DROPPING THE BALL

Blue Ball in Yard, Baton Rouge LA 11/2006
from the series Baton Rouge Blues. all reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

It was a shortsighted decision at best, but it cost the State of Louisana billions of dollars over a period of almost 60 years!

In 1949, President Harry Truman offered Louisiana a settlement of 37.5 percent of all oil and gas revenue adjacent to Louisiana’s coast. Then-Gov. Earl Long rejected the offer, holding out for 50 percent on the recommendation of political boss Judge Leander Perez of Plaquemines Parish. The state has been fighting to regain the settlement ever since.

excerpt from The Advocate "Coast funds OK'd" . 12/10/2006