Section Pooyie!

POOYIE!

The good, the bad and the plain crazy of 2016

C’est Bon: Loreauville’s floating dock

The village of Loreauville on the banks of Bayou Teche is the latest to receive a floating canoe and kayak launch as part of the Bayou Teche National Water Trail.

COUILLON

The longer the Marshal Brian Pope public records battle goes on, the stranger it gets.

PAS BON

When Mark Garber is sworn in as sheriff of Lafayette Parish in July it will be with some baggage.

Pooyie!

The good, the bad from the recent news cycle

Couillon

Grover Joseph Rees must’ve been ambassador to semi-consciousness the last eight years and missed the entirety of the Bobby Jindal Error in Louisiana.

Pooyie!

(It’s Good, It’s Bad and It’s Just Crazy)

C’est Bon: Skyra Rideaux

For students at Lafayette Middle School — a low-rated, “inner-city” school with a majority low-income/black student body, many from single-parent households — the start of the school year was also an opportunity to begin the day with examples of success.

POOYIE! for November 2014

It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy **C'EST BON **A hearty attagirl for Kate Durio and Gretchen Vanicor, co-founders of ReCover Acadiana. The 705 offshoot, with the help of about 85 volunteers...

POOYIE! for September 2014

It's good, it's bad and it's just plain crazy C'EST BON The Acadiana Center for the Arts and the Lafayette Economic Development Authority have announced a new artist stipend program, ArtSpark,...

POOYIE! for July 2014

It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy C'EST BON The turning tide on gay marriage in these United States is becoming a tsunami. That wave swamped Louisiana's shore in late June when U.S. District...

Pooyie for May 2014

It's good, it's bad, it's crazy! C'EST BON In what's being called a game-changer for the local area, Canadian-based GCI Federal confirmed in late April that it's bringing 400 high-tech jobs to a new...

POOYIE for April 2014

It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy C'EST BON State Rep. Steven Pylant, a Republican former sheriff from Delhi, must drive through a lot of small-town Louisiana on his way to Baton Rouge. Pylant...

Pooyie for March 2014

(It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy) C'EST BON Tehmi Chassion might be the worst, most obstructionist member of the Lafayette Parish School Board in memory, but he might also be a one-termer....

Pooyie for February 2014

Revitalizing Lafayette's urban core, a terrible crawfish season and a U.S. congressman who will brook no oil portraits ... Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014 C'EST BON Revitalization of Lafayette's urban core got...

POOYIE! November 2013

(It's good, it's bad and it's just plain crazy) POOYIE! (IT'S GOOD, IT'S BAD AND IT'S JUST PLAIN CRAZY) ** Nov. 1, 2013** C'EST BON What a coup for The Advocate, getting three-time Pulitzer...

Pooyie! September 2013

(It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy) C'EST BON Lafayette's economy continues to redefine robust, ringing in a whopping $527 million in retail sales in June, the latest month for which figures are...

POOYIE! August 2013

(It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy) C'EST BON This is a conversation we in South Louisiana need to have, and if it takes a massive lawsuit against scores of oil companies by a tiny, independent...

POOYIE! July 2013

It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy C'est Bon All we can say is it's about time. Thanks to City-Parish Councilman William Theriot, we now know what a mess the Lafayette Public Trust Financing...

POOYIE! June 2013

It's good, it's bad and it's just plain crazy. C'EST BON Bishop Michael Jarrell struck a careful, conciliatory tone when he tacitly endorsed Boy Scout troops sponsored by churches in the \Lafayette...

Pooyie for May 2013

Wherein we actually give City-Parish Council Chairman Brandon Shelvin an attaboy. Wednesday, May 1, 2013 C'EST BON Well-deserved kudos to Lafayette Parish School Board President Shelton Cobb and...

Pooyie! for April 2013

The chief water boy for the Louisiana Family Forum has again filed a bill, HB 116, that would effectively neuter the state school board in its oversight of textbooks used in public schools in...

Pooyie! for March 2013

It's good, it's bad, it's just plain crazy. Friday, March 1, 2013 Written by IND Monthly Staff C'EST BON The economy in Lafayette Parish continues to outperform the state and nation. More than $596...

Pooyie for February 2013

Depending on which side of the front line you stand in America's ongoing Culture War, the Boy Scouts of America's recent announcement that it is considering ending its policy barring gays from...

PooYie! January 2013

Hot: Lafayette's economy. Hotter: principal (allegedly) for teacher at Eunice High School. Hottest (water): Councilman Brandon Shelvin for trying to move money from his own district to help a wealthy...

Pooyie - January 2013

It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy C'EST BON Lafayette's economy was one piston shy of a Ferrari in 2012, leading the state with the lowest unemployment...

PooYie! November 2012

C'EST BON There are ambitious artists and there is Amy Woodruff. PAS BON We're not joking when we say politics in Louisiana can really be a joke. COUILLON Yeah, so Honey Badger just takes what he...

PooYie! 10-1-12

C'EST BON The U.S. appears to be moving away from medical research on chimpanzees, announcing in late September that the National Institutes of Health will retire all 110 of its 563 research...

PooYie! 9-7-12

C'est Bon Not sure what's in the water up there in Monroe, but it done growed The News-Star staff some big ole swinging cajones. Pas Bon Hallelujah and pass the equality, the St. Martinville Senior...

Pooyie 08.29.12

While it will hardly be visible, if at all, to fans in the stands, a small decal that will be worn on the back of the UL Ragin' Cajuns football team's helmets this year makes a huge statement about...

Pooyie 08.22.12

Nice work if you can get it - laboring for Gov. Bobby Voucher that is. Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Former state Sen. Mike Michot, right, presents a check to...

PooYie! 8-15-12

C'est Bon The state Department of Education is using a rather puzzling excuse Pas Bon The most famous locally owned pizza joint in town has been forced to come up with a new name for its boudin...

PooYie! 8-08-12

C'est Bon Long overdue in arguably the most bustling parish in the state Pas Bon Controversy surrounding the Lafayette Police Department continues to get darker Couillon When Louisiana Tech mascot...

PooYie! 8-01-12

C'est Bon Equity has never been a built-in component of consolidation Pas Bon Three low-performing Lafayette schools have joined the list of 180 schools across the state Couillon Kudos to The Monroe...

PooYie! 7-25-12

C'EST BON At press time Monday, former congressman and one-time Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, fresh off a failed presidential campaign, was scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary...

PooYie! 7-18-12

C'EST BON Lafayette Parish public school students could soon be on their way to having their own personal electronic health records following PAS BON Only five school districts across the state are...

PooYie! 7-11-12

C'est Bon Rum is the New World's answer to Old World whiskey, and South Louisiana is set to become a major player in the production of the potent potable. Pas Bon Gov. Bobby Jindal claims he wasn't...

PooYie! 7-03-12

C'est Bon After mounting pressure from several environmental groups threatening legal action... Pas Bon A hearing officer's report on state Rep. Vincent Pierre's request to reduce his monthly child...

PooYie! 6.27.12

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 C'EST BON Freelance sports writer Dan McDonald, a regular contributor to The Independent, was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's Sports Writer of the Year PAS...

PooYie! 6.20.12

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 C'EST BON Lafayette has been selected one of 25 cities across the country to hop on the US Ignite bandwidth wagon and attract national attention to the next-generation...

PooYie! 6.13.12

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 C'EST BON We were never fans of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Louisiana Scholarship Program, the controversial voucher plan muscled through the recent session. PAS BON Ville Platte is...

PooYie! 6-06-12

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 C'est Bon Being lovers of print journalism we couldn't help but applaud from the sidelines Monday when our kindred in New Orleans rallied on behalf of the The Times-Picayune...

PooYie! 5-30-12

C'est Bon The eight-part investigative series from The Times-Picayune on the state of Louisiana's prison system gave Louisianans a troubling glimpse of how we became - and why we remain - the world's...

Pooyie 05.23.12

Wednesday May 23, 2012 **C'est Bon **At last report the state Senate Finance Committee was demonstrating the restorative power of wisdom in the face of the House's slash-and-burn budget...

Pooyie 05.16.12

Wednesday May 16, 2012 C'est Bon Each year the Louisiana State Bar Association selects an attorney and judge in each region of the state to receive its prestigious Crystal Gavel Award, which...

Pooyie 5.9.12

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 C'EST BON Nearly 15 years in the making and created out of the tragedy of beloved Lafayette musician (and physician) Tommy Comeaux's death in a cycling accident in 1997, a...

Pooyie 5.2.12

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 C'est Bon We have a feeling the success of INNOV8 Lafayette will be felt for some time to come - and far beyond what its organizers even imagined. Pas Bon Gov. Bobby Jindal and...

Pooyie 04.25.12

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 C'est Bon A controversial bill that critics say would have given privately run, publicly funded charter schools the right to discriminate against gay students is all but dead...

Pooyie 04.18.12

Wednesday April 18, 2012 C'est Bon The coalition of independent civic groups working to improve public education in Lafayette Parish has increased its membership with the addition of three new member...

Pooyie 04.11.12

Wednesday April 11, 2012 **C'est Bon **A portion of the "racino" revenues state Treasurer John Kennedy says "rightfully belongs" to the St. Landry Parish School System has been...

Pooyie 04.04.12

C'est Bon Another feather in Lafayette's "Cool Town" cap was bestowed last week when Festival International de Louisiane was named Best World Music Festival in the 2012 About.com Readers'...

Pooyie 03.28.12

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 C'est Bon Whether your opinion on electronic enforcement of speed limits and traffic signals in Lafayette is "Oh, brother!" or "Big Brother," the data...

Pooyie 03.21.12

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 C'est Bon With little surprise but with much fanfare Lafayette proudly accepted the sobriquet "South's Tastiest Town" last week during a reception at the Acadiana...

Pooyie 03.14.12

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 **C'est Bon **Freshman state Rep. Stephen Ortego is teaming up with Lafayette Parish School System Superintendent Pat Cooper in an innovative attempt to bring Cooper's proven...

Pooyie 03.07.12

Wednesday, March 3, 2012 **C'est Bon ** After decades of logging and oil/gas production, the Atchafalaya Basin is now, finally, in good hands. **Pas Bon ** The paranoia and enmity between LUS Fiber...

Pooyie 02.29.12

The president of Kaplan's Chic-A-La-Pie Krewe says the group plans to formalize rules about Mardi Gras float themes to ensure that floats like the one Dr. Glenn Stewart entered in Lafayette's...

Pooyie 02.22.12

Lafayette Superintendent Pat Cooper continues to challenge the old way of doing things in our public school system, demanding greater accountability from those around him. By The Independent...

Pooyie 02.15.12

**C'est Bon ** The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana says it welcomes Gov. Bobby Jindal's announcement that a legislative package is being produced to clarify the sweeping ethics reforms...

Pooyie 02.08.12

** C'est Bon ** Now we're getting somewhere. After more than a decade of dust collecting on the Lafayette In a Century master plan for Lafayette Parish, the Comprehensive Plan Citizens Advisory...

Pooyie 02.01.12

** ** Wednesday February 1, 2012 C'est Bon Once adrift and rudderless, the 15th Judicial District Public Defender's Office, which represents people accused of crimes in Lafayette, Acadia and Vermilion...

Pooyie 01.25.12

Wednesday January 25, 2012 C'est Bon The nine local civic groups that came together to bring education talks to the forefront in Lafayette Parish over the last couple of years may soon have an new...

Pooyie 01.18.12

Wednesday January 18, 2012 C'est Bon Louisiana Plating and Coatings, a newly formed subsidiary of Houston Plating and Coatings, is building a $9 million oil and gas manufacturing facility in Scott...

Pooyie 01.11.12

Wednesday January 11, 2012 C'est Bon Lafayette Parish School System Superintendent Pat Cooper noticed something was missing as he reviewed the agenda and related documents for his first board meeting...

Pooyie 01.04.12

Wednesday January 4, 2012 **C'est Bon ** Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret is questionable for Saturday night's Saints-Lions game with a strained hamstring. **Pas Bon ** If possible air...

Pooyie 12.21.11

Wednesday December 21, 2011 C'est Bon Records, like rules, are made to be broken, and the Ragin' Cajuns minced several UL and New Orleans Bowl records on their way to Saturday's epic, come-from-behind...

Pooyie! 12.14.11

Wednesday December 14, 2011 C'est Bon OK, so the Honey Badger doesn't take everything he wants, but he's still a ferocious little critter.** Pas Bon** A crackerjack investigation published Sunday by...

Pooyie! 12.07.11

Wednesday December 7, 2011 C'est Bon UL head football coach Mark Hudspeth made it official this week, telling media at a sports luncheon that he will "definitely" be the team's coach next...

Pooyie 11.30.11

Wednesday Novemeber 30, 2011 C'est Bon Kudos to Secretary of State Tom Schedler for at least getting the conversation started. Pas Bon The main function of the multi-million-dollar Louisiana Immersive...

Pooyie 11.23.11

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 C'est Bon Whodathunkit? Pas Bon While football fans in Lafayette are on top of the world these days with the unparalleled success of the Cajuns (not to mention the Tigers...

Pooyie 11.16.11

November 16, 2011 ** C'est Bon** Give 'em hell, Buddy. Former Louisiana congressman and Gov. Buddy Roemer is doing nothing to attune his anti-corporate-money campaign message to the GOP squawk...

Pooyie 11.09.11

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 C'est Bon For the second time this year a district court judge in Baton Rouge has put the kabosh on Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin's bid to keep a 550-pound...

Pooyie 11.02.11

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 C'est Bon Gov. Bobby Jindal's efforts to reform the sad state of public education in Louisiana were hit with staunch opposition from school boards and teacher unions during...

Pooyie 10.26.11

Does anyone really give a damn who endorses a candidate? Well, the candidates certainly do, and in the closing days before the Oct. 22 election they were touting them ad nauseum, especially in the...

Pooyie 10.19.2011

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 ** C'est Bon** The first Bowl Championship Series ranking of college football teams released Sunday has the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns ranked 32nd in the country... ** Pas...

Pooyie October 12, 2011

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 ** C'est Bon** OK, we're in uncharted territory here, and what a glorious view from the heights. For the fourth week in a row - the fourth week! Pas Bon OK, you know who...

Pooyie 10.05.11

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 ** C'est Bon** Opelousas resident Hubert Vidrine's 15-year battle with the feds over false criminal environmental charges and malicious prosecution ended Friday when Vidrine...

Pooyie 09.28.2011

Wednesday, September 28, 2011** C'est Bon** Fight the good fight, HUD. Pas Bon Gov. Bobby Jindal can spin it all he wants... Couillon There are capers like the 1971 D.B. Cooper hijacking... Wednesday,...

Pooyie 09.21.2011

C'est Bon Hell hath frozen over and, verily, the swine are aflight. Pas Bon Is it really a debate when the incumbent doesn't show? Couillon But for the grace of God U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-La., is...

Pooyie 09.14.2011

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 C'est Bon The UL Ragin' Cajuns' sloppy, soaking-wet 20-12 victory Saturday night... Pas Bon Radio "personality" Garland Robinette has a powerful perch on WWL in...

Pooyie 09.07.2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 C'EST BON Just when we thought it was all over for the Rosa Parks Transportation Center's brand spanking new post office... PAS BON The state Department of Education takes...

Pooyie 08.31.2011

C'EST BON It was a warm welcome Monday evening... PAS BON Were Michael Sandlin abroad he would be the quintessential ugly American. COUILLON We'll get an idea Saturday night at Jerry Jones' football...

Pooyie 08.24.2011

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 C'EST BON The financial woes of Acadiana Outreach Center... PAS BON Downtown Lafayette's Tex-Mex dining quotient went from awesome to lonesome... COUILLON When the League of...

Pooyie 08.17.2011

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 C'EST BON Not that we need further proof that UL Lafayette is devoted to this community... PAS BON In the final two furlongs on this week's Pooyie!... COUILLON Exhibit B:...

Pooyie 08.10.2011

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 C'EST BON In a state famed for its food, we have a lot going for us. PAS BON Atlanta-based AGL Resources is nothing if not persistent. COUILLON It was an exodus from Genesis...

Pooyie 08.03.2011

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 C'EST BON Louisiana is finally getting creative with people who welsh on their obligations to their children. PAS BON There's no question that LSU is great at recruiting the...

Pooyie 07.27.2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 By The Independent Staff C'EST BON When Washington Parish-based Smith Creamery's dairy plant exploded a couple of weeks ago... PAS BON When a suspect in a brutal home...

Pooyie 07.20.2011

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 By The Independent Staff ** C'EST BON** Holly Boffy, a retired Lafayette Parish public school teacher... PAS BON It has become dogma within the Republican...

Pooyie 07.13.2011

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 C'EST BON State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell Monday issued a definitive opinion that Cypress Trails Limited Partnership... PAS BON The ugly knob just got cranked to 11 in...

Pooyie 07.06.11

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 C'EST BON Here's a novel idea recently embraced by New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux: post the monthly credit card statements of a government office online for public...

Pooyie 06.29.2011

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON It was a textbook case of protecting and serving... PAS BON The kayaker who spotted the body of 29-year-old Cory Sonnier in Lake...

Pooyie 06.22.2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON We'll never know just how critical a role he played... PAS BON When Louisiana Family Forum backs a bill, be afraid - be very...

Pooyie 06.15.11

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 C'EST BON Even in defeat, Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, made a compelling case for pushing back against Gov. Bobby Jindal's famed lack of transparency. ** PAS BON** Jindal's...

Pooyie 06.08.11

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 C'EST BON The state House committee tasked with spending Louisiana's money got an extra voice from Lafayette last week when Speaker Jim Tucker named Rep. Rickey Hardy to the...

Pooyie 06.01.11

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 C'EST BON Attorney Greg Logan has his work cut out for him, if indeed he'll be the laborer cutting hay on his 8 acres of undeveloped land in a residential neighborhood on...

Pooyie 05.25.11

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 C'EST BON We thought that, given enough exposure to any critter, a Cajun would soon learn to make a nice sauce piquant out of it. PAS BON The plot thickens. And...

Pooyie 05.18.11

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 C'EST BON State Rep. Rickey Hardy's bill to make affiliates of housing authorities subject to the state's public records law won overwhelming support in the House, which voted...

Pooyie 05.11.11

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 C'EST BON Kudos to Baton Rouge-area newspaper editor and former state Rep. Woody Jenkins for waging a righteous fight for the public's right to know. Jenkins spent 28 years...

Pooyie 05.04.11

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 C'EST BON A communal effort to plant a fruit orchard in an underprivileged neighborhood in west Lafayette Parish is something we can all sink our teeth into. PAS BON As hundreds...

Pooyie 04.27.11

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 C'EST BON Getting deadbeat parents to catch up with their child support payments will be less of a craps shoot beginning May 20. That's when the state's riverboats, racetrack...

Pooyie 04.20.11

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 C'EST BON The Louisiana Science Education Act, signed into law in 2008 by biology major Gov. Bobby Jindal and derided by supporters of mainstream biology education as a...

Pooyie 04.13.11

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 C'EST BON What a difference a year makes. PAS BON And then there's Lafayette's hotel business, which isn't exactly fueling our economic engine. COUILLON OK, we get it:...

Pooyie 04.06.11

Wednesday, April 4, 2011 C'EST BON It was long overdue. When the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced last week it was finally taking over the troubled Lafayette Housing...

Pooyie 03.30.11

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 C'EST BON For Louisiana's offshore oil and gas industry, the news just keeps getting better: PAS BON The old inside joke about Louisiana being the armpit of America isn't so...

Pooyie 03.23.11

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 C'EST BON Forget what they say about trial lawyers - they ain't all bad. PAS BON Corporal punishment: the intentional infliction of pain as punishment for misbehavior and/or...

Pooyie 03.16.11

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 C'EST BON Louisiana politicians like to spin a good yarn. PAS BON Already the target of a lawsuit by some Whitney Bank shareholders, the planned merger of Mississippi-based...

Pooyie 03.09.11

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 C'EST BON Dr. Pat Cooper carried an inspiring message of nontraditional education reform to a sold-out crowd recently at the United Way of Acadiana's annual awards...

Pooyie 03.02.11

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 By The Independent Staff C'EST BON Lafayette Housing Authority resident board member Leon Simmons didn't slice off his ear... PAS BON If it's true the FBI always gets its...

Pooyie 02.23.11

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 By The Independent Staff C'EST BON We were reminded Saturday night in the Cajundome why UL basketball fans had such high hopes for the Bob Marlin era... PAS BON Leadership...

Pooyie 02.16.11

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 C'EST BON Ginger Rabalais, the Youngsville resident who generously allowed use of her property for a temporary bypass road in order to save the city's Heritage Oak, makes...

Pooyie 02.09.2011

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 C'EST BON Speaking truth to power, a laid-off sports editor at a Gannett newspaper in New Jersey filed his final column for the paper - PAS BON And now to us, The...

Pooyie 02.02.2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 C'EST BON Last week's New York Times feature on Lafayette's Gil Meche explains why the retired Major League pitcher is a shining star in today's world of professional...

Pooyie 01.26.11

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Lafayette has good reason to watch the new season of American Idol. PAS BON We have to wonder how Walter Guillory, the former...

Pooyie 01.19.11

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 ** Written by The Independent Staff** C'EST BON We left the first installment of the 2011 Independent Weekly Lecture Series... ** PAS BON** The much-anticipated audit of...

Pooyie 01.12.11

Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON It pains us Saints fans to say it, but kudos to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Brandon Stokley. ** PAS BON** Bath salts? Now...

Pooyie 01.05.11

Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Written by The Independent Staff C'est Bon While the New Orleans Saints ended their season Sunday with a disappointing 23-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers... Pas...

Pooyie 12.29.10

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Accolades for Louisiana's business growth and development from obscure biz publications keep rolling in. PAS BON The holidays...

Pooyie 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 It's good, it's bad and it's just crazy.  By The Independent Staff The holidays are tough for us newspaper folk. Schools and courthouses shut down, other public bodies...

Pooyie 12.15.10

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 C'EST BON This will never get old. The Recording Academy began handing out a Grammy Award for best Cajun/zydeco record just a few years ago, and, as expected, the category...

Pooyie 12.08.10

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 C'EST BON Members of the Lafayette Parish School Board must be a limber bunch... PAS BON Call it a dry run. COUILLON Little guessing where Tammy Crain-Waldrop's political...

Pooyie 12.01.10

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 C'EST BON An off-duty Lafayette police officer underscored the meaning of service last week when he nabbed an armed robbery suspect who was hoofing it away from the scene...

Pooyie 11.24.10

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 C'EST BON Tomorrow Lafayette restaurateur Ema Haq will once again underscore the giving in Thanksgiving, serving turkey and all the fixings to the underprivileged and...

Pooyie 11.17.10

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 C'EST BON The Lafayette Parish School Board made a sensible decision Monday night... PAS BON As we applaud with one breath the outgoing school board... COUILLON Fresh on...

Pooyie 11.10.10

Wednesday, November 10, 2010** C'EST BON** When The Daily Advertiser honored Lafayette attorney Gary McGoffin last week as our community's 78th Civic Cup winner, we cheered. PAS BON More evidence last...

Pooyie 11.03.10

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 C'EST BON The long-term health and ecological effects from the BP oil disaster remain vague, but the federal investigation into the tragedy is finally getting a head of...

Pooyie 10.27.2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010** Written by The Independent Staff** C'EST BON When Sen. Ben Nevers told the Baton Rouge Press Club last week... PAS BON City-Parish President Joey Durel is in the...

Pooyie 10.20.2010

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON It's worth a shot. With Louisiana's coast under perennial assault from hurricanes, energy exploration... PAS BON We're now up to...

Pooyie 10.13.2010

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON First, the good news: Lafayette continues to register a persistent pulse on the national economic EKG, most recently when it was...

Pooyie 10.06.10

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 Writteny by The Independent Staff C'EST BON It's been a long time coming, too long for those of us who covered the ordeal from Day 1. PAS BON How do you get kids to stop...

Pooyie 09.29.10

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON The Lafayette City-Parish Council made the right decision in voting 6-2 to uphold the dismissal of Lafayette Housing Authority...

Pooyie 09.22.10

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON State Superintendent Paul Pastorek's positive job-performance evaluation last week from the Board of Elementary and Secondary...

Pooyie 09.15.10

Wednesday, September, 15, 2010 C'EST BON School board candidate Greg Davis has an uphill climb to win the seat in District 2. PAS BON Meanwhile, back at reality, Louisiana ranks a dismal 47th out of...

Pooyie 09.08.10

**Wednesday, September, 8, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON** Hey, we're all for government regulators passing a good time, but not with the companies they're supposed to be...

Pooyie 09.01.10

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Written by The Independent Weekly C'EST BON When a bipartisan think tank, summoned by President Barack Obama... PAS BON Now that 3rd Congressional District hopefuls Hunt...

Pooyie 08.25.10

**Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff **C'est Bon Baton Rouge daily The Advocate was the sole newspaper honored last week with the national Sunshine Award by The Society of...

Pooyie

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Opelousas attorney Patrick Morrow made a good case before a panel of federal judges in Boise, Idaho... PAS BON Some government and...

Pooyie 08.11.10

C'EST BON The 15th Judicial District's Drug Court program works, and now there's a long-term study to prove it. PAS BON The avaricious among us never met a disaster they didn't see as an opportunity...

Pooyie 08.04.10

**Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Written by The Independent Weekly Staff C'EST BON** It's premature to proclaim we've dodged a bullet - the bullet being the millions of gallons of crude oil from the BP...

Pooyie 07.28.10

**Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON** When Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a law allowing people to carry concealed handguns - presumably it's handguns, rifles are hard to...

Pooyie 07.21.2010

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON It was probably no skin off Cajundome Director Greg Davis' back... PAS BON When qualifying ended July 9, it was a pleasant...

Pooyie 07.14.2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Little can be done for the pain and devastation of losing a child... PAS BON As crude oil from the BP disaster continues to...

Pooyie 07.07.2010

**Wednesday, July 7, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON** There is a ray of hope that at least one aspect of the claims process... PAS BON It's a no-brainer: BP is not going to pay for...

Pooyie 06.30.10

C'EST BON The last thing we need in the northern Gulf of Mexico at this time is a tropical storm or hurricane... PAS BON It was with a sigh of inevitability that Louisianans opened their newspapers...

Pooyie 06.23.10

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Since LUS launched its highly touted fiber to the home TV, phone and Internet service, one aspect of its system has fallen...

Pooyie 06.16.2010

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON Disengaged parents are frequently cited as an impediment to the success of public education statewide, and some parents' inability...

Pooyie 06.09.10

**Wednesday, June 9, 2010 Written by The Independent Weekly Staff C'EST BON** From Virginia, Michigan, California, Maryland, Missouri, even Canada... PAS BON The Associated Press' breaking story last...

Pooyie 06.02.10

C'EST BON We've had plenty of evidence this week of the dirty underbelly of the oil and gas industry. But, amid the Gulf carnage, a new economic impact study of drilling in north Louisiana's...

Pooyie 05.26.10

**Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON** A bill attacking the work the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic takes on in support of the state's low-income population... PAS...

Pooyie 05.19.10

**Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Written by The Independent Staff C'EST BON** Gov. Bobby Jindal has certainly taken to heart the Obama administration's mantra: "Never allow a crisis to go to waste. ......

Pooyie 05.12.10

C'EST BON Glenn Armentor is paying it forward. While the phrase may have become cliché, the Lafayette attorney's act of conscience is anything but. Armentor announced... PAS BON On this misstep, we'd...

Pooyie 05.05.10

** C'EST BON** Even before the ceremony began, there was a distinct buzz in the hall of the fourth floor of the Lafayette Parish Courthouse, a sense of pride and accomplishment on the faces... PAS...

Pooyie 04.28.10

C'EST BON It was like the Olympics for political fanatics for about two hours last Tuesday as the city-majority members of the Lafayette City-Parish Council pulled a parliamentary triple back flip...

Pooyie 04.21.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, April 21, 2010 C'EST BON: Festival International de Louisiane introduced several new innovations for this year's event... PAS BON: Lafayette City-Parish...

Pooyie 04.14.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, April 14, 2010 C'EST BON Former New Orleans Saint Scott Fujita is headed to the Cleveland Browns and... PAS BON If you ate oysters recently and you're...

Pooyie! 04.07.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, 7 April 2010 **C'EST BON **President Barack Obama's announcement last week of a new policy to open offshore areas for oil ... **PAS BON **Seriously? The...

Pooyie! 03.31.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, 31 March 2010 **C'EST BON **Lafayette is in danger of turning into Grosse Tete. **PAS BON **Is Lafayette's arena football team owned by Dan...

Pooyie! 03.24.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, 24 March 2010 **C'EST BON **We admire Cajundome Director Greg Davis' civic engagement and applaud his activism in the public education arena. **PAS...

Pooyie! 03.17.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, 17 March 2010 **C'EST BON **The Public Affairs Research Council, a Baton Rouge-based good government group, has the reputation and resources to weigh in on...

Pooyie! 03.10.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, 10 March 2010 C'EST BON The Louisiana Supreme Court, in reversing last week a Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that green-lighted a convicted...

Pooyie! 03.03.2010

Written by The Independent Staff Wednesday, 03 March 2010 C'EST BON The west-of-the-basin Who Dat Nation has been getting some much-deserved love from the Black & Gold since the Saints hoisted the...

Pooyie! 02.24.2010

C'EST BON We like our gumbo and our rice and gravy, but maybe Lafayette isn't so unhealthy after all. PAS BON After climbing steadily since 2002, retail sales slid 11.6 percent last year, falling from...

Pooyie! 02.17.2010

C'EST BON The cynics have spoken: The New Orleans Saints' unbelievable season and Super Bowl championship will not - they repeat will not - help the city recover from Hurricane Katrina. PAS BON This...

Pooyie! 02.10.2010

C'est Bon After rejecting the idea late last year, the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority, in a close 3-2 vote last week, reversed course and approved a rate increase for Lafayette Utilities...

Pooyie! 02.03.2010

C'EST BON More like c'est magnifique! Admit it, you probably thought you'd never utter the words Saints and Super Bowl in a sentence that didn't include the phrase "will never go to." But as...

Pooyie! 01.27.2010

C’EST BON Lafayette has arguably the best utility service in the state thanks to our publicly owned provider, Lafayette Utilities System. Keeping it top-notch will require a commitment of our...

Pooyie! 01.20.2010

**C’EST BON **Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Catherine “Kitty’’ Kimball is on the fast track to recovery after suffering a stroke, according to an update posted on the court’s Web site last...

Pooyie! 01.13.2010

C’EST BON Our favorite foodie is about to become a living legend. Cajun and Creole cuisine expert Marcelle Bienvenu will be inducted this weekend by the Acadian Museum in Erath into the Order of...

Pooyie! 01.06.2010

C’EST BON We in Sportsman’s Paradise do few things better than dispatching our pleasure boats and trawlers to the Gulf of Mexico and driving to near extinction any species popular in our skillets....

Pooyie! 12.21.2009

C’EST BON National media took notice recently after U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised Louisiana’s school-accountability system as “real change, based upon the real outcomes of children.”...

Pooyie! 12.16.2009

C’EST BON Heisman Trophy also-ran Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska finished the season with 82 tackles, 12 sacks and 23 tackles for loss. It’s a Heisman-worthy achievement to be sure. But the All-American...

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...

Pooyie! 12.02.2009

C’EST BON In this age of cuts to higher education, UL Lafayette is proving it is adaptable to the climate. A new online program, reported last week in The Advocate, is allowing registered nurses to...

Pooyie! 11.25.2009

C’est bon A cool Brees, that’s what he is. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees will soon star in an ad campaign along with fellow NFL Pro Bowlers DeMarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys and Troy Polamalu...

Pooyie! 11.18.2009

C’EST BON Louisiana — Lafayette in particular — continues to outperform much of the nation in weathering the recession. The Hub City is ranked ninth in the latest annual list of America’s 25...

Pooyie! 11.11.2009

C’EST BON He’s movin’ on up! Tangipahoa Parish Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell occupied our Couillon spot two weeks ago for his refusal as a custodian of Louisiana law to perform marriage...

Pooyie! 11.04.2009

C’EST BON Reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated. We felt a lump in our throat when news spread, quickly, that former UL Ragin’ Cajun and Minnesota Viking safety Orlando Thomas had succumbed...

Pooyie! 10.28.2009

C’EST BON It’s apparently no fluke that Fortune Small Business magazine’s November issue ranks Lafayette among the top 50 best cities in the country to launch a business in 2009 (in the mid-size...

Pooyie! 10.21.2009

C’EST BON Three Lafayette filmmakers took top honors in the New Orleans Film Festival , which wrapped up last week. The festival’s biggest honor, Louisiana Filmmaker of the Year, went to Zach Godshall...

Pooyie! 10.14.2009

C’EST BON A hearty ‘g’day, mate’ to Outback Steakhouse. The company announced last week that it will serve only Louisiana shrimp at its 14 locations in the Bayou State. An official for the...

Pooyie! 10.07.2009

C’est Bon It’s refreshing, to be sure, to see a couple of Louisiana politicians showing signs of real leadership on the health care debate. First, despite his sharp criticism of the president’s health...

Pooyie! 09.30.2009

C’EST BON Singer-songwriter Drew Landry has angered some in the Cajun pride community by proudly waving the “coonass” banner, but he’s making Cajuns and the rest of us proud by assuming a leadership...

Pooyie! 09.23.2009

C’EST BON L.J. Alleman Middle School in Lafayette was one of seven statewide to be named a Blue Ribbon School for 2009. The BRS program honors public and private schools nationwide that are...

Pooyie! 09.16.2009

C’EST BON Can we, at last, wish a hardy good luck to the Hilliards? In a small ceremony held earlier this year, the former Madlyn Boustany, mother of the congressman from Louisiana’s 7th District,...

Pooyie! 09.09.2009

C’EST BON Three cheers for the calendar, people. We live for two seasons here in Acadiana — gumbo and crawfish. One is upon us and it feels great. The cool fronts are beginning to roll in from the...

Pooyie! 09.02.2009

C’EST BON No matter your position on the public option, most of us agree the insurance companies just ain’t getting it done. Some opponents of health care reform say they don’t want America’s health...

Pooyie! 08.26.2009

C’EST BON In what is arguably the most under-reported “big” story of 2009 — the collapse of Stanford International Bank in an alleged $8 billion Ponzi scheme — one politician is making sure hundreds...

Pooyie! 08.19.2009

C’EST BON The grass cutting is greener in Parks. The small St. Martin Parish community has been using sheep to do the mowing around its water tower and water treatment pond for more than two decades —...

Pooyie! 08.11.2009

C’EST BON Being able to spot morons is good; it makes it easier to avoid them. But when the knuckle heads do all the work for you, it’s priceless. One of our kindred spirits spotted a guy in traffic...

Pooyie! 08.05.2009

C’EST BON The matchup between UL Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns and Southern University’s Jaguars on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. is already being touted as one of the biggest sporting events in the university’s...

Pooyie! 07.29.2009

C’EST BON Call us nerds, but given our druthers, UL Lafayette having a successful eponymous publishing imprint is infinitely cooler than beating UL Monroe on the gridiron. Little known to most of...

Pooyie! 07.22.2009

C’EST BON Amid all the hubbub at City Hall over funding social service organizations, Lafayette residents Leroy and Joyce Richard are quietly sharing their good fortune with the less fortunate. The...

Pooyie! 07.15.2009

C’est Bon Bond. City sales tax bond. Public works was shaken not stirred with the sale by Lafayette Consolidated Government last week of $62 million in bonds, which will pave the way for a spate of...

Pooyie! 07.08.2009

C’EST BON More positive proof that Acadiana’s community banks are doing just fine, thank you. Last week, Lafayette-based MidSouth Bancorp Inc. cracked a prestigious list of U.S. companies, entering...

Pooyie! 07.01.2009

C’EST BON Geaux Tigres! The storied LSU baseball program has its claws back. A Tiger squad led by third-year skipper Paul Mainieri were rough on the diamond against the top-ranked Texas Longhorns in...

Pooyie! 06.24.2009

C’EST BON Just when you think Gov. Bobby Jindal is on the ropes, he floats like a butterfly. Jindal further solidified deity status in north Louisiana (on the heels of the chicken plant deal) when he...

Pooyie! 06.17.2009

C’est Bon In yet another brilliant editorial decision, Gannet Inc. is now consolidating all five of its Louisiana daily newspapers’ copy desks in Monroe. That means no more copy editors at The Daily...

Pooyie! 06.10.2009

C’EST BON We’re ragin’ for some Cajuns. Two bright spots in the UL Lafayette sports firmament got the props they deserve last weekend in the Superdome when they were honored as the state’s top male...

Pooyie! 06.03.2009

C’EST BON Giddy-up! Plans to turn the nearly 90 acres of rolling pasture in the heart of Lafayette known as the horse farm into a public park entered the first furlong last week in the state House of...

Pooyie! 05.27.2009

C’EST BON Maybe it’s something in the water. Fourth-graders at Eunice Elementary School nailed the mathematics portion of the dreaded Louisiana Education Assessment Program test, and we mean they...

Peep Goat 05.20.09

GUILLORY ELECTION AFTERMATH Opelousas state Rep. Elbert Guillory trounced Patricia Cravins, wife of Opelousas Mayor Don Cravins, in the runoff for the Senate seat to replace her son Don Cravins Jr.,...

Pooyie! 05.20.2009

C’EST BON Nothing says scenic Louisiana waterway like trash collecting along the bank. But a grassroots coalition of residents in Teche country said “Enough!” and have begun in earnest a clean-up of...

Pooyie! 05.13.2009

C’EST BON The LSU Eunice Lady Bengal softball team hopped a bus Tuesday for a 17-hour trek to Bloomington, Ill., and the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II championship...

Pooyie! 05.06.2009

C’EST BON Expect more than a new coat of paint on a run-down icon of Lafayette’s past. The Borden’s ice cream parlor at the corner of Johnston and Jefferson streets near downtown and the university...

Pooyie! 04.29.2009

C’EST BON When is a crawfish crepe more than a crawfish crepe? When it raises funds for a struggling non-profit agency. Last week in the Cajundome Convention Center, the 25th annual Culinary Classic...

Pooyie! 04.22.2009

C’EST BON Lafayette’s relatively robust economy is getting some recognition from the national press. Both Forbes and Money magazines have hailed the Hub City as one of the best nationwide to land a...

Pooyie! 04.15.2009

C’EST BON It was only a matter of time before Apple rolled out an iPhone application that saves the world. Well, not quite, but maybe a small start. Through a partnership with The Conservation Fund,...

Pooyie! 04.08.2009

C’EST BON Coming soon, a theatre near you. The Acadiana Center for the Arts broke ground last week on a 300-seat theatre that will one day serve one of the most under-represented aspects of performing...

Pooyie! 04.01.2009

C’EST BON Following a major 2008 contraction due to a gasping U.S. economy, Starbucks is ready to rebound in a major way. The Seattle-based café chain has announced aggressive expansion plans for the...

Pooyie! 03.25.2009

C’est Bon Acadiana’s architectural heritage is an endangered species. Old houses, barns, businesses and farms are regularly torn down, either for the cypress they contain or at the direction of city...

Pooyie! 03.18.2009

C’EST BON Home-grown houses are likely  to be an economic shot in the arm for two Acadiana cities. Louisiana System Built Homes, based in St. Martinville in the former Fruit of the Loom plant, is...

Pooyie! 03.11.2009

C'est Bon Last year it was held in Reno. The year before that in the burgeoning technological research hub of Charlotte, N.C. This year, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — the...

Pooyie! 03.04.2009

C’est Bon You shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but Gov. Bobby Jindal was right to scrutinize certain aspects of the federal government’s economic stimulus plan. Specifically, Jindal has been...


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