Louisiana Insider Louisiana Insider

 Ramon Vargas, a former reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and now an editor/reporter for the London-based publication The Guardian, has for several years been covering sex scandals mostly between adult educator authority figures and school age youth. Most of his work has centered around the Roman Catholic church in the New Orleans area but has wider implications. Recently, information released by the Louisiana State police who gained access to what has been private documents, has opened shocking revelations of new charges many made by alleged former victims. Vargas joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, to talk about what was learned from the affidavits including what church officials might have known but not revealed.

 

Don’t you hate it when three alligator brothers will not listen to each other when trying to find a safe place to build a home? The reason: Well, two of the brothers, Bumpy and Lumpy, ignore the other brother, Stumpy, who they think has a big mouth and who always reminds his siblings that he knows better. If you think Stumpy has problems, there is a story about Wilbur, the neighborhood sheep, who is ignored because his ideas are always very unsheep-like. Such is a day in the menagerie of Leslie (Hebert) Helakowski, a Lafayette native who divides her time in Michigan writing nationally-acclaimed children’s books – 15 so far. She joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with Producer Kelly Massicot, to talk about the art of appealing to children through story telling. Will anyone ever listen to Lumpy? And does Wilbur have any credibility at all? These and other questions can be answered by getting to know Leslie and her books.

In 1984, New Orleans hosted the Louisiana World’s Exposition, known more simply as the world’s fair. Through the years the evaluations have been similar – the fair was financially challenging but the locals loved it. Peggy Scott Laborde, a producer for public TV station WYES, was at the time a co-host and producer for WDSU TV Ch. 6’s coverage from the fair. She has since done a documentary on the event, as well as a follow-up featuring some of the people involved with the event. She joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, to recall the fair’s many great memories as well as the hardships. The interview also looks into the future and at the possible great legacies from the fair still ahead.

Secretive Men’s organizations –º such as the Free Masons, Elks, Odd Fellows and many more – did not originate just for the sake of privacy. In many cases they had a social purposes such as providing health and security benefits for themselves at a time when neither government nor private enterprise provided much of either. Some groups were also a source of business and social connections.

Jari Honora, an historian and genealogist who curated an exhibit for the Historic New Orleans Collection entitled Mystery and Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art, joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, to discuss the organizations, which had a strong presence in New Orleans as well as globally.

In New Orleans and Mobile the structure of the groups even had an influence on Carnival krewes. The groups also left a strong architectural presence either through their lodges; office buildings and memorial sites. The interview offers a rare opportunity to peer inside the world of secrecy.

Louisiana’s longest running weekly news TV program celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. During that time topics have included the Katrina recovery; the David Duke vs. Edwin Edwards gubernatorial runoff; a World’s Fair; the ups and downs of the economy; crime and even the Saints magical season. Marcia Kavanaugh, the WYES TV show’s longtime host, joins Errol Laborde, the program’s producer as well as "Louisiana Insider" host and executive editor of Louisiana Life, to discuss 40 years of big stories as well as top newsmakers.

Words are for reading, but sometimes it is good to pause and have a word or two about words themselves: how they are used; where they have taken us. Louisiana Life magazine Editor Reine Dugas joins Louisiana Life’s Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, to discuss Southern literature and who have been some of the best practitioners. They also discuss the art of writing, as well as the future of the book industry and some of their own writing tips.

(They might have added a list of cliches that should be avoided “like the plague.”)