I have been in the wine trade for over twenty years. I’ve visited numerous wineries, attended countless lectures, and most importantly have tasted many wines over the years. I have dealt with a limited amount of distilled products and know the ABC’s of spirit items, but not like I understand wine. As for beer, I drank a few in college, at the beach, and at crawfish boils. It’s cold, goes down easy and is refreshing when you’re hot. But that’s the extent of my experience - end of story.

 

I recently started a new career venture that involves beer – not just big name domestic beer, but hand-crafted, artisan-style beers from around the world. The only thing is I don’t know much about beer, the terminology, styles, tastes, etc. I felt the same way at the beginning of my wine journey and it’s all pretty intimidating.  Just as there are know-it-all wine geeks out there, there are beer geeks trying to stump you all the time.

 

Micro-brews and international beers are part of the trendy...

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Northshore Conifer The Vinery

 

Do you know someone – a company, individual or a volunteer – who has exhibited outstanding leadership in giving to the northshore community?  

 

The Greater Northshore Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals is seeking nominations for its 2009 National Philanthropy Day Event. The event is a celebration of the many generous individuals, corporations, and foundations that enrich our lives on the northshore.   National Philanthropy Day is a special day set  aside annually across the nation to recognize the great contributions of philanthropists and volunteers in our communities. 

 

Awards will be presented at the Northshore Chapter National Philanthropy Day luncheon on November 19, 2009 for Outstanding Individual Philanthropist, Outstanding Leadership in Corporate or Foundation Philanthropy, and Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser.  

 

AFP is seeking nominations in each of these categories. The nomination deadline is July 31, 2009.  Criteria for nominations...

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Northshore Conifer The Third Sector

 

During the hot summertime months most hunters are in the planning mode. You know,    securing leases, designing food plots, making plans for stands and blinds maybe even reserving vacation dates at lodges. But it’s a safe bet very few are strategizing their upcoming nutria hunts. Recreational nutria hunting really hasn’t caught on even while the state’s program designed to control an explosive population to reduce or eliminate damage to our wetlands has been a rousing success. It’s also proof-positive that putting a price tag on wildlife can put a serious dent in populations. In most cases this would be a bad thing, but in the case of nutria, a good one.

 

Now in its 7th year, the LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries’ Coastwide Nutria Control Program concluded its 2008-09 season crediting 262 participants with taking out 334,038 of the orange-toothed, rat-tailed critters. These registered “bounty hunters” bagged 25,826 more than last year bringing the total since the program began to 1,790,829....

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Northshore Conifer The Hunt

 

After tasting some of Maria Compagno’s luscious homemade limoncello late last year, I decided to try my hand at making it myself. As usual, this simple idea turned into one that eventually started to have a life of its own! First, I needed some nice lemons, preferably homegrown. Hmmm… whom should I call? Will McCaleb of course, if you are ever in need of anything within Louisiana or Mississippi he is your man. Within 24 hours, he had 78 gorgeous Plaquemines parish Meyer lemons delivered right to my door. 

The original recipe only calls for 6 to 8 lemons and I did want to make a FEW extra bottles for friends and family, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would have anything short of a small distillery going on in my kitchen for the next several weeks!

The recipe is “easy”. Carefully peel the lemons not cutting into to pith (the tart white part) and soak the peels in grain alcohol for a week. “Easy”, if you use a new peeler, go slowly, and try not to do over 50 lemons at a time! Easier still, if you do not leave town for an additional week, let the lemon peels soak longer in the alcohol than recommended. By the time I actually got around to adding the simple syrup and the extra alcohol to “cut” the overwhelming lemon flavor I had 27 bottles of limoncello!

...

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Northshore Conifer Stiring It Up!

 

 

As usual, this legislative session featured another missed opportunity for reform in Louisiana. At least this year, legislators were not trying to triple their salaries. They spent most of their time squabbling over money, as the budget deficit made things uncomfortable in Baton Rouge. Revenue was $1.3 billion less than last year due to the poor national economy and the drop in oil and gas prices. As usual, health care and higher education bore the brunt of the cuts. Despite much hyperbole about drastic spending cuts, in the end, legislators used millions from the Rainy Day fund, an insurance incentive fund and the federal stimulus to minimize any spending reductions.

 

So, holes in the budget were patched with “one time” money and real systemic budget and fiscal reform was not attempted. The legislative slush fund remained intact, so did an outrageous multi-million dollar subsidy to a golf course in Jefferson Parish. An effort to streamline our bloated higher education system will...

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Northshore Conifer Ringside - Politics with a Punch!

 

For a time, it seemed the only construction activity happening on the northshore was residential, as builders adapted to accommodate the inundation of new residents in late 2005 and 2006. As that market maxed out, you couldn’t drive more than a few miles hereabouts without witnessing the construction of commercial space – offices, restaurants, banks, hotels, and retail centers – being rapidly constructed to accommodate those businesses serving the newly expanded population.

Then came 2008. Things changed, and they changed fast. The “housing bubble” finally burst nationwide. The sub-prime mortgages collapsed and, although they represented only three percent of mortgages nationwide (and a mere pittance in Louisiana), the banking industry went into full-scale panic. Credit lines were frozen or taken away. Mortgage loans became scarce, as did financing of virtually every kind. Retail space sat – and sits – empty.  National chains such as Circuit City started closing – for good. Homebuilders in particular...

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Northshore Conifer James Hartman, Staff Writer

 

With more than 900 miles of navigable waterways – more than any parish in Louisiana – St. Tammany is a natural place for water recreation, particularly in summer months. But when you hop on your Jet Ski, sailboat or even just your fishing skiff, officials say the rules of safety still apply.

At the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office , Capt. Pat McLaney commands the Marine Enforcement unit within the Operations Division, overseeing a staff of 13 law enforcement professionals. Their job – and it’s a big one – is to patrol the waterways of the parish in search of safety violators, search for missing persons on the water and, most importantly, to keep people safe.

“We have six patrol boats in the waterways of St. Tammany, spread throughout the Parish,” McLaney said. “They are also responsible for search and rescue on waterways.”

Unlike the deputies who patrol the streets, Marine Enforcement deputies don’t work in the finite enforcement area of natural boundaries or even the yellow and white...

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Northshore Conifer James Hartman, Staff Writer

 

This July 4th, we celebrate our country’s 233rd birthday. Now some would argue that the real birthday should be July 2nd when the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain, not July 4th when they approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. Some might argue for August 2nd, the day a majority of the members of Congress actually signed the printed document.   Some might choose September 17th, the date in 1787 that our Constitution was adopted and we officially became the United States of America.   I suppose one could also pick May 29th, the date in 1790 that Rhode Island became the last of the thirteen original states to ratify the Constitution. But why quibble? Let’s get on with it. July 4th has been chosen, the hot dogs and fireworks have been purchased, and we have plenty to celebrate.

 

We indeed have been truly blessed by history. Our greatest legacy has been the Constitution itself, but we have also been richly endowed by nature. Where would...

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Northshore Conifer Past Tense

 

Don the top hats and tails, swish through the streets in long flowing high-necked Victorian dresses and let the children cavort excitedly with visions of sugar plums in their anticipating eyes.

 

Mix and mingle and purchase superb items from the vast array of vendors along the way, join in singing the traditional carols as costumed revelers stroll along the route, sip a bit of hot cider at various locations and while Charles Dickens might not have put it this way, we will: Pass A Good Time!

 

This is all to say that your Old Mandeville Business Association is already deep into planning the annual Christmas Past Festival in homage to the English Victorian era of Dickens, one of the great writers of all time and perhaps best know for his classic, A Christmas Carol.

 

This year Christmas Past will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 13, mainly focused on Girod and Lafitte streets in the heart of the commercial center of Old Mandeville.

 

Your OMBA workers...

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Northshore Conifer Old Mandeville Business Association

 

Have you ever desired to allow your inner Van Gogh loose on canvas—if only for one night? What if you could bring along a fine merlot and a dozen of your favorite friends? That is the basic business concept at Corks N Canvas: deceptively simple—and fantastically successful.

While the concept of instructional art is hardly new, the process of surrounding the art experience with friends, wine and a lively instructor is rather novel. And this brainchild of Cathy Deano and Renee Malony has received rave reviews from art aficionados and novices alike. They founded the conceptual art experience following Katrina. In less than two years, their initial studio in Old Mandeville has blossomed into three locations within metro New Orleans and another in Baton Rouge. Better yet, they have begun franchising their turn-key art academy and sold two franchises last month. Several more franchisees are under review… per chance a national art explosion is now originating from right here on the northshore!

THE...

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Northshore Conifer Northshore Entrepreneur

 

Recently while rummaging through an assortment of my personal military memorabilia I came across a box containing various flags and banners. After three decades of service perhaps it’s not surprising that I’ve collected a rather eclectic assemblage of regimental standards, guidons and national colors. Most of these flags were presented to me at command ceremonies and related events but one stands out among the collection. Its history is somewhat different from the rest. It’s an old, worn and tattered flag that should have been ceremoniously cashiered many years ago. To most observers it’s just an old frayed flag that has obviously endured its share of hardships, but to me it’s a reminder of a superb band of soldiers with which I was once privileged to serve. It now lies carefully folded and tucked away, as it has been for many years, but finding it rekindled memories I had not thought of for quite some time. It is amazing the level of sentiment that can be tied to a flag. This old standard is to me much...

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Northshore Conifer My Two Cents

 

Once in the realm of science fiction, modern medicine has achieved advances beyond what people imagined only a few decades ago. If it’s true, as is often said, that there have been more technological advances in the last 100 years than in the previous millennium, a good portion of those advances have been in the identification and treatment of disease.

At northshore medical facilities, the enhancement of technology and staffing in recent years has given patients and their healthcare providers increasingly advanced options for non-invasive diagnostic tests.

“When you say ‘diagnostic imaging,’ it includes general X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, mammography, PET/CT, and bone density studies,” said JoAnn Forsyth, director of M.D. Imaging in Slidell, where all of those procedures are performed.

“Our first order of business is diagnostics,” said Pat Maltese, head of the radiology department at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. “A patient presents with a complaint. The (diagnostic) exam allows us...

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Northshore Conifer James Hartman, Staff Writer

 

In the last two issues, I have commented on certain things that concern me with modern life. The first, For God’s Sake, Shut Up! (Northshore Conifer, May, 2009), dealt with today’s cult of celebrity, wherein simply being famous is enough to guarantee that one’s views will be broadcast by the media. Further, this is not limited to those who have gained fame by accomplishment, however dubious, but also includes those who are famous merely, well, for being famous. I would submit that the silly Paris Hilton currently serves as high priestess at this altar of self-worship. Interestingly, my article was poorly received by at least one reader, whom I will call “Dick” to protect him from his neighbors, of parts undisclosed, who wrote the following:

 

What makes you the voice of reason that wants people that are not right wing Bible thumpers to shut up? It’s no wonder that the rest of the country thinks that all people from Louisiana are a bunch of jackasses. Get this: The wind in the entire country...

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Northshore Conifer Growing Pains

 

One by one the new stores in the resurrected Hammond Square are coming to life and bringing with them a new sense of economic enthusiasm that is spilling out into many other areas of the city.

 

The first wave of stores is open, including Best Buy and the Santa Fe Steakhouse, and the rest of Hammond Square is reportedly not far behind. Once completed Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster says it will provide about 1,000 new jobs for the area, some of which have already been filled. 

 

Already the area is feeling the economic impact of Best Buy and the Santa Fe Steakhouse in the fact that they have put over 250 locals to work and the promise of more jobs with the remaining openings is a sure thing. 

 

With these prospects on the horizon, the whole city is greatly anticipating when this project will be completed. Stirling Property Officials say, they will not have to wait much longer. “By the end of the year we should be substantially completed with all of the exterior and...

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Northshore Conifer Joe Luna, Staff Writer

 

Tired of hearing about the economy and how it is supposed to affect us but isn’t? Then skip this story.

It’s almost natural to assume, given the gloom and doom of recent media reports, that folks are cutting back on luxury spending. But if you subscribe to that line of thinking, you’re probably not an avid northshore golfer.

Membership and attendance at northshore golf courses is healthy and steady, and no one seems to expect that to change. While the costs of the game vary widely depending on where you choose to play, devotees seem far from ready to hang up their clubs and fire their caddies.

At Hammond’s Oak Knoll Country Club, 340 members participate in golf outings. With a $250 initiation fee and $130 a month for family membership – a rate that drops by 50 percent for members who live outside a 30-mile radius – the club is, in fact, growing.

“That’s a gradual increase over the last few months,” said Jake Narro, PGA Head Golf Professional at the Club.  “We haven’t seen a...

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Northshore Conifer James Hartman, Staff Writer

 

It’s only 6 am, but Debbi Fotsch is already up and preparing the big breakfast she cooks from scratch every morning. Then there is hobnobbing with the customers during and after breakfast. After that comes dishes, laundry, cleaning, grounds maintenance, and working on one of the many endless projects around the property. Some days may not end until midnight, depending on when guests arrive. But she loves it and wouldn’t trade it for a regular job. “This is not just a business, it’s a lifestyle,” said Fotsch, owner and operator, along with her husband Tim, of Woodridge Bed & Breakfast in Slidell.

Small, locally-owned businesses are integral to the northshore economy and B&Bs are certainly part of that.   But our local B&Bs do more than just contribute to the economy. They showcase our area to tourists regionally, nationally, and internationally. They help revitalize our downtown areas, and more importantly, they provide unique experiences that reflect the owner’s personality and interests. For most...

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Northshore Conifer Rhonda Landry, Staff Writer

 

The St. Tammany West Chamber is fortunate to have a Board of Directors and Executive Committee comprised of a wide range of individuals who understand our purpose and mission. Together, they work to promote business and the community, provide programs and activities that benefit our entire 1,000 plus members, and strengthen the business climate of St. Tammany Parish. 

 

The Executive Committee is made up of seven business leaders, who each donate a great deal of their energy and expertise to advancing our goals and objectives, in the end accomplishing specific tasks through their leadership.

 

Our 2009 Board Chairman is Jean Champagne. Holding a C.P.A. and J.D. degree, Jean was promoted to the main leadership role after serving in several other capacities primarily in the area of governmental affairs. He has traveled to Washington, D.C. on several past Chamber fly-ins where he served as our spokesperson to congressmen, senators, and presidential cabinet leaders. He has led...

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Northshore Conifer Chamber West