The first taker out of the gate Thursday morning was the Democratic duo of Sen. Mary Landrieu of New Orleans and Congressman Charlie Melancon of Napoleonville. They fired off a media advisory shortly before 9 a.m. announcing that steel-maker Nucor Corporation had applied for a permit in St. James Parish. Their missive touted legislation shepherded by the pair that allows Gulf Coast businesses to take advantage of construction perks.
Roughly an hour later, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal sent out his own “Heads Up” email containing a Nucor press release that quoted the GOP chief as attracting a “facility that can become a national model for responsible manufacturing and economic growth.”
Finally, barely 30 minutes later, a ghost from politics past entered the fray. “In September of 2007, I made a visit to Nucor’s Charleston plant, assuring company officials that I was confident the next administration would continue our commitment to landing a major steel manufacturer,” said Democratic former Gov. Kathleen Blanco in her own release. “This was a major part of our transition negotiations. I am so pleased that the Jindal administration followed through with this goal and that our efforts are moving forward.”
So who deserves credit? The joint release by Landrieu and Melancon may have put it best: “Nucor worked with former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Gov. Bobby Jindal…” But with the mill is expected to generate 500 permanent jobs paying an average of $75,000 annually, it isn’t surprising to see a bevy of Louisiana politicians wanting a piece of the publicity.
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.
Subscribe to this comment's feed