A hotly contested mayor’s race usually has all eyes on it in most parts of the country. But south Louisiana isn’t like most parts of anywhere, and New Orleans takes the kingcake for parallel universes. Every four years, the Crescent City's February mayoral election, which in Louisiana is often compared to a carnival, has to contend with Carnival itself, as well as Christmas shopping, New Year’s parties, and the Sugar Bowl. That would be distraction enough.
But this year, as the Times Picayune points out, the Who Dat Nation has eyes for only one contest, the Saints’ march to the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 7. The New Orleans primary for mayor is Feb. 6. Add in the Bacchus Parade, Feb. 14, where the Crescent City’s sweetheart and Saints QB Drew Brees will reign as king, Mardi Gras on Feb., 16, and finally, the runoff on March 6. Political pundits have made suggestions to catch the public’s attention like running TV ads during Saints game half times or riding in early Mardi Gras parades. Hollering “Throw me something, Mister,” (like a functioning police department or streets without potholes) may have more meaning than ever this year.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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