What’s Up?

Jindal’s new view?

Residents of Lake Towers apartments can stop praying for rain. State officials, who last month announced their plan to wait until rainwater recovered the unsightly garbage that was exposed after two feet of water were drained from Capitol Lake, reversed course and promised that prison labor would soon be used to remove most of the trash. This snapshot is of a litter-strewn portion of Capitol Lake across from the Governor’s Mansion. Contractors drained the lake while installing a new drainage system to help prevent erosion, but the procedure exposed a gaggle of trash and debris—including several rusting shopping carts not pictured here—that sat uncollected for weeks in the heart of our state government and within site of the Governor’s Mansion.

“I think the attitude of waiting for rain to cover up the mess, instead of cleaning up the trash is an example of the laissez-faire attitude Louisiana is known for,” says Alexis Carrasquel, an LSU librarian whose living room looks out onto the lake. “With all of the focus being placed on rejuvenating downtown, it is surprising that this trash wasn’t cleaned up.”

You can’t handle the truthiness

Faux-political pundit Stephen Colbert may have dropped his presidential bid after being ousted from the ballot in his native South Carolina, but local businessman David Applegate still shows support. Last spring Applegate’s “Free Paris Hilton” display caused a minor stir on Government Street, not to mention slower traffic. Now the AIM Inc. owner and his daughter Diane are using their balcony to show support for Colbert. “His over-the-top, extremist viewpoint is pretty attractive just as complete sarcasm,” Diane says. “There aren’t enough flag-o-philes in today’s media.” Applegate’s ultimate goal? To lure someone from The Colbert Report to the Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade.

It’s like a Red Stick thing, daddy-oh

Wham-O’s favorite kids toy that started an American fad in 1958 actually started right here in Baton Rouge with a new polyethylene plastic called Grex. The ExxonMobil Polyolefins plant founded in 1957 as W.R. Grace & Co. recently celebrated its 50th birthday, which coincides with the birth of the hula hoop it helped create. Wham-O moved a ridiculous 25 million hoops in its first quarter of sales, and the Baton Rouge plant manufactured the resin for each one. “I remember when the craze hit,” says then-operator Joe Fudge, now 69, and still an ExxonMobil employee. “It was definitely significant enough to allow this place to get on its feet and grow. Yep, us and the hula hoop were a good match.”

Denim pride

Local artist Jill Mulkey designed the custom paint job on these NASCAR-themed blue jeans to make a commercial for John Spain II’s Three Wide Life auto racing show a little more stylish. Spain filmed the spot in Mulkey’s backyard using local models. Mulkey, whose work often leaps from canvas to denim, says her wearable work is set to roll out in select local boutiques this month. She takes orders via [email protected].