In a valiant attempt at euthanasia, a Sewerage and Water Board (S&WB) employee bungled the parts for Turbine 4 in hopes that the powers that be would finally do what’s best and put the 109 year old turbine to rest. Sadly, that did not happen. Also last week, the S&WB announced that the turbine will live on instead. And so will our water woes. There was much talk during the announcement. There was talk of megawatts, hertz, frequencies, risks, and redundancies. Call it a bunch of what-had-happened-was.
But despite it all, the S&WB is reordering the parts. And eventually the turbine will be resurrected and repaired, again. In the meantime, there won’t be much to worry about. Citizens will only have to suffer through the minor inconvenience of having the city’s already struggling drainage pumps operate on low power during one of the rainiest months of the year.
If you’re wondering if Turbine 4 is the same turbine that exploded and blew out windows in Hollygrove 5 years ago, it is not. That would be its equally inept cousin Turbine 5.
Majority Black District
When you think of the new majority black district do you imagine a DEI program? What about reverse racism? What are your thoughts on the section of the Voting Rights Act that makes it a legal requirement? Do you think it’s outdated, a relic of our racist past? Have you been able to find happiness in your present gerrymandered district? If not, you should read the Your Views section of the city’s flagship newspaper. In one view, a gentleman of obvious genius questioned the intent of the district. Why, he wondered, do black people need a district of their own?
One could go down the rabbit hole of debating racism’s past and present. Or one could just state the obvious. The current districts are rigged and gerrymandered. That gives one group (Republicans) complete political power. Dissenting voices and votes are diluted by spreading them over a politically drawn landscape. The landscape is grouped into what we call districts. So if we’re playing a rigged game of power, then yes black people should take their legally mandated district and vote in it. If the gentleman of obvious genius doesn’t like the results, he can do exactly what he suggested disgruntled black people do: move.
Mayor Cantrell’s and the Pontalba
These are tough times for mayor Cantrell. We should all be there for her. It had to be an emotional moment to finally let go of the Pontalba. So many memories. So many good times. Was there a final walkthrough? A moment of silence? Did she fondly run her hand over the plants Officer Vappie watered while committing payroll fraud (allegedly)? What about the bedroom, or the sofa she kicked back on while skipping meetings? Was there a final meeting of her tush on their cush(ions)? Did she step on the balcony and take in one last gaze upon the city she spends so much time flying away from? The media has been silent on these final moments. Out of respect? But surely somehow someway Lee Zurich has the footage.
Donald Trump
This didn’t happen in New Orleans. But it’s worth mentioning that former president Donald Trump, aka the very stable genius, managed to potentially squeeze $3 billion from his supporters. This happened when Truth Social, his social media site, went public Friday. The fundamentally worthless company is suddenly worth a lot due to its supporters buying up shares and inflating the stock price. The very stable genius just so happens to be the majority stockholder. So if all stays the same the aforementioned genius can sell his shares in 6 months and cash out with $3 billion.
The cash out would be too late to pay the $464 million he owes New York. But imagine the unlimited number of cigarettes it can go towards once he’s in jail. Maybe he really is a genius after all.