The $1.35 cents that each American pays in taxes per year to support the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is negligible when compared with the alternative: the arid and insipid wasteland of commercial programming.
We need to face up to how the “new New Orleans,” so celebrated by the Mayor and the self-anointed civic elite, in fact amounts to a hostile assault on African-American families and the working poor.
Third Circuit Court of Appeal Candidate Candyce Perret now knows The IND
will get to see at least portions of the lawsuits her ex-fiancé
filed against her, but she is holding onto hope we won't be able to
publish what's in them till after the April 29 runoff.
As Candyce Perret's credibility issues mount and fundraising dries up, the once inconceivable seems plausible — that she could outspend Susan Theall 7-1 and still lose the runoff for 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal.
Opposing sides in the fight over coastal restoration aligned behind Marilyn Castle and Jimmy Genovese, making their Louisiana Supreme Court race one of the most expensive ever.
The Louisiana Family Forum’s dogged focus on culture war issues — and culture war issues alone — prevents it from actually addressing the real issues that face Louisiana families.
The deal being offered by big business interests to solve Louisiana’s historic budget shortfall puts too much of the burden on working families that can least absorb a tax increase.
Four years ago, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, spent an afternoon talking with the students and faculty of Louisiana College, a tiny school b
Jindal once again repeated the lie that he cut the Louisiana state budget by 26 percent — and laid off 30,000 "bureaucrats" while governor. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This statewide elected official believes proposals in favor of automatic voter registration, which are
currently being debuted in Oregon, amount to nothing more than a
manipulative way of ensuring an illegal attempt among African-American
Democrats to engage in widespread, politically motivated intimidation
and voter fraud.
Just a little over a week after Lafayette buried an unbelievably talented favorite daughter who was senselessly murdered at the Grand Theatre, you’re including a gun show among the “17 ways to occupy the family this weekend"?
That’s especially so when it comes to District 4 school board member Tehmi Chassion and his behind-the-scenes antics and never-ending pursuit of control over his alma mater Northside High.
What is so disturbing about all this is the unavoidable conclusion that Mr. Georges, an intelligent man, has failed to comprehend the dangers implicit in a potential run for governor — or, that he does, but just doesn’t care.
As the community second-guesses and harps over Judge Ed Rubin’s slap-on-the-wrist sentence of Seth Fontenot, we’re overlooking a major slip-up on the part of prosecutors — one that could’ve ensured a minimum of 10 years in prison.
I read with interest your take on the tragic events in Chattanooga Thursday and marveled at the breathtaking speed with which you managed to exploit a tragedy for political gain.
Jindal’s phony outrage over Secretary Clinton and his absurd hyperbole about a “major breach of national security” aren’t only incredibly cynical, they’re also stupidly hypocritical.
The celebrated singer-songwriter-poet-Francophone-activist argues that South Louisiana can show America how race relations are done by erecting a monument to Clifton Chenier.
In giving voice to a non-issue, The Daily Advertiser
overlooks a big question implied by its own article: What were the other
three sheriff candidates doing while Mark Garber risked his life serving his country?
As New Orleans launches a city conversation on the many monuments to the Confederacy there in the wake of the killings in Charleston, S.C., should we in Lafayette be asking ourselves the same questions?
For some bizarre reason, the SGA, under the advisement of the son of Jindal's favorite attorney, Jimmy Faircloth, gave failing grades to legislators who opposed completely unnecessary increases in school fees.
The new spot doesn’t allege that Vitter disrespects women; it merely points out that Angelle really, really does respect women. I mean, really. Even on Sundays.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s efforts to conceal a series of tax
increases might not only undermine his presidential ambitions; the
bizarre scheme he forced upon the state’s legislature to do it could
eventually compromise the renowned anti-tax increase pledge created by Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform.
Nearly seven years after it was signed into law and despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, David Klinghoffer, a blogger for the Discovery Institute, a con-profit organization based in Washington state, continues to insist that the Louisiana Science Education Act has absolutely nothing to do with promoting the teaching of creationism and its fraternal twin, intelligent design, in the public school science classroom.
As the contentious process of addressing a $1.6 billion dollar deficit drags into June, legislators would do well to remember that much of their suffering is self-inflicted.
The Daily Advertiser got one thing right with this morning’s cover story, “The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Race: 4 Candidates, 3 Big Issues." There are four candidates running.
Less than 24 hours after Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the formation of a
presidential exploratory committee, a state house committee, in a 10-2
vote, effectively killed the only bill he had expressly endorsed during
the current legislative session.
If signed into law, House Bill 771 — a bill authored and proposed by Louisiana’s newest and most controversial state legislator — could provide tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer incentives to subsidize the construction of large-scale theme parks by tax-exempt churches and religious organizations.
Yet another example of how the city-parish charter works against the interests of the City of Lafayette occurred during the May 5 meeting of the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority.
On Friday, less than 24 hours after Moody’s downgraded LSU's credit rating, panicked investors withdrew their backing of $114.5 million in bonds for the university.
Just when it seemed like Northside High had finally attained the necessary
stability so vital to its long-awaited turnaround, it all
suddenly came to a screeching halt last month.
Mike Neustrom proved brains could be more effective than brawn, and after 15
years and four terms, he’s preparing to leave behind one of the most
progressive sheriff’s offices in the state. That's why picking the right successor is paramount.
A few weeks ago, on the coat tails of The Advocate's request, I sent Thomas Enright, Bobby Jindal’s executive counsel, an identical public records request: I also wanted any and all e-mails the governor had sent and received on his account, the same demand he had made of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Ind is giving some away as part of an online sweepstakes and those who can afford to are snapping them up, but some see Festival International’s new (VIP) Festival Pass program as a violation of the egalitarian spirit of the annual event.
Newbie GOP state rep and culture warrior Mike Johnson of Bossier City wants to one-up the Hoosier State — at the risk of Louisiana’s $5 billion-per-year tourism industry.
In a place where drive-thru daiquiris are legal and guns are loosely regulated, it seems silly that buying and selling something as natural as raw milk is criminal.
In a new column in the Baton Rouge Business Report, Publisher Rolfe
McCollister seems to question whether it is ethical for an LSU faculty
member to criticize, in print, the university for which he or she works.
Northside High Principal Melinda Voorhies arrived Monday morning at the LPSS central office with her resignation letter in hand, and within minutes, LPSB member Tehmi Chassion's cell phone started ringing.
Louisiana’s higher education leaders are finally fighting — and aggressively so — to stop the $608 million in proposed state budget cuts that would devastate their institutions.
What should we do about the alarming trend of unwed mothers in the United States? Don’t ask Heather Mac Donald, a lawyer/journalist who writes for New York’s City Journal.
President Gerald Ford put it this way in 1975: “It is most appropriate that Americans set aside a week to recognize the important contribution made to our nation’s life and culture by our black citizens.”
Former Louisiana Republican operative and new media director
to the 2011 Bobby Jindal campaign, Taylor Huckaby recalls the birth,
life and death of his confidence in the Jindal brand.
A month after he was sworn in as Louisiana’s newest U.S. Senator, Bill Cassidy expressed his appreciation of an internal audit conducted by LSU in response to questions about his employment with the university while serving in Congress.
“We must also maximize opportunities to attract federal investment
in our [health care] system.” — Bobby Jindal, candidate for Louisiana governor, 2007.
Here’s how Gov. Bobby Jindal’s presidential campaign will probably
end: he will finish sixth or seventh in the Iowa caucuses about this
time next year.
“That belt buckle!” Robin exclaimed. “Did you see that belt buckle? It said, ‘Governor Bobby Jindal, State of Louisiana,' and it had a fleur-de-lis in the middle.”
According to those who knew Bobby Jindal closely during and shortly after his years
in the administration of Gov. Mike Foster, something changed following
his 2003 defeat for governor.
Before I broke the story about Congressman Steve Scalise’s attendance at
a white nationalist conference hosted by David Duke’s hate group, I
knew there was one enormous risk: I would likely be handing David Duke a
microphone.
The haze from all the Kumbaya around the campfire vibes still hover
thick over LPSB’s seven freshly seated members, but even though it’s
been less than a month, they’ve also been busy making big decisions.
OK, doomed is too strong a word — we wanted to get your attention — but something happened at Tuesday’s City-Parish Council meeting that should have every resident of the city of Lafayette concerned.
A week ago, I broke the story about Steve Scalise; since then, the story has been
picked up by the national and international media, and as a result, we
now know a lot more about the event, its organizers, its agenda, and its
participants.
From two different worlds away, their fathers had always believed in the promise of America, and when they finally got the opportunity to study and work at an American university, they didn’t think twice. They packed up everything they had, and they flew across oceans to be here.
According to recently uncovered posts on Stormfront, the Internet’s
oldest and most notorious white nationalist and neo-Nazi forum, U.S.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) was an
honored guest and speaker at an international conference of white
supremacist leaders in 2002.
Reflections on Mary Landrieu's demise. It’s hard to believe that barely 10 years ago,
when Katrina struck, we had a Democratic Legislature and governor.
From two different worlds away, their fathers had always believed in the
promise of America, and when they finally got the opportunity to study
and work at an American university, they didn’t think twice.
Three weeks ago, along with my friend Jason Brad Berry of The American Zombie, I broke a story about Bill Cassidy’s questionable dual employment with Louisiana State University while also serving in Congress.
A week after Mary Landrieu lost her seat in the U.S. Senate to Congressman Bill Cassidy, several prominent Louisiana Democrats are hoping that the three-term senator will become a candidate for Louisiana governor.
In the waning months of the 1992 Presidential campaign, James Carville hung up a sign on the walls of Bill Clinton's campaign headquarters in Little Rock.
Tuesday night, in what very well may be the final debate of his long and colorful career in Louisiana politics, former Governor Edwin Edwards, now running for Congress, came out swinging.
After Thanksgiving, the small town of Moreauville plans to confiscate and kill all rottweilers and pitbulls, including a service dog.
Moreauville‘s "vicious dog" ordinance has targetted...
It was only a few months ago when the LPSB held the school system's purse strings with a death grip, but oh how board President Hunter Beasley's demeanor seems to be changing with the ouster of...
The Pat Cooper era ended ugly (and early). Can we still rally behind the Turnaround Plan?
Wayne Vasher, Michael Zolkowski. James Easton. Pat Cooper. We in Lafayette have a well-oiled superintendent...
How could anyone, particularly the governor of Louisiana, overlook or ignore 250 years of slavery, the Civil War, white-only primaries, generations of codified housing and employment...
What we need and deserve is a leader with the muscle to bring people together, and in a state as divided as Louisiana, no one has been better at cobbling together coalitions and representing a broad...
A common thread runs through many of those we oppose: Enshrining in the Constitution protections on programs and their funding sources has had a disastrous effect on Louisiana's most important...
In the wake of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Mo., law
enforcement agencies nationwide are embracing body cameras for officers.
It's time law enforcement in Lafayette follows suit.
Belief in a national outbreak of the Ebola zombie virus is becoming more of a threat every day, and The Hayride - Louisiana's one true bastion for unrelentingly conservative political commentaries -...
Ebola is kind of terrifying if you watch too much Fox News and CNN. Especially Fox, which makes everything look terrifying because, well, War on Christmas and Obama and all.
Dear Congressman,
You and...
Gov. Bobby Jindal's standing among Louisiana's citizens is pretty darn low, and of all the potential candidates in next year's governor's race, none is closer to Jindal than Angelle.
As a new Public...
It is distinctly possible control of the U.S. Senate will hinge on Louisiana, which is why, during the last several months, outside groups have made this the most expensive election in Louisiana...
We're in the second year of the second term of the first black president of the United States. And so it might seem that as Americans, as a nation, we have come a long way. And perhaps we have. But...
In what world does it make sense to balance the budget for a public school system by cutting schools from the poorest neighborhoods with the worst performance scores and the highest at-risk student...
After the Louisiana Democratic Party (endorsed Edwin Edwards), I drove to the East Baton Rouge Parish Governmental Building to change my party registration to "none."
Former Gov. Edwin...
According to Gov. Bobby Jindal, President Barack Obama needs to stop talking about "justice" and start murdering people, even if we have to go alone.
Republican Presidential candidate Bobby...
The LPSB is poised and ready to move forward with the termination of Pat Cooper following a discussion Thursday with the attorney hired for the investigation of the superintendent, but a decision of...
I was interested to hear what Lessig would say to an almost exclusively
conservative audience of successful businessmen and businesswomen in the
heart of what is now a deeply red area of the country.
"This is yet another example of the failed leadership and lack of focus that Hunter Beasley has exhibited. He's shown zero regard for kids, teachers or even passing a budget for the school year...
"Just as the devil does not deserve equal time with God, and a lie does not deserve equal time with the truth, the remarks of William Donahue have no place in any respectable journal seriously...
The eagerness shown earlier this week by Lafayette Parish School Board president Hunter Beasley upon receiving a findings report from the special attorney investigating Superintendent Pat Cooper...
Lafayette Parish School Board member Tehmi Chassion's dismissive attitude over being named in a federal lawsuit alleging bias against Superintendent Pat Cooper should come as no surprise.
"It's...
School board members will meet in executive session during tonight's meeting to discuss a potential federal lawsuit calling for an end to the investigation of Superintendent Pat Cooper and the...
In the late 1950s, Louisiana Gov. Earl K. Long once said that the state's attorney general didn't know the difference between a jumpsuit and a lawsuit. "If you want to hide something from Jack...
On Tuesday, a three judge panel (voting two to one) of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional Mississippi's controversial law requiring that physicians who perform...
As this year's budget process slogs forward and the Lafayette Parish School Board maintains its hard-headed stance against using any of its more than $60 million reserve fund, another slate of...
The city prosecutor has released the case file for Lafayette Parish School Board member Tehmi Chassion's simple battery complaint against Superintendent Pat Cooper, and the seven witness statements...
Citing conflicting witness accounts, the city prosecutor will not pursue Tehmi Chassion's allegation of simple battery against Superintendent Pat Cooper.
LPSB's Tehmi Chassion shares a moment with...
In the fight over Common Core, Louisiana state government is failing its citizens and the governor is chiefly responsible.
Louisiana state government is failing its duty to provide leadership and...
No doubt many of you are wondering what's going on with the flood authority's lawsuit against numerous oil companies. I can assure you, It's alive!
[Editor's Note: This letter from former Southeast...
The Lafayette Parish School Board proved at a June 26 budget meeting it is willing to soak students and teachers before giving an inch to Superintendent Pat Cooper.
Photos by Robin May
Board...
Surveys sent out to thousands of employees in the Lafayette Parish School System to gauge their opinions on student-teacher ratios and a 2002 tax fund hit a few snags, prompting a number of crazy...
A majority of Lafayette Parish School Board members are dead-set on destroying the school system - content to watch it burn while they are no longer in office.
A majority of Lafayette Parish School...
This year's evaluation of Superintendent Pat Cooper was an exercise in futility, nothing more than a tool for some LPSB members to pave the way for his termination.
This year's evaluation of...
What's more important: a bonus paycheck for teachers or saving about 150 teaching jobs at at-risk schools of the Lafayette Parish School System?
What's more important: a bonus paycheck for teachers or...
This guy represents - William F. Buckley Jr. wherefore art thou! - the paranoid, know-nothing wing of the GOP, and mainline Republicans should be fed up.
Zach Dasher has two things going for him in...
Corporations don't vote in elections; people vote. And as such, it's completely reasonable to limit the influence that corporations may exert in political campaigns.
Four years ago, an otherwise dull...
The anti-charter school contingency can blame charters for the system's financial crisis till it's blue in the face. But that won't change the facts.
Lafayette Charter Renaissance Academy
The...
Mark Allen Babineaux doesn't like Superintendent Cooper's turnaround plan so much that he's willing to violate state and federal laws to gut it.
It was like a tale of two cities Thursday night for...
LOGA President Don Briggs' relationship with The Daily Advertiser's editorial board (until recently he was a citizen member) has always been questionable, but even more suspect is his new claim before...
Rep. Joel Robideaux came out swinging Thursday to retroactively kill a New Orleans levee board's lawsuit against 97 oil and gas companies for damages to the coastline.
Rep. Joel Robideaux came out...
The reaction of one member of the LPSB to a community feedback initiative wasn't what you'd expect from a community leader who's supposed to be accountable to the voters.
Photo by Robin May
LPSB's...
Hurricane Katrina drove home a sobering lesson: playing politics with agencies responsible for flood defense could have horrific consequences.
[Editor's Note: SB 553 was passed by the Senate April 15...
Sure, state Rep. Nancy Landry's bills targeting the school system didn't gain favor among her fellow lawmakers, but that doesn't diminish her broader argument that the Lafayette Parish School Board's...
The Lafayette Parish School Board's attempt to investigate Superintendent Pat Cooper has been wrought with inconsistencies from day one, but even more alarming is that certain board members have been...
Downtowner Miranda Tait believes the arrest and ultimately the lack of prosecution of 9/11 vandal' Salvador "Ace" Perez is a teachable moment. Our cliché, not hers.
[Editor's Note: Miranda...
It took nearly a decade, more than $1 million in attorneys’ fees and countless hours of negotiations, but Lafayette Consolidated Government and firefighters and policemen have hammered out the final...
In 1990, David Manuel's departure to San Antonio was a major loss. Manuel was a professor of economics at UL Lafayette for 12 years before ascending to dean of the College of Business Administration,...
This Saturday, in addition to local and statewide races, Louisiana voters will be asked to vote on four constitutional amendments. Regular voters are used to constitutional amendments being part of...
Longtime Lafayette Parish School Board Member Mike Hefner is having a hard time coming to terms with why some of Lafayette's more prominent business people are continuing to support Pat LeBlanc's...
In June 2005, The Independent Weekly published an investigative cover story ("Foggy Contract Breakdown") revealing that Iberia Parish President Will Langlinais had extended millions of...
The National Newspaper Association is the largest newspaper association in the United States, with more than 2,500 member newspapers. Each year NNA sponsors its Better Newspaper Contest, which honors...
At first glance, this Saturday's election hardly seems to be a pivotal one. No elected officials, new taxes or constitutional amendments are at stake. But the votes cast this weekend on four tax...
In the past year, Lafayette's homeless population has received a whole new level of attention. There have been frequent stories in the local media about an increase in the local homeless population '...
John Breaux's decision last week not to run for governor of Louisiana ultimately wasn't surprising ' which makes it even more damaging to Breaux's reputation in his home state, and more embarrassing...
Three weeks ago, The Independent Weekly published our open letter to Gov. Kathleen Blanco urging her not to run for re-election. With endless dissections of her post-Katrina performance and the...
It's been nearly two weeks since a state audit of financial transactions by Iberia Parish President Will Langlinais has been released to the public. Langlinais has served Iberia Parish since 1977 as a...
This week, The Independent Weekly launches a free online news service unlike anything else in Acadiana.
Before I give you the details, I thought this was an opportune time for a brief reminder about...
Two taxes, two different recommendations
Today's economy makes voters inherently wary of supporting increased taxes. Increased health care, housing and insurance costs are just a few of the economic...
Louisiana voters should plan on spending more time than usual in the voting booth this Saturday, Sept. 30. In addition to the elections for Commissioner of Insurance, Secretary of State and several...
This Wednesday, Sept. 13, The Independent Weekly launches our own blog, Da Bog, at www.theind.com/blog.
Part of the challenge in publishing a weekly newspaper is deadlines and space constraints. Since...
Two weeks ago I spoke at the Lafayette Rotary Club's weekly meeting and shared my thoughts on the role of Louisiana media in the post-Katrina and post-Rita era. I was a bit underdressed than most of...
Founded in 1885, The National Newspaper Association is the largest newspaper association in the United States, with 2,500 newspapers. Each year, its Better Newspaper Contest honors the best journalism...
There aren't any candidates to vote for in the upcoming special election on Saturday, July 15, but Lafayette voters who care about the city's libraries, roads, school system and environmental efforts...
Each year, the Louisiana Press Association honors the best journalism in Louisiana with its annual awards competition. This year's contest was unlike any other, as coverage of hurricanes Katrina and...
President George W. Bush recently sent out 1.4 million Christmas cards with the following message: "With best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness [in] 2005." There are a lot of...
It's been two months since The Independent Weekly first uncovered the UL Lafayette horse farm deal; since that time, the proposed land swap has created such a stench that it's time to clear the air....
The lobby of the public health clinic at the Clifton Chenier Center has been transformed into a large waiting room. Last Tuesday morning, patients filled out medical forms, nurses hurriedly ran back...
For most of last week ' the second week following Hurricane Katrina making landfall ' it was hard not to be enraged.
FEMA Director Michael Brown, the man with the dubious résumé who was fired from his...
More than a year after Lafayette Utilities System first introduced its initiative to provide fiber-to-the-home to Lafayette residents, the issue goes to a vote this Saturday, July 16. It's a landmark...
The Times of Acadiana's Eric Benjamin's relentless drumbeat against Lafayette Utilities System's fiber-to-the-home proposal reached new levels last week when he credited Tim Supple of anti-fiber...
The Louisiana Press Association announced the results of its annual competition on Saturday, April 16, and for the second year in a row, The Independent Weekly took home a truckload of awards.
The...
Our friend Winston Diel died recently.
He was a fine, extraordinary man. But unknown to many of us, Winston suffered from acute depression, which led him to take his own life on Friday, April...
Behind the scenes here at 551 Jefferson St. for the last three months, we've been cooking up a big change ' and the results debut in this week's paper. When you turn to Page 6, you'll see a...
The Independent is pleased to welcome two accomplished contributors to our pages this week.
Jim Engster, our new state politics columnist, has been a fixture in Louisiana political journalism for...
Since The Independent's launch in August 2003, business coverage has always been an essential component of our editorial mission. Acadiana's unique business community deserves that commitment; from...