For the first crisis, the enemy could not see; for the current crisis, we cannot see the enemy. Last time we were body-slammed as a society was due to a sight-impaired referee whose failure to see what the rest…
There are two things that many of us might like to have more of “faith” and “healing.” Mary Perrin can provide both. Perrin is a traiteuse, the Acadian equivalent of a faith healer. Working with herbs, plants and prayer traiteurs…
A relative recalls the day in the ‘60s when he was taken to the gym at St. Dominic’s school. There, a nurse carried around a tray filled with small cups; each cup contained a sugar cube. For kids already…
Natchitoches is one of Louisiana’s most charming towns. It is also the oldest continuing settlement having been discovered by French explorers, even before New Orleans. The region is known for its rich history, including having been the setting for the…
Imagine that you want to have a backyard barbecue but before you can you have to get the approvals of the city. An inspector visits, studies the situation, and after consultation issues a report. "Good news," he says, "you can…
Located in Keithville, Chimp Haven is the largest protected area for chimps in the country. Many of the residents were once owned by the federal government for research; others were pets. Now they all live a leisurely life, which…
Pub Note: Errol Laborde’s Blog, the Editor’s Room, recently won First Place in the News Blog category at the Press Club of New Orleans’ annual awards competition. This was the third time that Laborde has won that award. …
Now I guess is as good a time as any to resolve an issue and move on with our lives. Afterall, we have been through so much this year that we should get all of the controversies behind us and…
Warren Perrin might be referred to as a Cajun Activist. The Lafayette Attorney once petitioned Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain asking for a British apology for the deportation of the Acadian people. (The British did not apologize but they acknowledged…
Not much good can be said about 2020, but I will concede this, it was a good year for bananas, especially those grown in the backyard, maybe too good. When we first bought the house, I knew there was a…
I had just picked up a scoop from an undisclosed source and placed it in my mental file. The scoop was that President Richard Nixon had reluctantly agreed to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Watergate scandal. Nixon…
By law, the job of the Lieutenant Governor is not only to be ready when needed, but to also oversee the state’s tourism. COVID-19 has dropped many bombs on the industry and this week, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser talks…
NEW ORLEANS – On Thursday, Oct. 25, the Press Club of New Orleans virtually held its annual award ceremony. For the year, Renaissance Publishing won a total of 18 awards. First Place Awards: Tiffani Amedeo, New Orleans Magazine…
For all of you who are excited about the voting in the presidential election just remember one thing, electing a president is different than any other type of voting held in this country or elsewhere. Here’s the difference: An…
Louisiana has long inspired the artist finding natural beauty, Kings and Queens, Jazz roots and the passion of many cultures. Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life, along with podcast producer, Kelly Massicot, join guest John Kemp, art columnist…
Have you ever had a song keep rerunning in your mind? That’s happened to me lately. The song is by Louisianian Lucinda Williams who sings a bluesy, gravelly, gutsy style of country music. The song, which was released in…
Monroe, Louisiana is the town that put the pop in Coca Cola and is near prehistoric mounds and a crop duster service that turned into a major airline. Monroe and its sister city West Monroe are separated by the…
A friend who was in a high school band the day President John Kennedy came to New Orleans (May 4, 1962) recalled the excitement. As the motorcade wound its way up St. Charles Avenue, the band director looked over…
Save this column, it could be a collectors’ item. These words will attempt something seldom seen in journalism, and that is to identify the exact location of a place that did not exist. That, in itself, made the evidence more…
Lake Charles is close enough to Texas to the west to have a cowboy influence; close enough to the Atchafalaya to the east to have a Cajun influence and close enough to the swamps to the south to have…
Election years remind me of a friend who tells the story of once going camping with a buddy at Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas. The year was 1970 and all was quite except for the squawks of…
He grew up listening to swamp pop music. The only difference was that his Pop was one of the swamp poppers. This week’s Inside Louisiana podcast is a fun romp through the music that echoed across Louisiana during the…
We need to talk. Seriously. New Orleans is heading toward big trouble and it is going to take we citizens to save it. Last week, LSU economist Loren Scott delivered his annual Louisiana Economic Outlook address. Usually the speech is…
Several times Lake Pontchartrain has faced serious pollution issues and each time it has survived largely because the lake, when given a chance, has had the ability to cleanse itself. Once closed to public swimming, folks these days are…
I have come to realize, in this terrible year, what medical science has probably known all along but has been too shy to say: We all need football. Even those who do not like the game are benefitted by…
There are more legends about life along the Mississippi river than there are curves in its path. (Well, almost as many.) This week’s “Louisiana Insider” podcast examines the legends and the dynamics of the mightiest of rivers. Mary Ann…
The best of what is new in Louisiana is the subject of the latest edition of “Louisiana Insider.” This week Melanie Spencer, managing editor of Louisiana Life Magazine, joins us to celebrate the winners of La Nouvelle Louisiane awards…
Capitol Ideas Here’s a hint. The place is in Baton Rouge. OK, I guess you need more information, but first, what prompted this discussion? In this a year that best be forgotten, except maybe for LSU’s football trophy, there has…
I know a woman who tells the story that when she was a little girl, a long time ago, her family had a ritual of having dinner at Commander’s Palace every Friday night. “Oh no,” she and her siblings complained,…
Last week's news of the death of Morgus the Magnificent raises a question: Is it indeed possible for Morgus to have died? He spent so much of his life working on inventions to better the world we would have…
Errol Laborde holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans and is the editor-in-chief of Renaissance Publishing. In that capacity he serves as editor/associate publisher of New Orleans Magazineand editor/publisher ofLouisiana Life magazine.
Errol is also a producer and a regular panelist on Informed Sources, a weekly news discussion program broadcast on public television station WYES-TV, Channel 12. Errol is a three-time winner of the Alex Waller Award, the highest award given in print journalism by the Press Club of New Orleans. He also received the National and City Regional Magazine Association Award for Best Column for his New Orleans Magazine column, beating out 76 city magazines across the country. In 2013, Errol received the award for the "Best News Affiliated Blog," awarded by the Press Club of New Orleans.
Errol’s most recent books are Krewe: The Early Carnival from Comus to Zulu and Marched the Day God: A History of the Rex Organization. In his free time he enjoys playing tennis and traveling with his wife, Peggy, to anywhere they can get away to, but some of his favorite spots are the Caribbean and historic locations around Louisiana. You can reach Errol at (504) 830-7235 or errol@myneworleans.com.
