In a May 19 article, the Louisiana Budget Project made the bold statement that “Louisiana was less prepared for a recession than any other state in the nation before the COVID-19 pandemic.” The reasons were that “Louisiana relies heavily on tourism and the oil and gas industry to drive its economy.”
To support its position, the Louisiana Budget Project cited The Washington Post’s David Montgomery and Richard A. Webster, who wrote the following in their profile of Louisiana’s condition at the time:
“’The virus has crushed the broader economy [in Louisiana], but nowhere has the damage been more severe than in travel, tourism and energy,’ said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. He called the pandemic ‘a two-black-swan event’ for Louisiana, with New Orleans also being one of the earliest hot spots of coronavirus infections in the United States. ‘A lot of infections, on top of a collapse in tourism/travel, and the complete wipeout in the energy sector — that’s pretty cataclysmic,’ Zandi said. ‘I can’t think of another place that’s been nailed that hard.’”
Hero Elementary
Louisiana Public Broadcasting recently premiered the new animated PBS Kids program Hero Elementary. The series aims to give children ages 4 to 7 the tools they need to solve problems by teaching them how to think and act like scientists and by igniting their natural curiosity and empathy.
The stories in Hero Elementary center around a team of “super students” called Sparks’ Crew — Lucita Sky, A.J. Gadgets, Sara Snap and Benny Bubbles, who are led by their quirky and enthusiastic teacher, Mr. Sparks. Together, they help people solve problems and try to make the world a better place. When their imperfect powers aren’t up to the task, they look to the “superpowers of science” to help them investigate, observe, make predictions and figure out a solution.
“We have carved out a unique hero universe for young kids that uses all the excitement of the superhero genre to empower them to solve problems by actively doing science,” says Carol-Lynn Parente, co-creator and executive producer of Hero Elementary. “Our kid heroes are a diverse team, still learning how to save the day. The excitement for the audience is finding out the superpowers of science are powers anyone can use to solve a problem.” You can watch the show during its regular time slot: weekdays at 7 am.
Thank The Lord For Small Favors
I don’t know whether it’s just coincidence, but since the time when the quarantine for COVID-19 began, I haven’t had to watch a single Peloton commercial.
The Lafayette Guerillas
Many people think that when Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant in the Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April 9, 1865, the Civil War was effectively over. In fact, there was still a lot of business that had to be attended to. Among that business was the assassination of President Lincoln and the attempt to dispense justice to those involved (and in doing so, stave off potential large-scale civil unrest).
But one of the biggest concerns of federal (or Union) strategists was that angry Confederates would use the geography of the South to stage a guerilla war that might go on for years.
Louisiana was considered a prime spot for likely Confederate guerilla activity.
In an article in the latest issue of 64 Parishes magazine, “Guerilla Warfare in Civil War Louisiana,” author Samuel C. Hyde asserts that guerilla opposition both north and south of Lafayette was so hot that federal troops were forced to confine themselves mostly to urban areas in Lafayette. As might be expected, there was widespread looting of area plantations by federal troops. What might surprise some is that both blacks and whites were looted.
Call For Entries
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art has opened the call for entries for the museum’s annual juried exhibition, which is titled Louisiana Contemporary.
Louisiana Contemporary is open to all artists 18 and older who reside in Louisiana. All work must be original and must have been completed in the period 2018 to 2020. You’ll need to submit your online entries by 11:59 pm on Friday, June 26. Mailed entries must be postmarked by the same date.
Notification that entries have been accepted will be sent through email to all applicants the week of July 20. The exhibition is expected to open to the public Saturday, Sept. 5. It will be in place until Feb. 7.
First, second and third place award recipients will receive cash prizes. The Helis Foundation Art Prize will be presented to a fourth artist.
Ogden Museum launched Louisiana Contemporary in 2012 to establish a vehicle that would bring the work of artists living in Louisiana to the forefront of public attention. Since the inaugural exhibition, the Ogden Museum has shown 394 artists. Submit artwork at ogdenmuseum.org/exhibition/louisianacontemporary2020/.
Resiliency
The Silicon Bayou Collaborative is made up of three groups: NexusLA, which was formed by the Louisiana Legislature to diversify the “innovation economy” in Louisiana; Lafayette’s Opportunity Machine, which provides business education to startup founders and small business owners; and the Idea Village, a New Orleans-based nonprofit founded for the purpose of supporting regional startups.
During the COVID quarantine period, the Silicon Bayou Collaborative presented an online series titled “Resiliency,” which focused on the ways in which small businesses could stay resilient in the face of adversity.
The panel-based series, which was hosted online, featured entrepreneurs who have weathered significant crises, such as hurricanes or past economic downturns.
If you missed the series but would like to see what advice it had to offer, go to YouTube and search for “Resiliency Series 2020.” You’ll get a selection of videos of 12 sessions, which range in length from 5 minutes to 1 hour.
Chuck Talks
The Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau has started a new Facebook Live show called Chuck Talks. The show will present a series of interviews with local and state personalities.
Three of the first four interviews were with key figures in Southwest Louisiana: Zydeco performer and Lake Charles native Sean Ardoin; Jack Daniel’s chef Lyle Broussard; and Eric Avery and Krickett Racca of Crying Eagle Brewing Co. The fourth interview was with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser.
You can see old episodes on your computer or cell phone any time you like. The “Visit Lake Charles” page on Facebook can keep you apprised of upcoming guests on Chuck Talks. The page has a link to the Chuck Talks at the beginning of its Videos section. You can also go to visitlakecharles.org; click the “Media” tab at the top of the page and then click “Chuck Talks” in the list that pops up.
Charlotte’s Web
The Alexandria Museum of Art has been running an online Charlotte’s Web Book Club. At the end of May, the club was up to chapter 18 of the book. If you need to catch up, check out the museum’s YouTube channel to get access to previous chapters.
Those who would like to check out an eReader copy of Charlotte’s Web are invited to visit the Rapides Public Library’s website and check out a copy. Don’t have a library card? No worries. During this time, the library is offering everyone a virtual library card.
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