You haven’t been able to escape it.  People are talking about it incessantly.  It’s in the news every single day.  That’s right:  healthcare reform.  

Perhaps you don’t think it affects you.  After all, you have insurance right?  Or maybe you’re retired and on Medicare.   All that healthcare reform talk is about the uninsured and their need for access to affordable, preventive healthcare, right?  Think again.  The current system is putting significant pressure on many physicians that specialize in areas like neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery and unless these issues are tackled by healthcare reform, you may find your access to these services restricted, whether or not you have insurance. 

Take Dr. Gustavo Gutnisky as an example.  You would be hard-pressed to find a more experienced or personable doctor.  He is a neurosurgeon, practicing in St. Tammany parish for 27 years.  When you talk to him you can tell right away that his patients are his first priority.  He has put in his time tending to trauma victims on nights, weekends, and holidays in the parish’s emergency rooms.    He has done his share of complex brain surgeries.   “I think you have to give something back to the community,” said Gutnisky.  But doctors like him could become a thing of the past and here’s why: 

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Northshore residents apparently have a new vacation destination: the backyard.

 “More people are focusing on lifestyle improvements so they can vacation in their backyard for a long time to come,” said Paul Gagliano, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Louisiana Landscape Specialty, Inc. in Covington. 

Landscape architects on the northshore report that the past two years have been some of the slowest they’ve seen.  “Most people have been keeping their wallet in their pocket.  It’s a trickle-down effect from the northshore real estate market bust. Everyone’s been hunkering down and not spending money,” said Gagliano.  

This year though, spring brought new signs of life in the residential landscape market along with the usual flowers.  Local landscapers say the number of phone calls is up tremendously over the past two spring seasons and attendance at the recent New Orleans Home and Garden Show was high.  

“We expect residential projects to be the lead out of this...

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                  It was February 2, 2003 when Paul A. LeBlanc, age 69, went for a bike ride in Flowers Estates, a heavily wooded Covington neighborhood, and never returned.  LeBlanc, a native of Madisonville, was a youthful senior, physically fit and newly retired, but was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and early dementia.  Most importantly, he was someone’s father.   

  Minutes matter when someone with dementia is lost.  When LeBlanc’s daughter, Susan LeBlanc, alerted local police it took almost two days before media outlets aired coverage of his disappearance. 

  According to the Alzheimer’s Association, at least 5.2 million Americans suffer from dementia, and research shows that six out of 10 with dementia will wander.  Only four percent of those who leave home are able to find their way back without help and if a person is not found within 24 hours, half will suffer serious injury or death.  Paul LeBlanc is now one of those statistics.

  Despite efforts by law enforcement and LeBlanc’s family, Paul LeBlanc was never found.  It is a tragedy that has both haunted his daughter Susan and spurred her to action in a new career creating medical awareness.

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                Here in Louisiana food is a big part of our lives.   Almost every occasion revolves around food in some way.  We don’t have winter and spring here, we have king cake season and crawfish season.  Here in Louisiana we live to eat, not the other way around.  But even here you’ve probably heard the term “locavore” or heard mention of the local food movement.    

  Elsewhere, the local food movement has become so trendy that the New Oxford Dictionary chose “locavore” as its word of the year for 2007.  Even the White House is in on promoting local eating, planting a White House garden, cooking with their backyard bounty, and urging others to do the same. 

  So just what is a locavore?  The term was coined to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet consisting of food harvested from within your local area, usually 100 miles or so, depending on where you live.  More broadly, it simply means someone that seeks out and eats seasonal, local foods.

  Right about now you’re...

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             “It’s a very grandiose vision,” admitted Gabriel Lasala, M.D., a cardiologist and President and Medical Director of TCA Cellular Therapy in Covington.  His vision is that the northshore can become what Rochester, NY became with the advent of the Mayo Clinic:  a destination for the best healthcare in the world.  

Dr. Lasala envisions “The Stem Cell Center”, where people from all over the United States and the world will come to receive therapy for a variety of diseases.  People looking for a cure where there has previously been none.  He believes it’s possible.  And you will too once you become aware of the medical advances occurring here and now.

How TCA Cellular Therapy Began

Dr. Lasala’s research is in the emerging field of regenerative medicine, which is the process of creating living, functional tissues to repair or replace tissue or organ function lost due to age, disease, or damage.

He began researching stem cells in 1981 and formed TCA Cellular Therapy in 1997. ...

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                      As a slumping economy and worries about job losses cause more stress in our lives, people are trying harder to balance their physical and fiscal health.  Can you afford to keep that health club membership?  Can you afford not to?  It may seem insignificant in the face of such weighty matters, but exercise can help you weather the stress of hard times and local health clubs want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.



                  Health clubs have historically fared well during economic downturns.  This time around the results seem to be mixed.  A recent survey by the American Heart Association found that 57 percent of respondents said the economy had impacted their ability to pay attention to their health and 25 percent had cancelled their gym or health club memberships in the past six months.  



                    Another recent study conducted jointly by Opinion Research Corporation and Anytime Fitness found that 60 percent of fitness club members...

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              Waiting a week to see your primary doctor with a sore throat or ear infection?  Visiting the emergency room on Saturday evening to see if your child has a broken collarbone from that soccer injury?  That was so yesterday.  Today you can have those minor ailments and injuries attended to almost as quickly as you can order a latte in the drive-thru.

              Walk-in clinics have been around since the 1980’s, but the industry declined and just recently started to flourish again with clinics opening in strip malls and retail stores.  Two different business models have emerged:  the urgent care clinic and the retail clinic.  Recent studies estimate there are currently 8,000 urgent care clinics and 1,000 in-store retail clinics nationwide.  

Why the Need?

             One big reason is a scarcity of doctors.  According to a recent survey of medical students at 11 U.S. medical schools, only two percent planned to pursue careers in general internal medicine.  More physicians...

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              What happens if you are involved in a car accident or fall and injure yourself?  Emergencies aren’t something most people think about much, until they have one.  Though you may not need emergency services today, you still expect them to be there when you do need them.  It’s a good thing there are so many talented and dedicated people on the northshore working behind the scenes to make sure you get the care you need, when you need it.

Overcrowding in the ER

              The northshore has faced many issues dealing with population growth since the event of 2005 called Katrina.  But that’s not the only reason for overcrowding in the region’s emergency rooms.  Other likely factors include an increase in people using the emergency room for non-emergencies, patient flow issues, and unusual events such as flu outbreaks. 

            “We saw an initial increase in volume due to Katrina because of a surge in population and migrant workers coming through,” said Dr. Chad Muntan, Emergency...

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              Is there a hotter topic these days than healthcare reform?  There’s much debate, but no one can seem to agree on a solution that will work for everyone.    Many people have lost their jobs, and with it, their health insurance.  Working people are finding they can no longer afford health insurance premiums.  Small businesses are faced with cutting health insurance benefits or cutting jobs.  

              What we don’t hear much about is what’s available now that can help defray the rising costs of health services and insurance premiums.  What’s available is a Health Savings Account (HSA).

               HSAs have become an important option for consumers and small businesses that are struggling to afford health care premiums and their rising popularity is turning them into a mainstream financial product that benefits businesses and employees, as well as the self-employed.  “We didn’t see much of a market for them before, but we certainly do now,” said Robbin Hardee, VP Retail Banking...

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            Not everyone is a fan of polka music and the chicken dance, so if you choose to skip that part of the annual Oktoberfest celebration, we’ll let you slide.  You may not want to skip the beer part though.  With two local craft breweries and plenty of seasonal brews from which to choose, there’s never been a better time to raise your mug.

Trends in Craft Brewing

            Although the surging popularity of wine, wine bars, designer drinks, and alternative malt beverages, not to mention the economy, have been hitting the beer industry from all sides in recent years, there is one segment of the beer market that is holding its own: craft brewing.

            Craft brewers are typically small, independent brewers that use traditional ingredients and brewing styles.  Craft brewers may interpret historic styles of brewing with unique twists or develop new styles that have no precedent.  Craft beer is usually defined by four distinct markets:  brewpubs, microbreweries,...

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            For those of us old enough to remember life before cell phones and the internet, the speed at which technology changes today is sometimes bewildering.  We used to make calls from a phone, watch TV through our cable provider (or maybe even over the air waves), and work at our desktop computer through a hard-wired internet connection.  Now the lines are so blurred between phone companies, internet service providers, cable providers, satellite companies, and cellular providers, we should probably just call them technology providers. 

              In the past few years, technology companies have been attempting to gain market share and maximize profits by “bundling” services, or offering as many of these technologies as possible to their customers.  Regulatory and technological changes over the last decade have made this possible and it has proven to be a fairly competitive weapon.  “The goal is to get people into the bundle. That’s where they realize the savings,” said Nick...

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            “No news is good news” is how the old saying goes.  Most of the news is bad: war, economic woes, crime, and natural disasters.  The crisis of coastal wetlands loss in Louisiana is constantly in the news.  But that doesn’t affect you, right?  After all, you live on the northshore, not south of New Orleans where people need to worry about that sort of thing. 

Now that the government’s popular Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) or “Cash for Clunkers” program is over, there is much debate about whether the short-lived $3 billion program designed to reinvigorate the automotive industry and get greener cars on the road was successful.  Despite problems with the program, northshore automobile dealers have proclaimed the program a winner.

                All summer they’ve enjoyed soda and candy at the theatre, and pizza and ice cream at the sleepover. Fast food, Kool-Aid, sno-cones, and unlimited trips to the pantry for chips and cookies are typical during the summer months. 

                And it doesn’t get much better once school starts. 

                For breakfast it’s usually sugary cereal, Pop-tarts, or as a treat on the weekend, doughnuts. School lunches leave a lot to be desired as far as good nutrition is concerned. So we pack a lunch for our children: sugary juice drinks, Lunchables, or maybe a sandwich and chips. We promise them if they eat their dinner they can have dessert. Or maybe we don’t have time to cook dinner, so we eat out. On the weekend it’s fast food again as we rush from one activity to another.

                What are we doing to our children? Do we know? Do we care?

                Nearly one-third of American children aged 4-19 eat fast food every day. Yes, every day! Childhood obesity...

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            Brennan McCurley has been working at his new job as Principal of Lakeshore High School for awhile now, but there’s one thing that’s been missing: the students. “We’re so excited, just itching for the kids to show up,” said McCurley. On August 7th, that’s exactly what will happen. Students will be showing up at two new schools in St. Tammany Parish.

            “We can’t wait to get started,” said Leslie Martin, Principal of Marigny Elementary. The new $15.9 million school on Viola Street in Mandeville will welcome almost 300 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students this school year and ultimately will serve 500 children when first grade is added next year.

            The students who will attend Marigny Elementary would have attended Magnolia Trace Elementary, which will offer only second and third grade going forward. “We have a similar model in Slidell that has been very popular and works well,” said Gayle Sloan, Superintendent. 

            Martin said the philosophy and the slogan for the new school is, “Where everyone makes a difference”. The PTA board is already hard at work on developing enrichment programs and has at least two fundraisers planned for the new school year:   breakfast with Santa and a Spring Art Show and Auction. 

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It’s only 6 am, but Debbi Fotsch is already up and preparing the big breakfast she cooks from scratch every morning. Then there is hobnobbing with the customers during and after breakfast. After that comes dishes, laundry, cleaning, grounds maintenance, and working on one of the many endless projects around the property. Some days may not end until midnight, depending on when guests arrive. But she loves it and wouldn’t trade it for a regular job. “This is not just a business, it’s a lifestyle,” said Fotsch, owner and operator, along with her husband Tim, of Woodridge Bed & Breakfast in Slidell.

Small, locally-owned businesses are integral to the northshore economy and B&Bs are certainly part of that.   But our local B&Bs do more than just contribute to the economy. They showcase our area to tourists regionally, nationally, and internationally. They help revitalize our downtown areas, and more importantly, they provide unique experiences that reflect the owner’s personality and interests. For most...

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 In the face of the worst economy America has seen in decades, you might think that the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s economy would be in big trouble. After all, tourism is one of its chief economic drivers and the gaming industry is a huge part of Mississippi’s tourist business. And with the recession tightening gambler’s wallets and forcing travel plans to be canceled or cut back, the Gulf Coast could be suffering a severe one-two punch on the heels of Hurricane Katrina.   But instead, optimism abounds. Mississippi tourism and economic development officials say that the Gulf Coast is not only stable, but poised for unprecedented growth once the economy recovers.

Not that the Mississippi Gulf Coast hasn’t taken a hit. The economy on the Gulf Coast began to decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the trend continued through the first quarter of 2009. Unemployment levels reached eight percent for the three coast counties in February 2009 and remained stable in March, but are still well below both the state...

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Last year St. Tammany Parish residents received wonderful additions to the Tammany Trace with the completion of the Bayou Lacombe drawbridge and the opening of new trailheads in Covington and Abita Springs. The bridge at Bayou Lacombe makes it possible to utilize the entire 27 miles of this scenic corridor that connects five communities and numerous parks and is used by almost 200,000 people annually. Most communities would be content with such facilities, but Parish President Kevin Davis and many others in both the government and private sectors have a larger vision for the Tammany Trace and are working hard to bring it to fruition. 

 Extension of Trace to Heritage Park in Slidell

One part of that vision is extending the Trace to Heritage Park in Slidell. “This project started as a relatively simple request for park benches from senior citizens in Slidell,” said Parish Council member Gene Bellisario. That initial request resulted in six benches placed one-half mile apart in Slidell and a total of 14 benches added to the Trace. 

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 Every January a large percentage of the population makes a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, get in shape, join the gym, or some similar commitment. And every year most of us break those commitments within a few weeks, or at most a few months (most of us in Louisiana don’t last that long). There are many reasons for it: We’re too busy, too tired, or too broke. Or maybe you’re one of those people that goes to the gym regularly and you’re in pretty good shape, but you’re bored with your workouts and ready for something different, something more. No matter which group you fall into, you should know that it doesn’t have to be this way. An adventure awaits you. It’s called the great outdoors and it is infinitely more exciting and interesting than 30 minutes on a cardio machine.