Section Leslie Turk

LCG dept. head Melanie Lewis Edwards resigns

[UPDATE: Melanie Lewis Edwards announced this morning that she is leaving city-parish government to return to work for the federal government but was not specific about her plans or new position. At...

NO Mayor-elect Landrieu delivers ‘unity' speech

In his landslide victory speech Saturday night, Mitch Landrieu, 49, delivered a message about unity. It was a fitting call for New Orleans’ mayor elect, who earned extraordinary biracial support in...

T-P's record-breaking ‘Amen' paper

The Saints have been good for the struggling newspaper business. The New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Monday edition, plastered with a 5-inch-tall “AMEN” headline in honor of the Saints 31-17 victory over...

Alexandria man sentenced to 6 years for bank fraud

William Everett Nichols of Alexandria, president and owner of First Fidelity Mortgage Inc., was sentenced Thursday to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay $3.9 million in restitution for...

Firefly sues Google for trademark infringement

The Advocate reported today that Lafayette-based Web site development firm Firefly Digital has filed a federal lawsuit against Google, alleging the Internet search engine powerhouse is infringing on...

Who Dat? Buddy Dat!

[UPDATE: The NFL has conceded that it has no ownership of "Who Dat" or the fleur-de-lis, and will only object to black and gold shirts or other merchandise that include "Who Dat"...

T-P's open (warning) letter to Miami

The Times-Picayune knows the Who Dat Nation better than anyone, and the paper captures our enduring spirit in today’s open (warning) letter to Miami: Dear Miami, The Saints are coming. And so are we,...

LPSB attorney Paul McMahon's law license suspended

[UPDATE: As a result of the Supreme Court’s Jan. 12 order temporarily suspending the law license of Paul J. McMahon III, The INDsider has obtained the Jan. 6 petition for suspension and confidential...

Just don't call it the 'Super Bowl'

You can call it the Big Game, The Big One, The Game, the Super Game, the Championship. Just don’t call it the Super Bowl (damn, I did it anyway) — or you could have the NFL breathing down your neck in...

Louisiana Hot Stuff is Saints Central

Louisiana Hot Stuff, located in the Target Center on Ambassador Caffery Parkway, has been transformed into Saints Central. The gift store, which specializes in LSU, Ragin’ Cajun, and Louisiana...

Images from Washington Mardi Gras

Washington Mardi Gras 2010, "Energy - Louisiana Style," is in full swing in our nation's capital. The Friday gala honored King Bill Fenstermaker, Queen Dayna Elizabeth Haynie, Louisiana...

UL's Simon-Dronet joins Cox

Longtime UL Lafayette spokeswoman Julie Simon-Dronet will join Cox Louisiana as director of operations for Acadiana next week. Cox announced today that Dronet "will provide leadership and focus...

Bouillion, Durio, Keaty seeking Third Circuit seat

Lafayette City Court Judge Francie Bouillion, 15th Judicial District Court Judge Phyllis Keaty and attorney Steven “Buzz” Durio have all confirmed their plans to run for the Third Circuit Court of...

Durel and Savoie share vision for Lafayette's future

Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel will focus squarely on the future of our community in the 2010 State of the Parish address, slated for Tuesday, Feb. 2, at the Cajundome Convention Center as...

Donate blood, help a friend

So often we ask how we can help out when a friend is suffering from cancer or another health problem, and right now there is an opportunity to do just that. Loretta Schultz, wife of former Advocate...

La. SC chief justice suffers stroke

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Catherine “Kitty” Kimball suffered an ischemic stroke early Sunday. The court confirmed in a Sunday afternoon press release that Kimball underwent a successful...

Daily's Richter headed to Acadian Ambulance

The INDsider has confirmed — thanks to an anonymous reader’s comment — that Daily Advertiser Executive Editor Denise Richter will be joining Acadian Ambulance in Austin. The INDsider first reported...

Judge Sullivan's vacant seat filled

David Chatelain has been appointed judge pro tempore on the Third Circuit Court of Appeal to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judge Mike Sullivan. Chatelain was appointed by order of the...

Exec. Ed. Richter leaving Daily Advertiser

On Monday, Leslie Hurst, president and publisher of The Daily Advertiser and Daily World, announced that Executive Editor Denise Richter would be leaving the local papers. "She has the...

Judge reinstates Kenny Mire's driving privileges

An administrative law judge has recalled the suspension of Kenny Joseph Mire’s driving privileges, finding that the arresting officer did not follow the instructions on the machine used to administer...

Sullivan memorial eulogy service today at 4

A memorial eulogy service for Judge Michael Sullivan is scheduled for today at 4 p.m. in La Chapelle de Martin & Castille, 330 St. Landry St. The 68-year-old 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal Judge died...

Legal, judicial communities mourn loss of Sullivan

Judge Mike Sullivan, who was a year short of ending his second term as a Third Circuit Court of Appeal judge and was planning to run for re-election, died early Tuesday morning at the age of...

Saints get home field throughout NFC playoffs

Saints fans across the country cheered Jay Cutler's 39-yard touchdown pass to Devin Aromashodu in overtime of the Monday night matchup between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. The 36-30 Bears'...

Feds probe Stanford's ties to Congress

In its Sunday edition, the Miami Herald reported that the ties between indicted banker Allen Stanford and members of Congress — including millions in contributions and weekends in five-star Caribbean...

Opus series raises goal of $439,000

The Acadiana community opened its collective heart to the Opus Christi Magnum fundraising series this year, donating $439,000. Earlier this week Bishop Michael Jarrell announced the success of the...

Opus series raises $439,000, meets goal

The Acadiana community opened its collective heart to the 2009 Opus Christi Magnum fundraising series this year, donating $439,000. Earlier this week Bishop Michael Jarrell announced the success of...

LUS sacks Cox with Saints vs. Cowboys game

If you’re paying $39.95 a month for LUS’ 83-channel expanded basic cable service, breathe a sigh of relief. You’ll watch the undefeated Saints take on the Dallas Cowboys (8-5) on Channel 38 Saturday...

Free WiFi at McDonald's in Jan.

E.J. Krampe thought his customers deserved a break. And like a lot of other McDonald’s franchisees, he’s been lobbying for that break, free WiFi in his 20 stores, for the past two years. The Krampe...

Exxon puts $41 billion into future of natural gas

ExxonMobil’s plan to put $41 billion into the purchase XTO Energy Inc. has Louisiana oil and gas officials riding a natural gas high. “Exxon’s purchase of XTO is yet another example of how important a...

Jingle Bell Jubilee today in River Ranch

First National Bank at River Ranch is holding its 5th annual Christmas celebration, Jingle Bell Jubilee, throughout the day. Events include free pictures with Santa, a Toys for Tots drop off, Santa’s...

Once again, Blue Cross plays hardball

The national health care debate has fueled so much anxiety over coverage and access that it seems downright unprofessional, at the very least unfair, for the state’s largest health insurer and largest...

Send us your Saints rituals!

We’re stealing the idea from our friends at The Times-Picayune, which got way more than it bargained for when it asked readers to send in their Saints rituals and superstitions. Here’s a sample: I...

Rubin among tennis greats at BR charity event

Lafayette’s Chanda Rubin, once the No. 6 women's tennis player in the world, will be swinging her racquet tonight at Baton Rouge’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center for Smash Hits, a World TeamTennis...

Black Business Expo Saturday 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

The State of Greater Black Lafayette Forum has collaborated with the 100 Black Men of Greater Lafayette, LCG Parks & Recreation, the Greater Southwest LA Black Chamber of Commerce, Pittman...

Redskins' Batiste once walked the beat in Lafayette

For some Acadiana Saints fans, there will be another familiar face on the field today as the unbeaten Saints take on the Washington Redskins (3-8). In addition to Opelousas native Devery Henderson, on...

Chamber announces new Leadership Lafayette class

The Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Institute of Acadiana announced the newly selected Leadership Lafayette Class XXIII: Marty Altman, Louisiana Immersive Technologies...

Edwin Edwards' biography hits bookstores Dec. 14

It took almost five years and some serious editing (at one time the book was 1,800 pages), but Leo Honeycutt has completed the authorized biography of Louisiana’s most controversial governor. Edwin...

OC's Festival of Light rescheduled for Saturday

After insisting yesterday that the show would go on as planned tonight, the Oil Center Renaissance Association announced this morning that its annual Christmas celebration, Festival of Light, has been...

OC's Festival of Light moved to Saturday

After insisting yesterday that the show would go on as planned tonight, the Oil Center Renaissance Association announced this morning that its annual Christmas celebration, Festival of Light, has been...

Ping club-fitting van coming to golfballs.com Friday

The PING Fitting Van, a state-of-the-art mobile facility that assists golfers with proper fitting of clubs for their style of play, is making a special visit to the Golfballs.Com’s retail outlet at...

ESPN: Saints/Pats audience falls short of record

(UPDATE: The finally Nielsen tally is in, and Monday's Saints-Pats game fell just short of ESPN's Oct. 5 "Monday Night Football" game between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.) I...

Up for intro, LUS rate hike gets chamber backing

Lafayette Utilities System's proposed 15 percent rate hike, which the utility says is necessary for upgrades and reliability, is scheduled to be formally introduced to the council this afternoon. If...

Pastorek lecture Tuesday, Dec. 1; get tickets now

State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, an aggressive and tough advocate for widespread change in Louisiana's public school system, which ranks among the poorest performers in the nation,...

Cajundome's Davis' $80m wish list

Cajundome Director Greg Davis has a lengthy wish list of improvements for the nearly 25-year-old facility. Davis presented the Cajundome Commission with $80 million in renovations and maintenance...

Landrieu's $100 million deal

After successfully including a provision that could be worth more than $100 million in federal aid to shore up a Medicaid shortfall, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu joined fellow Democrats Saturday in voting...

BESE's Roemer: trim Dept. of Ed.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's Chas Roemer has an idea about how to streamline state government: overhaul the Department of Education. Roemer said the department is so bureaucratic...

Palates & Paté sends out an SOS

Palates & Paté, the primary fundraiser for the Acadiana Outreach Center, is in desperate need of help for this year’s event. The annual fundraiser scheduled for Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m. at...

Fifth Circuit rejects Stanford clawbacks

Stanford Group Co. investors like Troy Lillie of Maurice, who moved their money out of the controversial CDs and into another Stanford account before the SEC shut down the company in February, got...

LongHorn Steakhouse going up near Academy

Yet another sign the strength of Lafayette’s economy is on national retailers’ radar: the steakhouse chain that captures the flavor of the West in its restaurants is investing in Lafayette. Dirt is...

Last call for Entrepreneur of the Year nominations

They can be 20 years old or 60. In business for a decade or year. They might employ two people or 500. Acadiana Business, a publication of The Independent Weekly, is seeking nominations for its annual...

Stafford clinic receives thousands of H1N1 vaccines

The Louisiana Department of Public Health has designated Lafayette-based Stafford Healthcare Clinics a mass immunizer for H1N1, making it the recipient of the largest shipment of H1N1 vaccines in...

Struggling IceGators get new coach

The Louisiana IceGators, 2-5, announced today that John Gibson has joined the professional hockey team as head coach. He replaces Ron Handy, who is now the IceGators assistant GM, focusing on...

Brees v. Delhomme: Who you pullin' for?

It’s the dilemma we’ll all face Sunday at 3 p.m. when the undefeated New Orleans Saints face the Carolina Panthers, 3-4, in the Superdome. Breaux Bridge native and former UL standout Jake Delhomme,...

Another natural gas gold mine in north La.?

It’s been there all along, and the energy companies working north Louisiana’s massive natural gas find, the Haynesville Shale, in the past year knew it. In fact, it’s what they were originally after...

Former Gov. Treen dead at 81

Former Gov. Dave Treen died early this morning at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie from respiratory illness complications. He was 81. Treen became the state's first Republican governor...

Fortune: Lafayette among best cities to launch a biz

Fortune Small Business magazine ranks Lafayette among the top 50 best cities in the country to launch a business. In the mid-size communities category, Lafayette is No. 2, behind Huntsville, Ala. The...

LEDA lands a corporate relocation

ATC Associates, an environmental consulting firm, is moving its corporate headquarters from Woburn, Mass., to Lafayette. ATC Associates has 65 branches in 36 states, including an existing branch...

Could take a year to remove couillon justice

Valerie Willard, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Supreme Court, told CNN it could take up to a year to complete an investigation into Tangipahoa Parish Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell's refusal to...

Landrieu: the Brett Favre of politics?

He’s in. He’s out. He’s in. He’s out. He’s in and he loses a close runoff to Mayor Ray Nagin (unbelievable, I know). But this time it’s certain: Mitch Landrieu announced in July of this year that he...

Keith Bardwell: couillon justice

Just what all Louisianans like to wake up to, a national news story about one of our couillon justices of the peace refusing to marry an interracial couple. Keith Bardwell says he's concerned about...

AP: teachers benefited most from stimulus

The Associated Press is reporting today that teachers appear to have benefited most from the effort to save jobs with the $787 billion recovery package. Billions of dollars were sent to states...

Jindal delivers $5 million for Chemin Metairie

Gov. Bobby Jindal made a stop at Rouses Market in Youngsville yesterday to announce that $5 million of state money was approved to complete funding for the six miles of Chemin Metairie from the store...

'Optimistic' Harrison is 2009 LAGCOE Looey

It's fitting that the man who would choose to call his business Optimistic Oil Co. in 1990 would be chosen to represent the industry as LAGCOE Looey this year. The energy industry is in need of Frank...

Ragin' Jazz dancer in new Carrie Underwood video

When Kristin Daniel got word late this summer that country superstar Carrie Underwood was scouting dancers for the video for her hit single "Cowboy Casanova," the 2009 Teurlings Catholic...

New Iberia, Crowley chosen for LED pilot program

Louisiana Economic Development selected 12 communities across the state, among which are New Iberia and Crowley, to complete an intensive six-month pilot program that will help prepare each one of...

La.'s 2008 median income fastest growing

While it’s highly likely 2009 may throw all of these numbers out of kilter, it’s now clear that before the economic slowdown hit this year, Louisiana had the fastest growing median household income in...

Marcello's owner launching steakhouse

Gene Todaro, the affable Sicilian who made Marcello’s Wine Market Café on Kaliste Saloom Road one of Lafayette’s most popular eateries, is at it again. Todaro is opening the Elephant Room in the old...

Bring back my Adrien's!

Though it had only been open a short time, the Johnston Street Adrien’s Supermarket had already become a favorite for many shoppers in the area. A clean store, fresh meats and specialty foods, a solid...

Free publicity for Acadiana tech companies in ABIZ

Acadiana Business is once again compiling a list of local technology companies for its October issue. Inclusion on the list is free, but we need to hear from you asap. The list will include basic...

Briggs: Despite price uptick, layoffs coming

The oil and gas sector is looking up in south Louisiana, at least as far as one indicator: energy prices. Wednesday was a good day, as the price of both natural gas and oil rose sharply amid...

Duke nemesis Beth Rickey dies in Santa Fe hotel room

The Lafayette woman so often credited with bringing down neo-Nazi David Duke died destitute in Santa Fe after suffering from health problems for more than a decade. Quin Hillyer of The Washington...

LGMC H1N1 seminar tomorrow morning at LITE

The headlines have been non-stop and are only going to accelerate. The H1N1 flu — or swine flu — strain is now a global epidemic, and tomorrow’s seminar at LITE aims to get local companies ready for...

Beer sales a go at Cajun Field

The 11th hour decision to cancel the planned beer sales at Cajun Field last week was a minor disappointment far overshadowed by the record-breaking fan support and home opening win against Southern...

LSU game airing in HD on ESPNU

Thanks to an agreement reached between Cox Louisiana and ESPN, ESPNU was launched in HD today — just in time for tomorrow’s LSU game. The network began appearing on Cox Channel 785 in the Baton Rouge,...

Old fed courthouse demo plan moving ahead

The Advocate reported today that the only city offices still remaining in the old federal courthouse at the corner of Jefferson and Main streets could be vacated by year’s end, signaling what may be...

Oil rises to $71 as OPEC plans Wednesday meeting

The AP reported today that Benchmark crude for October delivery rose $3.15, to $71.17 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, noting that the falling dollar is pushing investors to commodities...

Stanford victims shafted by SIPC

The Securities Investor Protection Corp. has been paying victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme but claims it’s not responsible for any coverage of Stanford victims’ losses, Bloomberg reported today....

Get your WWMB tickets now

On Thursday, Sept. 17, at River Oaks Catering and Event Center, 800 Hugh Wallis Road, Acadiana Business will recognize this year's Women Who Mean Business honorees, along with Trailblazers Elaine Mann...

LHC Group expands into Oregon

Home health provider LHC Group Inc. has expanded into its 18th state, Oregon, entering into a home health joint venture with Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. The Lafayette-based company...

Barbecue, beer and blues coming

The Shed, a barbecue, beer and blues establishment based in Ocean Springs, Miss., is coming to Lafayette, tentatively in November. WLOX TV reported: The little BBQ joint that’s made a big name for...

Huebner MIA at TV10

For about a month now, KLFY TV10 anchor Chuck Huebner has been missing from the news desk, and the station’s only statement to viewers has consistently been that he has the night off. Sources close to...

Scott Daniels out at KXKC

KXKC 99.1 FM's Scott Daniels, who ruled the airwaves in the mornings when he sat next to Renee Rivet before her relocation to Houston in May 2006, was let go from the station. Daniels, a 17-year KXKC...

Indest steps down as president of LHC Group

LHC Group President John Indest says he made a personal request to the company to allow him to step down and assume a new role. The company, one of the largest home nursing providers in the country,...

Stanford investors sue OFI

Baton Rouge attorney Phil Preis is taking on the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions on behalf of 86 Stanford clients in seven states. Most of the plaintiffs, however, are from south Louisiana,...

Stanford whistleblower gets standing ovation

When Stanford financial adviser Leyla Wydler of Houston could not get answers from her bosses about the safety of the so-called CDs issued by the company’s unregulated Stanford International Bank, she...

Stanford whistleblower testifying in BR today

Hundreds of Stanford victims hope to have their voices heard in Baton Rouge today as they seek answers to how, despite numerous whistleblowers and other red flags, they were swindled out of their life...

Old federal courthouse may be razed soon

The former federal courthouse that consumes the block at the corner of Jefferson and Main streets in downtown Lafayette may be razed soon. The Advocate reported today on a plan to demolish the...

BR attorney Preis appealing ruling in Stanford case

The Advocate is reporting that Baton Rouge attorney Phil Preis yesterday told federal judges in Dallas and New Orleans he will fight a court officer’s efforts to increase losses his more than 60...

Judge: no new trial for Cajun Injector founder

The May 12 decision by an East Baton Rouge Parish jury, which rejected Cajun Injector founder Maurice "Reece" Williams’ claim that he was fraudulently induced to sell his line of marinades...

Higher ed's future taking shape

The Tucker Commission is meeting for the first time today with Gov. Bobby Jindal to begin shaping the future of higher education in the state. “This commission will review all operations of higher...

UL plan avoids layoffs, furloughs

UL Lafayette officials yesterday outlined a plan to trim the university's budget in light of the $14.7 million funding reduction from the state. The plan also includes measures to increase...

Sales tax holiday today and Saturday

The Louisiana Sales Tax Holiday, which provides an exemption from state sales tax on the first $2,500 of the purchase price of most individual items, is today and through midnight tomorrow. You must...

Judge: traffic cameras constitutional

Fifteenth JDC Judge Glennon Everett ruled Wednesday that Lafayette Consolidated Government’s traffic programs are constitutional. Tossing out all but one aspect of the suit, that pertaining to the use...

Deadline for Top 50 luncheon tickets is Wednesday

Brisk ticket sales for Acadiana’s Top 50 Privately Held Companies luncheon prompted the decision to book a bigger room at the Cajundome Convention Center for the Aug. 11 event, which features U.S....

Stanford advisers want their CD commissions

Ten former Stanford financial advisers are asking a federal judge to release their personal funds that have been frozen since regulators shut Stanford down in February. The advisers are from...

Judge: Stanford receiver can only claw back interest

On Friday a federal judge in Dallas ruled that Stanford investors who moved money out of the CD accounts before the SEC shut the company down in February should be able to keep their principal. And...

LHC Group expands in states of Washington, Alabama

Lafayette-based LHC Group Inc. has expanded its footprint in the states of Washington and Alabama. The local publicly traded company is one of the largest providers of home health services in the...

Bruce Foods searching for tailgating fanatics

Tailgating madness, the weekly college football party that often draws more fans than the game itself, is only a month away, and local food processor Bruce Foods is on the hunt for the most fanatical...

Stanford receiver attempts clawbacks

In a controversial move that puts him at odds with the SEC, Ralph Janvey, Stanford International Bank’s court-appointed receiver, has issued clawbacks on investors who moved money from the bank's CD...

Stuller leads Acadiana's Top 50

Stuller Inc. continues its dominance of the Acadiana area, landing the No. 1 spot on  Acadiana Business' inaugural list of the top 50 private companies based in the six-parish region. Though its...

Wood back at KSMB radio group

When Chuck Wood was shown the door more than a decade ago, he likely thought his years with the KSMB radio group were over for good. Within no time, the radio veteran was back on his feet, landing a...

Gray TV to manage KLFY

Gray Television of Atlanta will take over management of KLFY TV-10 and six additional stations owned by Young Broadcasting through a plan that received preliminary court approval Wednesday,...

Prominent Lafayette banker's funeral Wednesday

Former Guaranty Bank President Arthur J. Broussard, 82, who died Sunday, will be laid to rest tomorrow. Broussard was employed by Guaranty Bank for 38 years, serving as president and chairman of the...

Bustle, Fisher named pre-season All-Sun Belt

The Sun Belt Conference today announced its pre-season team, with UL linemen Brad Bustle and Chris Fisher landing the only two Cajun spots. Word of the team comes on the first of two media days being...

Get your Top 50 private companies noms in now

The nominations are rolling in and the list is shaping up, but Acadiana Business researchers are still seeking companies for our inaugural Top 50 Privately Held Companies feature, which will appear as...

Stanford victims to Obama: yes you can!

In a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal this week, members of the Stanford Victims Coalition are appealing to President Barack Obama to find a way to help them recover from the fraud. The group...

Gonzales company buys Lafayette's Bayou Pages

Sunshine Pages, a subsidiary of Gonzales-based EATEL, has acquired The Bayou Pages, a local yellow pages directory owned by Keystone Directories of San Antonio. The purchase will expand the SunShine...

KLFY may have new owner Tuesday

The winning bidder in the auction of Young Broadcasting’s group of 10 stations, which includes KLFY TV-10, is scheduled to be selected tomorrow but may not be announced for a few days. That’s...

Leaner GM emerges from bankruptcy

It wasn’t designed to last long, but this could be right up there with the speediest bankrupcties ever. A leaner GM today emerged from bankruptcy a little more than a month after it filed, promising...

SLEMCO raising rates

Citing the need for system repairs due to hurricane damage last year, SLEMCO is asking the Public Service Commission to approve a rate hike it hopes will generate about $7.7 million. SLEMCO has some...

United Blood, Regent holding 24-hour blood drive

United Blood Services and Regent Broadcasting’s seven radio stations are teaming up again for a 24-hour blood drive to help the more than 60 south Louisiana hospitals that rely on UBS. The event runs...

Lafayette Stanford victims coming forward

While many Lafayette area Stanford victims have yet to seek legal action to recover their losses, Acadiana Business has confirmed that at least a dozen have turned to Baton Rouge attorney Ed Gonzales...

UL horse farm bill clears Senate 39-0

Last week the state Senate voted unanimously, 39-0, for a plan that would turn the UL horse farm on Johnston Street into a passive recreational park for Acadiana residents. State Rep. Joel Robideaux,...

NYT: Allen Stanford, 4 others, indicted

The New York Times is reporting that R. Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors, and at least four others,...

Fifth annual 'EatLafayette' starts June 22

This afternoon's Business After Hours at the Petroleum Club will kick off the fifth annual EatLafayette campaign, designed to drive diners to locally owned restaurants. The campaign runs June 22 -...

Green car company coming to La.

V-Vehicle Company, a new American car group headquartered in San Diego, has chosen Monroe as the site for its assembly plant, Gov. Bobby Jindal and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen...

La. AG launches criminal probe of Stanford

Stanford Group Company’s problems in Louisiana just got much worse: Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced this morning that his office has launched a formal criminal investigation into the...

Another state Democratic Party official leaves post

Yet more evidence of internal discord within the Louisiana Democratic Party: On the heels of Executive Director Britton Loftin’s resignation in early June comes word that Communications Director Scott...

It takes a village ' of governors

Faced with the reality that his leadership was about to be called into question by four former governors (has this ever happened before?) Gov. Bobby Jindal has apparently softened his position on cuts...

Officials: cuts spell recession for Lafayette

Warning that proposed state budget cuts could take a $200 million toll on Lafayette’s economy and send it into a recession, health care and university officials yesterday pleaded with the Legislature...

Stanford victims tape their heartbreaking stories

Fifty-nine-year-old Troy Lillie of Maurice this morning tells the INDsider he was among the youngest of Stanford victims who went to state Rep. Bodi White’s legislative office Sunday to tape their...

Patel sentenced to 10 years

U.S. District Judge Tucker L. Melancon Thursday sentenced former Lafayette cardiologist Mehmood Patel to the maximum 10 years in federal prison for his conviction on 51 counts of health care fraud....

Horse farm bill clears House 95-2

The state House of Representatives approved, by a 95-2 vote, the sale of the UL horse farm property to the Community Foundation of Acadiana for development as a passive recreational park. The only...

Ethics board says no to wining/dining perk

The Louisiana Board of Ethics wants no part of Democratic state Rep. Noble Ellington's bill to allow lobbyists to pay more than $50 to entertain legislators and other public officials while they are...

Local dealers mum on GM bankruptcy

The world’s largest car maker until its fall from the top spot last year, Detroit-based GM filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization this morning; it is expected to successfully emerge a more...

Jindal's higher ed cuts could set state back decades

UL President Joe Savoie and Blueprint Louisiana member Jimmy Maurin are making one of the strongest arguments for killing the proposed cuts to higher education. If Gov. Bobby Jindal gets his way, his...

Bluesiana Burger debuts on Food Network Sunday

Lafayette ad exec George Graham, whose Bluesiana Burger was first runner-up in last year’s Sutter Home Build A Better Burger competition in Napa Valley, Calif., will be featured this Sunday when the...

Oil hits 6-month high

Lafayette's oil patch can rest a little easier — at least this week — as oil fetched $64.19 a barrel earlier today, the highest in six months. Additionally, benchmark crude for July delivery rose 77...

Horse farm bill passes House committee

The Louisiana House of Representatives’ Natural Resources and Environment Committee this morning took an important step in the process for authorizing the sale of UL Lafayette’s horse farm acreage to...

Ernie Alexander returns to KVOL

Ernie Alexander has been named general manager of Lafayette news/talk radio station KVOL-AM 1330, where he got his start in radio in 1951 at the age of 18. The GM job is effective immediately, and the...

Advocate's Acadiana bureau loses one employee

The Advocate’s Acadiana bureau didn’t entirely escape yesterday’s round of layoffs, but it appears that the bureau will keep turning out stories of interest to this area. The INDsider has confirmed...

Five boaters killed in canal near Houma

Houma’s The Courier is reporting that the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office has identified  five men killed Wednesday night when their boat struck a barge in Falgout Canal near La. 315. The dead,...

Advocate slashing 49 jobs today

One of Louisiana’s most respected daily newspapers, the family-owned Advocate, is cutting 49 jobs today. In a story published yesterday, David Manship said he wishes the layoffs could be avoided but...

Horse Farm set to become community park

(Editor's Note: read here for more details on the promising master plan for conversion of the horse farm into a passive recreational park -- which means no tennis or basketball courts, no soccer or...

Red light camera ban rejected

Lafayette’s red light cameras will keep clicking, as a House committee yesterday voted down a bill that would prohibit local governments from using red light cameras to issue traffic citations. House...

Mahtook named to SEC All Freshman Team

STM grad turned LSU standout outfielder Mikie Mahtook is one of two Tiger players to land a spot on the SEC All Freshman Team. Mahtook joins his fellow teammate, relief pitcher Matty Ott, who was also...

Hatchet coming down for GM dealers today

Today General Motors is notifying more than 1,000 dealers that it will not renew their franchises after October 2010. On Thursday Chrysler released a list of 789 dealers it is eliminating (read...

La. has highest gun death rate

First is Louisiana, then Alabama, Alaska and Mississippi (tie), and Nevada. Each of these five states has a per capita gun death rate that far exceeds the national rate of 10.32 per 100,000 for 2006 —...

Lafayette businessman Glen Richard dies

The body of 45-year-old Glen Richard, president of Lafayette-based Champion Real Estate Services, was found in the Toledo Bend Reservoir Saturday. Richard, who owns a camp in the area, had been...

I-49 South Task Force meets tomorrow in Jeanerette

The second meeting of the I-49 South Task Force is Tuesday, May 12, (tomorrow) from 10 a.m. to noon at the West St. Mary Civic Center at 1472 Highway 318 in Jeanerette. Appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal,...

Stamp Out Hunger tomorrow

People across Acadiana can help families meet their basic need for food by participating in the 17th Annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive in partnership with...

Energy corridor concept generating buzz

The chambers of commerce from Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes sent representatives to the State Capitol this week for the first of a series of briefings with the Legislature’s various...

Permit hearing for Marley's, Karma postponed

The hearing set for today to decide the fate of Marley's and Karma's alcohol licenses has been postponed to give the bar owners’ lawyer more time to prepare for the case, according to The Advocate....

Bo-Rail heads to Preakness

Acadiana native Calvin Boreil and the gelding he rode to victory at the Kentucky Derby are headed to the Preakness May 16. The trainer of Mine That Bird, which won the Derby at 50-1 odds, confirmed...

Cox adds 2 family-friendly HD channels

Cox Communications has added two family-oriented high-definition channels to its lineup. On the heels of a recent deal with the Disney-ABC Television Group, Cox added Disney HD (Channel 724) and ABC...

Bella Figura leaving City Club

It's certainly no secret that Jack Ainsworth wasn't happy at the City Club, as he's been scouting new locations for some months now. And the City Club's owners are likely equally dissatisfied with the...

Respected radio exec Mary Galyean leaves Citadel

“She is no longer with us,” the woman answering the phone at Citadel Broadcasting’s local office says. In a surprising development at the local radio group, General Manager Mary Galyean, one of the...

Advocate: suits cost LCG $4.2 million

The Advocate today reports that Lafayette Consolidated Government has paid out about $4.2 million in out-of-court settlements during the past five years. Through a public records request, The Advocate...

Tiffany Angelle named in Stanford receiver's suit

(Editor's Note: Through her attorney Alan Breaud, former Stanford Group Co. financial advisor Tiffany Angelle says the story below includes untrue information. “She is quite upset about the article...

Need a job? Come to Lafayette

Lafayette has just been recognized by both Money magazine and Forbes as one of the best cities to find a job. Money’s May feature, “Money 100,” which it calls an annual guide to the best investments,...

Movassaghi: tolls must be considered for I-49

The first task force to study construction of a north-south highway corridor through Lafayette, appointed by the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, was formed in 1993. It recommended the...

KATC employees taking unpaid furlough

Employees at KATC-TV3, whose parent company is owned by South Carolina-based Evening Post Publishing Co., are taking a week off without pay this quarter as part of a corporate-wide cost cutting...

Cell phone ban while driving back up for debate

New Orleans state Rep. Austin Badon is re-energizing his effort to ban the use of hand-held cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. Badon re-filed his bill for the upcoming legislative...

Hampton: All is well at Mitsubishi

With so many dealership changes in the past six months, it’s no wonder the unusually low Mitsubishi inventory and a sign blown out by last week’s winds are prompting speculation that yet another local...

Struggling Cajundome turns to Legislature

The Advocate reports today that the Cajundome is pushing a legislative package to address its financial troubles. The dome recently cut $1 million from its budget, laying off six full-time employees...

Last call for INDesign Award entries

Tuesday, March 31, at 5 p.m. is the deadline for entries in The Independent Weekly's 2009 INDesign Awards for excellence in architecture, interior design, historic preservation and urban planning....

Lafayette Parish retail sales down 7 percent in Jan.

When Lafayette's December sales tax numbers came in, there was a collective sigh of relief. The parish was more than holding on, as taxable retail sales rose 3 percent in 2008 while some communities...

Peep Goat: Gautreaux gaining momentum?

In today's issue of The Independent Weekly, Peep Goat reports that local attorneys Warren Perrin and David Calogero both have an interest in replacing federal Judge Tucker Melancon, who recently...

Johnston Street Smart: Reed Andrus' compromise plan

After decades of wishful thinking and years of serious debate that followed the introduction of the Johnston Street Redevelopment Initiative, a viable compromise is emerging to achieve critical...

Lafayette a top 10 'best city'

Lafayette ranks No. 10 in newgeography.com's list of the Best Cities in the medium sized cities category. In the list of large cities, the New Orleans/Metairie/Kenner market ranks 13. The rankings...

Corporate bonuses & more furloughs at Gannett

Gannett Co., owner of The Daily Advertiser, announced another round of unpaid furloughs just five days after the corporate giant disclosed $2 million in bonuses to CEO Craig Dubow and the other four...

CC's Coffee closing Ambassador location

CC's Coffee House is closing its location at 3810 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, next to Imelda's. A firm date for the closing has not been set. The Ambassador store has been open 11 years, and unlike...

Houma's unemployment lowest in nation

The Houma metro area’s January unemployment rate of 3.7 percent is the lowest in the country, with Lafayette not far behind. The Lafayette metro, which includes St. Martin Parish, is 3.9 percent —...

Gulf lease bids plummet

The recent uptick in oil prices to above the $50 range was certainly not enough to help yesterday’s central Gulf of Mexico lease sale come anywhere near last March's. Winning bids plummeted about 80...

BR investors sue Stanford advisers

A group of 10 Baton Rouge area investors yesterday filed suit in 19th Judicial District Court against six Stanford Group Co. and Stanford Capital Management advisers and four insurance companies. The...

OFI chief: La. banks sound

Louisiana’s chief financial regulator says the state’s banks aren’t experiencing the kind of problems plaguing the country’s largest financial institutions, noting that many are also out-performing...

School board picking master facilities planner

The Lafayette Parish School Board meets at 3 p.m. tomorrow to select a master planner to address maintenance and other issues related to the parish’s school facilities, The Advocate reports today. The...

Courtesy drops Saturn line?

No official word has come down from General Motors on what it plans to do with its Saturn brand — although the car maker has toyed with the idea of eliminating it — but Don Hargroder has apparently...

Sephora comes to Mall of Acadiana

Lafayette's first full-fledged Sephora store opens next Friday, March 20, in the Mall of Acadiana. Sephora sells top name-brand makeup, fragrances, bath and body, and hair care products. A scaled-down...

NYT: fraud investigations piling up

Admitting he never even invested his clients' money, disgraced money man Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty today to epic fraud that robbed investors of billions of dollars. Madoff said he merely deposited...

Izzo's Illegal Burrito coming to Johnston Street

After scouting the local market for more than five years, Baton Rouge-based Izzo’s Illegal Burrito has finally settled on a location for its first Lafayette restaurant. The “fast-casual” chain, which...

Douglas A. Begnaud, 42, accused of speed van attack

Apparently perturbed that a SafeSpeed van had tagged him for speeding Friday night as he drove down Ambassador Caffery Parkway, 42-year-old Douglas A. Begnaud of Scott allegedly approached the van and...

La.'s child homelessness rate highest

Citing a report being released today by the National Center for Family Homelessness based in Newton, Mass., The Times-Picayune reports that Louisiana has the highest rate of child homelessness of the...

FBI seeking Stanford victims

If you've invested money in the Stanford Financial Group or its affiliated companies in recent years, you may be the victim of a multi-billion dollar investment fraud - which is why the FBI would like...

Alleged speed van attacker turns himself in

The man who allegedly attacked a SafeSpeed driver last week turned himself in to local law enforcement officials at about 9 a.m. this morning, according to Lafayette Police Department spokesman Cpl....

Lady Lions vie for state hoops title

Before this year, the Lafayette High girls baskeball team had never advanced past the second round of the playoffs. Coming off a history-making semi-final win against Pontchatoula Tuesday, the girls...

Submit your INDesign Award entries now

The Independent Weekly today begins accepting entries in the 2009 INDesign Awards for excellence in architecture, interior design, historic preservation and urban planning. The deadline is Tuesday,...

Peep Goat: U.S. Attorney Washington out

In today's column, Peep Goat has the scoop on potential replacements for Western District U.S. Attorney Donald Washington. Appointed by former President George W. Bush, Washington will likely be...

Bustle, Fisher make Lombardi watch list

UL offensive linemen Brad Bustle and Chris Fisher have landed a spot on the preliminary 2009 Rotary Lombardi Award watch list. Among the 48 players named to the 2009 preliminary list are three...

La. homeowners insurance sky high

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners reported yesterday that Louisiana trails only Texas and Florida for high homeowners insurance premiums. The most recent data is for 2006. The...

The Bluffs shuts down indefinitely

Straddled by debt, the Bluffs Country Club in St. Francisville, long a resort destination for various Acadiana groups and companies, has shut down. As of Sunday, the Arnold Palmer-designed course...

Former IceGator, bar owner Eric Cloutier arrested

Last night KLFY-TV10 broke the story of former IceGator and downtown bar owner Eric Cloutier's arrest on hundreds of charges ranging from theft to money laundering and racketeering. Cloutier's...

Rhythms on the River spotlighting local nonprofits

Beginning with this season's series, River Ranch's Rhythms on the River series will spotlight local nonprofits as part of a partnership between River Ranch Institute and the Community Foundation of...

Hotel Acadiana's botched renovation

Read this month's Acadiana Business cover story about how a local hotel flew under the radar of local and state code officials as it undertook a major renovation in its quest to become a Crowne...

Smoke-filled courthouse shut down till 1 p.m.

A small fire in the basement of the Lafayette Parish Courthouse caused smoke to fill the first and second floors and forced an evacuation of the facility. The problem was with a transfer switch that...

Stanford's 'massive fraud' may hit close to home

The federal probe into Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, accused by the SEC  of massive fraud for selling about $8 billion of so-called CDs to investors by promising "improbable and...

Watch State of Parish address live

If you can't make it to City-Parish President Joey Durel's annual State of the Parish address today at noon at the Cajundome Convention Center, watch it live on the LCG homepage here. Additionally,...

Respected editor, UL professor dies at 91

The Acadiana community lost a treasure Sunday night, when retired Daily Advertiser editor Vince Marino died at the age of 91. "He loved to teach and was happiest mentoring young...

KLFY's parent company in bankruptcy

Young Broadcasting Inc., the parent company of KLFY-TV10, on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The voluntary petitions were filed to restructure the company's balance sheet and ensure...

Lourdes starts plastic surgery-based burn center

Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center has partnered with Grossman Burn Centers, a world renowned plastic surgery-based medical practice specializing in burn injuries, to establish a six-bed burn...

Camellia extension increases to 45 mph

When you're driving down the four-lane strip of Camellia Boulevard from Kaliste Saloom Road to Verot School this week, your pedal can (legally) get a little closer to the metal, as the speed limit was...

Wagering at old St. Martinville Wal-Mart?

KLFY-TV10 reported Monday that Evangeline Downs wants to use 12,000 square feet of the abandoned Wal-Mart building in St. Martinville for off-track betting. The building is owned by the city of Saint...

Advocate freezes its 401(k) match

Baton Rouge's Daily Report noted today that The Advocate is no longer contributing to its employees’ retirement plans. The online newsletter reported: In a memo Monday, CFO Ralph Bender — citing...

Barron's: Ahrens, Capell, Frayard top advisers

It's difficult to stay confident in these times of economic uncertainty, but it sure helps to know a handful of the nation's top financial advisers are right here in our back yard. Lafayette's Bill...

Durel's state of city-parish next Wednesday

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, City-Parish President Joey Durel will deliver an overview of the state of local government, along with a preview of his agenda for 2009. The event, part of The Independent...

River Ranch begins $16 million apartment project

Construction has certainly slowed in Lafayette, but it's by no means come to a screeching halt. River Ranch is confident enough in the strength of the local economy to follow through with its plans to...

Daily World building sold

More consolidation is taking place at Gannett Company's Acadiana operations as part of the Virginia-based media giant's ongoing downsizing. The Daily World reported yesterday that an agreement has...

Gannett's stock tumbles below $5

For the past two days, Gannett Co.'s stock has closed below $5 for the first time in its history, dropping to $4.75 Wednesday. Gannett Blog calls the dip "a critical level that could spur mutual...

Funding renewed for traffic safety program

The day after LCG's traffic department released figures showing a 58 percent decline in crashes near intersections with cameras that ticket speeders, the Lafayette City-Parish Council voted 6-3 to...

Revered Bishop Edward O'Donnell dies Sunday

The Diocese of Lafayette's bishop from 1994 until deteriorating health forced him to return to St. Louis in 2002, Edward O'Donnell died late Sunday evening. He was 77. "Bishop O'Donnell served...

Iraqi soldiers get taste of home

It wasn't the microbrewed beer he longs for, but UL Lafayette journalism professor Robert Buckman and other soldiers serving in Iraq got a little taste of home during last night's incredible Super...

Gannett writing down $5.9 billion

Daily Advertiser publisher Gannett Co. reported net income of $158 million, or 69 cents per share, in the fourth quarter - a 36 percent decline from a year ago. But those profits will be washed out...

Postlethwaite & Netterville acquires Veazey & Co.

Postlethwaite & Netterville, which announced its expansion into Lafayette late last year, has apparently been quietly working a deal to enter the market with a book of business. The Baton...

Rouses opens Thursday in Sugar Mill Pond

Rouses Markets opens tomorrow in Sugar Mill Pond, bringing the Thibodaux-based, family-owned company’s total number of locations in Mississippi and Louisiana to 35. The 62,000-square-foot Youngsville...

Courtesy buying Schoeffler Cadillac

While uncertainty looms for car dealers across the country — and even some locally — Courtesy Automotive Group’s Don Hargroder has been taking advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. In...

Watch South Alabama coach's meltdown

Check out this link from a reader of yesterday's INDsider post about South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow's meltdown Saturday night at the...

Teche News snags Bradshaw

Jim Bradshaw, the former Daily Advertiser reporter and columnist unceremoniously forced into retirement by parent company Gannett, has landed on the front page of St. Martinville’s The Teche News, a...

South Alabama coach loses it

When South Alabama's Domonic Tilford hit an off-balance, bouncing three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left in Saturday's game against UL Lafayette at the Cajundome, fans on both sides thought the game was...

Independent's Advertiser story goes blog wild

This week's Independent Weekly cover story on Gannett Co., the Virginia-based media giant that owns The Daily Advertiser, was picked up yesterday by Gannett Blog, run by one of the chain's former...

UL closes chapter on resume-lying coach

Former UL basketball coach Glynn Cyprien's lawsuit claiming defamation and breach of contract against the university is history. In a unanimous decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court dismissed the...

What's going on at The Daily Advertiser?

The Daily Advertiser's parent company, McLean, Va.-based Gannett Co., has been cutting staff and content from the local paper for years. Read this week's cover story, Chain Reaction, for more on...

Advertiser wins 'Biggest Loser' award

Not too many of us can say we're already our thinnest, given that we're not even through the first month of the New Year. But The Daily Advertiser's strict new diet of dwindling content has earned it...

FEMA says La. gluttonous over MREs

In the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, Louisiana residents quickly ran out of FEMA-supplied food, namely Meals Ready to Eat and water. Gov. Bobby Jindal's been frustrated with the federal agency ever...

Advertiser blunder brings LCG to halt

The impact of the ongoing cuts at The Daily Advertiser have spilled over into City Hall. Minutes ago, Lafayette City-Parish Council Administrative Assistant Janet Gianelloni issued a notice that the...

What Durel meant to say

You have to wonder what local Dems think of this - especially those who took part in another "No Party Party" fund-raiser for Republican City-Parish President Joey Durel in December. Along...

Lafayette's Gautreaux a 'Super' ref

Lafayette's Greg Gautreaux is part of an elite group chosen to officiate the NFL's biggest game of the year. Lafayette Consolidated Government's athletic programs/maintenance manager in the parks and...

Daily Advertiser staff must take unpaid week off

After laying off thousands of employees over several months, eliminating sections from its newspapers and ending home delivery to some areas, The Daily Advertiser's parent company has gotten even more...

Cajundome lays off six

The Advocate reported today that the Cajundome has cut its budget by 20 percent, laying off six employees. More cuts are coming. The Cajundome has downsized its operations by $1 million as a result of...

Lein retires, Stuller returns to daily operations

Chuck Lein Sixty-seven-year-old Chuck Lein is retiring after 15 years as president and COO of Stuller Inc., and company founder and CEO Matt Stuller is stepping back into the daily operations as...

Redflex opponents still spinning their wheels

The Advocate reported today that the duo suing to stop local government's SafeSpeed and SafeLight programs, contracted to Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems, has dropped its federal complaint. But...

Cravins resigning for job with Landrieu

State Sen. Donald Cravins Jr. is leaving the Legislature to join U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu as staff director of the Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Cravins and his family are...

Pinhook Catahoula's, Kaliste Hub City Diner close

Two Lafayette restaurants, both spinoffs of successful concepts that are still going strong, have shut their doors. Pinhook Road's Catahoula's Steakhouse served its last meal New Year's Eve, three...

It's Gannett, stupid

Just how dumb does Daily Advertiser Publisher Leslie Hurst think we are? Yesterday she penned a front-page letter notifying readers of numerous format and content changes being introduced today at...

'Allen' charge likely grounds in Patel appeal

Although Lafayette cardiologist Mehmood Patel's attorneys aren't talking about their grounds for appeal -- Patel was convicted earlier this week on 51 counts of health care fraud and faces up to 10...

Landrieu offers Cravins Jr. key post in D.C.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, just named chair of the Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, has asked Democratic state Sen. Don Cravins Jr. to join her in Washington, D.C., to head the...

Jurors deadlocked in Patel case

It's looking like the Patel case may end in a mistrial, The Advocate reported today. The case of a cardiologist facing federal health-care fraud charges was teetering on the edge of a mistrial Monday...

CABL releases 2009 La. Fact Book

Want to know how the Pelican State stands on a number of key quality of life indicators -- how well we stack up and how far we have to go? Check out the fourth edition of Louisiana Fact Book, which is...

T-P: Marinello "stunned" by conviction

In an interview from the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, former New Orleans sportscaster Vince Marinello told The Times-Picayune that he was "stunned" and "shocked" by his...

It's true: Bradshaw out at Daily Advertiser

It wasn't revealed in the respectful way most retirements of longtime newspapermen go. There was no farewell story on the paper's part, no farewell column from the writer. In the typical way of...

Postlethwaite & Netterville comes to Lafayette

Postlethwaite & Netterville has hired CPA Eustis Corrigan to head its expansion into the Lafayette market. With annual revenues of more than $30 million, P&N is the state’s largest public...

Acadiana's Big Deals of 2008

Read about Louisiana Motors' sale of the majority of its assets to Courtesy Automotive Group, businessman Mike Moreno's world-record breaking $14 million purchase of a thoroughbred broodmare, and...

Julie Kelley lands PR job

Former KATC-TV3 anchor Julie Kelley has changed careers, joining Miles Perret Cancer Services as director of public relations. After leaving the station in early August, Kelley said one of her main...

NYT says La.'s oil-drunk is over

Yesterday's New York Times says the party is over in Louisiana. Six months ago, it was springtime in Louisiana, dollars were raining in from high oil prices, and the tax cuts and highway spending...

Deliberations continue in Patel trial

Jury deliberations continue today in the federal trial of Dr. Mehmood Patel, a local cardiologist accused of performing unnecessary heart procedures for financial gain. Closing arguments were Tuesday,...

Oil prices hit 4-year low

Despite a record cut in production by OPEC yesterday, continued pessimism over world demand sent crude oil prices down to a near 4.5-year low. Oil prices have fallen more than 70 percent since record...

Apple retail store opening in Lafayette

Jared Stepp and Eric Smith, who for the past four years have operated the Apple certified  repair business My Digital Phoenix in Lafayette, are opening an Apple retail store at 4415 Ambassador Caffery...

Cox adds FOX Business Network to lineup

This week Cox Communications begins carrying FOX Business Network on Channel 263, its digital cable sport and information tier. The network is also available in the Lafayette area on DirecTV Channel...

Fed mulling historic interest rate cut

A key interest may be slashed to a historic low by tomorrow. The AP reported this morning: The Federal Reserve is widely expected to ratchet down a key interest rate — perhaps to an all-time low — to...

KATC's Louis David resigns

The day after Louis David's on-air mistake, in which tape of him dropping the "f" word between takes inadvertently aired, the KATC reporter resigned from the station. It's unclear whether...

NYT spotlights La.'s teacher prep efforts

As Louisiana and Illinois battle it out for the title of most corrupt state in the country, the New York Times puts the Pelican State in the spotlight for all the right reasons. Louisiana's efforts to...

Judge deciding if Scott subdivision goes forward

He's a respected developer who followed all the rules, but the Lafayette City-Parish Council refused to allow Steve Montgomery to move forward with his subdivision, The Cottages, so Montgomery is...

KATC's on-air snafu

You have to wonder how this ever made it onto the local airwaves. Last night when Marcelle Fontenot and Hoyt Harris cut to Louis David, who was covering the Vince Marinello trial for the station's...

Fenroy named Sun Belt Player of the Year

Eight Ragin' Cajuns earned 11 individual honors on the 2008 All-Sun Belt team, with the top honor, Sun Belt Player of the Year, going to senior running back Tyrell Fenroy. His selection is the highest...

Local real estate market drops 13%

The Advocate reported this weekend that the Acadiana real estate market has dipped for the first time in three years, marking an end to the jump that had continued since the 2005 hurricanes. Home...

Cajuns snubbed, Tigers playing Chick-fil-A Bowl

UL's season came to an abrupt end last night, as the Cajuns were one of four bowl-eligible teams not chosen for a post-season matchup. Two other Sun Belt teams, Troy and FAU, will represent the...

Steele picks four 1st-team Cajuns

The Ragin' Cajun offense did exceptionally well on Phil Steele's All-Sun Belt Conference Team released yesterday. Four players from the Sun Belt's top rated offensive attack earned a first-team...

Fund to help BK shooting victim's kids

The Acadiana Republican Women have opened an account at MidSouth Bank to benefit the children of James N. Living Jr., who was shot to death last month at the Burger King on Evangeline Thruway, where...

Submit your questions for Tuesday's energy panel

Laj Carroll, vice-president of industry relations for BJ Services, has joined the stellar panel of industry experts who will address short-term energy prices and their effect on Acadiana’s economy in...

Cajuns win in emotional night for Fenroy

Highlights from his four years as a Ragin' Cajun playing on the scoreboard as part of the pre-game senior night ceremony, UL running back Tyrell Fenroy dropped to his knees when he realized what was...

Lawyer Hawkins pleads guilty to felony battery

Facing a simple rape felony charge, Lafayette attorney Scott Hawkins entered a guilty plea yesterday to second-degree battery. The lesser charge is also a felony. District Judge Glennon Everett...

Cajuns' last shot at bowl eligibility

Even if they win tomorrow's 6 p.m. matchup against Middle Tennessee State at Cajun Field, UL's Ragin' Cajuns won't be playing in the New Orleans Bowl. They will, however, still have a shot at an...

Bailey's & Ruth's Chris' Thanksgiving spirit lives on

It began in 1993 as an expression of caring and hope and continues this Thanksgiving, as award-winning Bailey’s Restaurant plans to hold its free annual Thanksgiving luncheon for those in need. And...

Fenroy cut from Doak Walker list

UL running back Tyrell Fenroy is out of contention for the prestigious Doak Walker Award, which annually recognizes the best RB in college football. The record-breaking Ragin' Cajun was one of 10...

Oil almost $55 a barrel Monday

Oil prices jumped about $5 to amost $55 a barrel Monday on news of the U.S. government's plan to bail out Citigroup. Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose more than 9 percent, or $4.65, to...

The incredible shrinking city

We've fought it long enough, but it's time to admit that our culturally-rich Crescent City may never return to its pre-Katrina status. In a two-part series published over the weekend, The...

More shakeup at LITE

The day after the LITE Commission's Wednesday statement that Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira would step down from the top post as executive director and continue serving as its full-time chief scientist, The...

$40 oil by next spring?

Say it isn't so. Low oil prices translate into savings for consumers at the pump, but the farther they fall, the more likely Lafayette's economy will join the rest of the nation's economic woes. An...

LITE executive director steps down

The LITE Commission today announced that Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira will step down from her position as the center's executive director and continue serving as its full-time chief scientist. She will...

Vote for Tyrell!

Hey Cajun fans, want to see UL sensation Tyrell Fenroy named the best running back in college football? Fenroy is one of 10 finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which recognizes the nation's top RB,...

Another body found in Jeff Davis Parish

The search for a Jeff Davis Parish teenager missing since Nov. 2 appears to have come to an end, as authorities believe the body of 17-year-old Brittney Gary was found this weekend by a family search...

Patel says money not his motivation

Dr. Mehmood Patel testified Friday that money played no role in his decision to perform heart procedures the government claims were medically unnecessary. The cardiologist is testifying on his own...

ESA building new lower school

Thanks to a donor who has thus far remained anonymous, Episcopal School of Acadiana has secured property to construct a permanent location for its lower school, PreK 3 through fifth grade. The lower...

KKK alive and well in La.

It's a time in our nation's -- and particularly our state's -- history we all want to think is part of an ugly past. But a recent killing in Bogalusa has stirred up those horrible memories. The KKK...

Fenroy named Doak Walker semifinalist

UL running back Tyrell Fenroy has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the prestigious Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the country's top RB. Fenroy is the nation’s leader in active career...

Oil falls below $59 a barrel

For the first time in 18 months, crude oil fell below $59 a barrel in New York, causing extreme concern for projects in oil rich Louisiana. The decline comes amid speculation the International Energy...

A serial killer in Jeff Davis Parish?

Speculation is growing that a serial killer may be on the loose in Jeff Davis Parish. The bodies of six women have been recovered in rural Jeff Davis Parish since 2005, most near drainage canals or on...

Oil hovering in $60 range

The news is not good for oil-dependent Acadiana. Oil prices continue to hover in the $60 per barrel range and are predicted to fall further due to the global economic slowdown. The AP reported this...

Cajuns' secret weapon: the little black box

The Ragin' Cajun football squad is undoubtedly loaded with talent (see this week's Independent Weekly cover story), but we all know that doesn't always translate into a winning season. A poignant ESPN...

Tyrell Fenroy: Catch him if you can

UL running back Tyrell Fenroy has been shattering school and Sun Belt records all year, and at last Saturday's homecoming game he charged right into the NCAA record book. The senior RB, one of the...

Cox replaying Cajun homecoming victory

photo by Terri Fensel Cajun fans broke a Sun Belt record for attendance at Saturday's homecoming game, and now they'll have an opportunity to see the historic game, the 1,000th in the program's...

UL homecoming game one for the history books

The get-out-the-vote effort may be in high gear across the state, but UL fans have had a more pressing agenda this week: to pack Cajun Field for tomorrow's homecoming battle against Florida...

Jones Walker law firm makes its move

This month's issue of Acadiana Business, out on newsstands in the The Independent Weekly, breaks the story on the merger between regional law firm Jones Walker and Lafayette-based Longman Russo,...

Acadiana Business: Shale Shock

In this month's Acadiana Business cover story, out on newsstands today in The Independent Weekly, contributing writer Steven K. Landry explores the potential impact of northwest Louisiana's...

LHC Group & PetroQuest make Forbes Top 10

PetroQuest Energy is ranked 6th and LHC Group is 8th in the Top 10 of Forbes magazine's 200 best small businesses. This is the second consecutive year LHC has been in the top 10 and a first for...

More cuts at Daily Advertiser?

Gannett Co., parent entity of The Daily Advertiser, Times of Acadiana and Quik Quarter, said Friday that its third-quarter profits fell 32 percent as advertising revenue declined. The AP reported that...

Savoie inauguration Thursday, Oct. 30

E. Joseph Savoie will be inaugurated as the sixth president of UL Lafayette on Thursday, Oct. 30 -- the day's events beginning on campus with a 9 a.m. ecumenical prayer service on the grounds of...

Miss Teen La. arrested on dine-and-dash & pot charge

Having the munchies just won't fly as an excuse for not paying your restaurant bill. But having a brain might help. It's safe to say reigning Miss Teen Louisiana, 18-year-old Lindsey Evans, won't...

Leadership Lafayette deadline Oct. 31

The deadline to apply for the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Lafayette program for 2009 is Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. Twenty-five individuals will be selected for participation in...

Stelly retires from Lourdes after 3 decades

Berch Stelly, who began his career at Our Lady of Lourdes almost three decades ago as director of community relations, retired from the hospital Sept. 30. Berch Stelly, who began his career at Our...

NO airport third fastest-growing in nation

Only two other large non-hub airports, San Antonio, Texas, and Lexington, Ky., will grow faster than New Orleans' Louis Armstrong through 2016, according to a study by lead aviation consulting firm...

Holy Cow! You've got to be kidding

The city of New Iberia is attempting to enforce a law against having cattle in the city limits, never mind that the animals were brought into the city for five days to save them from Hurricane...

KATC's Harris moderating live Boustany/Cravins debate

KATC-TV3 is teaming up with UL to produce a live, televised debate for the 7th Congressional District race between Republican incumbent Charles Boustany and his two challengers, Democratic state Sen....

Ex-Road Home employees sue ICF for overtime

ICF International, the company hired to manage the Louisiana Recovery Authority's Road Home program, holds contracts worth more than $912 million for management of the $10.3 billion housing program...

Wally Romero's arrest over George Rodrigue painting

As first reported in yesterday's INDsider, former State Farm agent and antiques dealer Wally Romero was arrested Wednesday on a felony theft charge; today the INDsider has learned the 51-year-old...

KATC's Fontenot rises to top anchor post

Marcelle Fontenot, who has been co-anchoring the 6 p.m. newscast Monday through Friday at KATC-TV3 for two years, has been promoted to the anchor desk for the 5 p.m. and coveted 10 p.m. newscasts. She...

Former State Farm agent Wally Romero arrested

Former State Farm agent and antiques dealer Wally Romero was arrested yesterday by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office on a warrant for felony theft. Romero, 51, posted a $50,000 bond and was...

La. job growth gloomy in 2009

As the nation slips further into recession, job growth in Louisiana is expected to virtually stop in 2009, according to Dr. Loren Scott, professor emeritus of economics at LSU. In Baton Rouge...

Ken Wells' book signing today at Barnes & Noble

Noted journalist and author Ken Wells is in town today for a book signing and reading at Barnes & Noble. The event begins at 6:30 p.m., with the reading at 7 p.m. Since Hurricane Katrina’s...

Boustany won't commit to KLFY debate

KLFY-TV10 News Director Dwight Dugas is patiently waiting to hear back from U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany's campaign so the station can finalize what's scheduled to be the district's only live televised...

Boustany reconsidering rescue vote

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, who voted against the $700 billion rescue bill Monday, is now on the fence about the revised Senate legislation that overwhelming passed in the upper chamber Wednesday, no...

Like Boustany, Landrieu & Vitter just don't get it

Here we go again. On Tuesday we urged U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany to reconsider his opposition to the Wall Street rescue package, which would clear troubled assets from the books of financial...

Open Letter to Boustany: reverse your vote

Dear Congressman Boustany, Many of us who have been following the nation's economic crisis and Congress' attempts to bail out troubled financial institutions were surprised when we heard the House's...

GraHAM Burger is first runner-up

Lafayette advertising executive George Graham's Bluesiana Burgers were first runner-up in the Sutter Home Build A Better Burger competition in Napa Valley, Calif., this past weekend. Graham clearly...

Meteorologist Robinson leaves Fox 15

Chief meteorologist Nelson Robinson is no longer with Lafayette Fox affiliate KADN and its Baton Rouge sister stations, NBC affiliate WVLA and Fox affiliate WGMB. According to Baton Rouge's Daily...

Lafayette Motors/Acadiana Dodge deal in the making?

Sources close to Lafayette Motors say the company is finalizing what will likely be a purchase of the 97-year-old downtown dealership by Acadiana Dodge. Hunter Trahan, who took over Lafayette Motors...

U.S. House passes disaster aid bill

Louisiana will be able to tap into a $6.5 billion block grant designed to help communities recover from disasters if the Senate passes a massive spending bill approved Wednesday by the House, The...

LCG's digital evolution

When it comes to cutting-edge technology, Lafayette has been at the forefront of the state and region for some time — and is now making a name for itself on the national scene. Just recently,...

GraHAM burger goes for gold

Spicy, saucy, crunchy, colorful. There’s nothing ordinary about George Graham’s Bluesiana Burgers with root beer glaze, topped with Zydeco sauce and Mardi Gras slaw, which he’ll be cooking this week...

More changes in UL administration

Though he was passed over for the top job, UL Lafayette Vice President of Academic Affairs Steve Landry is staying put and will be elevated in salary and responsibility at the university, The Advocate...

LABI poll: economy and jobs No. 1 issue in state

A recent poll commissioned by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry shows that 22 percent of Louisiana voters say the economy and jobs are the No. 1 issue facing Congress next year....

Lafayette's Monrose up for Ethics Board

Lafayette attorney Blake Monrose, 51, is one of three nominees a House committee has recommended to fill an opening on the Louisiana Board of Ethics. The other nominees are the Rev. Henry Mancusco...

Fed throws extra $180-billion lifeline

The U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday threw a $180 billion lifeline into a global fight against the financial crisis as Wall Street legend Morgan Stanley became the latest name under attack and Britain's...

Entergy's maintenance under microscope

A story in today's Independent Weekly raises questions about Entergy's response in the wake of Hurricane Gustav and whether the untility company neglected to maintain its lines and poles, and now it...

Nightmare on Wall Street

It was a weekend that changed Wall Street, and the nightmare is not over yet. The bankrupty of Lehman Brothers and sale of Merrill Lynch over the weekend dealt investors their worst losses since the...

Oil dips below $97 after Ike

Oil prices nosedived to a seven-month low today as the Gulf Coast energy infrastructure appeares to have escaped any major damage from Hurricane Ike and traders bet that Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy...

Ike spikes gasoline prices

Gasoline prices increased yesterday as Hurricane Ike turned north, pushing toward the mass of refinery operations and offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude prices, however, continued to...

Funeral services tomorrow for radio's Conrad Maxwell

His name synonymous with local radio, Conrad Maxwell, 56, lost his three-year battle with esophageal cancer early Tuesday morning at his residence in Lafayette. Funeral services will be held tomorrow...

Advertiser lays off two execs

Two executives at The Daily Advertiser, Pat Bienvenu and Julio Naudin, got their walking papers yesterday as part of Virginia-based Gannett Co.'s announcement this week that it is cutting 100...

Energy industry steps up for Gustav

State Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle, acting as Gov. Bobby Jindal's point man with the energy industry in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, has helped coordinate a...

Gustav forces temp closure of Mulate's in BB

Mulate’s Restaurant in Breaux Bridge will be closed for more than a month due to extensive damage from Hurricane Gastav. Founded in 1980, Mulate's celebrates traditional Cajun food, music and dancing....

Subway's Jared Fogle at KSMB tomorrow

Jared Fogle, who became a celebrity after losing 240 pounds in less than a year on his "Subway diet," is visiting 94.5 KSMB tomorrow morning to help motivate the KSMB/Subway Get Fit...

Lafayette medical units helping in Thibodaux

Founded in Lafayette after the devastating hurricanes of 2005, the Louisiana Emergency Medical Unit has answered an urgent request from the administrator of Thibodaux Regional Medical Center to assist...

Need help from FEMA?

Let's cross our fingers that FEMA has its business in order this time around. Residents and business owners can begin the disaster application process by registering online at www.fema.gov or by...

Mall of Acadiana open today

The following stores in the Mall of Acadiana are open today from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Spencer's Radio Shack Payless Lenscrafters Sears Champs Amy's Hallmark Select Comfort Cache Sweet...

What's open in Acadiana?

Regent Broadcasting's "Acadiana First Alert" Web site has a comprehensive list of store openings in the Acadiana area, along with an extensive rundown of additional critical storm...

Attorney Jim Roy heads LSU System board

Lafayette attorney Jim Roy has succeeded Jerry Shea Jr. of New Iberia as chairman of LSU's 16-member board of supervisors. Roy is managing member of the civil litigation law firm of Domengeaux Wright...

Downtown Breaux Bridge goes live

Seeing what's going on in downtown Breaux Bridge at this very moment is now just a mouse click away. Accel Protection & Technologies has donated a camera that was erected on Farmer's &...

LOGA opens Haynesville Shale office

Due to the explosion of activity in the Haynesville Shale, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association has hired one of Gov. Bobby Jindal's former policy advisers, Jodee Niswanger, to serve as its north...

Patel trial begins

Jury selection is under way in the federal health-care fraud case against Dr. Mehmood Patel, who is accused of  more than $2 million in fraudulent billing for unnecessary medical procedures. The...

Garrett Dupre's perfect ACT score

Garrett Dupre, a 17-year-old senior at Ascension Episcopal School, aced the ACT exam, one of only five students in the state to score a perfect 36 during the 2007-2008 testing period. More impressive...

'Dollar Bill' says he'll survive primary

The Advocate today reports that indicted U.S. Rep. William “Bill” Jefferson says he will survive the Sept. 6 Democratic Party primary. The 61-year-old, nine-term incumbent and the first black...

Laf. chamber opposing Employee Free Choice Act

The Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce today joined a national campaign launched by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act now pending in Congress. The local chamber...

UL's Fisher still on Rimington list

The Rimington Trophy committee released its 2008 fall "Watch List" yesterday, and UL-Lafayette center Chris Fisher continues to be a candidate. Fisher was named to the Rimington Trophy 2008...

Alleged Teche robber served 14 years

The Advocate today reported that the 53-year-old Lafayette man arrested yesterday for allegedly robbing the dowtown Teche Federal Bank spend 14 years in prison for bank robbery. The man had been free...

Olympic wrestler hospitalized with kidney problems

Life has dealt blow after blow to 29-year-old former Northside High wrestler Daniel Cormier -- the loss of his father when he was 7, a best friend at Oklahoma State killed in a plane crash, the death...

Facebook helps nab alleged kiki shoplifter

When a $330 Marc Jocobs clutch was stolen the afternoon of July 21 from kiki in Baton Rouge's Perkins Rowe (a store owned by Lafayette retailer Kiki Frayard), 25-year-old manager Cammy Lowe didn't...

College presidents pushing for lower drinking age

The Associated Press is reporting that college presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider...

Supriya Jindal speaking at a la carte today

Louisiana's first lady, Supriya Jindal is the guest speaker at today's lunch meeting of the Acadiana Republican Women's Club. Jackie Glover, the organization's vice president, says Jindal will be...

LSU's Jones flies into final

Former LSU All-American Lolo Jones ran a personal best time of 12.43 this morning to take the top spot in her semifinal heat of the 100 meter outdoor hurdles. Hers was the fastest women's high hurdles...

Former state Sen. Allen Bares, 71, dies

Allen Bares, a former state senator turned lobbyist, died late yesterday after suffering a stroke Wednesday. A 1960 graduate of LSU Law School, the 71-year-old Vermilion Parish native had been...

Acadiana's Blanchard, Estrada competing Saturday

Broussard native Erin Blanchard, a comeaux High grad, and Chris Estrada, who moved to Lafayette to train in 2001, take to the trampoline Saturday in Olympic competition. The men's and women's...

One-day-a-week trash service for Lafayette?

A proposed contract for automated trash collection would increase efficiency, improve aesthetics and raise rates by $1.86 in the city and $3.32 in rural areas while reducing trash pickup to once per...

Charley G's launches frequent dining club program

Charley G's has introduced a frequent dining club program that will benefit its loyal customers or allow them to donate credits earned to an area charity. To join, request a club member form on your...

Blanco retires from UL

UL Lafayette announced today that Vice President for Student Affairs Raymond "Coach" Blanco has retired after more than four decades at the university. Blanco, who oversees both student...

Join the Cajun Quarterback Club

The 2008 Ragin’ Cajuns Quarterback Club has kicked off its membership drive, with all of the funding going toward recruiting efforts. Club members have access to regular luncheons featuring Head Coach...

N.O., Lafayette, Houma hot income growth spots

Thanks to its $4.4 billion in Road Home settlements last year, New Orleans is again among the top three metro areas in the U.S. for personal income growth. The Advocate today reported that two...

Anchor Julie Kelley leaves KATC-TV3

After a decade at KATC-TV3, most recently co-anchoring the 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, Julie Kelley signed off for good last Thursday. Andrew Shenkan, KATC's president and general manager, says the...

Bridal shop taking over old Bob's Feed on Johnston

The old Bob's Feed Store at 4953 Johnston St., across from Doug Ashy, will be the new home to Elegance Plus later this year. Bridal shop owner Dee Weber has purchased the site, which most recently...

Youth prison head under fire before resignation

In a commentary published across the state today, the AP's Doug Simpson looks at the controversial appointment and subsequent suprise resignation of Richard Thompson, head of the state Office of Youth...

Parent takes bus route change to court

The parent of an incoming freshman in Lafayette High's gifted and talented program has requested a temporary restraining order against the Lafayette Parish School system, seeking to stop changes to...

Standout Houston RB signs with Cajuns

The Ragin' Cajun football team has a new weapon in its arsenal, star Brazoswood High running back Yobes Walker. Walker is reporting to UL on Sunday for preseason camp. The standout is likely to hit...

Abbeville attorney Sue Fontenot, 62, dies

As this month's issue of Acadiana Business, out on newsstands today, celebrates the success and contributions of local women, we also mourn the loss of one of our female pioneers: longtime Abbeville...

The NYT discovers Haynesville Shale

Northwest Louisiana's Haynesville Shale — what many believe holds the largest deposit of natural gas ever found in the country — is making headlines in the national media, including today's New York...

State sales tax holiday Friday, Saturday

Planning on making a purchase this week? You might want to wait till Friday, as the state's Sales Tax Holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1, and ends Saturday, Aug. 2, at midnight. During the...

Zeus expanding to River Ranch, UL

Zeus Cafe founder Nidal Balbeisi is bringing his popular Greek and Mediterranean concept to River Ranch. Zeus and Subway will share the space previously occupied by Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppe between...

Maria Placer moving on

After more than four decades at KLFY-TV10, Maria Placer is moving over to the information and referral center 232-HELP/211, assuming the role of executive director. The position was most recently held...

Ex-Farmer's Bank CEO accused of embezzlement

The former president and CEO of Farmer’s State Bank and Trust Co. has been indicted in federal court on embezzlement charges, The Advocate reported today. Steve J. Broussard allegedly made at least 22...

Sephora opening in La. Ave. JCPenney

The state's first Sephora inside of a JCPenney store (and Lafayette's first Sephora) is opening Friday, Aug. 1, in the new Stirling Lafayette Shopping Center on Louisiana Avenue. The wildly popular...

Lourdes, affiliates ban smoking

Following a growing national trend, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center and its joint venture partner campuses, Heart Hospital of Lafayette, Lourdes Imaging Network and Lourdes AfterHours,...

Advertiser parent co.'s stock falls to 23-year low

On today's news of a 36 percent plunge in second quarter profit, shares of Virginia-based Gannett Co. tumbled 12 percent in morning trading, or $2.10, to $15.25 -- the lowest level in 23 years. The...

Burlington Coat, Gander Mountain eyeing old Kmart?

The long-vacant Super Kmart building on Ambassador Caffery Parkway may soon get some much-needed attention. After years of vacancy, the almost 200,000-square-foot building has been purchased, and...

Bernanke cracking down on shady lending

The Federal Reserve may this week give home buyers more protection from the shady lending practices that led to record housing foreclosures, the Associated Press is reporting. Chairman Ben Bernanke...

Landrieu breaks fund-raising record

Friends of Mary Landrieu today announced that the incumbent Democratic senator raised more than $1.5 million during the second quarter of 2008 -- what the re-election campaign committee claims is a...

Ethics Board still reeling from resignations

Thanks to new "ethics reform" legislation, the panel of judges that will take over public hearings into alleged violations of ethics, campaign finance and other laws under the Louisiana...

Eraste Landry extension opening Thursday

Beginning Thursday, Eraste Landry Road will offer Lafayette travelers a direct access route to the city of Scott. A Lafayette Consolidated Government project, construction on the extension from...

New ethics law playing favorites

The ethics “clean up” legislation Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law appears to play favorites with three legislators and their relatives, The Advocate reported today. The special treatment came via...

La. only state with new view on science

Louisiana is the only state in the nation to enact a law that will likely change the way science is taught in public schools, The Advocate reported today. Opponents have repeatedly charged that the...

T-Joe on the job

Only the sixth president in UL Lafayette's more than 100-year history, T-Joe Savoie assumed the reins today from Ray Authement. He is meeting informally with faculty and staff, Student Government...

Giles' 99-cent gas sale irresistible

He may not have sold a single vehicle because of it, but Bob Giles was nonetheless smiling from sun up to way past sun down yesterday. His 99-cent/gallon gas sale was a roaring success -- a generous...

Renwick on Jindal, Vitter, Jefferson, Edwards

Retiring political analyst Ed Renwick, respected statewide for his mild manner and ego-free commentary on Louisiana's colorful political landscape, weighed in over the weekend on Jindal, Vitter,...

John T. Landry retires from UL Lafayette

UL Lafayette's fund-raising coordinator, John T. Landry won't be part of T-Joe Savoie's new administration. The 63-year-old, who led the "Investing in Our Future" centennial fund-raising...

Southeastern's Moffett to head UL System

Randy Moffett, president of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, was the unanimous choice yesterday to replace Sally Clausen as the system's top official. The UL System's board of supervisors...

Ideal Steel wins state's top manufacturing award

Broussard-based Ideal Steel is one of seven companies across the state to receive the 2008 Louisiana Lantern Award, presented annually by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development for...

Jerry Luke getting $212,000 interim UL post

The Board of Supervisors for the UL System is expected to approve the hiring of Jerry Luke LeBlanc on Thursday as interim vice president of business and finance at UL Lafayette for $212,000 a year. He...

Where's Bobby?

Although it only took him half a year to set a record for allowing legislation to become law without his signature -- strange move for any "leader" of a state -- Gov. Bobby Jindal announced...

Free Haynesville Shale seminars next week

Two free educational seminars about the recently discovered Haynesville Shale, a large natural gas deposit in northwest Louisiana, will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday in Shreveport and...

Bush: end offshore drilling ban

This morning President Bush did an about face on his longstanding position to ban coastal drilling, saying in a press conference that he wants to allow states to determine where drilling should...

Landrieu, Vitter in the money

Apparently unlike their lawmaking counterparts on the state level, U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter would do just fine without their yearly $165,200 congressional salaries. The Center for...

Haynesville Shale: who wants to be a millionaire?

Ponder this from the Sunday Advocate: "South of Shreveport in DeSoto Parish, the story goes that 21 new millionaires were made last month. The big money may be yet to come." The story goes...

3 make cut for UL System president

The University of Louisiana System has narrowed the field of presidential candidates to three, all of whom currently work in the UL System. Either Southeastern Louisiana University President Randy...

Bizzuka, Stuller partner to help indy jewelers

Local Web site developer Bizzuka Inc. is part of a joint partnership with National Jeweler, the leading trade magazine covering the jewelry industry, and Stuller Inc., one of the world's leading...

Magistrate: Patel case should move forward

Federal Magistrate Judge Mildred Methvin shot down arguments by cardiologist Mehmood Patel who was seeking to have much of the evidence in his health-care fraud case thrown out. U.S. District Judge...

Lafayette Parish population bumped up to 210,988

A Louisiana Tech University researcher says 210,988 people live in Lafayette, a difference of 6,145 from the Jan. 15 estimate. LCG officials had appealed the original estimate of 204,843 residents,...

Five interviewing for UL System president

The search committee charged with finding a new president for the UL System will conduct public interviews of the five candidates next Wednesday and Thursday in the Claiborne Building Auditorium at...

After 29 years Frosts leaving mall, business

No matter how much the retail landscape changed over the years, there was always one thing you could count on: the mother-daughter team at Merle Norman in the Mall of Acadiana. "We're like a...

Financial disclosure laws may lead to resignations

It's understandable that some of the most highly qualified members of state boards and commissions are threatening to resign if forced to disclose wide-ranging personal financial information....

Cajun softball in national spotlight

Don't believe it when you hear sportscasters call UL Lafayette's softball program this year's "Cinderella" team in the Women's College World Series. Anyone who's been around knows the Cajuns...

UL softball defeats No. 1 Florida Gators 3-2

UL Lafayette freshman pitching sensation Ashley Brignac put on a stellar performance in today's victory against No. 1 seed Florida, chalking up a career high 15 strikeouts. Thanks to a solo homerun by...

UL softball on ESPN at noon

The unseeded UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns take on the No. 1 seed Florida Gators at noon today in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. If you're reading this, you're not likely at the...

Victoria Reggie picking up Camelot crown?

The speculation has already begun that Victoria Reggie Kennedy, wife of U.S. Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy, may run for her ailing husband's seat in Congress. Known as Vicki, the Crowley native...

Cajuns open World Series against No. 1 seed Fla.

UL Lafayette's softball team plays the opening game of the 2008 Women’s College World Series against No. 1 seed Florida at noon this Thursday in Oklahoma City, Okla. The 51-13 Cajuns are seeded No. 8...

Downtown Radisson gets Go Zone approval

Jeff Speer's ship appears to have come in — again. For almost a decade now the local attorney has dreamed of opening a deluxe hotel in the heart of downtown Lafayette. And just as he was preparing to...

Darla Montgomery returns to the airwaves

The Wednesday routine was the same — up at about 5:45 a.m., making pancakes and sausage for her 17-year-old daughter, Alexis, and out the door at 2 p.m. to prepare for the 5 p.m. newscast on...

Defense Dept.: 3,000 area soldiers may go to Iraq

The U.S. Department of Defense yesterday made it official -- more than 3,000 soldiers from the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 256th Brigade Combat Team, based in Lafayette, have been placed on alert...

UL softball squashes LSU

It may have been a little nail-biting at times, especially when four illegal pitches were called on UL Lafayette freshman sensation Ashley Brignac in the last two innings of Sunday's championship...

Crocs for a cause

Shoe Station, located at 3606 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, is the first Lafayette shoe store to join the recycled footware program SolesUnited, founded by Crocs Inc. to provide recycled shoes to...

Marcia Ball rescheduled for June 19

Pianist/blues singer Marcia Ball, who was set to close out this year's Rhythms on the River, has been rescheduled for June 19 due to inclement weather. River Ranch's live outdoor concert series, held...

Jindal announces Stelly Tax elimination plan

Yesterday's behind-the-scenes negotiations to kill a proposal that would have eliminated state income tax over time has apparently reached a compromise. Gov. Bobby Jindal today announced a plan to...

256th Infantry Brigade 'on alert'

KATC-TV3 is reporting that hundreds of Acadiana soldiers in the 256th Infantry Brigade have been issued an alert order but that it remains unclear where they may be deployed. The 256th Infantry...

House debating guns on campus bill

A bill that would allow college students to carry guns on campus is expected to be debated by the full House today, where it will be opposed by at least two members of the Lafayette...

LGMC has new CEO

David L. Callecod is Lafayette General Medical Center's new president and CEO. For the past five years, Callecod has served as CEO of Marion General Hospital in Marion, Ind. Like LGMC, Marion General...

Dim-witted House committee approves guns on campus

In what will likely go down as one of the most boneheaded moves of the newly-constituted Legislature, the House Criminal Justice Committee voted 11-3 to allow college students to carry guns on campus....

American Eagle cuts flight time to Dallas in half

American Eagle's decision to replace its 34-seat Saab 340 prop planes with 50-seat EMB-145 regional jets on all flights between Lafayette and Dallas/Fort Worth will slash flight time in half....

Stone buying Houston company for $1.8 billion

In yet another sign that it is continuing to bounce back from its legal and financial troubles, Lafayette-based Stone Energy is buying a Houston energy company, Bois d'Arc Energy Inc., in a deal...

Jindal's Leno appearance fueling more McCain talk

Introduced last night as the man many believe is the "future of the Republican Party" by The Tonight Show's Jay Leno, Gov. Bobby Jindal's appearance has added more fuel to speculation that...

Skinner not running for DA

Disappointingly, it's over before it officially began. Former U.S. Attorney Mike Skinner, who had been planning to mount a challenge to 15th Judicial District Attorney Mike Harson this fall, says he...

Former priest Gauthe arrested again in Texas

Former priest Gilbert Gauthe, who pleaded guilty in 1985 to sexually abusing 11 boys in Louisiana in a pedophilia scandal that rocked the country and the Catholic Church, was arrested in Texas...

Coyote Blues expanding to Baton Rouge

Lafayette's popular Mexican restaurant Coyote Blues has purchased the former Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon building on Acadian Thruway just south of Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge. According to...

UL's Solar Home wants community input

The UL Lafayette School of Architecture and Design is seeking public input on two potential design schematics for its entry into the 2009 Solar Decathlon. The charrette, or planning dialogue, for the...

House approves hand-held cell phone ban

Legislation banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving passed the Louisiana House of Representatives yesterday. With 55 members voting for the ban and 43 against, the lower chamber approved...

Landrieu leading Kennedy 50-38 in statewide poll

Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu has a 50 percent-38 percent lead over her Republican challenger, state Treasurer John Kennedy, with 11.6 percent of voters undecided, according to a statewide...

Taylors International unveils new corporate office

Taylors International Services Inc. is unveiling its new corporate headquarters at 2301 S. College Extension today with a grand opening celebration that will be attended by many longtime clients....

BBR Creative leaving downtown

The award-winning marketing and advertising firm BBR Creative is relocating from downtown later this year. The 11-year-old firm, which specializes in brand building for its clients, has an office...

Oil surges to $114 a barrel

For the second time this week, crude oil set a new record high closing, settling at $113.79 a barrel Tuesday, up $2.03 from Monday's record close of $111.76. In electronic trading early Tuesday...

Burkenroad conference featuring local companies

A group of local publicly traded companies will be featured presenters at Tulane University’s Burkenroad Reports Investment Conference on Friday, April 25, at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans. The...

LCG employee facing fraud, malfeasance charges

A Lafayette Consolidated Government employee was arrested last week on more than 200 fraud and malfeasance charges. KATC-TV3 broke the story, reporting that 58-year-old Tracey Dalfrey had posted...

Mississippi River rising

A precaution not taken since 1997, the Bonnet Carré Spillway in St. Charles Parish will be opened at noon today to prevent what could be catastrophic flooding along the river's lower portions. Without...

Townhouse's Scelfo joining City Club at River Ranch

Paul Scelfo, general manager of Townhouse Restaurant and Caterer, the Oil Center facility that closed its doors yesterday, is moving over to City Club at River Ranch. A source close to the City Club...

Townhouse Restaurant and Caterer shuts down

Employees at Lafayette's Townhouse Restaurant and Caterer got a surprise when they arrived for work today: their paychecks attached to a letter from owner Art LeBlanc informing them that the business...

Patel wants evidence thrown out

Dr. Mehmood Patel, the local cardiologist facing health-care fraud charges for allegedly performing unnecessary procedures on many of his patients, wants much of the evidence against him thrown out,...

Dr. David Manuel named LSUA chancellor

Overlooked for the top job at UL Lafayette last year -- suprising many in the business community when he was not even named a finalist -- Dr. David Manuel has been tapped for the LSU at Alexandria's...

Ace Group selling out?

Widespread speculation is circulating in the local transportation industry that one of Acadiana's largest privately held companies, The Ace Group, is being sold to Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe....

Mulate's founder laid to rest today

Popular restaurateur Goldie Comeaux, who blazed a trail by making Cajun music accessible in a family-friendly atmosphere at Mulate's in Breaux Bridge, will be laid to rest today. "She was...

Meals-to-go concept opens in River Ranch

If you like to eat out but prefer the comfort of your home, River Ranch's Cena may be what you're looking for. The meal assembly concept opened this week in the Shops at the Crescent, a few doors from...

St. Martinville company starts $9M Corps project

St. Martinville-based Clark Construction Enterprises today begins work on a 3.5-mile levee enlargement stretching from New Westwego Pumping Station to Orleans Village. The project is part of an $8.97...

Gulf lease sale sets $3.67 billion record

The U.S. Minerals Management Service’s auction yesterday of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico totaled $3.67 billion, shattering 1983’s record $3.4 billion and October 2007’s $2.9 billion — then...

Historic Gulf lease sale in NO today

Two Gulf of Mexico federal oil and gas lease sales are being held in the New Orleans Superdome today. The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico Region confirms...

You gotta be kidding: an official state cocktail?

Believe it or not but the Sazerac may be designated the "official state cocktail" at the regular legislative session that starts March 31. An apparent fan of the drink, Democratic Sen. Edwin...

Blue Agave restaurant opens on Pinhook at Southpark

After working as general manager for Picante for the past 13 years and at Tampico before that, Roberto Cervantes has struck out on his own, opening Blue Agave Mexican Restaurant in the shopping center...

Cox rationing HD boxes

Baton Rouge's online news service Daily Report yesterday published a story about Cox Communications limiting the number of high-definition cable boxes it leases to each household because of a...

LHC Group adopts measure to deter hostile takeover

Lafayette-based LHC Group, a provider of post-acute health care services, announced yesterday that it has adopted a so-called "poison pill" measure designed to fend off a hostile takeover....

BBR Creative wins Best of Show at Saturday's ADDYs

The big winner at Saturday's Acadiana Advertising Federation's annual ADDY awards was BBR Creative, capturing the Best of Show-print. The firm won 19 gold awards, among which were for Cane River Pecan...

Boustany asking for more temporary workers

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany yesterday introduced a measure to increase the number of temporary, or H-2B, workers allowed in the country to perform seasonal work for small businesses. “The current H-2B...

Boustany calls for more temporary workers

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany yesterday introduced legislation to increase the number of temporary, or H-2B, workers allowed in the country to perform seasonal work for small businesses. “The current...

Architecture, interior design entries due Friday

Entries for The Independent Weekly’s 4th Annual INDesign Awards, honoring excellence in commercial and residential architecture and interior design -- as well as historic preservation -- are due...

La Fonda founder Leebob Cox laid to rest

There was no one before him, and it will be virtually impossible to ever match his success in the local restaurant business. Revered La Fonda founder Leebob Cox, 78, was laid to rest Saturday after a...

National champ STM Sparklers on ESPN2 Sunday

The winning performance of the STM Sparklers, who recently captured the national championship in the pom category at the Universal Dance Association's Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Fla., will...

Hotel Acadiana to fly Crowne Plaza flag

In March Hotel Acadiana will begin a project that by year's end will have the 1801 W. Pinhook Road property flying a new, upscale flag. "We will be a Crowne Plaza after we are finished,"...

Downtown Lounge's raw deal

Michele Ezell and her partners at Tsunami Sushi on Jefferson Street had what amounts to a couple of "aha" moments before and after this Valentine’s Day. Booked up and having already turned...

Kleinpeter ice cream arrives in Lafayette

Last week, Kleinpeter Farms’ new line of ice cream, straight from its recently constructed Baton Rouge processing plant, hit the shelves of several local grocery stores, including Piggly Wiggly,...


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