By Jeremy Alford and Sarah Gamard<\/i><\/p>\n
Saturday, Nov. 11, marked the 33rd anniversary of the closing of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, which had the distinction of being the only World\u2019s Fair to declare bankruptcy during its run.<\/p>\n
According to The Times-Picayune\u2019s coverage from that time, fair organizers initially projected that they would draw 11 million visitors. Only 7 million showed, however, and $100 million was lost.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s more from the 1984 coverage: \u201cThe fair\u2019s most visible attraction was a $10 million gondola ride that crossed the Mississippi River 200 feet in the air. Builders envisioned that the gondola would carry on after the fair, conveying commuters from the West Bank to the Warehouse District. The attraction got off to a rough start when Archbishop Philip Hannan blessed the gondola on opening day, boarded a car headed for Algiers and got stuck dangling over the river \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter Spurney, the man hired to run the fair, offered this summary to The Times-Pic: \u201cI always wanted to know if I could do something like this from start to finish. I guess the answer is no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turnout Looks Bleak<\/strong><\/p>\n First, the bad news. Secretary of State Tom Schedler said in a recent interview that he fears turnout could be as low as 10 percent for this month\u2019s run-off elections on Nov. 18.<\/p>\n Now for something with a more positive spin: the early voting process started Nov. 3 \u2014 one day earlier than usual; it continued through Saturday, Nov. 11.<\/p>\n Legislators changed the law a couple of years ago to permit Schedler\u2019s office to add more days to early voting when holidays populate the early voting calendar. (Veterans\u2019 Day was Nov. 11, and state offices were closed.)<\/p>\n The forecast for early voting is 60,000 votes, according to the secretary of state\u2019s office, with maybe 240,000 additional voters showing up on Election Day. If that is the case, says Schedler, it would \u201ctruly be historic in terms of turnout for a statewide election.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, it would definitely add support for Schedler\u2019s argument that election fatigue may warrant a change to state law to replace major special elections with temporary appointments. \u201cIt costs the same to host the special treasurer\u2019s election as it did the presidential election in 2016, when close to 70 percent of voters participated,\u201d the secretary said.<\/p>\n John Couvillon of JMC Analytics and Polling offered an analysis of the early voting process and suggested that the \u201calready minimal enthusiasm of primary voters has declined even further.\u201d<\/p>\n Medicaid Contracts<\/strong><\/p>\n How do you grant $15.4 billion worth of state contract extensions? If you\u2019re on the Joint Budget Committee, you take your time.<\/p>\n After postponing a major contract in late October, the committee once again opted to delay action in case there were any cost savings being overlooked.<\/p>\n The extensions were needed for the five companies that manage health insurance for most of the state\u2019s Medicaid enrollees. The massive contracts involve another 23 months of operations.<\/p>\n Many committee members initially wanted more time with the supporting documents, but conservatives dug in for an additional pause this month because of fiscal concerns.<\/p>\n House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, in particular, wanted to be sure the Louisiana Dept. of Health could create additional cost savings in the contracts before the end of the calendar year.<\/p>\n Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, among others, doubted the department would be able to find any reductions.<\/p>\n Gov. John Bel Edwards said the contracts were crafted with an \u201cunprecedented attention to detail and represented the high quality work we should expect of state agencies on behalf of taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor added, \u201cIt is a shame that after an extra two weeks to prepare for this meeting, and despite unanimous, bipartisan support from all of the senators on the Joint Budget Committee, some House Republicans again found a way to obstruct the important business of our state. Notably, these are the same people who, during the previous administration, rubber-stamped similar contracts, though poorly constructed, and, in some cases, missing entire pages.\u201d<\/p>\n Governor Expects Toughest \u2018Re-election\u2019 In U.S.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Gov. John Bel Edwards is reminding his donors that he is the \u201conly Democratic governor in the Deep South\u201d and that he\u2019ll be \u201ctested with one of the toughest re-elections in the entire country,\u201d according to his recent fundraising appeals.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an early indication that Republicans will be targeting Edwards heavily in 2019, and that the governor\u2019s campaign staff is expecting nothing less.<\/p>\n Those involved with the Edwards re-election campaign say the fundraising team is on pace to meet this year\u2019s goal, although it\u2019s unclear whether that\u2019ll match the $3 million collected in 2016 by the governor.<\/p>\n GUMBO PAC, the pro-Edwards vehicle from 2015, is still kicking around. The super PAC is more organized for the 2019 cycle; it recently hosted a well-attended alligator hunt fundraiser.<\/p>\n They Said It<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf you rob a bank and pay the money back three years later, you still robbed the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 New Orleans mayoral candidate Desiree Charbonnet\u2019s spokesman Kevin Stuart, on opponent LaToya Cantrell\u2019s alleged use of a city credit card, in The Times-Picayune.<\/p>\n For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jeremy Alford and Sarah Gamard Saturday, Nov. 11, marked the 33rd anniversary of the closing of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, which had the distinction of being the only World\u2019s Fair to declare bankruptcy during its run. According to The Times-Picayune\u2019s coverage from that time, fair organizers initially projected that they would draw 11 [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[63,32,1607],"yoast_head":"\n