High court intervention

By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief

Let’s get you caught up on the big story in state politics that unfolded over the holiday weekend.

By Greg LaRose

Attorney General Liz Murrill asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to intervene following her indictment on charges intimidation and malfeasance. After justices issued a stay order, Murrill made another emergency request to the court after she said the special prosecutor in the case refused to withdraw her arrest warrant. The charges are related to a letter she sent in May to seven elected officials in New Orleans that said Gov. Jeff Landry could remove them from office for disobeying a new state law that consolidated the two local clerk of court offices into one. 

By Katie Jane Fernelius, Verite

The goal of the proposed rule is to identify potential foreign interference and further Louisiana’s “energy dominance.” But some statewide advocacy groups and at least one sitting commissioner worry that the new rule, if adopted, would have a chilling effect and limit which groups can and might intervene in instances when ratepayers challenge how much they have to pay for electricity and gas or whether a utility can build or acquire a new power plant.

By Nicolas Kusnetz, Inside Climate News

The Iran war shows signs of accelerating efforts by many countries to wean themselves off imported fossil fuels, and many analysts predict the LNG boom will eventually lead to a glut. For now, Venture Global is seizing on its wartime windfall to finance rapid expansion. Yet little of the company’s good fortune is making its way back to Cameron, some residents say. They had hoped the LNG terminals would bring a second wind. Instead, the industrial activity makes some want to leave.

By Alex Brown

President Donald Trump has shown the immense power of the executive branch to stymie offshore wind development, as nearly all projects are in waters where federal agencies operate as the landlord. Now, as the feds block new permits and dangle billion-dollar buyout offers to convince developers to walk away from their projects, state leaders are hoping some companies share their conviction that the industry can be revived after Trump leaves office.

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