No, Don Henley: News isn’t always ‘dirty laundry’

You’ve all probably heard the old saying about newspapers and local newscasts, that “if it bleeds, it leads,” meaning that only blood and tragedy draws attention. Or you know the old Don Henley song “Dirty Laundry,” where he excoriates the newsman’s supposed attitude that “it’s interesting when people die … Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?”

Well, Louisianans don’t need to fall for that. Here, we celebrate life and joy within and despite tragedies. And our coverage in the pages of this newspaper show an appreciation that good news isn’t just for suckers.

Each of the following items probably merits a full column of its own, but for now, let’s just notice some of the stories we can celebrate, several of which made it into our “most popular” list of articles online.

And no, this isn’t just about the Empire State Building turning purple and gold in honor of the LSU Tigers’ national baseball title.

Swamp

Start with the final $60 million, for a $500 million project, coming from the RESTORE council for restoration of the Maurepas Swamp between Blind River, Lake Maurepas and the towns of Gramercy, Garyville and Reserve. Until loggers culled millions of cypress trees more than a century ago, much of southern Louisiana consisted of forested wetlands. Now, though, the 45,000 acres of the Maurepas Swamp (a pittance of the territory once bejeweled with those noble trees) is one of the largest forested wetlands in the country….

Youth recreation

Downriver in New Orleans, meanwhile, recreational activities involving organized games (rather than wild game) are getting a big boost from the state government, in partnership with numerous civic groups and with the University of New Orleans. Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration is providing $1.95 million to renovate UNO ballfields, pools and gyms for swimming, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, tennis and flag football….. [And much, much more]…. [The full column is at this link.]