CBDTiger

If the water's wet, there's gators in there.

It's about to be open season on gators in LA.

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State wildlife officials are preparing to launch a new recreational alligator hunting program as the number of nuisance alligators appears to be growing. The program begins at a time when the state’s alligator population is estimated in the millions.

Nuisance alligators are becoming increasingly common in the region. One interrupted a search for a missing swimmer in Lake Pontchartrain on Sunday. “I thought it was a bull shark,” said veteran rescue diver Mark Michaud. He said officials called off the search after encountering the alligator, estimated at more than 10 feet long. It is not clear whether the alligator caused the swimmer’s death.

Another alligator showed up in a Belle Chasse swimming pool over the weekend.

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Fox 8

Then there's the St. Charles gator that took a bite out of crime.

Gator hunts DUI suspect

So very sad.

We lost a coworker from Slidell just last week in an accident on I-10 in Mobile. She was coming home from a graduation in Florida and was rear-ended by a Ram 3500 pickup truck. The collision pushed her into the back of a semi truck sitting in traffic on the Mobile Bay bridge. Sweet lady who was 65 and probably nearing retirement. Her sister (age 67) was airlifted to the hospital, along with the driver of the pickup.

NBC ch 15 story

eta info on sister

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Wow what the frick are they hoping to accomplish?

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With nowhere left to store oil, perhaps they've elected to sacrifice the Gulf in lieu of permanently damaging the oil fields. I've seen news blurbs indicating the Iranians may soon need to shut down wells for lack of storage. Maybe their plan B is to just let them overflow.

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As tensions have escalated, Iran has restricted passage through the Strait, while the US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping, sharply limiting Tehran’s ability to export crude.

The immediate consequences are tankers stranded, prices surging, and Iran rapidly running out of places to store its oil. Analysts now warn that storage could fill within weeks, forcing producers to shut wells altogether. But the deeper story lies far below the surface. Oil wells are not designed to be switched off and on at will. And when they are, the damage can linger long after the crisis has passed.

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Inside Ecology article on well shut-down consequences

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Nope. Louisiana lost a rep after the 2010 or 2020 census. Will probably lose another after 2040.

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I'm old enough to remember when we had 8 seats, in the early 90's. If only our politicians would worry more about retaining and attracting young people, instead of drawing districts to slight political enemies within your own party.

The Fields Above the Graves: Louisiana 2024 Redistricting

Chrysler's TC by Maserati, in Cimarron NM. It had been sitting there a while or they weren't worried about a current registration.

Nori Guys spicy tuna sushi taco. Couldn't pass it up.



Wanted to try the oxtail fried rice from Chicken's Kitchen but they had a 20-deep line. Plus it was $15. Never understood waiting a long time for food at a fest like this when there's other tasty offerings one or two booths away with no line.

On a related note, it seems fest food has developed pricing tiers just like tickets. Hogs for the Cause had a booth selling lobster rolls/poboys at $35 with optional $15 caviar topping. $50 for a fest sammich. Granted it's lobster and caviar, but $4 for half of a pimento pulled pork grilled cheese is more my speed for a BBQ fest.

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So far, no American has been successful since arriving during Trump’s second term. Among those refused and earmarked for deportation is Lisa Gayle Carter-Stewart, who fled Montana with her transgender teenager, 14-year-old Nox, last April. “It was automatically rejected because America is considered a safe country of origin,” said Carter-Stewart. “Nox even told the IND during their interview when they asked, what will you do if you have to return to America? Nox told them: ‘I will kill myself.’ None of that was considered in their decision-making process.”

Nox has tried to take their own life three times at Ter Apel, said Carter-Stewart. “They are not getting on well. Nox stays in our room 24-7. They don’t go outside, not even on sunny days.” Still, she insists, Nox doesn’t want to go home: “Nox has said they’re glad we’re not in the US any more.”

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Guardian article

Sad commentary on the blame everyone but me parenting today. If Montana was so bad maybe she and "they" should have just fled for California or Seattle.

And I still can't wrap my head around plural pronouns - do they both stay inside on sunny days or does mom go outside while they stays inside?

Rhiannon Giddens - Calling Me Home (really about Heaven - powerful song of lament)

Black Keys - Poor Boy a Long Way from Home


Side note - In addition to playing Jazz Fest, they're doing an in-store performance at Peaches Records on May 1.

Instagram

WWL had quite a run of continuity and prime time professionals, with enough local talent to keep it real (Hap Glaudi, Nash Roberts, Frank Davis). They always reloaded with new talent (Jim Henderson, Chris Myers, Hota Kotb, etc.), until recently. Cool story - Henderson was our neighbor in Algiers and played tennis with my parents before moving to the North Shore.

Then some time after Katrina WWL waived the white flag in the fight for talent.

Most of my Jr High days ended with WWL news at 10, MASH at 10:30, with the late weather reminder from Dave Barnes as the credits rolled.

70's Dream team - Garland Robinette, Angela Hill, Hap Glaudi, Al Duckworth



Angela was at WWL for 50 years and had her own talk show that debuted about the same time as Oprah. She had Oprah as a guest, along with Bill Clinton, Willie Nelson, and others.

A youthful Dan Gill on the Angela show - 1989



edited to fix Angela's name from Davis to Hill. Angela Hill was no feminist terrorist.

Yes.

Or join Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts) and earn the Personal Management merit badge (required for Eagle rank). In my son's troop it was (and still is) taught by a retired Halliburton engineer who dabbles in investing and owns rental properties. Scouts often say it was their most useful merit badge. I certainly wish my wife and daughter had it!

Requirements (takes at least three months):

TL;DR - a hands-on course that produces young people who are able to manage their finances, budget their money and time, plan for the unexpected, and retire with a nest egg.

1. Do the following:

(a) Choose an item that your family might want to purchase that is considered a major expense.
(b) Write a plan that tells how your family would save money for the purchase identified in requirement 1(a).
(1) Discuss the plan with your counselor.
(2) Discuss the plan with your family.
(3) Discuss how other family needs must be considered in this plan.
(c) Develop a written shopping strategy for the purchase identified in requirement 1(a).
(1) Determine the quality of the item or service (using consumer publications or rating systems.)
(2) Comparison shop for the item. Find out where you can buy the item for the best price. (Provide prices from at least two different price sources.) Call around; study ads. Look for a sale or discount coupon. Consider alternatives. Can you buy the item used? Should you wait for a sale?


2. Do the following:

(a) Prepare a budget reflecting your expected income (allowance, gifts, wages), expenses, and savings for a period of 13 consecutive weeks.
(b) Compare expected income with expected expenses.
(1) If expenses exceed budget income, determine steps to balance your budget.
(2) If income exceeds budget expenses, state how you would use the excess money (new goal, savings).
(c) Track and record your actual income, expenses, and savings for 13 consecutive weeks (the same 13-week period for which you budgeted). (You may use the forms provided in the Personal Management merit badge pamphlet, devise your own, or use a computer-generated version). When complete, present the records showing the results to your counselor.
(d) Compare your budget with your actual income and expenses to understand when your budget worked and when it did not work. With your counselor, discuss what you might do differently the next time.


3. Discuss with your counselor FIVE of the following concepts:

(a) The emotions you feel when you receive money.
(b) Your understanding of how the amount of money you have with you affects your spending habits.
(c) Your thoughts when you buy something new and your thoughts about the same item three months later. Explain the concept of buyer's remorse.
(d) How hunger affects you when shopping for food items (snacks, groceries).
(e) Your experience of an item you have purchased after seeing or hearing advertisements for it. Did the item work as well as advertised?
(f) Your understanding of what happens when you put money into a savings account.
(g) Charitable giving. Explain its purpose and your thoughts about it.
(h) What you can do to better manage your money.


4. Explain the following to your counselor:

(a) The differences between saving and investing, including reasons for using one over the other.
(b) The concepts of return on investment and risk and how they are related.
(c) The concepts of simple interest and compound interest.
(d) The concept of diversification in investing.
(e) Why it is important to save and invest for retirement.


5. Explain to your counselor what the following investments are and how each works:

(a) Common stocks
(b) Mutual funds
(c) Life insurance
(d) A certificate of deposit (CD)
(e) A savings account
(f) A U.S. savings bond


6. Explain to your counselor why people might purchase the following types of insurance and how they work:

(a) Automobile
(b) Health
(c) Homeowner's/renter's
(d) Whole life and term life


7. Explain to your counselor the following:

(a) What a loan is, what interest is, and how the annual percentage rate (APR) measures the true cost of a loan
(b) The different ways to borrow money
(c) The differences between a charge card, debit card, and credit card, including the costs and pitfalls of using these financial tools, and why it is unwise to make only the minimum payment on your credit card
(d) Credit reports and how personal responsibility can affect your credit report
(e) Ways to reduce or eliminate debt.


8. Demonstrate to your counselor your understanding of time management by doing the following:

(a) Write a "to do" list of tasks or activities, such as homework assignments, chores, and personal projects, that must be done in the coming week. List these in order of importance to you.
(b) Make a seven-day calendar or schedule. Put in your set activities, such as school classes, sports practices or games, jobs or chores, and/or Scout or place of worship or club meetings, then plan when you will do all the tasks from your "to do" list between your set activities.
(c) Follow the one-week schedule you planned. Keep a daily diary or journal during each of the seven days of this week's activities, writing down when you completed each of the tasks on your "to do" list compared to when you scheduled them.
(d) With your counselor, review your "to do" list, one-week schedule, and diary/journal to understand when your schedule worked and when it did not work. Discuss what you might do differently the next time.


9. Prepare a written project plan demonstrating the steps below, including the desired outcome. This is a project on paper, not a real-life project. Examples could include planning a camping trip, developing a community service project or a school or religious event, or creating an annual patrol plan with additional activities not already included in the troop annual plan. Discuss your completed project plan with your counselor.

(a) Define the project. What is your goal?
(b) Develop a timeline for your project that shows the steps you must take from beginning to completion.
(c) Describe your project.
(d) Develop a list of resources. Identify how these resources will help you achieve your goal.
(e) Develop a budget for your project.


10. Do the following:

(a) Choose a career you might want to enter after high school or college graduation. Discuss with your counselor the needed qualifications, education, skills, and experience.
(b) Explain to your counselor what the associated costs might be to pursue this career, such as tuition, school or training supplies, and room and board. Explain how you could prepare for these costs and how you might make up for any shortfall.