Still more than three years out from the race to replace term-limited City-Parish President Joey Durel, possible candidates are already lining up. But have local politics become too expensive and contentious for an ‘everyman’ candidate?
By Walter Pierce
July 3, 2012
State Rep. Joel Robideaux has three legislative sessions left before Louisiana’s term limit law draws a curtain on his tenure in the House of Representatives. It’s conceivable he could seek a move to the state Senate, but unlikely. He and first-term incumbent Page Cortez are close friends; the latter moving effortlessly last year from the House and into the term-limited Sen. Mike Michot’s seat without a challenge.
How a Lafayette public relations dynamo lost 140 pounds and seven dress sizes, and why she is more than willing to talk about it
By Heather Miller • Photos by Robin May
A former athlete who towers at 6 feet tall, public relations powerhouse Amy Jones has never been “petite.”
“You just can’t be when you’re this tall,” the 37-year-old former sportscaster and Lafayette native explains.
Motivated by conscience and economics, entrepreneurs in Lafayette are seeing the big picture and embracing the green movement.
By Katie Macdonald
Lafayette was one of the first cities in Louisiana to adopt curb-side recycling, and based on the bins lining our streets on pick-up day, the participation rate is high.
What does it take to live in a 120-square-foot house? A lot of pride and $10 per month in utilities.
By Elizabeth Rose
Rok Haus owner Art Cormier’s house is a lodge fit for one with maneuverability limited to only 120 square feet, but it’s the epitome of space and energy efficiency.
Researchers at UL are exploring a plethora of alternative energy models, but say economics will ultimately decide their fate.
By Wynce Nolley
Many might not consider Lafayette, or Louisiana for that matter, to be an area on the vanguard of green energy with our economy so heavily tied to the petroleum industry.
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
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