Man About Downtown

coverWednesday, March 30, 2011

Nidal Balbeisi opens his most ambitious restaurant in Lafayette.  And he’s not done yet.
By Anna Purdy  •  Photos by Robin May


Standing on the corner of Polk and Vermilion streets with Lafayette’s Gay Fire Fighter statue pointing toward it, there was Stan’s Downtown. For years it was a boisterous dance club with a second floor that was terrifying to see bow and sway with the weight of Jager-soaked dancers. It hosted DJs and comedy shows, maintaining a loyal happy hour crowd.





 

Cool Town

Cover.032311Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Lafayette’s creative class weighs in on what makes us a vibrant community.   By The Independent Staff

Cool Town. The concept is borrowed from urban theorist and author Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class. The idea is fairly simple: “Cool” cities like Austin, Athens, Ga., Portland, Ore., and Raleigh, N.C., attract creative people — painters, writers, musicians, architects, actors, techies — by embracing things like public spaces, the arts and transit that includes walking and biking. These livable communities, these cool towns, in turn attract entrepreneurs and businesses.




 

Smoke Signals

20110316-cover-0101Wednesday, March 16, 2011

SMOKEOUT
Smoking in bars — is 2011 the year a ban comes to Louisiana?

Health nuts, privacy whacks, cigarette lobbyists and all of our favorite lawmakers will be throwing down during the spring regular session over how much smokes should cost and where they should be burned down. (Plus $18,430 in donations worth knowing about.)  By Jeremy Alford

 

 

 

 

Under Construction

20110309-cover-0101Wednesday, March 9, 2011

After 35 years and multiple incarnations, Francis X. Pavy remains a work in progress. By Anna Purdy
Photos by Robin May

Francis Pavy’s studio is impossible to miss. Located in Freetown — Lafayette’s answer to the East Village — it is a bright fusion of color with a carefully crafted amalgam of small squares coating the front doors, each with its own backdrop color and center circle of contrasting color. In Chinese custom the entrance to a home is designed to tell the guest who the person inside is, how they live, what’s important to them. Pavy’s studio is a candied dot among the greenery and Acadian architecture. Like his studio, Francis Pavy stands out.





 

Missing Link

20110302-cover-0101Wednesday, March 2, 2011

How a Louisiana chef took the long way back. By Anna Purdy. Photos by Robin May

“Call me Donald.”

Almost before I am done shaking his hand and greeting him formally as “Chef Link,” Donald Link, Louisiana son, favorite of restaurateuse Susan Spicer and New Orleans chef of international renown, corrects me politely.

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Page 18 of 83
LA LA Land
  • Rush says guillory is 'amazing'

    JUNE 20 Here's the transcript of the esteemed journalist Rush Limbaugh's recent spot on Sen. Elbert Guillory. Guillory's video explaining why all black folks need to go running right over to the GOP (and no, one of the reasons given is not that you can't get elected Lt. Gov. as a "D" in this state) is "amazing" and a "tear-jerker" to Mr. Limbaugh. Of course, he doesn't mention that Guillory thought enough of the D party to join it so he could get elected to the state senate. But Rush doesn't disappoint; he does manage to make the spot about him in the end.

  • Bishop talking to people from coffin

    JUNE 20 Here's a WBRZ investigative piece on a foundation in Baton Rouge that may have some problems. Like what, you ask? How about under-reporting income by $700K or having a member who gets contributions by telling folks about her mystical experiences? This lady says it all began 30 years ago when a bishop who died "spoke" to her from his coffin, letting her know that she was not "out of her head." Um, OK.

  • LSU paper says Jindal is insulting

    JUNE 20 Here's another analysis (or post-mortem, as the case may be) for Gov. Jindal's recent post in Politico. This time, it's from the editorial board of the LSU Reveille. The kids say there were some problems with the column; mostly, they were related to Jindal insulting his friends, his enemies, and everyone in between, including himself. The contradictions Jindal displayed weren't lost on these students -- or anybody else.

  • One more post about Steve GLeason

    JUNE 20 This post by the editorial board of the Picayune congratulates former Saint Steve Gleason on the "inspiring" way the man has responded to a mean-spirited and just plain appalling skit on a radio station about him and ALS, the paralyzing and fatal disease he has. As usual, the editorial states, Gleason directed attention from himself and to the disease, which he says is misunderstood, underfunded and ignored. Maybe this will bring some attention to the disease, the board writes.

  • Sopranos star dies in Italy at 51

    JUNE 20 The Advocate posts this story about the sudden death of James Gandolfini, the television, stage and film actor probably best known for his role as Tony Soprano on the HBO series. Gandolfini died while vacationing in Italy, the story reports. He won three Emmys for the Sopranos role, but also was honored with a Tony nomination for God of Carnage.

  • Dubos on the state of law enforcement in NOLA

    JUNE 20 Clancy DuBos writes here about the legal, financial and political quagmire that is NOLA law enforcement these days. Sheriff Gusman and Mayor Landrieu are facing off in federal court, and as DuBos says, the stakes are high. Gusman's prison is "a hellhole," DuBos writes, and Landrieu claims the books there are "deliberately unfathomable." Gusman says everything's hunky dory, but it would be better if he got more money from Landrieu. What a mess.

  • Aswell: Jindal's gold standard more like brass

    JUNE 20 Blogger Tom Aswell says Gov. Jindal needs to quit touring the country bragging about his "gold standard" of ethics reform -- because it just ain't true. Aswell gives us a lot of statistics on our dismal ethics record, including a long list of violations committed by our fearless leaders and political groups. Taken all at once, it's not a pretty picture, and certainly not a golden one.

  • Contractor pleads guilty to bribing SO

    JUNE 20 This post in the Picayune reports that a contractor pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme that involved fake bids and kickbacks. The contractor said he cut a deal with a guy working for Orleans Sheriff Gusman to submit fake bids so his real company could "win" work for the sheriff, the story says. The former sheriff's employee already has pleaded guilty, the story says. Meanwhile, Sheriff Gusman says he hasn't been contacted by any investigators.

  • Huff Post on the Jindal Politico column

    JUNE 20 Here's a Huff Post blog by Jason Linkins, taking a few shots at Gov. Jindal for his recent Politico column. For instance, he takes issue with Jindal's advice that the GOP "stop the bedwetting," pointing out that there were certainly some Jindal-positive patches on those damp sheets. But the main gist of the column is that Jindal was singing one tune back in November, but he's using a different score now. Either way, it's hitting a sour note with Linkins.

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