|
|
|
|
By Katie-Bird Brupbacher on
8/3/2009 3:13 AM
As you pull the cork from your favorite bottle of wine, have you ever thought about how the stuff is made? Why it has the taste it does, where it got its brilliant color, how mashed fruit turned into alcohol? Winemaking is one of the oldest, most pervasive and popular of human activities. To make what is essentially high-octane grape juice is pretty easy; making it taste good, however, is a good bit more difficult. It requires the right grape, growing in the right soil, in the right weather.
What is Wine?
The answer to this basic question is that wine is fermented grape juice, but with a few extra twists. Fortunately for mankind, it was found early on that if you leave any fruit containing sugar alone for a while it will turn into booze. In the fermentation process, yeast converts any sugar in the fruit into alcohol. Yeast is found naturally floating around everywhere. So if you left some grape juice sitting outside, yeast would probably eventually mix with it and ferment...
Read More »
|
By Elizabeth Manshel on
8/3/2009 3:08 AM
In the heart of downtown Covington, there is a neighborhood café with the most apropos name, Mattina Bella (beautiful morning). Inside this historic building, you will find a smiling Riccobonno family member there to greet you when you walk through the door. However, if you look closely you will notice a true blue, big family business. The owners are Vincent and Debbie Riccobonno. Their two sons Vincent, Jr. and Michael run the kitchen and three of their daughters, Teresa, Andrea and Gabrielle work in the front of the restaurant.
The restaurant business is nothing new to Vincent; he grew up in the business. You can say it is in his blood and now his children’s blood. His grandfather was the owner of the famous Rick’s Pancake Cottage in Mid-City. Vincent’s first job was at Rick’s and from there he went on to work with his mom at her place, Rick’s Café, in Gretna for eleven years until it closed. After spending ten years working at Beau Chen country club he went to work with his cousins back on the southshore at the Peppermill and helped them rebuild after Katrina.
...
Read More »
|
By Denis Bechac on
8/3/2009 3:05 AM
More than two decades after Southeastern Louisiana University launched Fanfare, the annual festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences is still following its successful pattern of offering “something for everyone” – inevitably with a new or intriguing twist. The Fanfare 24th season is no exception.
In addition to its usual October showcase of music, dance, theater, lectures, films, children’s events and exhibits, Fanfare 2009 will feature a student-alumni celebration of 75 years of Southeastern opera and musical theater and a day of entertaining presentations dedicated to an unexpected topic – madness.
Expect, said Donna Gay Anderson, who directs both Fanfare and the year-long Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts season that follows, “another spectacular roster of entertainment that is sure to engage, inspire and entertain you, your family and friends.”
The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences has chosen the intriguing, but...
Read More »
|
By Jeff Crouere on
8/3/2009 3:01 AM
The first six months of President Obama have been exhausting for the American people. It has been one major initiative after another at a dizzying pace. After his initial success in pushing through Congress the $787 billion stimulus plan and the earmark laden omnibus spending bill, the President has started to stumble. The economy continues to decline and the President’s popularity ratings have also decreased. People are losing confidence in President Obama and souring on his ambitious plans to remake this country. It is no surprise to see plummeting support for Obama because whenever the economy falters, the President suffers politically.
What is a surprise is how badly the administration “misread” the economy. Even Vice-President Joe Biden admitted that the economy was much worse than the administration had realized. In an ABC-TV interview, Biden finally confessed that the administration was wrong with its economic projections. The administration predicted the unemployment rate would not top...
Read More »
|
By James Hartman on
8/3/2009 2:57 AM
Anybody remember Mrs. Fletcher? “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Was it ever that easy?
On the northshore, ambulance service providers respond to thousands of calls each year. A combination of “routine” medical emergencies such as heart attacks, severe falls, motor vehicle accidents, and simple “transport” runs to doctor visits, keep the companies, public agencies – and the employees who staff them – busy from dawn ‘til dusk, 24/7/365.
By far the largest provider of ambulance service in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes is the Lafayette-based Acadian Ambulance. “Acadian Ambulance began in 1971 in Lafayette parish with two ambulances and eight team members,” said Danny Lennie, Vice President of Operations for Acadian. “Today we serve 38 parishes/counties in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. We now have over 2,600 team members and transport approximately 1,000 patients per day.”
“We began operations in Tangipahoa in 1982 with three ambulances...
Read More »
|
By Nixon Adams on
8/3/2009 2:54 AM
Today’s article is prompted by a reader question, to wit, “Dear Mr. So-Called History Person: I’m told that the east branch of the Pearl River was chosen as our border with Mississippi because an empty whiskey barrel thrown in upstream emerged from that stream’s mouth. What do you think?” Well, I do have a so-called answer, but first a little gratuitous information.
As every schoolboy knows, Louisiana is shaped like a boot. Well, maybe more like an orthopedic shoe … with the toe blown out … that needs half-soling because of coastal erosion. Located on the U.S.’s soft underbelly, it looks like the eastward-pointing foot of America, just as the Midwest is our heart and the east coast is our face to most of the western world. Using this same anatomical analogy, I’m not sure what that would make California, but it is the last place in the Lower 48 to see the sun shine every day. I have been asked not to discuss what other states might, or might not, represent.
...
Read More »
|
By Donna Plaia on
8/3/2009 2:52 AM
Yes, it is always sunny in Old Mandeville even on the cloudy and stormy days. The sunshine we speak of flows from the hearts of the good people of this charmed city who find the energy to do good work to benefit others.
Ok, we concede that, well, just maybe … it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, too, as the creators of the Danny DiVito-driven cable comedy series claim.
But we are focused now, not on Philly, but our beloved Old Mandeville. Here and now, we are announcing a change in the date of an important fall event in Old Mandeville.
In this space in June I informed you that the second Sunny Days run to raise money for a chosen child in our midst with serious health issues would unfold in Old Mandeville on Oct. 17.
Well, we have no doubt that Oct. 17 will be another joyful sunny day in Old Mandeville, but this very important running event for such a good cause will now take place a week later, on what will be we are positive Oct. 24, and coincide with the OMBA-coordinated Fall Foliage sales event that has also been shifted from Oct. 17 to Oct. 24.
...
Read More »
|
By Evans C. Spiceland on
8/3/2009 2:46 AM
“We’ve been snookered,” decried the legislators when confronted with the numerous gaffs that occurred during the recently adjourned state legislative session. Doesn’t that strike a familiar chord? “I didn’t have time to read it” or “I didn’t know anything about it.” The responses were all too familiar and disappointing.
Sandwiched between the proclamation that designated May 13th as Planned Parenthood Day and the lurid vocals of “Hurricane Chris” giving us a taste of his musical talents, was a series of “rookie-dos” and “fugaboos” coupled with an inordinate amount of ill-advised legislation. Time was found to debate a helmet law, cell phone usage and many special interest items but what about fiscal issues? Wasn’t that the intent of the session? Wasn’t this session to lay the foundation for long-term changes to the way government operates? State Senator Rob Marionneaux got it right! ...”this was not a pretty session.”
Perhaps my expectations were a bit lofty, idealistic or...
Read More »
|
By Sandra Slifer on
8/3/2009 2:44 AM
I laugh out loud when I hear people proclaim, “America has the best health care system in the world.” I defy anyone to identify exactly what the current health care system is in America. The United States spent $2.4 trillion on health care in 2008; it’s projected to reach $4.3 trillion by 2016. At this rate, we’ll be spending 20% of our GDP by 2017. Germany (10.7 % GDP), France (9.5%), and Canada (9.7%) provide universal coverage for half what we’re spending. In 2006, 46 cents of every dollar spent on health services came directly from government sources.
There are over 46 million Americans without health insurance and this number is skyrocketing. Let’s review who the uninsured are: according to KeithHennessey.com, a blog run by a former Bush Administration White House economist, there were 45.7 million uninsured in 2007. 6.4% actually have Medicaid insurance; another 4.3% are eligible for Medicaid/CHIP; 9.3% are non-citizens; 10.1% make more than 300% of poverty (approximately...
Read More »
|
By Don Dubuc on
8/3/2009 2:42 AM
There was a time when I thought I was the only person who chased the purple ghosts of the bayou. Well, truthfully I never really thought I was the only one but very often I wondered who the handful of other hunters might be who took advantage of the white-meat answer to poule’ deau known as gallinules.
That was until those lean years when duck hunting bottomed out with a 30-day season and a three-bird limit and a halt to the season’s appetizer, the teal season. Now things are different, or the same again, depending how you look at it. 16-day teal and 60-day, six-bird duck seasons have been, and continue to be, the norm.
Right now you’re probably thinking, have I seen these things before? Let’s get down to what is and what isn’t a real honest to goodness gallinule. Even before the days of reduced waterfowl action I was out there stalking, paddling the bayous off Lakes Salvador and Des Allemands. The dead-end pipelines make perfect hiding and feeding places for these shy, wily members of the shorebird...
Read More »
|
By Rhonda Landry on
8/3/2009 2:40 AM
All summer they’ve enjoyed soda and candy at the theatre, and pizza and ice cream at the sleepover. Fast food, Kool-Aid, sno-cones, and unlimited trips to the pantry for chips and cookies are typical during the summer months.
And it doesn’t get much better once school starts.
For breakfast it’s usually sugary cereal, Pop-tarts, or as a treat on the weekend, doughnuts. School lunches leave a lot to be desired as far as good nutrition is concerned. So we pack a lunch for our children: sugary juice drinks, Lunchables, or maybe a sandwich and chips. We promise them if they eat their dinner they can have dessert. Or maybe we don’t have time to cook dinner, so we eat out. On the weekend it’s fast food again as we rush from one activity to another.
What are we doing to our children? Do we know? Do we care?
Nearly one-third of American children aged 4-19 eat fast food every day. Yes, every day! Childhood obesity...
Read More »
|
By Jean Champagne on
8/3/2009 2:36 AM
Read More »
|
By Barbara.Jim.Twardowski on
8/3/2009 2:34 AM
It’s no secret that the sluggish economy is hurting the travel industry. The good news is you can take a vacation for less money. If you love bargain hunting, now is the time to comparison shop.
Sites like BookingBuddy (www.bookingbuddy.com), Smarter Travel (www.smartertravel.com), and Travelzoo (www.travelzoo.com) are comprehensive and have up-to-the minute deals. Special offers abound on booking sites. Check Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), Expedia (www.expedia.com) and Travelocity (www.travelocity.com).
Many sites will send you an e-mail about new offers and some allow you to select a specific destination. The hands down best travel search engine is Kayak (www.kayak.com). Sign up for hotel and...
Read More »
|
By Joe Luna on
8/3/2009 2:32 AM
Returning Southeastern students will notice some changes in the campus they have grown to know this semester. These changes will come as a result of this year’s budget cuts that have lead to the termination of 64 staff positions and severely slashed departmental operating budgets.
Along with these measures the university has also deemed it necessary to impose furloughs on some of the personnel employed by the university as well as raise tuition by about five percent.
Beginning this fall semester, Southeastern will reportedly have about $10 million less to work with than in the previous budget year.
Southeastern PresidentJohn L. Crain said that the administration was trying to limit the impact of the cuts on the academic programming of the university. Also, because of the prudent mid-year decision to freeze all new hires, 45 of the 64 positions being eliminated are unoccupied and now simply will not be filled. “The magnitude...
Read More »
|
By Denis Bechac on
8/3/2009 2:28 AM
It wasn’t very long ago when the real estate market on the northshore was booming Post-Katrina. The New Orleans area was devastated. The worst natural and man-made disaster that struck the United States was right here - in our back yard. Thousands of homes were lost and many displaced citizens from the southshore were busy buying everything and anything in sight.
The northshore was the high ground they were seeking. Both St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes were inundated by the change Katrina brought. Gasoline prices skyrocketed and sales tax collections were off the charts. Historically, there was never a better financial reward for the northshore.
For nearly three years, money flowed generously, and not so generously, from insurance companies and the federal government. Much of it was reinvested on the northshore and businesses directly tied to the real estate market were busier than ever. Developers, builders and sub-contractors couldn’t find enough...
Read More »
|
By Rhonda Landry on
8/3/2009 2:25 AM
Brennan McCurley has been working at his new job as Principal of Lakeshore High School for awhile now, but there’s one thing that’s been missing: the students. “We’re so excited, just itching for the kids to show up,” said McCurley. On August 7th, that’s exactly what will happen. Students will be showing up at two new schools in St. Tammany Parish.
“We can’t wait to get started,” said Leslie Martin, Principal of Marigny Elementary. The new $15.9 million school on Viola Street in Mandeville will welcome almost 300 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students this school year and ultimately will serve 500 children when first grade is added next year.
The students who will attend Marigny Elementary would have attended Magnolia Trace Elementary, which will offer only second and third grade going forward. “We have a similar model in Slidell that has been very popular and works well,” said Gayle Sloan, Superintendent.
Martin said the philosophy and the slogan for the new school is, “Where everyone makes a difference”. The PTA board is already hard at work on developing enrichment programs and has at least two fundraisers planned for the new school year: breakfast with Santa and a Spring Art Show and Auction.
...
Read More »
|
By Lacey Toledano on
8/3/2009
The end of the regular Louisiana legislative session on June 25 brought with it the beginning of an onslaught of summaries of just what happened from a variety of our collaborative partners throughout the state. As of this writing, most of you that keep up with state legislative issues are aware of the bills that passed or failed and how they will impact us as citizens and taxpayers of Louisiana.
Our partners at the East St. Tammany Chamber hosted a legislative wrap-up luncheon. A majority of our northshore legislative delegation members gave brief points summarizing how they felt about the session. Most of what I heard from them was frustration. Of course it is always frustrating, even for a family to try to make ends meet, when the income does not meet the needs and expenses. Our legislators’ frustration centers on the way the state budget has grown in the last 20 years at an extremely fast rate.
Among the words used to describe the session were: bedlam, ridiculous, no priorities, and...
Read More »
|
By Donna Hellmers on
8/3/2009 2:19 AM
For this fall season, the Hammond Chamber of Commerce presents a kick off with Battle of the Bands! September is right around the corner and Music in the Park will be here before you know it and with it comes our concert series starting on Sunday, September 27th from 3-6pm at beautiful Cate Square Park in historic downtown Hammond. Our concert series will feature local bands with different genres of music.
The first concert will feature the “Battle of the Bands” with 3 bands competing for the title of “Best Band in Hammond.” The competitors are local musicians and serve many different types of music. Space Trumpet is a 7 piece horn band featuring “celtic rock”. That should be a crowd pleaser! Gamma Ringo has a 60’s influence on pop rock and promises to speak to a different crowd. John Wayne creates a folk rock sound like no other. Take this opportunity to come out and listen to 3 very diverse bands and enjoy a fun, family atmosphere. Plus, you get to scream and clap for your favorite band and get rid of all that work stress. You can bet the bands will be working the crowd and bringing fans to “Rock the Vote.” The winner will play at Music in the Park on Sunday, October 25th and receive publicity for winning. We look forward to this being a serious “Battle” and hope the public will come out to this free event and support our local musicians.
...
Read More »
|
By Dawn Sharpe on
8/3/2009 2:17 AM
Cultural industries have increasingly been recognized as one of the leading economic clusters in the Louisiana economy. Is your business a part of the cultural economy? The definition of Louisiana’s cultural economy reflects the state’s unique culture, the diversity of its residents, its rich history, and the broad range of cultural products. Louisiana’s cultural economy encompasses:
The people, enterprises, and communities that transform cultural skills, knowledge, and ideas into economically productive goods, services,and places. It includes culinary arts, design, entertainment, literary arts and humanities, preservation, and visual arts and crafts.
In promoting awareness, the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce, City of Slidell, Slidell Art League, Olde Towne Art Center, Slidell Little Theater, St. Tammany Parish Cultural Affairs and others have come together to form the East St. Tammany Cultural Economy Coalition. The mission of the East St. Tammany Cultural Economy Coalition was formed...
Read More »
|
By Stewart Shields on
8/3/2009 2:15 AM
Last month we explored two of the most common types of plan providers, each having their pros and cons as they’d relate to any given plan. However, as we discuss plan administration, I want you to bear in mind this singular truism – a bad or even no plan administrator (like a TPA) can, and often does, cost you far more than an excellent one.
The role of the administrator is to properly design the plan for the sponsoring business, maintain it’s ongoing functions (short of offering investment advice – that’s next month), file annual reports such as returns to the IRS, keep the plan compliant and up-to-date with the ever-changing laws that govern such devices like ERISA and the Pension Protection Act, and defend the plan in a court of law if needed.
Now that may sound like a short and simple list that can be handled by HR staff. Uhhh, no. Has it been done like this by some? Sure. Do I suggest you try? Nah-uh. This is an arduous and time consuming process...
Read More »
|
|
| |
|
|