NOLA: Breeze Airways 50% off

NEW ORLEANS - Through Sept. 7, Breeze Airways customers can get a 50% discount off the base fare of one-way or roundtrip flights to and from New Orleans for travel before March 7, 2024.

From New Orleans, Breeze offers nonstop flights to 13 destinations: Bentonville-Fayetteville, Ark.; Charleston, S.C.; Fort Myers, Fla.; Hartford, Conn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Norfolk, Va.; Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; and Tulsa, Okla. It offers one-stop service to Providence, R.I.

To get the deal, enter “IMGAME50” at checkout. (Breeze Airways 98/06/23)

History Sept. 6: Ripken record

Sept. 6 in history

In 1909, American explorer Robert Peary sent a telegram from Indian Harbor, Labrador, announcing that he had reached the North Pole five months earlier.

In 1975, 18-year-old tennis star Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia, in New York for the U.S. Open, requested political asylum in the United States.

In 1997, a public funeral was held for Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in London, six days after her death in a car crash in Paris. 

In 2001, in a dramatic shift, the Bush administration abandoned the Clinton-era effort to break up Microsoft.

In 2002, meeting outside Washington, D.C. for only the second time since 1800, Congress convened in New York to pay homage to the victims and heroes of September 11.

In 2006, President George W. Bush acknowledged for the first time that the CIA was running secret prisons overseas and said tough interrogation had forced terrorist leaders to reveal plots to attack the United States and its allies.

In 2007, opera star Luciano Pavarotti died in Modena, Italy, at the age of 71.

In 2013, NASA’s robotic lunar explorer, LADEE, rocketed into space.

In 2017, Hurricane Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic to that point, pounded Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds; authorities said more than 900,000 people were without power.

In 2018, actor Burt Reynolds, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars of the 1970s in films including “Deliverance” and “Smokey and the Bandit,” died at age 82.

In 2021, actor Michael K. Williams, best known for his role on “The Wire,” was found dead in his New York apartment at age 54.

In 2022, Liz Truss began her tenure as U.K. prime minister. She would resign just 49 days later. 

Additionally ... 

1966 South African prime minister and architect of apartheid assassinated

1847 Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden and moves in with the Emersons

1522 Magellan's expedition circumnavigates globe

1997 Some 2.5 billion TV viewers watch Princess Diana's funeral ...

1975 Teen tennis star Navratilova seeks political asylum in U.S. 1995 Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. breaks record for consecutive games played

 

1901 President William McKinley is shot (The AP 09/06/23)

Massive Venture Global deal

Venture Global LNG has signed an equipment deal with Baker Hughes that should boost the collective production of its liquefied natural gas export terminals to the largest annual LNG output by a single U.S. company. 

Venture Global’s four planned export terminals are expected to produce 70M metric tons of LNG annually once built along the Gulf coast. One of those terminals is open; one under construction and two others in the planning stages.

In the latest deal, Baker Hughes will supply Venture Global with enough liquefaction equipment to boost that production total to 100M tons a year. The equipment will include additional power generating systems and liquefaction trains, used to supercool natural gas into liquid for overseas shipping. 

If the plans succeed, Venture Global's collective annual output would be the largest in the nation, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Companies' officials say 100M tons is about 25% of current global LNG supply. 

The announcement hinted that the 100M output may not be limited to Louisiana. Venture Global officials said the contract would apply to its “future LNG export projects.”  CEO Mike Sabel hailed the deal as a “long-term plan to expand LNG production both in and outside of Louisiana.” (NOLA.com 09/05/23)

Future storm may aim @ east coast

As of mid-day Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center started issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 13, which became Tropical Storm Lee at 5 p.m. 

The future Lee is currently located about halfway between West Africa and the Lesser Antilles, in the heart of the Tropical Atlantic’s Main Development Region, moving WNW at about 15 miles per hour. 

This general forward motion will continue into the weekend, and Lee should gain enough latitude to pass safely north of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in around 5 days. 

Lee will be moving across Atlantic waters that are two to four degrees warmer than average, with ideal mid-level moisture and upper-level wind conditions for rapid intensification. 

The official forecast has Lee as a Category 4 Hurricane by Saturday morning, which is handily the most intensification ever predicted by an initial NHC advisory. 

Lee does not look like a threat to Florida. 

On the other hand, the indeterminate details of the squeeze play between that eastern U.S. trough and a resilient ridge of west-central Atlantic high pressure does not completely rule out an eventual threat to the mid-Atlantic or New England. (The AP 09/06/23) Hurricane Lee forecast: NHC charts tropical storm's path to Cat. 4 (clarionledger.com)

Accountant post @ Stark in Miss.

Senior Accountant/Cost Accountant at Stark Aerospace in Columbus, MS, USA Senior Accountant/Cost Accountant Job in 319 Charleigh D Ford Jr Dr at Stark Aerospace | Ziprecruiter

Vietnam-era pilot earns MoH

Army Capt. Larry L. Taylor refused to give up. He refused to leave his fellow Americans behind. He refused to put his own life above the lives of others in need, President Joe Biden said today while awarding the Medal of Honor to Taylor for his heroic acts during the Vietnam War. (DoD 09/05/23) Biden Awards Medal of Honor to Pilot Who Rescued Soldiers During Vietnam War > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News 

Sidebar: President Biden was accused of being disrespectful after he quickly exited the East Room of the White House before the conclusion of a MoH ceremony honoring a Vietnam War veteran. Biden, 80, abruptly left the ceremony after fastening the nation’s highest military decoration around the neck of retired Army Capt. Larry Taylor, 81, before the closing benediction was read by Chaplain Brig. Gen. William Green Jr. Biden ripped for leaving Medal of Honor ceremony early: 'ABHORRENT' (msn.com)

NG drops 1M gallons on La. fires

NEW ORLEANS - National Guard helicopter crews from Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama have dropped more than 1.1M gallons of water on wildfires in western Louisiana since Aug. 23. 

The helicopter crews continue the firefighting mission in Beauregard, Sabine and Vernon parishes in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office and local agencies. 

The helicopter crews use buckets to draw water from any open water source and carry and drop it onto fires. 

The augmentation to the LANG aerial firefighting efforts, through Emergency Management Assistance Compact support, has resulted in a rotation of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and CH-47 Chinook helicopters that have provided over 385 flight hours from the time LANG assets were activated in response to the wildfires. (LANG 09/01/23) National Guard Fights Louisiana Wildfires From the Air | Article | The United States Army  

First Flight III destroy to be commissioned in Tampa

SAN DIEGO - The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) will join the active fleet on Oct. 7 with a commissioning ceremony in Tampa, Fla. 

DDG 125 will be the Navy’s first Flight III destroyer with notable technological upgrades. The Flight III upgrades are centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity. 

DDG 125 is named for Pfc. Jack Lucas, who served in the Marines during WWII, earning the Medal of Honor for his heroism at Iwo Jima, when he was just 17 years old. 

In 1961, he returned to military service as a captain in the Army and trained younger troops headed for Vietnam. Lucas passed away on June 5, 2008, in Hattiesburg, Miss. 

Ruby Lucas, widow of the ship’s namesake, and philanthropist Cathy Reynolds are the ship’s sponsors. 

Following commissioning, USS Jack H. Lucas will transit to its homeport of San Diego. (Naval Base San Diego 09/01/23) USS Jack H Lucas to Commission in Tampa, Florida > United States Navy > News Stories

NAS/JRB fire chief passes away

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS/JRB) New Orleans Fire and Emergency Services Department Chief Thomas Julius “TJ” Maury Jr., from Kenner, La., passed away Aug. 22. 

Maury, who had been battling cancer for over five years, was 39 years old. 

His career in public service started as an apprentice firefighter at the Bridge City (La.) Volunteer Fire Company. He was working in Bridge City on Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina made her mark on SE Louisiana. He became work at NAS/JRB soon afterwards. 

While at New Orleans, he was promoted to training officer and later to fire chief. 

Not only was Maury the fire chief, he was known to some as a real-life superhero. While participating in the 2015 Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans and dressed as Batman, he saw a person collapsed and provided CPR - dressed as Batman. 

Maury was the 2017 Civilian Fire Officer of the Year for the Navy, and 2019 Fire Instructor of the Year award for Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss. (Currents 09/01/23) Currents (adobe.com)

CG 57 decommissioned 9/01

SAN DIEGO - The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), the 11th ship of its class, was recognized for more than 35 years of naval service during a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, Sept. 1. (Naval Base San Diego 09/01/23) USS Lake Champlain Decommissions After 35 Years of Distinguished Service > United States Navy > News Stories 

The ship was commissioned in 1988 from Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. 

Master Boat LNG tug-builds

Master Boat Builders of Coden, Ala., and Texas-based Sterling Shipyard will build four tugboats for Gulf LNG tugs of Brownsville, Texas, the company announced Sept. 5. 

Each shipyard will construct two Z-Tech 30-80 tugboats designed by naval architect Robert Allan Ltd. These 30-80s represent a proven workhorse in Gulf Coast ports, where affiliates of Gulf LNG Tugs already operate 10 of the hull design.

The new tugboats will have an overall length of 98.5 feet, beam of 42.7 feet, and a bollard pull of 80 metric tons. Additionally, each tug will be equipped with firefighting capabilities to meet the ABS Fire Fighting Class 1 classification. 

Gulf LNG Tugs is a joint venture formed to provide tug services for RGLNG under a long-term Tug Services Agreement. 

Master Boat Builders has provided marine construction services for 40+ years. The shipyard has delivered more than 430 vessels to customers worldwide. 

Sterling Shipyard, LLC, located in Port Neches, Texas. (Port News 09/05/23) Master Boat Builders and Sterling Shipyard to build four tugboats for Gulf LNG tugs of Brownsville (portnews.ru)  

Editor's Note: The tugs will be for NextDecade Corporation’s Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas, which is moving right along.

NOLA to pitch Rugby chapionship

New Orleans has been home to seven Super Bowls, seven NCAA football championships, nine Men's and Women's Final Fours and countless other sporting events.

Local tourism officials are readying a pitch, if successful, may make the city host to a global event watched by nearly 900M viewers that many along the Gulf Coast may never have heard of - the Rugby World Cup. 

It is the international rugby championship that has grown to becoming the third-largest world sporting event after the Summer Olympics and the FIFA Men's World Cup finals. It’s coming to America in 2031.

 

The city's tourism/sports promoters say there’s a good chance the Caesars Superdome will be one of the venues for the event and could host the final.

"It may be eight years out but we're trying to get ahead of the curve," said Tim Falcon, owner of professional New Orleans rugby team Nola Gold, which was an early joiner of the 12-team Major League Rugby and plays its games at the Shrine on Airline.

A "summit" was held in New Orleans in the spring, he said, when Walt Leger, head of New Orleans & Co., Doug Thornton, who heads the company that manages the Caesars Superdome, and others hosted officials from the Rugby World Cup Council and USA Rugby. 

Nola Gold will hold a fan-friendly event at Finn McCool's pub in Mid-City on Sept. 8 to kick off its pitch. It will coincide with the start of this year's Rugby World Cup series in France. (NOLA.com 09/05/23) New Orleans aims to host 2031 Rugby World Cup | Business News | nola.com 

$510K Delgado NSF grant

NEW ORLEANS - In partnership with BioMADE, Delgado Community College has secured a $510,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program. 

The NSF-ATE funding will be used to support the “Advancing Progress in Industrial Biomanufacturing to Accelerate Workforce Readiness” project being launched by BioMADE and Delgado Community College’s Science Laboratory Technology Program. 

The partnership aims to develop a bio-industrial manufacturing curriculum, train the Gulf South workforce, participate in professional development, and provide continuing education. (Biz New Orleans 09/05/23) Delgado, BioMADE Receive $510K National Science Foundation Grant - Biz New Orleans 

Port NOLA security grant 

The Port of New Orleans was awarded $947,280 in recently announced Port Security Grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support the expansion and enhancement of emergency services for Port NOLA’s maritime and industrial operations. With this funding award, Port NOLA will invest in physical and technological upgrades to the Port’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which serves as home base during hurricanes and other significant incidents. Additionally, funds will be used to purchase drones and to enhance the Harbor Police Department’s surveillance network. (Port NOLA 09/05/23) 

FEMA 'hogwash'

Frustration is mounting among local officials in Louisiana over FEMA's approach to rebuilding Fisher Middle-High School in Lafitte, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Ida. Learn why one Jefferson Parish School Board member says FEMA's explanation is "hogwash." (NOLA.com 09/03/23)

Update: United resumes flights

United Airlines is "experiencing a systemwide technology issue and are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights that are already airborne are continuing to their destination as planned. We will share more information as it becomes available. Thank you for your patience as we work on a resolution to get you on your way as soon as possible." (KATC 09/05/23) FAA grounds all United flights; company says it's equipment issue (katc.com)  

UPDATE SEPT 6: The technology issue that forced the grounding of all United Airlines flights Tuesday afternoon has been fixed and flights have resumed.

La. voter registration deadline

If you want to vote in Louisiana's Oct. 14 Gubernatorial Primary Election, you're going to need to register soon. Anyone who hasn't registered to vote yet must do so by Sept. 13 if registering in person, by mail or at an OMV office. If you want to register online, the deadline is September 23. You can do that here. (KATC 09/05/23) Want to vote in the primary? You need to register by next week! (katc.com)

Parish may ban imported seafood

ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. - In an attempt to save the struggling local shrimp industry, the St. Bernard Parish council will consider a new ordinance at its meeting Sept. 5 that would ban the selling of imported seafood in the parish. 
It comes as shrimpers s0ay financial times are the worst they've seen in recent years, with most not able to make $1 a pound for their catch. 
"It's an economic issue because we're now losing everything we have," said Councilman Fred Everhardt, who authored the ordinance. "The price of 16 to 20 shrimp is 75 cents when it used to be two years ago $3-$4 a pound, and we just can't afford to go out and pay our bills." 
Leaders blame international vendors for the downturn, saying they are flooding the market and driving down local prices. 
However, Everhardt said this particular measure is about safety over economics. He is concerned about contaminated seafood coming in from overseas. He expects big retailers in St. Bernard will likely challenge the ordinance. The council meets tonight at 7 p.m. (WDSU 09/045/23)

Sept. 5 history: Munich Olympics

Sept. 5 in history 

In 1972, The Palestinian group Black September attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation at the Munich Games, killing 11 members of the team and a police officer. German forces killed five of the gunmen. 

In 1836, Sam Houston elected president of Texas.

In 1864, voters in Louisiana approved a new state constitution abolishing slavery. 1864: Louisiana first post Civil War to ratify egalitarian constitution - Mississippi Today

In 1939, four days after war had broken out in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation declaring U.S. neutrality in the conflict.

In 1960, at the Rome Olympics, American boxer Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) defeated Zbigniew Pietrzykowski of Poland to win the light-heavyweight gold medal; Wilma Rudolph of the United States won the second of her three gold medals in the 200-meter sprint.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation making aircraft hijackings a federal crime.

In 1969, Lt. William Calley charged for My Lai massacre. Lt. William Calley charged for My Lai massacre | September 5, 1969 | HISTORY

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California.

In 1986, four hijackers who had seized a Pan Am jumbo jet on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, opened fire when the lights inside the plane failed; a total of 20 people were killed before Pakistani commandos stormed the jetliner.

In 1991, the 35th annual Naval Aviation Symposium held by the Tailhook Association opened in Las Vegas; during the 4-day gathering, there were reports that dozens of people, most of them women, were sexually assaulted or otherwise harassed. (The episode triggered the resignation of Navy Secretary H. Lawrence.)

In 1997, Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87.

In 2016, Hugh O’Brian, the actor who played Sheriff Wyatt Earp in the TV series died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 91.

In 2012, Barack Obama was nominated to run for a second term at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

(The AP 09/05/23) 

Millsaps' docuseries on Maya

Sharing the history of the Mayan culture with Millsaps College has been the life's work of George Bey, Ph.D. In an upcoming National Geographic documentary series, he is sharing his work with the world. 

"The Rise and Fall of the Maya," a 4-part documentary series, is expected to make its American debut in the upcoming weeks. 

Episode 2, Civilization, will highlight Bey, Millsaps professor Evan Parker and other Millsaps students and staff as new evidence is unearthed in Mexico’s Yucatan, transforming long-held ideas about the growth of the Maya civilization.

The entire documentary shows that despite decades of research, many mysteries remain about the ancient Maya. 

Archaeologists, including Bey and Parker, are discovering new clues that give pause to how these people came to dominate vast areas of Mexico and Central America.

Through lost monuments, ancient inscriptions and new forensic evidence, this series tracks the Maya from their earliest origins all the way to the present day, unlocking the secrets of the rise and fall of the Maya. (Clarion Ledger 09/05/23) Documentary highlights discoveries by Millsaps (clarionledger.com)

No release date details have yet been announced. The series was filmed at a 4,500-acre bio-cultural reserve in the Yucatan operated and maintained by Millsaps College.

HII CEO @ Laguna conference

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - HII will participate in the Morgan Stanley 11^th Annual Laguna Conference on Sept. 12. The conversation with HII President/CEO Chris Kastner will begin at 9:40 a.m. Central time and will be webcast on ir.hii.com. 

HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. Its mission is to deliver powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world.

As the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. (HII 09/05/23) 

The conference will feature Industrials, Machinery, Aerospace & Defense, Airlines, Freight Transportation, Autos & Suppliers, and Materials companies taking place Sept. 12-14 at The Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point, Calif.