Cost of gasoline taking a bite out of your budget? Here are 10 ways to fix that. 
With gasoline prices still high, manufacturers are making their green cars bigger and better. And that means there are more green-leaning options on the market. Confused by all those new options?
The Independent steps up the effort to get diners into locally owned restaurants this summer.
With EatLafayette kicking its campaign into high gear this year — Robert Mondavi Wines has joined The New Fly Lafayette Club as a title sponsor — The Independent has stepped up its effort to steer diners to locally owned establishments as well. Now in its eighth year, EatLafayette has more than 60 participating restaurants for the campaign, which launches June 18 and ends Aug. 15.
Five tales of how the Lafayette delegation adapted to a loss of seniority, brought home the pork and navigated the most contentious regular session of recent memory.
By Jeremy Alford • Photos by Robin May
I. Living In A Cadillac State
The 34-story State Capitol has a sub-basement. Aside from being brightly lit, well-opulated and only smelling of unadulterated ambition, it’s everything you would expect from a sub-basement. The Senate uses it for office space, taking the place of what was once roots and clay and dirt, mineral deposits and whatnot. Today, it’s a vast and winding catacomb. Hallways, sharp turns and an endless series of doors that are aesthetically unvarying.
The federal immigration debate has ensnared some of Louisiana’s most iconic industries — and the guest workers they rely on.
By JEREMY ALFORD • Photos by ROBIN MAY
You’ve probably never heard of an H-2B guest worker visa. But you have probably enjoyed the yield it produces. Like one of those melt-in-your-mouth Gold Brick Eggs from Elmer Candy. Or a package of Louisiana-harvested crawfish tails. Or maybe it was a night out in New Orleans, kicked off with drinks at one of the newer hotels.
(First of a series) - Kristi Guillory and Her Road to Everywhere
By Dominick Cross
Photo by Robin May
Kristi Guillory has been on a musical journey for most of her life.
And as she makes her way at this stage of her life, the 33-year-old Cajun musician, wife and mother has a new rock album out, a baby on the way and a new appreciation of her craft.
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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