Whispers

Off to the races

The year is still young, but this fall’s political races are already heating up. New Roads Republican Martha Manuel is now organizing to oppose Sen. Rob Marionneaux for his state Senate seat. Both Metro Councilman Pat Culbertson and businessman Don Hidalgo are eyeing the seat of state Rep. Carl Crane. Also, Metro Councilman Mickey Skyring has expressed interest in the District 68 House seat that will be vacated by term-limited William Daniel. Skyring may conduct a poll soon to see how he stacks up against other District 68 candidates Kyle Ardoin and Jay Lyles, but says it will be a month or two before he makes a final decision. “I may just finish my Metro Council term and retire,” he said in mid-January. Skyring’s current council term expires at the end of 2008. And Metro Councilman Wayne “Spider” Carter is interested in challenging Ag Commissioner Bob Odom, who goes on trial soon on bribery charges. Carter, who insists that people are urging him to run, would face stiff competition from a fellow Republican, state Rep. Mike Strain.

In the presidential race, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has contacted chamber chairman Mike Polito about aiding his campaign. Polito said he is “considering the request.”

Flavor “fave”

According to music producer Fred Weaver, LSU defensive tackle Marlon Favorite recently visited his studio with local rap group, Black Vynym. The nearly 300-pound sophomore Tiger introduced himself as “Big Fave” then delivered one verse of a song alongside the group’s two main rappers. “They just laid down a bunch of vocals—mostly the other guys—and their manager guy never even called me again,” says Weaver. Favorite’s track remains unfinished.

Newsworthy nuptials

Whispers update: Local WBRZ-Channel 2 news anchor Andrea Clesi and financial advisor Wally McMakin of McMakin Financial tied the knot Dec. 30 at a small ceremony in the St. Joseph’s Academy Chapel, Rev. Jeff Bahi presiding. Dixon McMakin, Wally’s son, served as best man and Emily McMakin, Wally’s daughter, along with Clesi’s daughters Meredith Cranch and Jordan Cranch, stood on the bride’s side. In October, Whispers reported the couple, engaged since September, planned to wed sometime in June. When asked why they decided to push the date up, McMakin said, “When God whispers to your heart, why wait? As, John Wayne put it: You’re burning daylight.”

Hurricane survivor

Catch the new season of Survivor: Fiji, which kicks off Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. on CBS, and see 27-year-old Erica Durousseau of Baton Rouge compete for the million-dollar prize. Originally from Lake Charles, Durousseau moved to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Rita. She works in marketing at the American Heart Association in Baton Rouge. Also look for Boo Bernis of Lafayette, a fellow cast member.

Phantom Gallery

It looked like Baton Rouge Gallery was going to relocate temporarily while BREC started construction and renovations at its City Park golf course, but according to a source at the gallery, they aren’t going anywhere. While this decision relieves staff and BREC supervisors of the hassle of relocating and the cost of renting a new facility, it also means the gallery will not be able to plan events and programs for several months. The gallery staff has been advised that the current building may be without electricity as well.

Still Beating

Baton Rouge rock band Harlan has signed a national deal with Red Eye Distribution for its debut album, The Still Beat, which has been available locally for more than a year, but will see wide release in independent record stores and on iTunes April 3 through Odd Thud Records. Red Eye distributes discs for Paul Weller, Public Enemy, The Mars Volta and others. Harlan will conduct an April tour of the east coast in support of the release. For updates, visit myspace.com/stillbeat.

Jonesing for the limelight

Celebrity watch-blog Gawker.com recently posted an intriguing theory about SocialiteRank.com, the mysterious site that ranks Baton Rouge native Genevieve Jones, rumored mistress of millionaire painter Francesco Clemente, as one of New York City’s social elite.

Six astute Gawker readers tracked SocialiteRank.com for several weeks last year. Each of the six posted negative comments about different socialites who have been rumored to be the secret owner of the site, then they kept track of which comments were deleted. Turns out none of the trash talk about Tinsley Mortimer or Fabiola Beracasa was removed. And the Hearsts? Fair game.

But it’s a different story for Jones, our McKinley High School grad who the Wall Street Journal recently dubbed the “it” girl. Not only was each negative comment about Jones deleted, but every IP address that a Jones bash came from was banned from commenting. Gawker reported that no other IP addresses were banned, not even those engaging in “racial slurs against Hispanics.”

Since Gawker’s report, a number of negative comments about Jones have been allowed to post on the site.