Anniversary Of An Urban Victory
Fifty years ago, New Orleans saved it historic district and in doing so set an example for other American cities. Though some did not heed. Salvation came from an unlikely source but the one that counted the most. On…
The Editor's Room
Nick Saban And Me
As we brace ourselves for the annual LSU/Alabama smash down this Saturday I am reminded of my brush with former LSU coach Nick Saban in 2008. My timing was bad. I was driving from New Orleans to Marksville. Heading west…
Anniversary of a Scandal: The Saga of Louisiana's First Imprisoned Governor
He was a former governor of Louisiana. The Feds were after him and some of his cronies. And he would go to jail. This year is the 80th anniversary of…
Learning From Morgus The Magnificent
Last night, Morgus the Magnificent had a rare live appearance, speaking before an adoring crowd at the Orpheum Theater. Because my flight from Transylvania was late, I was not able to attend, however his appearance prompted me to dust off…
Roffignac – The Mayor and The Cocktail
Compared to the guillotine, moving to Louisiana didn’t seem to be such a bad choice. That was the plight of Count Louis Philippe Joseph de Roffignac, a native…
Jacques Chirac: New Orleans Days Of A Future President
Except for Andrew Jackson, we’re not sure any future President of a nation spent as much time in New Orleans as Jacques Chirac, who was chief executive of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac, who died last week (Sept.…
Elvis On The Hayride
Standing on the stage at Shreveport’s legendary Municipal Auditorium, Winston Hall, a musician and tour guide with a passion for the city’s music legacy, pointed to a spot on the floor, right up front in the center. The auditorium…
Hank Williams' Louisiana Links
Expect for there to be an upswing in interest for country music over the next few weeks as PBS presents producer Ken Burns’ latest series, this one about country music. Segments include one about the music’s greatest performer and…
Do You Still Think About It? I Do.
Last May I was attending a conference in Minneapolis. One morning I was in a breakfast buffet line when a man across from me, whom I did not know, looked up from his pancakes and asked a question that…
Farewell Zephyrs/Cakes
This is the last week of home games for the Triple-A baseball franchise formerly known as the Zephyrs then changed to the Baby Cakes. After a homestand against Memphis, the team will finish the season in Oklahoma City. After…
The Pilot and the Passenger
When I last talked to Franklin Augustus the occasion was a party to commemorate the life of a minority pilot who perished while flying. Augustus was the pilot of the two person aircraft in which he and news anchor…
A Man And His Pies: The Hubig's Debate
Arthur Nead knew instinctively what to do when he heard the news. It was Friday morning, July 27. 2012 and the word was spreading that there had been…
Should We Try Again With Hurricane Modification?
We have wondered this about warts, colds and crabgrass and now each time a hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico we ask the same about the storms, “why can’t they make them go away?” In fact, “they” have tried.…
Maria vs. The Boys
This being the week of the Major League All-Star game brings to mind one of those moments when baseball worked its magic. It happened during a Zephyrs’ game (back when the team was still called by that name) several…
England Swings: Bonding For Britain
In this the week of our nation’s annual celebration of independence from England I am feeling sorry for the mother country. England’s historic greatness cannot be denied but the country is now at war with itself over the Brexit…
Goodbye Newhouses; And Now The Change
If you’re nostalgic about these kinds of things keep your editions of The Times-Picayune this week, or at least save next Sunday’s copy because that will be the last edition of the newspaper printed in the Newhouse era. Beginning…
Parade Unrest: Making Moves in Jefferson Parish
There were two revealing news stories about Carnival coming out of Jefferson Parish last week. One came from a report in The Times-Picayune based on a public records request. The report gave results of the Mike Yenni administration’s review…
Parading In The Summer: What We Learned From The Nyx Plan
Seldom has a non-event provided so many examples of what not to do. There were plenty reasons for the Krewe of Nyx’s proposal to stage a summer parade in July to be dismissed. LaToya Cantrell did the right thing…
Nyx On Parade
Last week, the Krewe of Nyx announced that it would break Carnival tradition by staging a summer version of its parade to be held in July in addition to its regular Carnival season march. This was supposed to be…
The Advocate Buys The Picayune
On a weekday afternoon in June 2012 Allen Toussaint drove his vintage Cadillac into the parking lot at Rock and Bowl on South Carrollton Avenue where anxious fans escorted him to a keyboard placed on a makeshift stage. Toussaint…
Top 5 Live Music Peeves
In this the year’s biggest month of music here’s my list of "Five Top Live Music Peeves." Just to be dramatic, they're listed in ascending order from five to number one. 5. Performers who introduce one of their standards by…
A Quirky But Holy Good Friday Stop
I once had a conversation with Tom Benson about the neighborhood where he grew up. His parish church was Our Lady Star of the Sea located on St. Roch Street, not far from St. Claude Avenue, in Bywater. Benson…
Zephyr Stories
Last week the team formerly known as the New Orleans Zephyrs but now called the Baby Cakes opened what will likely be its final season here. The franchise, so it has been announced, will be moving to Wichita, Kansas where…
Tennessee's Brother
Legends of Dakin Williams
The Editor's Room
Weekly Commentary with New Orleans Magazine’s Errol Laborde
about
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.
