Scandal, retirements, budget await Jefferson Parish President-elect John Young
by Richard Rainey - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

John Young, fresh from winning the Jefferson Parish president's race, spent all day Tuesday in meetings before glancing at his evening schedule. He had two civic association gatherings and a dinner with fellow politicos to attend -- each scheduled for 7 p.m. Young made all three. Then he took the rest of the week off, embarking on his first vacation in a year save for a May trip with his son that Young cut short after hearing that oil had hit the beaches in Grand Isle. "I figured ... I need to clear my head a bit because I probably won't be getting any time off for the next year," he said last week. The president-elect could use the break. On Wednesday, when he plans to take the oath of office, he will step into a grinder. He takes over an administration still shell-shocked from a year of scandal. The two top bureaucrats are retiring. Federal investigations are burrowing through the government. Oil still permeates marshlands. Hurricane Katrina and the national recession still shadow the local economy and the government's budget.