year as new cohorts are added, easing overcrowding at Fontainebleau High School.
“We Could be Solvent AND Cold.” The economy bites, but it doesn’t bite AS BAD here. That’s right. Despite what CNN tells you, the local outlook is rather decent, if not positive. Unemployment on the northshore is about half the national rate, and remains significantly lower than the statewide rate, too. A year ago, Baton Rouge and New Orleans were ranked as solid places to ride out the economic storm, and a more recent national study said the only state better positioned in the current recession is North Dakota. Go figure.
“Snip, Snip.” At the behest of northshore Sen. Jack Donahue, the state Streamlining Commission began hearings to identify duplication, waste and unnecessary government in an overarching effort to save taxpayer dollars and close the budget gap. Speaking of which…
“Cha-Ching!” We’re broke. No, not you and me. Louisiana. Just HOW broke we are remains an ongoing question, but in contrast with the budget surplus of 2008, how the mighty have fallen. The piggy bank is tinging a hollow sound as a few lonely coins bounce around and competing influences shake it upside-down to grab whatever moolah they can. Whether by a single billion or by several billions, Louisiana is not as flush as it once was – just a short time ago.
“Turn Your Head and Cough.” We’re sick and getting sicker. Well, maybe just getting sick and tired. The noise – and it can’t reasonably be called anything but noise – about the federal healthcare reform plan has gotten so … well… noisy, that it’s hard to tell what’s true and what’s partisan hollering. At this writing the plan, all four bajillion pages of it, has passed in the House of Representatives by only five votes and is awaiting the next step, which is a showdown in the Senate. Think this isn’t a northshore issue? With healthcare providers among the largest economic sectors hereabouts, the plan – whatever it is or turns out to be – could have significant impact not just on healthcare but on employment. And if that’s not enough to convince you it’s a local issue, pay attention to the protests, rallies and talk radio blather aplenty on this topic. But has anyone actually read this thing?
“Order in the Court.” A new judiciary took office in January, with eight new judges in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa. Laws change all the time, but the faces on the bench rarely do – at least not in such large numbers.
“Splish Splash.” We still ain’t got no levees. Yup. That’s right. The Corps of Engineers spent millions improving flood protection on the southshore – which no one begrudges – but left the northshore as vulnerable as ever to storm surge. In fact, improvements to storm surge protection on the Southshore may actually make us MORE vulnerable. So while it was a relatively quiet hurricane season, we’ve really just dodged a bullet again – a bullet that will continue to meander but eventually make landfall again hereabouts.
Runners-up:
“Sea Change.” A new White House and Congress took over Washington, including Congressman Steve Scalise, who won a record five elections in one year, and the thrice-elected Mary Landrieu, whose support among northshore Republicans drew the ire of the GOP. This is more than just one story, of course. It covers everything from war to taxes and healthcare to “cash for clunkers” – along with a million other things.
“Not Since Frankenstein….” The property tax and assessment flap continues in St. Tammany, with citizens storming the Assessor’s Office like angry villagers with pitchforks and torches, while taxing bodies feel the heat from an overtaxed public – a public that keeps voting for new and renewable millages.
“This Little Piggy….” The Swine Flu scare has everyone … well… scared. But controversy about how big a threat the H1N1 virus really is and questions about how safe the vaccinations might be, have many taking their chances.
“Who Dat?” Arguably, this isn’t a northshore story. It isn’t even a Louisiana story. This thing is global. “Who Dat?” ‘Nuff said.