More heat needed? SLABBED turns it up a notch in update on Jefferson Parish public records law proposal

Wouldn’t you know –  the Times Picayune published Public records law proposal in Jefferson losing momentum after SLABBED  posted Young at heart – well, not exactly, but… Jefferson Parish felt the heat, Young claims to have seen the light on Public Records – and it’s too big a story for an update.

Among the many things the powers that be in Parish government don’t seem to understand is that when you see the light after feeling the heat, you use it to reflect what’s right!  Obviously, it will take more heat, so let’s turn it up on interim Parish President Steve Theriot who seems oblivious to what the rest of us know.  Theriot is no buck-stops-here administrator (pun intended) and he’s not smart either or he wouldn’t try and hide behind the USA:

As news media requests for Jefferson Parish public records fueled almost daily disclosures about potential wrongdoing in former Parish President Aaron Broussard’s administration last winter, parish officials said they caught some flak from federal criminal investigators.

“They had issued subpoenas for the records, and I don’t think they were happy that some of the information became public before they had even seen it,” interim Parish President Steve Theriot said.

“Not happy”?  Did Theriot consider the reason? Nooooo! He came up with one to cover the concern (and no doubt some of his as well):

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten declined to weigh in on the issue. “We were not consulted on the legislation in question,” he said. “If we had been consulted, we would not have provided an opinion.”

Letten said any concerns his investigators raised with parish officials had to do with how quickly the parish responded to subpoenas, not the fact that the subpoenaed records were released to the news media under public records laws.

“When we issue subpoenas for records, we expect a timely response,” he said. “Beyond that, as we have previously stated to Jefferson Parish, we take no position formally or informally as to when or how the parish might provide those records to the press or anyone else who requests them.”

Sadly, it appears a torch wouldn’t be hot enough for Senator Martiny “get it”: Continue reading “More heat needed? SLABBED turns it up a notch in update on Jefferson Parish public records law proposal”

Young at heart – well, not exactly, but… Jefferson Parish felt the heat, Young claims to have seen the light on Public Records

Val Bracy had the story – Public records bill under fire from councilman – but,I’m not so certain Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young, or anyone on the Council for that matter,  really understands the concept of open government.  Young’s proposed resolution is a step in the right direction but it should not take heat for any elected official to see the light on open public records:

The Jefferson Parish council is expected to undo a controversial step it took at its last meeting. The council voted in favor of having the parish’s legislative delegation sponsor a bill that would make changes to state public records laws.

On Wednesday, Councilman John Young will introduce a resolution rescinding the council’s support.

“I think there was some communication and some misinformation. Obviously, it was our understanding, or my understanding, that the US Attorney had a problem with the grand jury subpoenas. I’ve since learned that that’s not a problem,” said Young.

While Young “makes nice”, Senator Danny Martiny offers an excuse that only a Parish-puppet would let come out of his mouth: Continue reading “Young at heart – well, not exactly, but… Jefferson Parish felt the heat, Young claims to have seen the light on Public Records”