By: Allen Johnson

Three historic figures in New Orleans apparently left more than their legacies behind. Records show that the state Treasurer (www.latreasury.com) is holding stocks, bonds, and other “unclaimed property” owed to retired U.S. Rep. Lindy Boggs, the late Orleans Parish DA Jim Garrison and U.S. District Judge Veronica D. Wicker, also deceased. The value of each holding exceeds $250. (In 1996, an anonymous New Orleans area resident received unclaimed property from the state valued at more than $1 million.) The state does not publish the exact value of personal unclaimed property exceeding $250 because of “privacy” concerns, says Sarah Mulhearn, spokesperson for state Treasurer John Kennedy. Boggs, the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana and a former ambassador to the Vatican, now lives in the Washington, D.C., area. She turns 92 on Thursday (March 13). Garrison, the only prosecutor in the nation to bring criminal charges in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, served as DA from 1962 to 1974. Later he was twice elected to the state Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. He died in 1992. Judge Wicker was the first woman named to the federal bench in Louisiana. President Jimmy Carter appointed her in 1979. She died in 1994

By: Allen Johnson

Renee Lapeyrolerie, chief spokesperson for Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin Gusman since Hurricane Katrina, says she has taken a position as political director for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s campaign. “I will continue to work on projects at the Sheriff’s Office as a consultant,” Lapeyrolerie says. One such project apparently is promoting Gusman’s third annual Easter egg hunt from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (March 15) at the Riverview (the “Fly”) behind Audubon Zoo. A veteran Democratic campaign consultant who worked as Louisiana press secretary for the Kerry/Edwards 2004 presidential campaign and the Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000, Lapeyrolerie also managed Dale Atkins’ campaign for District Attorney in 2002. Atkins’ decision not to run for DA in the fall freed Lapeyrolerie to sign on with Landrieu. 

By: Jeremy Alford

The biggest surprise in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s call for this week’s special session may be a $300 million commitment for coastal restoration and hurricane protection. According to the governor’s office, it’s the single largest such dedication in the history of Louisiana. For the record, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, came close with a $200 million allotment last year. Of course, if history is any indication, such attention to south Louisiana could draw growls from upstate lawmakers who feel slighted. That’s why the chairmen of the natural resources committees in both the House and Senate believe a large portion of the money that Jindal, a Republican, has earmarked for transportation in the special session will head to the piney north. The two panels are charged with overseeing most coastal matters. “With $515 million dedicated to transportation, I think it’s going to be hard for even the northern representatives and senators to argue with what is proposed for the coast,” says Rep. Gordon Dove, a Houma Republican. Of the $515 million set aside for roads and bridges, roughly $249 million will be distributed to all of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, based on “objective criteria” determined by the Department of Transportation and Development. Sen. Reggie Dupre, a Bourg Democrat who serves as Dove’s counterpart in the Upper Chamber, predicts that the “objective criteria” will likely favor northern parishes as a way to balance the pork.

By: Jeremy Alford

 Attorney General Buddy Caldwell recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for a national crime conference and walked away with an unparalleled souvenir. “It was a very unusual occurrence to get a meeting with the president, U.S. attorney general and the chief justice all in one afternoon,” says Caldwell. He says President George W. Bush told him that the federal government is continuing with its Early Release Program for Federal Prisoners. The early release went into effect March 3 and will allow some 20,000 crack cocaine users nationwide to walk out of jail, Caldwell says. “This news is very alarming to me. Crack cocaine users are quite different from powder cocaine users. Crack is highly addictive. Crack users can be some of your worst criminals and they will strike again,” he says.