By Drew Broach | Deputy metro editor LOST AT SEA: Hundreds of people came to Port Fourchon on Wednesday to pay tribute to the victims of the Seacor Power, the lift boat that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico a year ago in a brutal afternoon storm packing hurricane-force winds. After the deadliest accident off the Louisiana coast in modern history, six people on board were rescued, six bodies were recovered and seven were never found. “There’s a hole,” said Scott Daspit, whose son, Dylan, 30, disappeared, “a piece of me missing.” COUNTERPUNCH: In a scorching letter Wednesday, St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper demanded a public apology from Parish Council members for comments they made about him during a meeting to discuss a troubled parish-owned water and sewage utility near Slidell. Cooper accused members of the council's Utility Working Group of a naked power grab, and said they have been manipulating residents who blame health problems on a sewer leak near Cross Gates subdivision in Slidell. ANGELS AMONG US: Tulane University is launching a new institute focused on innovation and supporting entrepreneurship as part of its growing downtown campus, the latest move by New Orleans institutions and investors to put more resources towards the local startup sector. The Innovation Institute is supported by an undisclosed amount of philanthropy and private funding that school officials said was in the millions of dollars. It will include seed funding and other support for entrepreneurs who are trying to turn their research into products and companies. Thanks for starting this stormy Thursday with us. Check out NOLA.com for more news throughout the day. D.B. |