Louisiana gambling board leader resigns before Senate vote
By MELINDA DESLATTEJune 9, 2021 GMT
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Louisiana’s gambling regulatory chief Mike Noel told the governor Wednesday that he’s resigning, preempting a Senate confirmation hearing where Noel could have been questioned about his State Police work during the fatal arrest of a Black man whose death remains under investigation.
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office said Noel’s departure as chairman of the Gaming Control Board will take effect Thursday.
The Democratic governor’s spokesperson Christina Stephens didn’t respond to questions about why Noel was leaving the post, if it had to do with his State Police tenure and Ronald Greene’s death or whether Edwards thought Noel might have trouble winning confirmation from the Senate.
A lesbian San Francisco Fire Department assistant chief who alleged discrimination against the department in a claim two months ago is now taking the city to court.
As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Assistant Chief Nicol Juratovac filed a claim of whistleblower retaliation and discrimination against the San Francisco Fire Department and the city s Department of Human Resources on March 5.
The claim was denied by the city April 8 and Juratovac filed her civil lawsuit May 24.
Juratovac claims she wanted to change the culture at the SFFD. Instead, she was retaliated against after exposing cheating on promotion exams, safety violations, and racism in the department, according to the complaint as well as for blowing the whistle on what her attorney, Mark P. Fickes, of Cannata O Toole Fickes and Olson, described as a drunken party at a fire station in Noe Valley in 2017.
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A San Francisco Fire Department assistant chief became the third and highest ranking member of the LGBTQ community to publicly accuse the department of discrimination this year.
Assistant Chief Nicol Juratovac, a lesbian, filed a claim of whistleblower retaliation and discrimination against the San Francisco Fire Department and the city s Department of Human Resources March 5. AC Juratovac has become the target of a relentless campaign of harassment and discrimination by department leadership for taking on the good old boys mentality at the SFFD, the claim states. A claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.
Juratovac is asserting that she was retaliated against after exposing cheating on promotion exams, safety violations, and racism in the department as well as for blowing the whistle on what her attorney, Mark P. Fickes, of Cannata O Toole Fickes and Olson, described as a drunken party at a fire station in Noe Valley in 2017.