Please note these news items and upcoming events of interest to Tammany Together members and friends.

Slidell Landfill
An application has been made to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to delay the closure of the landfill on Howze Beach Lane in Slidell. Those who are interested in this issue are urged to write the LDEQ and ask it to hold a public hearing on this matter. Click here to download a sample letter to request a public hearing. Note that the deadline for making the request is Thursday, June 4, 2009. A news article is available at http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/battle_brewing_over_slidell_la.html, and the details of the permit application are available at http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/apps/pubNotice/show.asp?qPostID=4884

Homestead Exemption
A number of bills to modify the homestead exemption have been introduced in the current state legislative session. An objective report on the effect of raising the homestead exemption has been prepared by the Bureau of Governmental Research and is available at http://www.bgr.org/pdf/reports/BGR_Homestead_032309.pdf. Tammany Together members and friends are encouraged to read this report and to contact their state representatives to let them know your position on this issue. To locate contact information for your state legislators, go to http://www.legis.state.la.us/ and click the "Legislators" link.

Video Bingo
Several applications are pending to open electronic video bingo parlors in the unincorporated areas of the parish. Two ordinances, one to prohibit video bingo altogether and the other to allow but regulate and tax it (#4071 and #4072, respectively) are on the agenda of the Parish Council meeting to be held in the Parish Council Chambers on Koop Drive at 6:00 PM on Thursday, June 4, 2009. Please contact your Parish Council member and attend this meeting to let them know your position on video bingo. A list of Council members and their contact information can be found at http://www.stpgov.org/leadership_parishcouncil.php.

Parish Homeowner's Associations Meeting
The presidents and boards of directors of all homeowner's associations in the parish are invited to meet with Parish President Kevin Davis and other representatives of parish government at 9:00 AM on Saturday, June 6, 2009, in the Parish Council Chambers on Koop Drive. Issues affecting the parish will be discussed and hurricane preparedness maps will be provided for distribution within each subdivision.