Action!: A section of Government Street just east of Interstate 110 will be closed to traffic on Monday from approximately 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. to shoot the independent feature film “Vincent-N-Roxxy,” city officials announced this afternoon. The actual filming will be done in the vicinity of the intersection of Government Street and South 13th Street. The closure will include both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Government between South 12th Street and Park Avenue. During the filming, alternate interstate access will be directed toward North Boulevard.
One weak week: Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. plummeted by 61 this week to 1,750. The Houston firm says in its weekly report today that 1,421 rigs were exploring for oil and 329 for gas. A year ago 1,754 rigs were active. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Alaska and Arkansas each gained two rigs and Ohio gained one. Texas plunged by 30, North Dakota dropped by seven, New Mexico fell six, Utah and Wyoming each dropped by five, Kansas and Oklahoma each fell by three, Pennsylvania dropped two and Colorado and Louisiana each dipped by one. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
Making their case: Three staunchly conservative Southern states were taking their last stands against same-sex marriage today before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to settle the issue once and for all. The Associated Press reports Louisiana went first, telling a federal appellate panel that giving gays and lesbians marriage rights is so risky and unproven that states must be allowed to protect their citizens against it. Same-sex marriage is “a novel perception” in terms of recorded history, argued Louisiana’s special counsel, Kyle Duncan. The three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also was hearing arguments for and against marriage bans in Texas and Mississippi. Read the full story.
