{"id":7202,"date":"2018-02-01T07:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=7202"},"modified":"2018-01-31T12:11:13","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T18:11:13","slug":"culture-and-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2018\/02\/01\/culture-and-eagles\/","title":{"rendered":"Culture And Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Iberia is one of the places folks around here go when they want to experience Louisiana coastal culture without going too far afield. Tailor-made for these folks is the upcoming Preserve Louisiana Tour: Cajun Land, which promises \u201ca Cultural & Architectural Tour to New Iberia\u201d from Friday, Feb. 16-Sunday, Feb. 18.<\/p>\n

Over the three-day period, participants will have the options of visiting the Tabasco Factory (left) and Jungle Gardens; the Shadows On the Teche Plantation; the Bayou Teche Museum; the Joseph Jefferson House and Rip Van Winkle Gardens; the Evangeline Tree and Monument and the Museum of the Acadian Memorial.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Given that this is a coastal Cajun event, food is bound to be the main attraction for some. Dining options will include the Little River Inn, the Jefferson Caf\u00e9 and Landry\u2019s. Diners can also enjoy the live show, meanwhile, back at Caf\u00e9 Du Monde \u2026 at the Antique Rose Ville. Along for the tour will be Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, author of the play, in which area \u201cfoodies\u201d discuss their favorite foods and food experiences.<\/p>\n

Single tickets are $675; double tickets $1,150. Before you develop too intense a case of sticker shock, be aware that those prices include all transportation, a two-night stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites, all meals, the tours and the live show.<\/p>\n

This is the second of these large-scale cultural tours. The first one, held last year, went to Natchez, Miss.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit preserve-louisiana.org.<\/p>\n

If you want a cultural experience that won\u2019t take as much of your time or money, consider going to a conversation between authors Tom Piazza and Jonathan Santlofer at Octavia Books at 513 Octavia St. in New Orleans on Jan. 30 at 6 pm. (No admission as far as I know.)<\/p>\n

Piazza is the author of the manifesto Why New Orleans Matters and was a principal writer for Treme. Santlofer has published five novels and received two National Endowment for the Arts Grants.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Atchafalaya bald eagle (Outpost USA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

More recently, the two have been working on a really big book titled It Occurs To Me That I Am America. This compilation of literature and art includes some of the major, major names: Louise Eldridge, Alice Walker, Julia Alvarez, Alice Hoffman, Paul Theroux and lots of others. The artists represented are just as prestigious; among them are Art Spiegelman, Roz Chast and Eric Fischl.<\/p>\n

Santlofer says the idea for the volume came as a reaction to the 2016 presidential election. The book, he says, \u201caims to address the anxiety that many Americans are feeling about losing the freedoms for which we\u2019ve fought; to remind us of America as an international symbol of hope; and considers the most basic notion of all: what it means to be an American.\u201d<\/p>\n

If your traveling interests tend more to nature than to manmade culture, there are tour guides in Morgan City who believe they can show you American Bald Eagles between Feb. 22-24. The annual Eagle Expo lets participants see, get close to and learn about a number of large birds.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 22 at 6:30 pm, a presentation at the Patterson Civic Center will feature a bald eagle as well as a falcon, hawk and black vulture.<\/p>\n

The next day, at a photography lecture by C.C. Lockwood, participants can learn how to photograph eagles. (Call 225-769-4766 to sign up for this special program.)<\/p>\n

On four different boat tours, you can see bald eagles in locales as various as the Atchafalaya Basin, Turtle Bayou, Lake Varret and Bayou Magazille. You may also see red-shouldered hawks, white ibis, blue herons, great egrets and others. On a fifth tour, you probably won\u2019t see any eagles, but will see the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge and its signature black bears.<\/p>\n

The event also includes a dinner, a breakfast and a series of seminars. You only pay for what you go to. To see the price schedule, visit Cajuncoast.com and search for \u201c13th<\/sup> Annual Eagle Expo & More\u201d or call 800-256-2931 or 985-380-8224.<\/p>\n

Many People Back At Work<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the time you read this issue, Southwest Louisiana\u2019s unofficial holiday for Christmas and New Year\u2019s will be drawing to a close. In fact, at this point, at least one employee has returned to work at nearly half of the Lake Area\u2019s businesses. The area is expected to reach full employment by Jan. 31 \u2014 just in time for the beginning of Southwest Louisiana\u2019s unofficial Mardi Gras holiday.<\/p>\n

If you want to get some good or service in the Lake Area before folks start taking off for Mardi Gras, your best chance will be on Jan. 30 from 10 am to noon. At that time, according to the Local Employee Participation Survey prepared by Trey Trey\u2019s Mud Emporium Economic Institute, a total of 83 percent of the Lake Area\u2019s employees will be working at their jobs. (Please note there is a margin of error of 3 to 4 percent in the survey.)<\/p>\n

Arcadia Publishing Books CHEAP!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One of the best series of books about Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana has come from Arcadia Publishing and its Images In America Series. Some of these books are two different volumes titled Lake Charles (one by Jessica Hutchins; one by Janet Allured and others); Imperial Calcasieu (Robert Benoit), Kenner (Troy A Broussard), Crowley (Ann Mire) and three different books on Rayne.<\/p>\n

If you hurry, you can get in on a sale that lets you buy three Arcadia titles for $20 during the month of January. A total of 904 Arcadia titles are part of this sale. And while that list of 904 doesn\u2019t include the books specifically about SWLA mentioned in the first paragraph, it does have some titles that might be of interest to the Southwest Louisiana audience, for example:<\/p>\n

Baton Rouge Cemeteries<\/p>\n

Bossier City<\/p>\n

The Galveston Buccaneers<\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s Courtland Place<\/p>\n

The Texas Hamburger (a survey of major Texas burgers).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a real American history buff, I can assure you you\u2019ll find topics you never heard of before in this list of 904. For instance, while one of the three books I ordered was New York in the Great Depression (obviously on a well-known topic), another was Outbreak in Washington, D.C.: The 1857 Mystery of the National Hotel Disease. Who knew? My third volume, Theatres of Portland, covers a historical topic I searched on site some years ago.<\/p>\n

These books originally cost $19.99 or more. I was surprised and pleased to learn there\u2019s no postage charge for this sale. To start looking through that long list, visit Arcadiapublishing.com.<\/p>\n

You Don\u2019t Say!<\/strong><\/p>\n

To date, I have a fairly positive impression of new Gov. John Bel Edwards. But I admit I don\u2019t always understand what he says. For instance, the Advocate\u2019s Elizabeth Crisp recently quoted the governor as saying, \u201cIf you cut over a billion dollars [from the Louisiana state budget], I can tell you, TOPS will not be fully funded.\u201d<\/p>\n

How\u2019s that for a statement of the obvious? Would it have been any more insightful for the governor to have said, \u201cIf you cut over a billion dollars, you\u2019re going to cut at least a penny from the education budget \u2014 and maybe two pennies\u201d?<\/p>\n

Perhaps Edwards was reminding everyone of the inevitable TOPS cuts to get the attention of legislators with wealthy supporters whose children are about to head to college. If so, I believe that play has been used before in the Louisiana Legislature. It didn\u2019t even get a first down.<\/p>\n

State\u2019s Sexual Harassment Tab Tops $1 Million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crisp and Mark Ballard also reported that in the last decade, Louisiana state gubment has paid \u201cnearly $1.3 million to settle sexual harassment claims.\u201d (Since the info the Advocate got was a \u201cpartial response\u201d to a request from the state\u2019s Dept. of Administration, I\u2019m going to guess for now that the figure could be higher than $1.3 million.)<\/p>\n

Payouts have included:<\/p>\n

\u2022 $150,000 for La. Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner Murphy Painter. (Painter strenuously objected to the state pay-out, claiming it harmed his reputation. After the allegations, Painter was fired. He\u2019s been sued several times.)<\/p>\n

\u2022 $89,000 for Frederick Tombar III, who was executive director of the La. Housing Corp. A La. Division of Administration Report concluded Tombar \u201cclearly established a pattern of sexual harassment and [a] hostile work environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Courage Idusuyi was paid $85,000 by the state. Not only was he accused of long-term sexual harassment, he was also sued for \u201ctaking perks from contractors in exchange for preferential treatment for work tied to the federal flood education program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 $150,000 went to former Orleans Parish Juvenile Court judge David Bell. In addition to his sexual harassment woes, Bell is now heading to trial on a racketeering charge that relates to a Jefferson Parish car stealing operation.<\/p>\n

These are just the more colorful pay-outs. The list (or partial list) of recipients includes such traditionally non-powerful individuals as prison employees and a janitor supervisor. With their story (\u201cRecords: Louisiana paid $1.3 million to settle sexual harassment claims over the past decade \u2026\u201d), the journalists provide a detailed list of 28 settlements that includes such info as the names of the parties and the amounts of money involved. There is much discussion of Bel Edwards\u2019 former chief of staff Johnny Anderson. But as far as I can tell, the state hasn\u2019t yet paid any money for him.<\/p>\n

I wonder whether I\u2019m the only one who feels that the state government of Louisiana (or the state government of any state) should never pay even one thin dime to settle a sexual harassment charge against someone in state government. And if, for some reason, a state feels duty-bound to throw taxpayer money at dozens of people who\u2019ve been accused of sexual harassment, maybe it could at least hold off on the ones who\u2019ve also been accused of bid-rigging and racketeering. Just an idea.<\/p>\n

You Heard It Right<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the way, some of you may have heard a rumor that a teacher who objected to a raise for the Vermillion School Board president at the school board meeting was put in handcuffs and dragged out of the building. And you may have thought, \u201cWell, that\u2019s some kind of urban myth. It can\u2019t possibly be true.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true. The whole thing was filmed and it\u2019s all over the Internet.<\/p>\n

A word to the wise: in Louisiana, it\u2019s probably best to just stand quietly by and let those school board people vote themselves as many raises as they want to. Besides, what else are they going to do at school board meetings?<\/p>\n

The Twitter News<\/strong><\/p>\n

Believe it or not, this special section has nothing to do with Donald Trump. This time around, the Up Fronter will look at what some of the state\u2019s top journalists are Tweeting these days. This should give us a pretty good overview of what\u2019s most newsworthy in Louisiana right now.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201clol someone is shooting off fireworks in the hood\u201d \u2014 Chelsea Brasted, lead reporter for the Times-Picayune, Jan. 8.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cThis is a super-easy sewing project (or fabric glue project) that will keep your hands warm this winter.\u201d \u2014 FOX29 News, Jan. 8.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cYou might see snowflakes in Shreveport this week\u201d \u2014 The Shreveport Times, Jan. 9.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cBaton Rouge is getting \u2018I, Tanya\u2019 this weekend.\u201d \u2014 Matthew Sigur, Advocate journalist, Jan. 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Iberia is one of the places folks around here go when they want to experience Louisiana coastal culture without going too far afield. Tailor-made for these folks is the upcoming Preserve Louisiana Tour: Cajun Land, which promises \u201ca Cultural & Architectural Tour to New Iberia\u201d from Friday, Feb. 16-Sunday, Feb. 18. 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