Category Archives: Ascension

As some opposition parties led by Congress meet on Thursday to decide on their presidential candidate to take on Ram Nath Kovind, they face an uphill contest. While there is no doubt that the ruling NDA alliance has a significant majority in the electoral college (comprising all elected MPs and MLAs of India), one can never discount the possibility of an "upset". This is because unlike in voting by elected representatives in Legislative Assemblies and Parliament, party whips cannot be issued in voting for presidential elections. This means members of the electoral college can always exercise their choice as per "conscience".

Incidentally, it was this conscience voting that helped VV Giri get elected as president in 1969, even though he was not the official Congress candidate. That was Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy. But India witnessed theunprecedented spectacle of then prime minister Indira Gandhi openly defying the party directive and supporting Giri, and asking her followers to give a conscience-vote.

Incidentally, the 1969 elections also marked the beginning of the politicisation of the Office of President. Till then, India had outstanding men of intellect and integrity as presidents Rajendra Prasad, Radha Krishnan and Zakir Hussein. One is not belittling Giri's credentials, but the fact remains that his election marked the onset of the trend of the ruling party at the Centre installing party loyalists as presidents with a clear idea that the person occupying the highest constitutional position of the country will act not only as a rubber stamp of the government of the day but also be a symbolic factor to play nefarious identity politics of caste, creed and gender.

Ram Nath Kovind meets BJP president Amit Shah after being named NDA candidate for President. PTI

The importance of Kovind's caste has been argued in Firstpost, especially considering the forthcoming Assembly election in Gujarat. But we have seen how Indian presidents have been chosen in the past on the basis of them happening to be women or Muslims. It was only in 2002 that there was an exception to this trend when the then NDA government went for a consensus candidate in APJ Abdul Kalam, a non-politician (His predecessor KR Narayanan, though a career diplomat, had joined the Congress party and was a minister in the Narasimha Rao regime under the Dalit-quota).

In other words, the politicisation of the president's office has degenerated over the last 50 years. And nobody is talking of persons of eminence and competence occupying the exalted office. But it's fast becoming clear that the caste, gender and religion of a candidate now assumes more importance.And that is why we hear the need of a Muslim president, a woman president, ora Dalit president.

It's a great pity that this is the case, considering that thePresident of India is expected to play a very vital role as perour Constitution. If one reads the Constitution, the term "president" appears 598 times, compared to only 15 mentions of "prime minister". Under Article 53 of the Constitution, the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the president, and shall be exercised by him "either directly or through officers subordinate to him". The same article also vests in the president the "supreme command of the defence forces of the Union".

And if one goes by articles 75, 78 and 86 of the Constitution, the president can direct the Cabinet to discuss any subject, dismiss any minister, and address one or both Houses of Parliament to proffer opinion on any subject. The prime minister must brief the president on all administrative matters as directed by the latter. All promotions, transfers, demotions and dismissals of officials are under the president's name and subject to hisdiscretion.

But as we all know, the real power in the country is actually exercised by the prime minister and his Cabinet. The president does what the prime minister wants him to.That was not exactly the case when our Constitution was framed. There is a powerful school of thought that does not view the Indian president as a titular head of State likethe British monarch. One may not agree with this view, but there does remain a grey area that needs to be clarified by theSupreme Court.

One may cite here the debate between BR Ambedkar, the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution, and Rajendra Prasad, president of the Constituent Assembly, and the man who eventually became the first President of India,on 23 May, 1949:

"The president of the Indian Union will be generally bound by the advice of his ministers. He can do nothing contrary to their advice, nor can he do any thing without their advice. The President of the United States can dismiss any secretary at any time. The president of the Indian Union has no power to do so as long as his ministers command a majority in Parliament," Ambedkar had said.

To this, Rajendra Prasad pointed out, "I have my doubts if this word could bind the president. It (the draft Constitution) only lays down that there shall be a council of ministers with the prime minister at the head to aid and advise the president in the exercise of his functions. It does not say that the president will be bound to accept that advice."

Ambedkar then replied, "In all matters within the scope of the executive power of the Union, the president shall, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him, be guided by the advice of his ministers. We propose to make some amendment to the draft to make things very clear."

Interestingly, however, when the Constitution was finally adopted on 26 January, 1950, Ambedkar's promised amendment of the draft did not find any place. Article 74 only said, "There shall be a council of ministers with the prime minister at the head to aid and advise the president in the exercise of his functions." Nowhere did it say that the president is bound to accept this advice.

No wonder that, during Emergency, prime minister Indira Gandhi did bring out the 42nd Amendment (1976) of the Constitution that said: "There shall be a council of ministers with the prime minister at the head to aid and advise the president who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice."

However, under the subsequent Janata Party rule, when Morarji Desai was Prime Minister, the 44th Amendment of 1978 was passed, to take care of "the butchering of the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment".

The powerlessness of the president in being bounded by the ministers' advice was diluted, and a second paragraph was added to give the president one chance at having the ministers reconsider the advice. It said, "Provided that the president may require the council of ministers to reconsider such advice, either generally or otherwise, and the president shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration."

Has the debate ended here? Not necessarily.

Words like "such reconsideration" are open to various interpretations. But one thing is clear: It will be wrong to say that the Indian president is exactly like the British monarch, who reigns but does not govern. After all, in this age of coalition politics, when no political party has the legislative majority to form the government on its own, the president can play a huge role in deciding who gets the first invitation to form the government. And this is one of the primary reasons why every party hopeful of forming agovernment after the next general elections will like to have its own person at Raisina Hill.

Even otherwise, under Article 78 of the Constitution, "it shall be the duty of the prime minister" to communicate to the president all decisions of the council of ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation; to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation as the president may call for, and "if the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the council of ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council".

Butconsider a situation when the president exercises the power inherent in Article 78, but the council of ministers headed by the prime minister do not follow this. Andsuch a thing has happened in the past; there were strong speculations that then president Zail Singh was contemplating sacking then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in the '80s, as communication between the two had broken down following the latter stopping hisweekly meetings with the former.

Obviously, the 42nd Amendment notwithstanding, there are some grey areas which a president can exploit to the great discomfiture of the prime minister. And this explains why the race to Raisina Hill is so interesting. Every prime minister will like to have a president who shares a common vision.

Excerpt from:

Politics over Ram Nath Kovind's ascension as NDA candidate point to importance of presidential post - Firstpost

The Arc of East Ascension 2017 Dancing for a Cause extravaganza will be held July 8, when 10 Star Dancers will take the stage to perform their professional ballroom dance numbers at the Lamar-Dixon 4-H Building.

The event raises funds and awareness for The Arc of East Ascension, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for those with disabilities and their families through services and advocacy that support choice, independence and dignity.

Star dancers are Jackie Baumann, the city's chief engineer; Trevor Gautreaux, assistant vice president branch manager of Neighbors Federal Credit Union; Kyle Rogers, general manager of Lamar-Dixon; Jackie Tisdell, public information officer for Ascension Parish Public Schools; Terri Kaaihue, community liaison for Life Source Hospice; Tasheba York Leblanc, owner/manager of Triple Threat Dance Studio; Cheryl Mercedes, WAFB anchor and reporter; Malcolm Carter, plant manager for The Scotts Co.; Craig A. Severs, owner of Genesis 360 Construction; and Dr. Louis LeFebvre II, owner of DDS Main Street Dental Care.

Doors open at 6 p.m. with food and refreshment. The event starts at 7 p.m. General admission is $30; VIP tickets are $75. Tickets are available at The Arc of East Ascension Office, 1122 S.E. Ascension Complex Blvd., Gonzales, (225) 621-2000 or (225) 621-2005; Gonzales City Hall, 120 S. Irma Blvd., Gonzales, (225) 647-2841; Main Street Dental Care, 6473 La. 44, Suite 202, Gonzales, (225) 963-9493; and through All Star Dancers. Tickets will also available at the door general admission $35, VIP $80.

Sheriff Jeff Wiley is honorary chairman. Judges are River Parish Community College Chancellor Dale Doty; Gaylynne Mack, executive director of Baton Rouge's Big Buddy Program; Debbie Traylor, owner of Debbie's Bridal; Anita Cann, of Affordable Printing and APSB, and technical judge Larry Schexnaydre, director and owner of Center Stage.

Emcees are Ascension Parish Clerk of CourtBridget Hanna and David Alexander, superintendent of Ascension Parish Public Schools. Event officials include dance coordinator Allison Hudson, project manager Norma Dukes and event organizer Sharon Morris.

VIP sponsorships are available. For more information, contact the Arc of East Ascension at (225) 621-2000 or (225) 621-2005 or email Sharonm@eatel.net.

Read more from the original source:

Ascension's Dancing for a Cause set for July 8 - The Advocate

Welcome to Cageside Community Star Ratings for Money in the Bank 2017!

For some wrestling fans, star ratings are a way of life. Its one thing to say that a match is good or bad, but can you actually put a number on it?

The star rating system is a scale ranging from 0 to 5 with increments of 0.25. A 5-star match is as close to perfect as it gets while a 0-star match is a complete dud.

Determining the star rating for a given match is a highly subjective process. In general the goal is to wrap up all the important elements of a match into one simple number. Some factors to consider may include the story and booking of the match, the workrate of the performers, ring psychology, length of the match, audience reaction, and so forth.

There is no such thing as a wrong answer, because every wrestling fan consumes this art form in a different way.

The purpose of Cageside Community Star Ratings is for the readers to assign star ratings to every single match on a given WWE pay-per-view event. These results will be tabulated and summarized after every match on the pay-per-view has been voted on by the community.

The next match up for debate from Money in the Bank 2017 is Breezango versus The Ascension.

Please select a star rating in the poll below and discuss your thoughts on this match in the comments section.

See the article here:

Cageside Community Star Ratings: Breezango vs. The Ascension - Cageside Seats (blog)

Dallas coffee shop first tenant announced for Heights waterworks redevelopment Houston Business Journal A popular Dallas-based coffee shop will open its first Houston location in a new redevelopment project in the Heights. CultureMap reports that Dallas' Ascension is the first tenant announced for the Heights waterworks project Braun Enterprises is ...

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Dallas coffee shop first tenant announced for Heights waterworks redevelopment - Houston Business Journal

GONZALES The Ascension Parish School Board this week adopted its budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1, and also amended the budget for the fiscal year about to end, largely because of flood-related expenses.

The 2017-18 general fund budget of $227.5 million is a decrease of $2.6 million from the current fiscal year's amended budget, because of an expected decline of sales tax revenue, as well as state funding, board President Pat Russo said at Tuesday's meeting.

As savings measures for the new fiscal year, the school district is decreasing curriculum expenses by $3 million; not buying any new school buses, saving $3.3 million; maintaining but not expanding its one-to-one computing devices for students, saving $1.5 million; and decreasing major maintenance expenses by $800,00.

The coming budget year, Russo said, also will see several initiatives: the opening of two freshman academies, at East Ascension and Dutchtown high schools, at an annual cost of $850,000; adding staff to the Early College Option for high school students, at River Parishes Community College, at an annual cost of $200,000; and new science curriculum to meet new state science standards, at a cost of $1 million.

The School Board also adopted an amended 2016-17 budget that includes an increase of transfers out of the general fund budget by $33.5 million, primarily for flood-related expenses.

Director of Business Services Diane Allison also reported that the school district has retained its strong AA bond rating by Standard & Poor's, which positively affects the interest rate for the district as it repays bonded debt.

In its report, the bond-rating firm wrote, "The rating reflects our view of the flexibility provided by the district's historically very strong reserves that are now being used to deal with extensive flood damage that occurred in August 2016."

The continued AA rating will save the school district and taxpayers "tens of millions in bond costs," Allison said.

Standard & Poor's said, "We do not anticipate changing the rating during our two-year outlook horizon."

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

Read more:

Ascension Parish School Board adopts 2017-2018 budget, keeps strong bond rating - The Advocate

ST. AMANT Work is underway to restore St. Amant Primary, the first of the five severely flood-damaged Ascension Parish schools to see repairs begin almost a year after the devastating rains of last August.

The district is proceeding with the $3.5 million restoration of the primary school on La. 429 whose approximately 600 students attended class on a former community college campus last year without word yet of how much the school system might be reimbursed by Federal Emergency Management Agency grant money.

A FEMA spokesman said Friday the allocation of those funds should be made by July.

FEMA reimbursements for public projects come through the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOSEP), and can be as much as 90 percent of restoration costs.

The required project worksheet a vital step in the grant process for St. Amant Primary was submitted to FEMA in early January, schools Superintendent David Alexander said Friday.

With the project currently still in review by FEMA, the school district went ahead and bid and awarded the contract for the St. Amant Primary project in May, in hopes of having the campus open before the new school year.

"I don't understand why there's been such a delay" in the FEMA review process for the flood-damaged schools, Alexander said.

"We're a little confused," said Alexander, adding that the review process for other flood-related projects in the school district, such as the set-up of temporary campuses at four of the flooded schools, has moved at a faster pace.

The school district also began work in May on St. Amant Middle, which shares a campus with St. Amant Primary. The middle school was able to stay open last year, despite having some flood damage. The cost to repair it is estimated at $1.3 million.

The project worksheet for St. Amant Middle was submitted to FEMA in March, Alexander said, and is still in the review process.

FEMA spokesman Jake Conley said Friday that a grant of $3 million is expected to be allocated for the St. Amant Primary School some time in early July and a grant of $888,000 is expected to be awarded for the St. Amant Middle School in mid-July.

The process of identifying storm-related damage and associated scope of work to fix that damage can be lengthy, depending on the level of damage, Conley said.

"Additionally, items such as applicable code and standards upgrades and hazard mitigation proposals can take time to discuss and develop," he said.

Chad Calder, director of planning and construction for the Ascension Parish public school system, said plans for the restoration of three other schools that received major damage in the flood St. Amant High, Lake Elementary and Galvez Middle are close to being ready to bid, and planning for the final flood-damaged school, Galvez Primary, is close behind that.

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ST. AMANT For the past six months, St. Amant High students have carried on the school year

But, he said, "We're still awaiting obligations from FEMA. The biggest challenge is making sure we have the funding."

Conley said FEMA expects to be allocating grants for the Lake Elementary project, as well as for ancillary buildings at St. Amant High School, in July.

Walking through the St. Amant Primary campus that was busy with construction workers last week, Superintendent Alexander said, "FEMA has not delayed us yet, but if we don't get obligations on those projects pending, there could be a problem because of cash flow."

When asked if he could estimate when the remaining schools that received major damage in the flood might be restored, Alexander said, "I can't even speculate. There are too many factors to speculate."

"If cash flow and FEMA reimbursements come in a timely way they might could be finished in a timely way," he said.

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

Original post:

Nearly a year after floods, work begins on damaged Ascension Parish schools despite FEMA delays - The Advocate

Ascension, a Dallas coffee shop with a full menu and wine list, is bringing its casually gourmet vibe to Houston next summer.

Owner Russell Hayward, originally from Sydney, Australia, brought an Aussie approach to coffee when he opened his first Ascension location in Dallas five years ago, and now hes bringing it to Houston, reports CultureMap. Since opening his first shop in Dallas, Hayward has opened two additional locations in the area, but the Houston outpost is Ascensions first major move outside of the metroplex.

The chain sources its high-quality coffee locally, but Ascension offers more than just caffeination. A large farm-to-table menu, available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, features dishes like croque madame eggs benedict, along with a selection of wines.

The caf is slated to be the first restaurant in the Heights Waterworks development, which sits at the northeast corner of 19th Street and Nicholson. Fortunately for fitness enthusiasts, Ascensions patio will be just a stones throw away from Heights Hike and a nearby bike trail. Ascension is scheduled to open in June or July of 2018.

Excerpt from:

Dallas' Ascension Coffee Hits Houston Next Year - Eater Houston

SORRENTO A parish project to replace an aging drainage culvert under Main Street in Sorrento is set to begin Tuesday, depending on the weather.

But with the tropical activity in the Gulf, the project will be taken on a day-by-day basis, Sorrento Mayor Mike Lambertsaid.

"We're not going to take one of our main (street) arteries out" in the face of possible severe weather, Lambert said."We'll monitor the progress of the storm and see what happens."

Once the project begins, the work at the Main Street/Lee Street intersection is expected to take six weeks to complete, he said.

The old culvert will be replaced with a big box culvert to improve drainage, saidMartin McConnell, public information officer with Ascension Parish government.

The work in Sorrento is part of an initiative to gradually replace old culverts "all over the parish," McConnell said.

All residents in East Ascension pay a half-cent sales tax for drainage. Parish government handles most drainage problems inside and outside the corporate limits of the east bank's municipalities.

On Tuesday, the parish is expected to be mobilizing equipment and putting materials in place at the site, the mayor said.

The project was scheduled for the summer, so it wouldn't interfere with school buses, he said.

If the weather doesn't impede the culvert project this week, drivers in Sorrento should expect to detour on John LeBlanc Boulevard. Lambert said small-vehicle, local traffic can also detour from Railroad Street to Braud Street.

Other drainage culverts crossing under Main Street are also due to be replaced in the future, Lambert said.

"This is a maintenance project, being proactive," Lambert said of the parish's drainage work.

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

Read more from the original source:

Sorrento to see start of Main Street drainage project, watching weather - The Advocate

In a late addition to the 2017 Money in the Bank card, Breezango defeated The Ascension at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

WWE Universe showed Fandango rolling up Viktor for the victory:

The match came about after The Ascension showed themselves to be the culprits of an attack on Tyler Breeze earlier in the week:

Wrestling Inc thought the reveal fell somewhat flat:

This would've been a great time to have The Authors of Pain make their main roster debut or usher American Alpha back into the fold.

Not only did The Ascension feel like an underwhelming rival for Breezango, it couldn't even leave Money in the Bank victorious, giving essentially no payoff to the "Who attacked Breezango?" storyline.

On one hand, it's good to see Breezango getting a pay-per-view win. Not only are Tyler Breeze and Fandango an entertaining duo, they're also capable in-ring workers. They'd make great champions in the event they captured the SmackDown Live tag team titles.

On the other hand, beating The Ascension does little to raise Breezango's profilesuch is The Ascension's current state in WWEultimately changing very little in the tag team division.

Link:

Breezango Beats The Ascension at WWE Money in the Bank 2017 - Bleacher Report

GONZALES A state district judge found Monday that an Orlando, Florida, man is competent to stand trial in the January 2015 shooting of an Ascension Parish sheriff's deputy.

Judge Jessie LeBlanc of the 23rd Judicial District made the ruling after Chadwik Schwender, 30, 3217 Sutton Drive, agreed to accept the written findings of three mental health professionals that he understood the charges against him and could assist in his defense.

Prosecutors have accused Schwender of shooting then-Deputy James Atkins II on Jan. 20, 2015, after he pulled over a stolen car that Schwender and two others were riding in.

Atkins, who was shot in the hand and survived his wounds, suspected Schwender and the others of stealing bullets from the Walmart in Donaldsonville minutes earlier, sheriff's deputies have said.

At the time of the shooting, Schwender's two co-defendants were on the run from an attempted murder in Florida days earlier. They had picked up Schwender on their way to Louisiana, prosecutors have alleged.

Prosecutors charged Schwender and his co-defendants with counts of attempted second-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated burglary, being convicted felons in possession of firearms and other counts. One of them,Jennifer McGhee, 30, no address, agreed to testify against Schwender and another man as part of a guilty plea May 15 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. She was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

Schwender had the option on Monday of requesting a hearing on the written findings of the three medical professionals but he agreed to have LeBlanc rule based solely on their reports to the court. After ruling, she filed the reports under seal.

LeBlanc had appointed the sanity commission in November at the request of Schwender's former public defender. That attorney brought up Schwender's history a special education student with learning disabilities and a substance abuse history who had no memory of the facts surrounding his arrest in Ascension, a motion shows.

While LeBlanc found Schwender competent to stand trial, she did not rule on whether Schwender was sane at the time of the shooting. LeBlanc said all the reports from the medical professionals did not address that question.

She said that while one found Schwender was sane during the time of the shooting, a second gave no opinion and a third needed more information.

Schwender's current public defender, attorney Tiffany Myles Crosby, told LeBlanc that her client may want to raise issues of intoxication but may do it as a defense at trial rather than as the basis of changing his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

Leblanc set a hearing for July 25 when the third co-defendant, John McMullen, 37, is expected to argue on motions as well. He has pleaded not guilty the charges.

Follow David J. Mitchell on Twitter, @NewsieDave.

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Man accused in shooting of former Ascension deputy can stand trial but sanity still question - The Advocate