Moon Griffon gets roasted and more SCHOOL BOARD, COUNCIL TO BEGIN JOINT MEETINGS
The Lafayette Parish School Board and the Lafayette Consolidated Council, along with City-Parish President Joey Durel and UL Lafayette President Joseph Savoie, have agreed to conduct joint quarterly meetings. The first meeting is scheduled for Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. in the council auditorium at City Hall. It will represent the first time the school board and council have met together for any reason other than reapportionment following a census.
Council President Don Bertrand says he and School Board President Carl LaCombe have been discussing the idea of joint meetings since the beginning of the year. “Hopefully what we’re doing,” he says, “is knocking down all the silos so that we’re building relationships and communicating with one another about what the specific issues are and how we all relate to solving problems, whether it be infrastructure, transportation, schools, poverty, the whole nine yards.” The meetings will alternate between the council auditorium and the school board office. Bertrand says other stakeholders, including town mayors, chambers of commerce and the Lafayette Economic Development Authority are also being invited to participate.
Both the council and the school board will have the ability to act in its own capacity at the public meetings. However, Bertrand says the agenda for the Dec. 9 meeting, which will focus on development of the parish’s comprehensive plan, will contain only discussion items. Bertrand says future meetings will explore ways the different entities may be able to consolidate resources. “Take transportation,” he says. “We have a Lafayette city bus system. We have a parish school bus system. UL also has a bus system. What can we do to better use our transportation dollars as a group, as an entire parish? Are there things that we can work together toward? It’s about planning and talking about how we can work together in the future to save taxpayer dollars.”
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MOON GRIFFON GETS ROASTED**
He’s been dishing it out for years, and last week outspoken conservative talk show host Moon Griffon got a taste of what it’s like being on the other side of the radio. Griffon, who’s celebrating 15 years with The Moon Griffon Show which airs locally on KPEL, was roasted at an event at the Petroleum Club that drew more than 250 people and benefitted Louisiana HonorAir. Among the roastees were some of Griffon’s most frequent targets for abuse, including “Pretty Boy Troy” (state Sen. Troy Hebert), “Slick Nick” (state Sen. Nick Gautreaux), “Me-me-me-me Michot” (state Sen. Mike Michot) and “the Queen Bee,” former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Here are some of the best lines from the night:
Carol Ross: “You’re worried about a move toward socialism. The first thing socialist leaders do when they take over is do away with all the intelligentsia and the real journalists. You should be safe on both fronts.”
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State Sen. Mike Michot:** “Moon does such a great job at helping candidates ... not get elected. Most of the time if Moon is for you, you’re going to lose. This past year when he cranked up his criticism of me, I wound up without opposition.”
ULM Professor John Sutherlin: “The only way to enjoy the Moon Griffon show is in high-def. You either have to be high or deaf.”
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City-Parish President Joey Durel:** “This week Moon left the Republican Party. Mary Landrieu was quoted as saying, ‘That’s one confused talk show host.’”
State Sen. Troy Hebert: “Moon Griffon lied when he said I like the blondes. I also like the brunettes and the redheads. I even like the silver-haired ladies, especially the Republican ones that drive the long Mercedes and have the big diamond rings.”
“I think we’re roasting one of the most eligible weiners in the state. Slick Nick wanted me to call you Oscar Mayer. I wouldn’t do that to Oscar Mayer.”
Gov. Kathleen Blanco: “Moon used to be a caterer. Now he specializes in serving up b.s.”
“Ever since I heard about Sarah Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe stipend, I’ve been hacked off at the Democrats.”
MELANCON NOT SWEATING OBAMA’S ANTI-DRILLING ASSAULT
There are 68 days left until President George Bush has to vacate the Oval Office to make room for President-elect Barack Obama. And the new guy has promised quick change — a lot of it — so those 68 days promise to be loaded with one surprise after another. Already, the Democratic crown-holder says he plans to make an immediate impact by killing a few of the executive orders issued by the GOP administration of Mr. W.
Obama told reporters that he is considering lifting a ban on stem cell research and closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, where suspected and convicted terrorists are held. But Obama, who didn’t exactly have the most pro-oil record going into the race for the White House, is also thinking about halting the Bureau of Land Management from opening about 360,000 acres for domestic drilling.
Make no bones about it: Louisiana is an oil and gas state. Money generated from drilling and processing funds coastal restoration projects, road overhauls and other vital public needs. But U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, a Democrat who represents portions of Acadiana and endorsed Obama earlier this year, says there is nothing to worry about — yet.
For starters, the executive order Obama is reviewing involves environmentally-sensitive areas of Utah. It has nothing to do with Louisiana. Additionally, Melancon says Obama could prove to be more moderate on drilling and exploration once he takes office. “You can always come up with some speculation, but my feeling is, my hope is, he won’t move to curtail action in the Gulf of Mexico or the Outer Continental Shelf,” Melancon says. “And this decision regarding Utah could be good for us because it’ll put more demand on Louisiana to produce.”
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Contributors: Jeremy Alford and Nathan Stubbs_