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By James Hartman on
11/5/2009 11:54 AM
When Greg Cromer was elected to the state House of Representatives two years ago, one of his requests for committee assignments was with an eye on the future of state government: Knowing that the 2010 Census would require a redrawing of Louisiana’s legislative districts, Cromer sought and received a seat on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, a sub-body of the Legislature that usually gets scant attention but which will, in short order, be a powerful place to be.
“This is one of the reasons I asked to be on this committee,” Cromer said. “I thought it was important that St. Tammany have representation in this process.” The way it works is complex in its simplicity. Legislators will have the task of redrawing their own district boundaries for both the House and Senate, based on new population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sounds fairly easy, right? Wrong.
After the House and Governmental Affairs AND the Senate and Governmental...
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By Katie-Bird Brupbacher on
11/5/2009 8:22 AM
Thanksgiving is the biggest wine holiday of the year. You might expect that, because with all that yummy food, – you of course need a great wine to wash it down. Every November I write about what I would drink and recommend for the big feast. I thought I’d add a twist this year and get some opinions from others on the subject. With that in mind, I surveyed some of my northshore wine and foodie friends to find out what they might be drinking at their tables on turkey day.
Roslyn Prieto, owner of Rips on the Lake, usually makes a traditional turkey with cornbread dressing, but sometimes cooks a crown of pork. She’s a big fan of Bouchaine winery and recommends their Chardonnay with the turkey and Pinot Noir with the pork. “Their wines go so well with food,” says Roslyn.
Tony Bosco, owner of Bosco’s Italian Restaurant, thinks that an Italian Pinot Grigio is the perfect accompaniment to a Thanksgivng meal. His family does a turkey with their favorite Italian...
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By Elizabeth Manshel on
11/5/2009 8:21 AM
Donuts, donuts, get your hot glazed donuts - that is what I have been dreaming about ever since I took the dare and got in line at one of our most popular local donut haunts, the Donut King here in Mandeville. Now don’t get me wrong, I love donuts! My problem is I have no self-control when it comes to those light and airy fried dough treats from heaven. I work hard to keep the things that tempt me in my life at bay such as potato chips, especially Zapp’s Crawtators, (which, by the way, I can eat an entire family size bag in one sitting) and fresh loaves of French bread with real butter. However, the donut temptation was in check until they moved to their new location on Hwy. 59 and 1088. Did they have to put it so close and add a convenient drive thru?
After talking to many of my friends and doing an incredibly unscientific poll, I started to realize that donuts are an important part of many of their lives. Each of them has a favorite donut place, a favorite donut and a funny story to go along with...
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By Denis Bechac on
11/5/2009 8:19 AM
Southeastern Louisiana University historian Samuel C. Hyde knows the history and background of the Florida Parishes like few others. So it seemed natural for the Discovery Channel to tap Hyde’s expertise when it set out to do a segment for the new television series “Ghost Lab” that focused on the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville.
Hyde, holder of Southeastern’s Leon C. Ford Endowed Chair in History and director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies, was interviewed for the first episode of “Ghost Lab,” which premiered October 6th on the Discovery Channel. The episode will be replayed over the year on the cable channel.
“I was asked to provide the historical context of events occurring in the region and that are alleged to have contributed to the Myrtles Plantation reputation as a haunted site,” Hyde said.
Built around 1792, the Myrtles is one of Louisiana’s oldest antebellum plantations, explained Hyde, a resident of Denham Springs....
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By Jeff Crouere on
11/5/2009 8:18 AM
Several months ago, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was the hot ticket in the Republican Party. Unfortunately, he bombed when giving the GOP response to President Obama’s address to Congress in February. Now, he is registering at the bottom of the pack among potential GOP presidential hopefuls. At the recent Values Voters Summit hosted by the Family Research Council in Washington D.C., Jindal finished seventh with only 5% of the vote.
With such lackluster results, Jindal is revamping his strategy. In a recent interview with Politico, Jindal recommended that Republicans work with President Obama to find compromise on the issue of health care reform. He advised that Republicans approach the President and say, “We’re willing to work with you in a bipartisan way.”
The offer to compromise is quite a different approach from the one that Jindal has exhibited in recent Fox News interviews. He is also pursuing a different strategy from many Republicans who seem more interested in stopping any kind of health care bill.
...
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By Nixon Adams on
11/5/2009 8:17 AM
I read an article recently about a poll taken to determine which overused utterances used in our everyday conversations annoy people the most. Near the top of the list, of course, was “you know,” which is the Modern English equivalent of the much older Anglo-Saxon-Germanic-Serbo-Croatian- terms “er,” “uh,” and “hmm.” But I don’t think they should count “you know,” you know. To me this is just the little spinning hour glass in your cranial computer letting listeners know that there’s some sort of thinking going on and useful information will be forthcoming shortly, or possibly, some day.
Other common expressions cited were profundities like “well, at the end of the day,” “it is what it is,” and “if you talk the talk, you got to walk the walk.” I guess the one that conveys the least useful information to me is “it is what it is” … because if it wasn’t, what would it be? In fact, a recent university study showed that “it is what it is” almost always. The only time “it isn’t what it is” is in government applications, when frequently “it isn’t anything remotely resembling what it is.”
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By Sheri.Sable.Campbell on
11/5/2009 8:15 AM
The northshore once again delivers with a long list of fantastic things to do this month! As we wind down from the festival season and gear up for the holidays, mark your calendars! There is a great variety of entertainment ahead for November.
Marking this season is an event that is truly a party with a purpose. As Thanksgiving approaches and we plan our menus for grand, fabulous meals with family and friends, it is important to remember so many others who are less fortunate.
The Harvest Moon Dance provides just that opportunity. Benefitting the Covington Food Bank, this event now in its 7th year, has become a fall tradition to ring in the very beginning of the holiday season and provide much needed funding for one of our areas most worthy and vital services. The dance will be November 7th from 7:00-12:00 in the Castine Center at Pelican Park. There’s live music provided by Bobby Cure and the Summertime Blues, and, of course, lots of dishes to dine on along with an...
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By Donna Plaia on
11/5/2009 8:12 AM
Seeing the truck and the work crew busily installing the temporary light poles a few days ago in the vacant lot on the northeast side of U.S. 190 at the Girod Street intersection could mean only one thing: Jim is getting ready for his always popular, Jim's Trees Christmas tree operation.
That visible reminder provides a good segue into another important reminder: Christmas Past sponsored by your Old Mandeville Business Association is a lot closer with its sixth edition that you might think. It, of course, will take place on Girod Street from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday, December 12th. The street will be lined on the west side from near the Mandeville Trailhead Cultural Interpretive Center to Lakeshore Drive with dozens of area artists and craftspeople offering a huge array of handmade and seasonal gift choices.
The always cooperative Mandeville Police Department will close the street and all the intersecting streets at 8:45 am and until 4 pm, Girod Street will become a pedestrian...
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By Evans C. Spiceland on
11/5/2009 8:10 AM
While rifling through papers strewn across my desk I chanced upon an article I had penned over two year ago. I maintain copies of previous articles and from time to time review them to refresh my memory on past topics and to avoid redundancy. This article is an exception. It is a topic still relevant today and a message well worth repeating. I have updated the content but the message remains the same.
At civic gatherings, organizational reunions and most of all at military remembrances and ceremonies, where old warriors tend to gather, I quite often share company with new generations of Americans donned in military dress proudly representing their branches of service. There is a swell of personal pride that always accompanies these encounters along with the haunting words from a mostly forgotten Army ballad. The words reflect the solemn expressions on their faces, as tattoos are sounded, flags are raised and salutes are rendered.
“When we were needed, we were there
Well,...
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By James Hartman on
11/5/2009 8:08 AM
If any story has dominated the news in the last 20 months, it can be summed-up in one word: Mandeville.
It started with alleged misuse of a Police Department benevolent fund, evolved into accusations of perjury against the longtime mayor, and culminated in a state audit that showed financial improprieties. Along the way, sideline events included an apparent drunk-driving incident or two, some fired Causeway officials, a failed recall effort, a state indictment, and stories of a long-ago DWI by … shall we say, a “prominent elected official.” For a while, it was impossible to pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV without seeing an “update” – often a rehashing of the situation from start to finish with a new detail or two thrown in.
And now… it’s over. Sort of.
When former Mayor Eddie Price entered a plea of “guilty” to federal tax evasion charges and resigned his position in October, it was a turning point for the city....
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By Sandra Slifer on
11/5/2009 8:06 AM
The torch is passed and the work of the League of Women Voters of St. Tammany continues, but it is entwined with a heavy heart and a deeper sense of the responsibility we have to the community. Last month we said our farewells to Mandeville resident Norma Gavin. She was a League member for over forty years. When Norma and her husband Lou retired and moved to Mandeville, both of them embraced the community they chose to call home. Norma was elected to the local League board and then later became President of the state League.
She championed open and transparent government, health care issues, judicial and juvenile justice reforms, housing, and poverty concerns. Her inquisitive and irreverent nature disarmed many politicians and colleagues over the years. I had to stifle laughter on many occasions because I knew that Norma was poking fun at those in power, but doing so in a way that made them think she had paid them a compliment.
Norma followed...
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By Don Dubuc on
11/5/2009 8:05 AM
On a Saturday morning twelve years ago, I remember fifteen year-old Trey Steen, shot a full six-duck limit his first time out. What's even stranger is he did it a week after the season closed. No, Trey didn’t break the law. His hunting trip was perfectly legal. Jan 24, 1998, was designated as the first Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day in Louisiana. It was such a success that 3 years later it was expanded to 2 days and became even more popular when it was moved to the weekend BEFORE the regular seasons. This means the weather and number of young and unwary birds available should be much better than at the end.
In an effort to introduce more youngsters to the sport of duck and goose hunting, Louisiana followed a national trend in establishing a special season outside the regular season for young hunters. On these days only hunters 15 and younger accompanied by an adult 18 or older are allowed to participate. Only the youngsters are allowed to shoot, the adults are only along for supervision....
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By Jean Champagne on
11/5/2009 8:02 AM
Before Nobel laureate Al Gore invented the Internet, the mass dissemination of the news was typically accomplished by print, radio or television, in that historical order. Journalistic standards were meaningful (I’m going back a ways, here), and the news media made an effort to report the facts accurately. This may come as a surprise to Gen. Y, but I am not kidding. Opinion was reserved for the editorial page, and public reaction and comment was solicited. When public comment was received, an effort was made to ensure its legitimacy by requiring that the commenter disclose his or her name, address and telephone number. Many media organizations still require this; for example, newspapers will not print a letter to the editor without what they feel is a valid name and address. I would submit that most of them are more scrupulous in this regard than they are in objectively reporting the news, holding their readers to higher standards than themselves, in many cases.
Requiring those who choose to address...
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By Denis Bechac on
11/5/2009 8:01 AM
When Girl Scout Camp Covington lost 90 percent of its trees and camp facilities in 2005, it was hard to imagine one of the oldest Girl Scout camps in the United States might not survive. But after three years of planning for its redevelopment and the funding needed to make it happen, Camp Covington has begun the difficult journey to re-open.
“We are very excited to see our plans for Camp Covington’s redevelopment taking shape since the receipt of initial funding,” said Allison Pastor, vice president of properties for Girl Scouts Louisiana East. “We’ve been able to re-open the camp for day use and weekend camping with plans to offer resident camping next summer.” Pastor said contributions both large and small are helping the council rebuild the camp, with funding primarily coming from the William Edwin Montan Charitable Trust managed by Capital One in Baton Rouge and The McClure Fund through the Greater New Orleans Foundation, with in-kind contributions from David Guidry of Artesian,...
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By Barbara.Jim.Twardowski on
11/5/2009 7:59 AM
Our love affair with historic hotels began on our honeymoon. Many years ago, we spent four wonderful days walking through the French Quarter where we admired the architecture, listened to jazz, and dined in world-famous restaurants. Each night, we returned to the Bienville House Hotel (504.708.4610, www.bienvillehouse.com) with its tropical courtyard, wrought iron balconies and Southern charm. Over the years, our attraction to properties with character has never waned.
Recently, we enjoyed a night at the Roosevelt New Orleans (504.648.1200, www.therooseveltneworleans.com) with its block long lobby decorated with gold columns, shimmering chandeliers, and a ten-foot tall antique clock that was featured at the 1867 and 1878 Paris exhibition. The hotel underwent a $145 million dollar restoration and is the newest member of the Waldorf- Astoria Brand. The famous Blue Room began...
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By Christina on
11/5/2009 7:56 AM
Mayson Foster likes to tell the story of visiting Hammond’s airport shortly after he took office as the city’s mayor in 2003. He went out to the approximately 1,000-acre facility with long-time Airport Authority board member Rico Masaracchia. As they sat on a bench near the tarmac, Foster asked, “What do you see?” “Mr. Rico looked around and said ‘I don’t see anything,’” Foster recalls. “And I said ‘Exactly! We’re an airport and we have no airplanes here.’ It was at that point that we said, “Hey, we really need to start working hard at this airport.”
Six years later, Foster lists the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport (HNRA) along with the renovation of Hammond Square and the rejuvenation of the downtown area, as a trio of top positives that are “putting Hammond on the map.”
While at the time of the mayor’s initial visit, the airport housed approximately 25 aircraft, today the airport’s director, Jason Ball, says around 140 aircraft are based at the facility, more than $5 million...
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By Rhonda Landry on
11/5/2009 7:53 AM
What happens if you are involved in a car accident or fall and injure yourself? Emergencies aren’t something most people think about much, until they have one. Though you may not need emergency services today, you still expect them to be there when you do need them. It’s a good thing there are so many talented and dedicated people on the northshore working behind the scenes to make sure you get the care you need, when you need it.
Overcrowding in the ER
The northshore has faced many issues dealing with population growth since the event of 2005 called Katrina. But that’s not the only reason for overcrowding in the region’s emergency rooms. Other likely factors include an increase in people using the emergency room for non-emergencies, patient flow issues, and unusual events such as flu outbreaks.
“We saw an initial increase in volume due to Katrina because of a surge in population and migrant workers coming through,” said Dr. Chad Muntan, Emergency...
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By Lacey Toledano on
11/5/2009
Out of the Chamber’s 1,000 plus members, 80% are small businesses. As such, the efforts of our Small Business Advisory Council (SBAC) are invaluable to our membership. The SBAC assists members through job fairs, recognition awards and trade shows. They keep abreast of trends and issues affecting the small business community in order to plan seminars, workshops and training sessions. SBAC members also play an active role in nominations for the annual Business Appreciation Awards, which recognize achievement in a range of categories from business longevity to community participation by employees.
The SBAC strives to lead and support business development and growth through market-driven education, business networking, and opportunities for workforce development. With this mission in mind, the SBAC has embarked on an impressive and detailed strategic plan for 2010, which calls for action from three newly formed subcommittees.
The Business Networking/Growth...
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By Donna Hellmers on
11/5/2009 7:49 AM
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…at least for the Hammond Chamber of Commerce who has begun planning the 51st annual Christmas parade, which is set to roll on December 5, 2009 at 5:00pm. Sponsored by long-time downtown restaurant, Rotolo’s Pizzeria, the parade marks the beginning of the Christmas season for many in the community.
The Hammond Chamber of Commerce is proud to bring the Christmas parade to the Hammond community. Not only is it a fun, family-oriented event, but a way to honor our merchants and vendors at the beginning of the holiday season.
Mitch Rotolo, owner of the Italian restaurant chain, has chosen the theme “All I want for Christmas is…” for this year’s parade. Knowing this theme could lend itself to a wide array of float ideas, Rotolo is encouraging all participants to have fun and be creative. As the sponsor of this year’s parade, he also hints that there will be some fun things in store for all of the attendees.
As this...
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By Dawn Sharpe on
11/5/2009 7:47 AM
The Office of the Lt. Governor, the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, and the Office of Cultural Development announced the first annual Louisiana Culture Awards. The focus of this awards program is to recognize individuals and organizations making outstanding contributions to the cultural industries in Louisiana. This award highlights the best in Louisiana and is an opportunity to showcase to the nation what makes Louisiana’s cultural economy soar.
The St. Tammany Parish Chambers’ Joint Cultural Economy Committee was honored to be the recipient of this award. The committee’s program of work consisted of four subcommittees: Awareness & Outreach, Coalition Building, Business Support and Public Policy. The committee serves as a pipeline effort to create awareness, and encourage artists, musicians and persons who support the cultural economy to join the Chambers through services offered to help businesses succeed. It was formed based on input from Chamber membership businesses, along with...
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