Three Fire Stations, Zero Firefighters: Why New Orleans Can't Staff Its Own Fire Department

You’re listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for August 5, 2026.Louisiana is having a moment — SpaceX is reportedly eyeing Vermilion Parish for a new spaceport, and we break down what that could mean for jobs, industry, and the state's identity beyond oil and gas. We also make a prediction: how fast will the lawsuits fly once Governor Landry makes it official?In our Top 3, Chevron asks a federal court to move its $744 million coastal erosion case out of state court, East Baton Rouge School Superintendent Lamont Cole is indicted on bribery and money laundering charges, and two Lafayette men are arrested for tearing down a Flock license-plate-reading camera.New Orleans is staring down a $125 million budget deficit, and we dig into a story that should worry every resident: three fire stations went dark for half a Saturday because the city doesn't have enough firefighters certified to run the trucks — and hasn't offered the training classes needed to fix it. We walk through how a spending problem, not a revenue problem, turned into a public safety crisis.Plus, we take on Zohran Mamdani's government-run grocery store plan in New York City, the ID card controversy behind it, and the media's attempt to rebrand it as a "loyalty card." CNN's Van Jones tells Abdul El-Sayed he has a "tremendous opportunity" to soften his anti-Israel positions for voters — we ask what that says about honesty in politics. And El-Sayed makes headlines again after commenting on the content his Instagram algorithm serves him.We close out the show debating what actually makes a president "effective," running the numbers on landslide re-election wins, and drawing a comparison to Steve Jobs' turnaround at Apple — a reminder that doing what's right isn't always what's popular.Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!