In case you missed it, Barack Obama's State of the Union address did include the reference to the BP oil disaster that Gulf Coast Congresspeople were hoping for. Well, okay, maybe it wasn't exactly what they were hoping for. The reference came at the nexus of the speech's "Spilled Milk" and Tom Petty-influenced "Won't Back Down" sections. Click through to read the whole thing again, like it was the first time!

The State of the Union may last more than an hour, but in terms of politics, every line is precious. As the nation gears up for tonight's speech, Louisiana is watching to see if President Barack Obama will utter even a single phrase about that little oil puddle we had right down over here last year. So what do our reps think? Well let's take a look see and find out, shall we?

A New Orleans woman who claimed to be a line cook at Danny's Seafood pled guilty to claims fraud for two checks she received from the BP's post-Big Oozy fund that is designed to reimburse locals for lost income in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Natasha Wells, 25, submitted false payment information to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, and received a total of $7,600 for her so-called losses, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office. Wells never worked at Danny's, which has locations on Magazine St. and in the 7th Ward, and admitted to falsifying tax documents, Letten's office said.

Like tarballs that keep washing up on shore with the tide, the saga of the Big Oozy continues. In a big scoop, the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors are readying a first round of criminal charges stemming from the disaster. The Feds have not been given a final greenlight, but they are prepping final paperwork to prosecute several engineers for lying about risks. Specifically, the engineers falsified info about the ratio of pressure needed to prevent a blowout versus pressure needed to maintain the well's integrity. Conviction could carry up to five years in prison and a fine.

With only about a quarter of the money in BP's Big Oozy fund paid out and a terrible shrimp season in the rearview mirror, Claims Overlord Ken Feinberg saw fit to give a offer a little more money for all the losses. Feinberg doubled the possible payouts that shrimpers and crabbers can get from the $20 billion fund. Just like their fellow oystermen, crusteaceans coursers will now be eligible to receive four times their 2010 losses. Until yesterday, they were eligible for two times their losses. Guess all seafood is created equal. Or, at least, it was destroyed equal. Coverage: WaPo Daily Comet

Some of the customs of the United Houma Nation may not be fully understood by the general public. But, equally, you'd be hard pressed to find citizens that understand the bureaucracy at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The South Louisiana Native American tribe applied for federal recognition in 1985. Since then, all that's happened is that the application has gone up for consideration, some findings have been proposed and and a federal office has changed names. But, luckily, the Nation has found a new ally in Barack Obama...or, at least, his website.

Down on the Cajun Coast, frettin' about being followed is usually directed towards the feds. But the Big Oozy introduced a hall of mirrors that shows oil companies on their backs. Today, Al Jazeera delivers a searing report about allegations that BP whistleblowers are being followed and intimidated. Cherri Foytlin, a Grand Isle rig worker's wife who has been outspoken about the effects of the oil leak, reports having bricks thrown through her car, and finding the door of her house open. Some creepy tactics never change. 

More than a year after the Big Oozy, we're back to eating shrimp and some other seafood (sorry, oysters), and that's no doubt a good thing for the coastal industry. But for many, the question still remains: Is the fish safe? Once, the industry relied on James Carville. But, armed with an $18 million BP grant, the state has rolled out a public campaign that's a little more transparent. At the website GulfSource.org, the public can find testing results on many of the Gulf's edible creatures.

Lately, oil out in the Gulf has given Charlie a run for his crown as world's most mystifying sheen. Something is bubbling up from the deep, and now the feds want to know what lurks beneath. Yesterday, the Coast Guard ordered Deepwater Horizon owners Transocean to investigate the spot where the Big Oozy was plugged last year. Video feed that was recently beamed from the blown well that gave us last year's leak showed no seepage. But a pipe that broke off the well, and leaked its own fair share of oil, remains among the wreckage, and it could be the culprit.

Subsea ecosystems are supposed to be pretty freakin' cool. Don't believe it? Just ask the oil that leaked out of the Macondo well last year. Despite claims to the contrary, University of Auburn researchers report that the crude has staked out a spot on the seafloor like it's the neutral ground at Endymion. And, just like that guy with the 8-foot A-frame ladder and the giant fishing net, the oil hasn't changed at all in a year, the researchers reported in a study releaesed earlier today.