Enlightenment: The panel that runs Louisiana’s Superdome approved spending up to $100,000 today for an engineering study to be done with an eye toward changing the stadium’s emergency power systems. Dome manager Doug Thornton says that idea has been in the works since well before the recent Super Bowl game, when a partial power outage led to the suspension of the NFL game for more than half an hour. Thornton’s comments came during a meeting of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District board.
That’s life: Once the object of ridicule and focus of outrage after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, former BP chief executive Tony Hayward made a cameo today at the trial over the disaster, briefly showing up on a videotape in what may be his only appearance in the courtroom. Hayward, who famously said at the height of the spill, “I’d like my life back,” isn’t expected to take the witness stand in the high-stakes trial to determine how much more BP and its partners should pay for the spill. The Associated Press has full coverage here on day three of the historic trial that’s ongoing in New Orleans.
Down to one: Denham Springs Marshal Jerry Denton today withdrew his candidacy for a seat on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. With the Republican out of the race, that leaves just Ernest “Ernie” Drake Jr. of Ponchatoula, also a Republican, the lone name on the April 6 ballot. Denton says in a prepared statement: “I have not been able to attain the large sums of money in this short election cycle that is needed. Also, the time constraints in this short election cycle would make it difficult for me to simultaneously do my job as marshal.”
