On the mend: Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne recently had his prostate removed after being diagnosed with a non-aggressive form of cancer. Dardenne’s office announced today that the surgery was performed at Tulane Medical Center nearly two weeks ago after the cancer was found during a routine physical exam. In an interview with The Associated Press, the lieutenant governor says he’s feeling better and has been keeping in touch with the office by phone every day since his surgery. Dardenne says he expects to resume his regular activities within weeks and will head back to the office, on a limited basis, next week. Dardenne says he didn’t announce the minimally invasive procedure when it was scheduled because he and his family wanted to have privacy and the procedure wasn’t life-threatening.
In the books: The New Orleans City Council has approved a 2012 operating budget that keeps the city’s current millage rate in place next year—a step that will provide the city with an extra $3 million. The Times-Picayune reports the $496.7 million general-fund budget passed by the council Thursday is about $8 million higher than this year’s total. The council made several changes to the spending plan presented six weeks ago by Mayor Mitch Landrieu, with the biggest beneficiary being the council itself. The extra funds primarily will cover what members say are legally mandated responsibilities, such as paying for the city’s annual outside audit. Several other agencies, including the district attorney’s office and public defender’s office, will receive some additional funding. Read the full story here.
The comeback: Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will return to the Baton Rouge River Center on Friday, March 23. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 9, online at Ticketmaster.com, in person at all Ticketmaster outlets, and by phone at 800-745-3000. No information on ticket prices was available as of press time this morning. Seinfeld was last in Baton Rouge in April 2009. Tickets for that show ranged from $46 to $76.
Today’s poll question: Should a law be passed to require sales tax on all online sales?
