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The Governor's Office sent this press release Wednesday:

Gov. John Bel Edwards officially selected the Atchafalaya Coastal Basin as the preferred site in Louisiana to be added to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) System. He also tasked the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to serve as the state’s lead agency, working with continued support from Louisiana State University, for engaging with NOAA to complete the remaining steps to formally designate the Atchafalaya Coastal Basin as Louisiana’s NERR.

NOAA’s NERR sites serve as living laboratories for the study of estuaries and the natural and human changes that they experience. They host monitoring, training, and educational activities that connect people to science while helping to build long-term relationships among local communities, state and federal agencies, and other nongovernmental entities. Louisiana is currently the only marine coastal state in the country without a National Estuarine Research Reserve.

“Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Coastal Basin is going to be an outstanding addition to NOAA’s NERR System,” said Gov. Edwards. “From an environmental and scientific point of view, the Atchafalaya River Basin is the nation’s largest freshwater swamp, and where it meets the Gulf of Mexico, there are two active, land-building river deltas and an extremely vibrant estuary. And, as everyone in Louisiana knows, the Atchafalaya Basin is home to a unique and cherished culture and history.”

Gov. Edwards began the process of establishing a NERR in coastal Louisiana with a letter to NOAA in July of 2019. Over twenty-four months, LSU and Louisiana Sea Grant assisted the state in evaluating three potential sites in the Atchafalaya, Barataria, and Pontchartrain Basins, engaging over 70 volunteers across state and federal agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations on four committees. In addition, nine public town hall meetings were held to engage stakeholders and letters of support were collected from a cross-section of public and private interests.

This summer, the executive committee, with members from CPRA, the Department of Natural Resources, the Governor’s Office, and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries evaluated the proposals, heard presentations from each basin’s team, and reviewed the scoring from a screening committee before recommending the Atchafalaya Basin to the Governor.

“The Atchafalaya Coastal Basin is thrilled to be the state’s selection for a site in NOAA’s NERR system,” said Senator Bret Allain. “This region is more than ready and more than capable of exceling in every one of NOAA’s focus areas of stewardship, research, training, and education, and the enthusiasm for this designation from the public in our region has been outstanding.”

With the Governor’s selection of the Atchafalaya, a nomination packet will next be sent to NOAA containing more detail about the state’s site selection process and other materials by July 1. If NOAA approves of the selection and adopts Louisiana into the NERR System, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Management Plan will be drafted, followed by the executing of MOUs between NOAA and the State, the completion of a final EIS and Management Plan, a Record of Decision, and finally a designation ceremony.

“The addition of Atchafalaya Basin to the NERR System provides Louisiana the opportunity to tell our story at the national level of the unique and spectacular environment and culture that a delta estuary represents compared to other estuaries in the nation and around the world,” said Dr. Twilley, chair of the Louisiana designation team. “This is a tribute to efforts of so many coastal champions over the past several years to finally see this NERR nomination accomplished under the leadership of Governor Edwards.”

This Father’s Day, families will gather to thank dads for all they do. Gifts often are part of Father’s Day celebrations, and here’s a list of gift ideas for dads with various interests.
Gaming Dad
The draw of popular video games doesn’t abate for some men as they get older.
Virtual reality has made great strides. Devices that enable VR game play and other entertainment may appeal to dad. There are a few options on the market, like the Oculus, Pico Neo, HTC Vive and Valve Index.
Another option is to gift the Nintendo Switch Console, which enables dad to play at home connected to the television or on the go with the handheld controller and screen combination so he never misses a chance to engage in game play.
Sports Dad
Tap into your father’s love of sports with gifts tailored to his passion. Baseball and soccer are played during warm months, so tickets to a game is something dads and their children can do together. Or consider a new big-screen television in order to watch the games in the comfort of his own home.
Outdoorsman Dad
If dad is most at home with a fishing pole and tackle box, kayaking a nearby body of water, or hiding in a tree stand during hunting season, then gifts that cater to his love of the great outdoors are perfect. Insulated thermoses, waterproof bags for storing phones or wallets, multitools, backpacks and hiking boots make great gifts.
Techy Dad
Does the idea of the latest “smart” offering get your father all revved up? Then purchase gifts that cater to his love of gadgets.
Maybe he can use a new tablet or laptop that bridges the gap between home and office. Could it be time to upgrade his smartphone? A doorbell camera or home security kit can help him keep an eye on the comings and goings around the house when he’s away.
Practical Dad
Some fathers don’t want flashy gifts, instead preferring ones that can be used every day. If dad takes long road trips, then he might be able to use a car visor extender or a smartphone holder. Shelving, racks or storage straps for the garage also may put a smile on his face.
This year, make Father’s Day a smash hit with gifts that cater to dad’s interests.

DEAR ABBY: My husband died recently. I have been approached by a much younger man for a sexual relationship. I want to, but I feel he is too young. I’m 61, and he’s 37, the same age as my son. We have been friends for years, and I am unsure if I should change the relationship.
I see no future in it except occasional sex. Should I drop it or consider the possibilities?
THINKING ABOUT IT IN OHIO

DEAR THINKING: Before dropping it, carefully consider the “possibilities.” At 37, this person is not a kid, he’s an adult. Something like this happened in my family years ago.
A close friend of a relative’s son announced he had fallen in love with her. It took her a little while to adjust her thinking, but the result was a very happy marriage.

DEAR ABBY: My sister “Rebecca” is in her early 40s and has been blind for more than 20 years. She has low self-esteem and gets depressed when she can’t do things. Right now she wants to babysit a 1-year-old boy in our family by herself. Rebecca’s husband is legally blind, closets himself in his home office all day and ignores everything around him.
Although my sister is confident she could take care of the baby, the boy’s parents and I are not comfortable with the idea. Rebecca often runs into things in her own house, can’t find something she has dropped — and sometimes even has difficulty understanding what is going on around her.
When we mention these problems or the fact that the baby is fast and rambunctious, she gets angry and teary-eyed and won’t listen to reason.
How can we help her to understand we can’t leave the baby alone with her?
OUT OF THE QUESTION

DEAR OUT: You have already tried to get through to someone who refuses to accept reality. There is no reason why Rebecca can’t “assist” in babysitting the child, but she should not attempt to do it alone.
It’s important that you and the child’s parents stick to your guns. Do what is best for the little one. And if that means making other arrangements for a babysitter, so be it.

DEAR ABBY: I recently received a text from my nephew asking that I cosign on a loan for a car. Abby, I am estranged from this person. I have met him only a handful of times, and I haven’t seen him in years. I was, as you can imagine, put off by his request.
I responded that I couldn’t cosign because it would make me legally responsible for the debt. My entitled nephew’s response was dead silence, not an “I understand,” not an “OK, sorry.” Nothing! I never heard from him again.
Am I wrong for feeling offended that he asked?
TOO SMART FOR THAT

DEAR TOO SMART: Stop wasting your time preoccupying yourself with thoughts of this relative. He likely asked you to cosign because no one else in the family would.
His attitude was, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” You did the right thing to refuse to be used. There is no need to dwell on it further.
***
For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

A brass band playing on the town square was a prime-time affair in summers long past.

Practically every community of any size had one to provide weekend concerts and to play at fairs, festivals, and celebrations like the Fourth of July.

Some were pretty good, some were not so good, and a few bordered on awful, at least when they first started tooting the trombones and tubas bought in New Orleans.

One of the good ones, “composed of the best amateur musicians,” was organized in 1899 in St. Martinville by Professor Carlos Greig.

Its concerts were “looked upon by our people as the attraction of the summer,” according to the St. Martinville Messenger.

The newspaper regularly printed glowing accounts of the performances, such as the comment that “the open air concert given last Sunday evening … was a complete success, the music was nice and sweet, and the number of persons who were upon the square and streets … was large, and all appreciated very highly the hour spent listening to such good music.”

Several of the town’s most prominent citizens played in the Eureka Brass Band organized in the early 1880s in Lake Charles.

They played into the 1890s, but we don’t know much about the caliber of their music. Some of its members did aspire beyond a bandstand in the park.

They organized an orchestra and in November 1883 were “practicing new dance music for [a] grand ball.”

New Iberia’s band was popular outside of its own community. When it played for a fair in Lafayette in 1882, the Advertiser said it played “real good music.”

Lafayette’s own band also performed at that fair and, the newspaper said, “it was the general opinion that the boys played very well.”

The Donaldsonville Independent Brass Band thought itself so good that in the early 1880s it advertised a challenge to “any Amateur Brass Band in the State of Louisiana” to compete for a $100 prize.

The Houma band quickly responded that several years earlier it had offered a $500 challenge, but that no one accepted it.

I find no report of any battle of the bands this time, either.

The musicians probably understood the odds of collecting a prize when the competition was in someone else’s home town and the music was judged by “impartial” listeners.

Some bands just weren’t up to the challenge.

The Planters’ Banner offered this frank assessment when Franklin’s band first formed, “The Brass Band in this place is making fine progress, and will, in a few weeks, make up for some of the hideous noises produced by their first efforts.

"A thousand bullocks smelling of blood and roaring, bellowing and bleating, aided by owls, donkeys and all the noisy bipeds and quadrupeds in creation could barely have given a concert equal to those of the first two evenings after the trumpets, trombones, &c, arrived from the city. Some called the company ‘a licensed charivari,’ . . . [but] our band had to make a few hideous noises before they made music. …

"In two months we expect to see the band able to give some blasts that will astonish everybody.”

You probably remember that a charivari was a noisy, annoying serenade made by bleating tin horns, beating spoons on pots, pans, and kettles, and a making a racket with anything else that could make one.

The Franklin band seems to have improved above the charivari stage over the next few months, but when it made its first public appearance it was noted as much for its sobriety as for its music.

“This band, which has sprung into existence as if by magic, appeared in public, for the first time,” the Banner reported, “and marched with the procession of the Sons of Temperance and Odd Fellows.

"They performed admirably, and to the satisfaction and delight of all. We shall have no further need of importing brass bands from New Orleans after this; our own is infinitely better, for they give us music; and what is more remarkable, ten of its members belong to the Sons of Temperance. …

"We believe that no other brass band in the South can boast of such a fact.”

You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.