July 13, 2020

Tyson poultry plant didn't cause McCurtain County outbreak, health department says

The outbreak of COVID-19 that has driven cases in McCurtain County from 200 to 606 in three weeks includes a Tyson Foods poultry plant but didn’t originate at the facility, according to the Oklahoma State Health Department.

“This is not a Tyson Foods outbreak; it is a community outbreak and Tyson is located in this community,” the department said in a statement to The Oklahoman.

“Tyson has worked in close coordination with government entities to increase health safety measures as it relates to COVID-19.”

The state Health Department has been slow to respond to questions from The Oklahoman about the McCurtain County outbreak, and the company has declined to provide an update for over two weeks.

Read more: https://oklahoman.com/article/5666576/tyson-poultry-plant-didnt-cause-mccurtain-county-outbreak-health-department-says

July 13, 2020

OEA president slams DeVos over threat to withhold funding from schools

Whoa, Betsy: Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest slammed U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ threat to withhold federal funding from schools that do not open for the fall semester.

“Betsy DeVos said public schools ‘just gave up’ this spring when a global pandemic shuttered districts across the country,” Priest said. “Betsy DeVos and her administration don’t know public schools, and they don’t know Oklahoma. We found creative ways to teach and feed hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma children during an unparalleled health crisis, and we were proud to. These are our kids.

“Oklahoma teachers and support staff never did and never will ‘just give up’ on our students,” Priest said.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/political-notebook-oea-president-slams-devos-over-threat-to-withhold-funding-from-schools/article_e247e406-b463-5838-a08e-7abd1541c34b.html

July 13, 2020

Epic Charter Schools founders now claim millions in question by State Auditor are "earned" by their

Epic Charter Schools founders now claim millions in question by State Auditor are “earned” by their for-profit management company


Attorneys are still battling in court in the state’s legal effort to compel Epic Charter Schools’ for-profit operator to comply with an investigative audit, newly filed public records reveal.

Epic’s founders now claim the tens of millions in question by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector are “earned” by the school management company they own to provide goods and services.

This month marks a full year since Gov. Kevin Stitt requested the investigative audit of Epic and all of its related entities by State Auditor Cindy Byrd.

Byrd has yet to issue any report of findings in the matter, which landed in district court in March over Epic’s lack of compliance with her public records requests and administrative subpoenas.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/epic-charter-schools-founders-now-claim-millions-in-question-by-state-auditor-are-earned-by/article_f784606c-190f-5fb9-9c10-ac3b0648cef6.html

July 13, 2020

Chicken-Fried News: Police "posse"

At a time when citizens are demanding more training and accountability from their law enforcement, Canadian County Sheriff Chris West announced open applications for his all-volunteer “sheriff’s posse.”

Nothing could be more tone-deaf than calling for a return to Wild West tropes during a time when Black people are demanding that they stop being murdered by vigilante yahoos like those who hunted and shot Ahmaud Arbery in February in Georgia.

Better yet, West has announced that absolutely no military or policing experience is required; just the desire “to answer the call to aid in safeguarding lives and property and the Constitutional Rights of innocent, law-abiding citizens,” whatever that means.

West hung up his Oklahoma Highway Patrol brownshirt in order to campaign for sheriff. He regularly appears in a paisley vest and a Western bowtie and sporting white facial hair reminiscent of a certain Kentucky chicken chain founder. But with ideas like these, maybe he would be better suited dressing like another fast-food mascot, one who wears big, red shoes with yellow laces.

https://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/chicken-fried-news-police-posse/Content?oid=7431608
(no more at link)

July 13, 2020

Bad faith and bad taste in one Louisiana lawmaker's Nazi jibe against masks

When it comes to battling the coronavirus pandemic, there’s no shortage of bad-faith actors in the Louisiana Legislature.

You know them. They’re the folks who act as if Gov. John Bel Edwards imposed tough restrictions on businesses and gatherings without even considering the economic pain — not after weighing that pain against the risk of overwhelmed hospitals, widespread sickness and death, and financial hardship resulting from the public health crisis itself rather than the shutdowns.

They’re also the folks who are pushing back against his authority to enact such orders in the first place, all in the name of freedom. I mean, who doesn’t want the freedom to live our lives as we did six months ago? How exactly do they propose that we get there?

Even in this group, though, one lawmaker stands out: Danny McCormick of Oil City, in Caddo Parish. McCormick, a Republican just elected last fall, got his first taste of notoriety when he organized a May protest against Edwards’ stay-at-home order outside the Governor’s Mansion, which drew about 250 people.

Read more: https://www.nola.com/opinions/stephanie_grace/article_a811fe72-c2cb-11ea-8e22-a3baceabf282.html

July 13, 2020

As coronavirus deaths surged in Louisiana, more people died of other things, too, studies say

In mid-April, as the surge of coronavirus patients into New Orleans hospitals started to ease, emergency room doctor James Aiken started noticing something troubling: his hospital was getting more calls from paramedics who were finding residents dead in their homes.

Prior to COVID-19, a couple of calls like that would come in per day, said Aiken, an associate professor at LSU Health Sciences Center who also works in the ER at University Medical Center. A month and a half into the pandemic, they were getting nine or 10 daily.

"We began to wonder," said Aiken. "Were these patients who didn't want to go to the hospital because they saw it as a death zone?"

Two new studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this month offer early data suggesting that Aiken's intuition was correct. Using data from across the U.S., researchers published findings that demonstrate COVID-19 deaths and a fear of seeking care for other ailments has led to many more deaths than normal.

Read more: https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_c0aede2a-c2ba-11ea-8667-0f8208ea354b.html

July 13, 2020

Libbey Glass plans to shutter Shreveport facility

One of the oldest and largest manufacturing plants in Northwest Louisiana is apparently closing its Shreveport operation thanks in part to the effects of COVID-19.

In an effort to reduce costs and match manufacturing capacity with less demand, the Libbey Glass plant will cease operation in the near future putting 450 employees out of work, according to a report on toledoblade.com.

The plant has been operated by Libbey Inc., which became involved in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings approximately a month ago.

According to the report, the company will need to negotiate with unions before a final decision is made.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2020/07/08/libbey-glass-plans-shutter-shreveport-facility/5403483002/

July 13, 2020

New law shields Louisiana schools from COVID lawsuits from students, parents, teachers

Louisiana school systems and colleges will be shielded from most COVID-related lawsuits under a new law signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards as education leaders grapple with plans to reopen on-campus learning safely this fall.

The new law, crafted by Republican state Rep. Buddy Mincey of Denham Springs, bans most lawsuits by students, teachers and employees who claim they contracted the coronavirus because the schools lacked proper protections.

"I don't think our school systems can prepare for that (potential onslaught)," Mincey said while his House Bill 59 was being debated.

Mincey, who previously served as a school board member, argued that many school districts would opt for remote learning without the protection.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2020/07/09/new-law-shields-louisiana-schools-covid-lawsuits-students/5404756002/

July 13, 2020

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards mandates masks, closes bars as COVID surges

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Saturday he will issue a statewide public mask mandate, close bars and reduce the limit on crowd sizes as he tries to reverse a summer surge of COVID-19 in the state.

Edwards, a Democrat, has resisted tightening restrictions since he moved the state into Phase 2, but cases and hospitalizations have risen at an alarming rate in July. His new order begins Monday.

The state is now No. 3 in per capita cases in the nation behind only New York and New Jersey.

"It's become clear to me the current restrictions are not enough," Edwards said. "We cannot risk losing our capacity to deliver hospital care."

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2020/07/11/louisiana-governor-john-bel-edwards-issues-mask-mandate-covid-surges/5419986002/

July 13, 2020

New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams pleads not guilty to tax fraud charges

New Orleans City Council President and declared candidate for Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams appeared via video conference in federal court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to charges of tax fraud.

Williams was indicted last month. He is accused of inflating business expenses between 2014 and 2018 to avoid paying nearly $200,000 in taxes and failing to report several cash payments of over $10,000, and was indicted on 11 felony counts.

The hearing took place in front of federal Eastern District of Louisiana Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby.

The federal indictment alleges that Williams and another attorney at his law firm, Nicole Burdett, instructed a tax preparer to file false information on tax forms in order to reduce Williams’ tax liability.

Read more: https://thelensnola.org/2020/07/10/new-orleans-city-council-president-jason-williams-pleads-not-guilty-to-tax-fraud-charges/