Pooyie!

Pooyie! 12.09.2009

C’EST BON
January can’t come quick enough for a handful of Acadiana musicians, who last week were among the nominees announced for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards. Local musicians once again dominate the Cajun-Zydeco category, with Beausoliel avec Michael Doucet, Buckwheat Zydeco, The Magnolia Sisters, Pine Leaf Boys, and Cedric Watson et Bijou Creole all getting nods. Other Acadiana nominees and connections include Larry Klein, producer of the song “Acadian Driftwood” on Zachary Richard’s Last Kiss album, up for Producer of the Year, non-classical. Local swamp rocker C.C. Adcock is also looking to sink his teeth into an award; the vampire-inspired True Blood Season One album, to which he contributed four tracks, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack.

PAS BON
Another week, more grim news for the newspaper business. Last week, company memos from Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain owner and corporate overlord of both The Daily Advertiser and The Daily World, leaked plans describing more impending cutbacks. On the heels of consolidating copyright desks to state hubs, Gannett is now planning to run virtually all of its advertising design, for publications nationwide, into regional ad-building centers. The memo signals drastic job cuts to all its publications ad departments by this spring. Currently, The Advertiser alone employs roughly a dozen designers in its ad department. We hate what’s happening to Lafayette’s official public journal (really, we do!). Enough already.

COUILLON
Three scrooges this week: Councilmen Kenneth Boudreaux, Brandon Shelvin and Sam Doré. In their infinite wisdom as sitting members of the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority, the trio banded together to extinguish debate on the enormously important issue of a rate increase for Lafayette Utilities System. Not only did the three ignore warnings from LUS Director Terry Huval that not passing a rate increase could mean Lafayette’s sewage will hit the fan, but Boudreaux, Shelvin and Doré also ignored the common courtesy of approving an introductory ordinance so that it can go on to the full council for further debate and a final vote. An issue this important shouldn’t be treated in so cavalier a fashion.