Once a year, LSU economist Dr. Loren Scott comes to Lake Charles to deliver his economic forecast. He just presented the outlook for the 2024-25 business year in a speech at the McNeese Seed Center.
“This is one of the more optimistic forecasts I’ve ever put out for Lake Charles,” said Scott, in a story reported by KPLC-TV. “The good news is … we actually have Lake Charles being the fastest growing metropolitan area in the state; there’s nine of them, and we have y’all ranked number one in percentage terms.”
The question of how much the Lake Charles economy will benefit from liquified natural gas “really depends very heavily on two to three or four LNG projects pulling the trigger and saying we’re going to build,” said Scott. “If none of them pull the trigger, then my forecast would be way too optimistic … ”
Louisiana, said Scott, can make natural gas significantly cheaper than Europe and Asia can. “So what is happening is a lot of these firms are moving from Europe and Asia to south Louisiana and southeast Texas to take advantage of the abundance of natural gas and the cheap natural gas … That’s probably one of the biggest things that happened in the last 10 years.”
Scott says this area has received more money for roadwork than any other in the state. “The primary reason for that is $1.5 billion for the new bridge … I know thatthat’s kind of up in the air right now, but at least you’ve … got a lot of money there, and I think that’s going to be very good for the area,” said Scott.
‘Without Criticism From Admins’
I know some of you are familiar with the SWLA Restaurant News & Reviews page on Facebook. If you are not, you can take my word for it that it is phenomenally popular. A guy can write that he got a little too many pickles or not enough ketchup on his drive-thru burger and before you know it, he has 1,400 local comments on his post. Given the sheer amount of posting that goes on, I think it is not an exaggeration to state that some folks around here must spend at least a couple of hours a day on the site.
Someone recently started a Facebook page called “SWLA Restaurant News and Reviews: Uncensored!” I must say that daring exclamation “Uncensored!” makes quite a statement. Facebook users are told that the new page is “a great place to leave your review for local restaurants without criticism from Admins.”
“Without criticism from Admins.” Hmm. So these new folks want to ratchet up the level of excitement. Now you can rage against the slowness of your local drive-through without ever being censored by anyone other than Mark Zuckerberg. I’m not sure just what the admins — excuse me, “Admins” — have done that is so horrible. But at any rate, the shackles appear to have been thrown off now.
I know censorship can certainly occur. I’ve been smacked down a couple of times by the heavy hand of Facebook without ever having the slightest idea of what I’m supposed to have done wrong. What’s the point of having rules if you don’t know when you’re breaking them?
The two Facebook pages about local restaurants that are under discussion are just a couple of indicators of the area’s passionate reverence for restaurant food. Another indicator is the near hysteria that was experienced throughout Southwest Louisiana’s cyber community when it became known that a KFC on Ryan Street had closed.
One media outlet in SWLA promoted the story with this headline: “All KFC locations here in Southwest Louisiana are CLOSED. Here’s what we know … “ The dramatic tension of the placement of the word “CLOSED” in all capitals is only heightened by the promise of startling news updates held out by the dramatic statement “Here’s what we know …” It’s just as if some network news anchor were reporting on the early stages of the eruption of Mount St. Helens or the collapse of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
Still, Twitter (or X, if you prefer) revealed that Lafayette is no better than Lake Charles when it comes to all this. Station KATC TV 3 actually emailed the KFC corporation to ask “Can you tell us why KFC locations in Louisiana closed abruptly? We have emailed your media team and have yet to receive a response.”
I think it would be funny if somebody from KFC emailed back “Can you tell us why you care?”
‘Let’s Be Very Cautious’
If you feel that you have been noticing flashing yellow turn signals at area intersections in recent weeks, you are not imagining things. The state Dept. of Transportation is upgrading 1,200 traffic signals in Louisiana to add the flashing yellow arrows.
DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallett said a yellow flashing turn arrow lets motorists know they should yield to oncoming traffic when they’re turning left. “It’s a safety mechanism because turning left is a tricky maneuver for many drivers. The flashing yellow gives more of a warning then the green bulb.”
Bradley University conducted a research study of the matter and found that flashing yellow arrows reduce left turn-related crashes by 32 percent. Mallet says hundreds of intersections in Louisiana have thus far been equipped with the new turn signals. “Currently, there are more than 900 installed across the state. And we’re looking to install 350 more.”
The $11-million project is upgrading traffic signals to four options: red, yellow, flashing yellow arrow and green. Mallet says the new configuration will help motorists think more carefully about oncoming traffic.
“The flashing yellow is more of a way to communicate with the drivers that you need to be careful here. Yellow means caution. The flashing yellow will grab your attention — so if you’re turning left right here, let’s be very cautious.”
The project is expected to be completed in two years.
Welsh Halloween Fest
The Halloween Fest of downtown Welsh will take place Oct. 29 from 12:30 to 3 pm. Festival highlights will include a pumpkin painting contest, cupcake decorating, Halloween ceramics painting, face painting, hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy. Those who wish to can take part in the costume contest. And any who’d like to celebrate the occasion by taking photos can avail themselves of the photo OP area.
Halloween celebrants may want to begin their festival day with a stop at Welsh’s Red Cardinal Desserts, which is the sponsor of Halloween Fest.
New Date For Special Olympics
The date of the Jeff Davis Parish Special Olympics has been changed. The new date is Friday, Oct. 27. Games begin at 8:30 am and continue until noon at the Welsh High School Football Stadium at 306 Bourgeois St. Youth in third through 12th grades will compete. Horseshoes and bocce ball will be highlights of these fall games.
I Still Don’t Know What It Means
About a year ago, I wrote in this column about an art event titled “Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-body Belonging” that was taking place at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. I wrote at the time that I did not understand what the title meant.
Here we are a year later, and the very same art event is coming to the Acadiana Center. And I still don’t know what the title means.
But, after a brief visit to the website of the Acadiana Center for the Arts at 101 W. Vermilion St. in Lafayette, I can tell you that this event is “a multidimensional evening-length dance production that confronts and celebrates heritage, resilience, justice and hope.” If that appeals to you, just show up at 7:30 pm on Oct. 26 and lay down the admission price of $15.
Gothic Jail Haunted House
In other Halloween news, the haunted Gothic Jail of DeRidder is, as usual, receiving many visitors from inside and outside the area. During the Halloween scene, the jail is the site of a much-frequented haunted house.
On Halloween night, the jail will be open from 6 to 9:30 pm. You can also stop by between 7:30 and 11:30 pm on Oct. 27 and 28. Admission is $20.
At the jail, you will undoubtedly be told about the prisoner who was executed in an unusual hanging at the top of the stairway. Guides may also show you the photograph of the ghost of a former jailor said to have appeared on the porch of the jail. The figure in the photo, which doesn’t look quite like the conventional human being, appears to be an elderly man with a very long white beard. You can see the photo at hauntednation.blogspot.com. The site also has tape recordings of three ghosts that paranormal investigators claim to have heard talking at the jail.
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