The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
U.S. District Court Judge Barry Moskowitz had obviously practiced his toilet humor before today’s hearing.
He threatened to wield a sledgehammer against the International Boundary and Water Commission if it didn’t comply with his ordered deadline for improving sewage treatment.
He paused and reconsidered.
No, he said, he’d wield a “sludgehammer.”
The audience groaned.
When Moskowitz addressed the Justice Department attorney representing the IBWC, he reached back into that bag of tricks.
“Right now,” the judge said, “you’re offering me nothing but pipe dreams.”
But Moskowitz didn’t joke when threatening federal officials to comply with his order. If the IBWC shows no progress in coming months, he said, “it’s not going to be pleasant.”
He dismissed the crowd with this admonition: “Good luck everybody. And I really mean it.”