Katie Lee
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resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Katie Lee
@resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
2.1K followers 1.4K following 1.5K posts
Asst Prof. Anthropologist & engineer. Celiac. Feminist. Studies bone health, physical activity, & menses. she/her

My views should not be construed to reflect those of my employer.
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resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
And, for what it’s worth, this is another one of those cases where New Orleans area residents are split between districts. So maybe go call Eric Skrmetta if you aren’t lucky enough to have Davante Lewis as your PSC commissioner.
Screenshot of the contact information from Skrmetta’s website (https://www.lpsc.louisiana.gov/District1) Text reads: Metairie Office of the Commissioner District 1 - Metairie 433 Metairie Rd, Suite 406 Metairie, Louisiana 70005 (504) 846-6930 Fax: 504-846-6931 Dylan Mauberret - Executive Assistant (dylan.mauberret@la.gov) To File a Complaint Contact Amy Henry (amy.henry@la.gov) Mandeville Office of the Commissioner District 1 - Mandeville 1341 West Causeway Approach Mandeville, Louisiana 70471 (985) 624-4660 Toll-free: 800-228-9368 Fax: 985-624-4470 Roger Dejean (roger.dejean@la.gov) - PSC Enforcement Agent To File a Complaint Contact Jeannie Hanks (jeannie.hanks@la.gov) Donna Dardar (donna.dardar@la.gov) - Technical Assistant
July 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Obligatory photo of dat dawg after her walkiez.
Close-up photo of the face of a medium sized brown dog. She is a lab/hound mix, and her muzzle and eyebrows have greyed with age. She is sleepily laying on a grey couch.
June 27, 2025 at 10:42 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Timeline cleanse…our dahlia has a bloom and it is lovely.

That is all. Carryon.
Photo of a flower blooming in front of a very green leafy background. The flower has a tight yellow-green center and the petals are mostly white, streaked with pink that concentrates at the outer parts of the petals.
June 3, 2025 at 9:16 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
I wonder why?

I wonder 1) why there is no publicly available state air quality monitoring near the oil field and the LNG facility; 2) why citizens would choose to spend their own money to set up their own monitors and share that data publicly?
Screenshot of map of Cameron, Louisiana. It shows the location of Venture Global LNG facility in middle, along a river and at the opening to the Gulf of Mexico. On the left side of the screenshot you can see green land (Sabine National Wildlife Refuge) with long, straight segments of water which represent areas oil companies have dredged for oil fields and pipelines access. Screenshot from PurpleAir monitoring online, which shows the location of two air quality monitors just east of the Calcasieu River and the LNG facility in the prior photo. There is an inset graph showing the trace of the 10-minute averages of air quality data, showing it going into the "yellow" zone (above the green "satisfactory" area) overnight for two nights in a row.
May 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
But can I interest you in some New Orleans ones?
A stylized (like a wood carving or alter inset? I don’t know I’m not Catholic) image that says “Pope Leo of the 7th ward” at the bottom and depicts a seated man, smiling, holding a second line umbrella in his right hand and a bowl of probably gumbo in his right hand. He’s wearing a large cross around his neck and the scarf-type thing worn with robes (sorry-again not catholic) is decorated with fleur de lis
May 10, 2025 at 11:44 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
But also I made this tasty wild rice and beans (with spinach and onion/pepper)
Photo of a white bowl with a metal spoon and some white beans mixed in with green spinach and dark “wild rice” with some red pepper and onion.
April 2, 2025 at 12:40 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
"I've done this for 16 years and have seen deals collapse literally at the last minute," said Busada. "So really it wasn't until Dec. 4 that I felt confident that we had it." Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate.com.
January 27, 2025 at 1:31 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
The company also wanted local zoning laws changed to guarantee that their use of the property wouldn't be upended by a future police jury. In return for giving so much, the state was trying to build safeguards into the deal - jobs requirements in return for the PILOT and clawback provisions on the land if the company doesn't meet certain capital requirements. "There were a lot of sticking points"" Busada said. "We had to spend a lot of time in tough negotiations, saying, this is important to the locals. This is important to the state." Header: 'Game changer' By mid fall, the pieces were coming together. That's when the Public Service Commission got involved by virtue of the role the regulatory body will need to play in approving the new Entergy plants to power the data center. A public filing in the PSC docket in early November stated that Entergy was seeking permission to build three new gas power plants at a cost of $3.2 billion to provide electricity to an Al data center. At a hearing on Nov. 20, environmental advocates raised concerns about the project publicly for the first time, citing the amount of power it would consume and the costs that could eventually be passed on to ratepayers. Voicing support for the project and the jobs it would create, the PSC agreed to hire an outside firm to study the project's power demands, the first of several regulatory hurdles it needs to clear. By then, the deal was done, but Busada said he still didn't breathe a sigh of relief until Dec. 4, when Landry and Bourgeois joined officials from Meta, Entergy and the surrounding area at the Holly Ridge site to announce the " game changing" deal, as Landry called it at the time.
January 27, 2025 at 1:30 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
That meant looping in more local officials, who were already getting wind of what was going on. The Franklin Farms site in Holly Ridge in the heart of Richland - a 1,440-acre tract of soybean, grain and corn fields - had been purchased by the state in 2006 in hopes of luring a Toyota manufacturing plant to the area. But that deal had fallen through and in the nearly two decades since, the state and local governments had tried unsuccessfully to market the site. Richland Parish Assessor Lee Brown signed an confidentiality agreement in early summer and began crunching numbers to determine what the tax breaks would mean for Meta. It was by far the largest deal he'd ever seen proposed for the area, but hardly the first. "I wasn't optimistic," said the 30-year assessor. "I've seen so many of these deals and they never pan out. But I thought, 'Oh well, we'll try." There were other issues to resolve as well that required involving local government. The company wanted to buy Franklin Farms but state law doesn't allow the state to sell land without going to public bid. Instead, Busada structured a long-term lease with Meta for the property, which came with a promise that the state would work on changing the law. There were parcels next to the Franklin Farms site that the Franklin family still owned and Meta wanted to acquire, which meant negotiating those deals. (Photo caption:) Scott Franklin speaks during an event in Rayville, La., Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, to announce that Meta will build an artificial intelligence optimized data center in Richland Parish. By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer The company also wanted local zoning laws changed to guarantee that their use of the property wouldn't be upended by a future police…
January 27, 2025 at 1:29 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
"It was really the deal breaker," said Nelson. "We had to get that fixed before we did anything else." When the revised bill came before the Appropriations Committee in mid-May, Turner explained away the wholesale changes. "It has been brought to my attention we just need to follow what neighboring states have done," he said in testimony. Only state Rep. Beryl Amedee, a Republican from Gray in Terrebonne Parish, seemed to even notice, asking Turner why a broadband bill was suddenly being used to give massive tax breaks for Al data centers. Nelson quickly approached the table and explained it was an economic development tool to make Louisiana more competitive. The bill was approved by the committee and sailed through the full House and the Senate. Landry signed it into law on June 19. Then, during the special tax session in November, the rebate law was changed to an exemption. "We were nervous because we couldn't answer a lot of questions," due to the non-disclosure agreement, said Turner, who was eventually brought into the loop and told the company was Meta. "The bill wasn't on many radars." Header: Looping in the locals While the legislature was dealing with the sales tax rebate, Busada, the lawyer from Shreveport, was working on other key incentives - a property tax incentive known as a Payment in Lieu of Taxation for Meta and an Industrial Tax Exemption for Entergy, which is building power plants in the area to supply the data center with electricity. The process was complicated by the fact that the Richland Parish Industrial Development Board, the public financing board needed to issue the PILOT, was defunct. "We were trying to figure out how we could get this board functional again in the short time we had and it was going to be impossible," Busada said. "So, we reached out to the Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority, and asked them to do it."
January 27, 2025 at 1:26 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
"We were having three meetings a week, often for three or four hours," May said. "We have been involved in projects that have taken years. This timeline was incredible." Header: 'He was going to have to hijack my bill' The legislative session loomed. Landry had a huge list of initiatives he wanted to tackle during the first year of his administration and he'd need plenty of political capital to do it. The Meta tax breaks were now part of the plan. A few weeks into the session, Landry called a meeting in his office on the fourth floor of the capital. It included all of his cabinet secretaries and key legislators, including DeVillier. "Everybody whose department would play a role was there" said Bourgeois. "The governor told me to pass out blank NDAs and made everyone sign." Soon after, state Rep. Chris Turner, a three-term Republican from Ruston, was on the balcony of the historic Pentagon apartments when DeVillier said they needed to talk about a bill he had sponsored. House Bill 827 would create a tax rebate on broadband equipment to try and prod companies to bring high-speed internet to rural areas. DeVillier wanted to rewrite it. "He said he couldn't tell me why, but that he was going to have to hijack my bill, Turner said. Though lawmakers couldn't take up tax exemptions during the regular session, they could vote on tax rebates. Turner's bill was just what Landry and DeVillier were looking for. The broadband bill had passed the House Ways and Means Committee but still had to clear the House Appropriations Committee and then the full House and Senate. DeVillier and Landry's Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson, a former lawmaker from Covington, rewrote the bill to make the rebate apply to data centers, not broadband equipment. Photo caption: Richard Nelson, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue, speaks alongside State Representative Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, during the House Ways and Means committee meeting at the state capitol on November 7, 2024. Javier Gallegos "It was really the deal breaker," said Nelson. "We had to get that fixed before we did anything else." When the revised bill came before the Appropriations Committee in mid-May, Turner explained away the wholesale changes.
January 27, 2025 at 1:24 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
The Meta representatives didn't tell DeVillier or Villa the name of their company, though Landry had been made aware of it. They did tell the group that they liked Louisiana and had their eyes on a site in Richland Parish that was already owned by the state and certified for industrial development. But then came the request, and it was a big one: The project was a non-starter, they said, unless Meta could get a sales tax exemption on the billions of dollars it would spend on servers and equipment. Other states, like Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, have created similar incentives in recent years. Texas, for instance, exempts data centers from state sales tax provided they're of a certain size and create at least 200 jobs. Louisiana didn't have a similar exemption. To add another hurdle, the 2024 legislative session, which would start a few weeks later, on March 11, was a 'non-fiscal' session, meaning lawmakers couldn't take up tax bills. Landry looked at the participants in the room and told them to put a deal together. He would figure out how to get Meta's tax break through, according to three people who were in the meeting. Villa went back to LED and briefed Bourgeois, telling her that a big data center wanted to come to Richland Parish. Landry filled in Bourgeois on the details a few days later, and in March, LED had its first virtual meeting with representatives from Entergy and Meta. They discussed specifics, incentives, timelines and Villa went back to LED and briefed Bourgeois, telling her that a big data center wanted to come to Richland Parish. Landry filled in Bourgeois on the details a few days later, and in March, LED had its first virtual meeting with representatives from Entergy and Meta. They discussed specifics, incentives, timelines and everything it would take to make the deal happen.
January 27, 2025 at 1:21 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
From an economic development perspective, however, the deal was a coup for Landry, allowing him to boast about how it would position Louisiana as "a leader in the world of technology," and to claim credit for making good on his campaign promise of being a pro-business governor after less than a year in office. "It was such a non traditional deal that happened so fast and everyone was on the same page," said LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois, who was appointed by Landry and spent her first year seeing the project over the finish line. "It was really amazing." (Photo caption:) Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana Economic Development secretary, speaks during an event in Rayville, La., Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, to announce that Meta will build an artificial intelligence optimized data center in Richland Parish. By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer This account of how the deal came together is based on interviews with 12 people who were directly involved in the process. Landry declined to comment and Meta declined to make any of its employees who participated in the negotiations available for an interview. In a written statement, company spokesperson Stacey Yip confirmed Meta first engaged with the state in early 2024 and said the Richland site was chosen because of its "access to infrastructure, a reliable grid, a business-friendly climate, and wonderful community partners." (Header:) A big request Less than a month after Jimenez gave Villa the nod over cocktails in D.C., the first meeting was held between Meta and Landry. It took place in early February at the governor's mansion in Baton Rouge and included just a handful of participants: May and Jimenez, two representatives from Meta, newly installed Speaker of the Louisiana House Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, and Villa from LED.
January 27, 2025 at 1:20 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
"We have these kinds of meetings frequently," May said in an interview earlier this month. "But things felt different that night, like we had a real opportunity to make this happen." (Heading:)A transformative deal In the months that followed, Entergy executives, Landry, who was still unpacking boxes at the Governor's Mansion, and members of his budding economic development team forged agreements with legislative leaders, cabinet secretaries and local government officials to put together one of the biggest economic development wins in the state's history. In early December, Meta announced it would build a $10 billion Al data center in the middle of Richland Parish about 30 miles east of Monroe. When fully completed in 2030, the 4-million-square foot facility - more than three times the size of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport - is expected to employ 500 permanent workers and support hundreds of indirect jobs. The deal is also expected to pave the way for other data companies to build out critical technology infrastructure in a job-starved corner of the state with high poverty rates. (Photo caption) Kevin Janda, center, Meta director of Data Center Strategy, speaks with Gov. Jeff Landry, left of Janda, after an event in Rayville, La., Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, to announce that Meta will build an artificial intelligence optimized data center in Richland Parish. By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer Data centers, and Meta's proposals, are not without critics. Environmental advocates have raised concerns about the center's energy consumption, reliance on fossil fuels and the Data centers, and Meta's proposals, are not without critics. Environmental advocates have raised concerns about the center's energy consumption, reliance on fossil fuels and the effects it could have on ratepayers. It will also plop a massive construction site into a rural parish with rolling acres of farmland and a population of just 20,000. Winning the deal required offering massive corporate tax breaks.
January 27, 2025 at 1:17 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
"When we get back, we've got to talk," Villa recalled Jimenez saying. "'We have a big project, and we think Louisiana can be a contender." Just days earlier, Jimenez and Entergy Louisiana CEO Philip May hosted half a dozen tech executives at Entergy's headquarters in New Orleans. They were from Facebook parent company Meta, the social media giant with nearly 3.3 billion daily users and big plans to become a juggernaut in artificial intelligence. May had gotten wind that they were looking for a site in the South to build a data center, the hubs of servers and networking technology that power the internet, Al and, essentially, the modern world. And it wasn't just any data center - Meta was looking to build one of the biggest single-site data centers on the planet, which would require lots of empty land and loads of electricity. (Photo caption on page) Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO, speaks during an event in Rayville, La., Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, to announce that Meta will build an artificial intelligence optimized data center in Richland Parish. By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer May's team had gotten a meeting, and the pitch extended from Entergy's offices to a dinner at nearby Copper Vine, where over swanky bistro… May's team had gotten a meeting, and the pitch extended from Entergy's offices to a dinner at nearby Copper Vine, where over swanky bistro fare, the Meta folks told Entergy that they would consider Louisiana but that the state would have to move fast to come up with a deal. (Story continues below advertisement) "We have these kinds of meetings frequently," May said in an interview earlier this month. "But things felt different that night, like we had a real opportunity to make this happen"
January 27, 2025 at 1:13 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Louisiana politicos and lobbyists packed into the conference room of Shell's K Street office in Washington last January. It was the first night of the annual Washington Mardi Gras, and members of Gov. Jeff Landry's new administration, just weeks removed from the inauguration, had a lot of hobnobbing and networking to do. Anne Villa, then acting secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, had flown up from New Orleans earlier that day and was in the mix, taking it all in. Ed Jimenez, an economic development executive with Entergy Louisiana, spotted Villa and pulled her aside to a quiet corner.
January 27, 2025 at 1:13 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Louisiana has $305,274,697 of active funding from NIH. District 1, where I am (lookit that gerrymandered shape, eh?) gets about half of that, at $160,625,362.

In case you were wondering.
Phone screenshot of NIH Reporter website showing a map of Louisiana and that $305,274,697 of NIH funding goes to the state. Phone screenshot of Louisiana house congressional district 1, showing there are 234 funded projects and $160,625,362 in NIH funding.
January 23, 2025 at 3:59 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Happy opening to Mardi Gras season, y’all. Love that Phunny Phorty Phellows and Funky Uptown Krewe gave nice beads that I’m actually going to wear later. And a glow-in-the-dark slinky and a periodical.
A photograph of a copy of “where y’at” magazine (which has a picture of king cake on it and says “what you didn’t know about king cake”), three strands of hand strung style nice Mardi Gras beads, a mini glow in the dark slinky with a face on the side, and a pendant necklace for Funky Uptown Krewe
January 7, 2025 at 2:56 AM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
I want more lunch, but I can’t disturb the puppy snuggles. Send help.

(Do not judge the pajama pants. Today is Writing Day for the morning/mid-day, and I get to be comfy)
Photo of an empty bowl sitting on a white lap desk with a half-closed laptop next to it. You can see a pair of pajama-wearing legs (pajamas have rubber duckie sailors) and one bare foot stretched across the couch. Two dogs (both medium size hound mixes, one brown, one tricolor) are also on the couch, curled up napping. The tricolor dog has their front paw across my shin and is snuggling with my bare foot.
November 15, 2024 at 5:21 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
And now we wait.
Photo that shows a Louisiana “I voted” sticker featuring a dancing crawfish wearing a top hat. Sticker is on a black button front shirt dress. You can also see a pink clay pendant with a uterus stamped on it as part of a 90s style sliding choker-type necklace, a grey backpack strap and a bit of my blonde hair
November 5, 2024 at 2:54 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Gosh, I feel like I was late to the party after seeing other numbers!
Banner from Bluesky that says “celebrating 10M users” and says that I am #449,291. It also states my name and handle and that I joined Aug 2, 2023
September 17, 2024 at 12:20 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Since they wouldn’t let my completely normal sized bag that I offered to let them look into and that they already security wanded into the Under The Oaks ceremony, I went back to my office for a book to read until the outdoor portion of the event.

Seems like a great time to do some overdue reading.
Photo of a book titled “Saving the Security State: exceptional citizens in 21st century America”, authored by Inderpal Grewal
May 16, 2024 at 7:32 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Is there any particular reason why Tulane, in protecting private property, has decided to make the public sidewalk into an ADA-non-compliant tripping hazard?
Photo of a sidewalk with a long temporary chain link barrier sitting directly on it. The fence is about a foot into the sidewalk, and the “feet” of the fence extend about halfway across the sidewalk
May 6, 2024 at 10:17 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
Mid-day we had a sudden workplace restructuring here at the office.
Photo of two medium-sized dogs curled up napping on a grey couch with a grey couch cover. One dog is a tricolor hound mix who is pretty curled up with one paw extended, the other is a brown aging (greying) lab mix who is curled into a tight little ball. The dogs have switched places from the prior post in this thread.
April 26, 2024 at 8:36 PM
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
The best part of a rare work-from-home day is hanging out with my coworkers.
Photo of two medium sized dogs (one tricolor speckled hound mix, one an aging and greying brown lab-hound mix) passed out on a couch covered in a grey couch protector.
April 26, 2024 at 3:51 PM