BATON ROUGE
Wednesday, May 13, 2008
Keeping It Zipped
National onlookers might be impressed with
the ethics of Gov. Bobby Jindal, but here at
home his administration is earning a reputation
for being anything but transparent.
By Jeremy Alford
While the two men can usually talk circles
around most of their opponents, Jimmy Faircloth
and Johnny Koch were evenly matched in a
recent standoff in the state Capitol's
sub-basement hallway. The channel cuts
through a series of House committee rooms,
and more than one passerby stopped to
eavesdrop as Faircloth raised his voice and his
face took on a deep shade of red.
CLICK here to read more...
Wednesday, May 13, 2008
Keeping It Zipped
National onlookers might be impressed with
the ethics of Gov. Bobby Jindal, but here at
home his administration is earning a reputation
for being anything but transparent.
By Jeremy Alford
While the two men can usually talk circles
around most of their opponents, Jimmy Faircloth
and Johnny Koch were evenly matched in a
recent standoff in the state Capitol's
sub-basement hallway. The channel cuts
through a series of House committee rooms,
and more than one passerby stopped to
eavesdrop as Faircloth raised his voice and his
face took on a deep shade of red.
CLICK here to read more...
ACADIANA
Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006
Dudley LeBlanc and the Hadacol Boogie
Thirty-five years after his death, Dudley J.
LeBlanc and his magical elixir remain larger
than life.By Jeremy Alford
By Jeremy Alford
"Two months ago I couldn't read nor write. I took
four bottles of Hadacol, and now I'm teaching
school."
— A 1949 radio testimonial for Louisiana's
famous cure-all medicine.
A clown dressed in a police uniform stumbles
around on stage and makes his way into the
audience. A spotlight follows the ensuing folly as
every time the clown takes an energetic step, an
oversized bottle of Hadacol nearly jumps out of
his pocket. He reaches quickly for the tonic and
helps himself to a healthy swig. His massive
glasses glow in the evening shade with each
pull on the bottle. It's obvious that this is one
drunken clown, and he's soon joined by another
inebriated fellow whose nose lights up when he
takes sips. The crowd — children and adults —
loves it and screams into the night air.
CLICK here to read more...
Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006
Dudley LeBlanc and the Hadacol Boogie
Thirty-five years after his death, Dudley J.
LeBlanc and his magical elixir remain larger
than life.By Jeremy Alford
By Jeremy Alford
"Two months ago I couldn't read nor write. I took
four bottles of Hadacol, and now I'm teaching
school."
— A 1949 radio testimonial for Louisiana's
famous cure-all medicine.
A clown dressed in a police uniform stumbles
around on stage and makes his way into the
audience. A spotlight follows the ensuing folly as
every time the clown takes an energetic step, an
oversized bottle of Hadacol nearly jumps out of
his pocket. He reaches quickly for the tonic and
helps himself to a healthy swig. His massive
glasses glow in the evening shade with each
pull on the bottle. It's obvious that this is one
drunken clown, and he's soon joined by another
inebriated fellow whose nose lights up when he
takes sips. The crowd — children and adults —
loves it and screams into the night air.
CLICK here to read more...
NEW ORLEANS
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008
A Political Wind
Bolstered by the gusts of hurricanes past, Gustav is
sending another surge of change across Louisiana's
political landscape.
By Jeremy Alford
You can't reason with hurricane season. Windell Curole
knows this all too well. Nonetheless, he questions
Mother Nature. Can she be that brutal? Will the wind and
rain destroy our communities? Curole, the levee director
for both Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, where
Hurricane Gustav made landfall last week, is
accustomed to such ponderings.
But on this particular Sunday, just hours before Gustav's
expected arrival, Curole is having a particularly difficult
time reasoning with the weather. "It just doesn't make
sense to me," he says while driving to a local hospital to
ride out the storm. "I look all around me and everything is
green. The water is beautiful. It's hard to imagine a huge
wall of water is about to come and take it all away."
CLICK here to read more...
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008
A Political Wind
Bolstered by the gusts of hurricanes past, Gustav is
sending another surge of change across Louisiana's
political landscape.
By Jeremy Alford
You can't reason with hurricane season. Windell Curole
knows this all too well. Nonetheless, he questions
Mother Nature. Can she be that brutal? Will the wind and
rain destroy our communities? Curole, the levee director
for both Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, where
Hurricane Gustav made landfall last week, is
accustomed to such ponderings.
But on this particular Sunday, just hours before Gustav's
expected arrival, Curole is having a particularly difficult
time reasoning with the weather. "It just doesn't make
sense to me," he says while driving to a local hospital to
ride out the storm. "I look all around me and everything is
green. The water is beautiful. It's hard to imagine a huge
wall of water is about to come and take it all away."
CLICK here to read more...
SHREVEPORT
Wednesday April 2, 2008
What’s Cooking at the Capitol
Shreveport lawmakers have returned to Baton Rouge
for another legislative session and there’s no shortage
of local issues to stir the pot.
By Jeremy Alford
To be certain, Rep. Patrick Williams has been wearing
his walking shoes, and for very good reason. The rookie
lawmaker from Shreveport, a staunch Democrat, decided
to start off his first regular session of the Louisiana
Legislature by walking from his hometown to Baton
Rouge – a 226-mile journey. It kicked off on March 20,
with officials from Caddo Parish in tow, trailed by a
reporter from The New York Times and camera crews
from KSLA and KTBS. The media, however, only hung in
there for 20 minutes on the first day, Williams says, when
roughly 26 miles were chalked up.
While it might be a dog-and-pony show, Williams
contends the walk is being held to draw attention to the
basic needs like education, health care and jobs. The
regular session, which convened this week, will surely
address all of these issues, but it’s uncertain what might
actually be accomplished. Williams knows as much,
which is why he’s pushing everyone from Gov. Bobby
Jindal, a Republican, to his fellow members of the
Legislature, to take the matters seriously. “The urgency
is now,” he says. “We have an opportunity to make a
huge difference. I don’t want us to lose this chance to not
only draw attention to the needs of our people but enact
real change to improve our lives.”
THE REMAINDER of this article was published in the
04.02.08 edition of the Shreveport Forum News.
Wednesday April 2, 2008
What’s Cooking at the Capitol
Shreveport lawmakers have returned to Baton Rouge
for another legislative session and there’s no shortage
of local issues to stir the pot.
By Jeremy Alford
To be certain, Rep. Patrick Williams has been wearing
his walking shoes, and for very good reason. The rookie
lawmaker from Shreveport, a staunch Democrat, decided
to start off his first regular session of the Louisiana
Legislature by walking from his hometown to Baton
Rouge – a 226-mile journey. It kicked off on March 20,
with officials from Caddo Parish in tow, trailed by a
reporter from The New York Times and camera crews
from KSLA and KTBS. The media, however, only hung in
there for 20 minutes on the first day, Williams says, when
roughly 26 miles were chalked up.
While it might be a dog-and-pony show, Williams
contends the walk is being held to draw attention to the
basic needs like education, health care and jobs. The
regular session, which convened this week, will surely
address all of these issues, but it’s uncertain what might
actually be accomplished. Williams knows as much,
which is why he’s pushing everyone from Gov. Bobby
Jindal, a Republican, to his fellow members of the
Legislature, to take the matters seriously. “The urgency
is now,” he says. “We have an opportunity to make a
huge difference. I don’t want us to lose this chance to not
only draw attention to the needs of our people but enact
real change to improve our lives.”
THE REMAINDER of this article was published in the
04.02.08 edition of the Shreveport Forum News.
JEREMY ALFORD louisiana stories
