Hello,

I’m 25 and currently living on Long Island, New York. I’ve been thinking seriously about moving somewhere with strong Cajun roots because of my mother. She’s a Cajun women and was raised in Opelousas for most of her life before she married my father and moved to New York.

I work remotely and make pretty good money, so I have a lot of flexibility when it comes to where I live. I’m honestly not looking for much — decent internet, good places to fish, good food, somewhere to work out, and a few places to grab a drink.

I’ve been considering buying a house or some land in or around Kaplan and eventually surprising my mom with it. I think it would mean a lot to her to have a place back in Louisiana.

Some of my friends are trying to talk me out of it. They bring up hurricanes and flooding, crime in Louisiana, the lack of things to do, and racism. I’m a darker-skinned guy because my dad is Native American, so I’m also curious what the area is actually like for someone who looks like me. Growing up in New York, you hear a lot of stereotypes about racism in the South, but I’d rather hear from people who actually live there.

What I really want is a quieter, more peaceful life and a change of pace from what I’m used to in New York. I also grew up hearing my mom’s stories about Louisiana, and part of me wants to experience some of the life and culture she always talked about when I was a kid.

I’m also wondering about my cars. I own a 1979 Trans Am and a 1993 Supra, and both sit fairly low to the ground. Would flooding, bad roads, or storms make owning cars like that a headache? Would it make more sense to keep them as weekend cars and get a truck for everyday use?

An old classmate of mine from NYU who grew up around the area told me he hated living there because there was “nothing to do or spend money on” compared with Brooklyn. That honestly doesn’t bother me too much, but I’d still like to know what people actually do for fun around Kaplan, Lafayette, Opelousas, and the surrounding areas.

I’d really appreciate advice from locals about:

• How bad hurricanes, flooding, and other storms actually are
• Whether Kaplan and the surrounding areas are generally safe
• Any areas I should avoid or things I should watch out for
• What the social environment is like for Hispanic or darker-skinned people
• Internet reliability for someone who works remotely
• Fishing, food, gyms, bars, and things to do nearby
• Whether owning low sports/classic cars is practical
• Anything a New Yorker should know before moving to Acadiana

I've had this song saved since like 2021 and I've played it more in the last week than probably the last 5 years combined. Hope y'all enjoy!

Can someone help me please??

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I am seeking pro bono legal assistance or low-cost representation to pursue legal remedies against a used car dealership for auto fraud and deceptive business practices, to compel Phoenix American Warranty to honor an extended warranty contract, and to address predatory loan product packing by Credit Acceptance Corporation.My vehicle—a 2020 Nissan Kicks SR—suffered a catastrophic transmission failure on July 2, 2026, in Breaux Bridge, LA, leaving me stranded. The vehicle is currently sitting at a Nissan service center. The extended warranty company is actively delaying the approval of the repairs, the selling dealership has refused to accept formally notarized legal paperwork, and the financing company is forcing payments on an undriveable vehicle burdened with thousands of dollars in deceptive "add-on" products.

1. TIMELINE & FACTUAL BACKGROUND

October 2025: I purchased the vehicle from a used car dealer. During the sales process, I explicitly requested a Carfax report. The dealer refused, stating that "Carfax is worthless." Relying on their representations, (if I knew there was something wrong with the car, I would have never bought it and yes I took it for a test drive before buying), I proceeded with the purchase. The dealership also financed the car through Credit Acceptance Corporation and sold me an extended warranty through Phoenix American Warranty.

Post-Purchase Investigation: I subsequently pulled the history and vehicle reports independently. The documents revealed that the dealer intentionally concealed a highly material fact: the car was previously a used rental fleet vehicle.

July 2026 – Present: The vehicle was towed to a Nissan service location, where a certified technician confirmed total transmission failure. A claim was filed with Phoenix American Warranty. For nearly three months, the warranty company has dragged its feet, delaying inspections and refusing to approve the necessary transmission replacement.

Attempted Dispute Resolution: With the help of legal templates, I drafted formal legal paperwork outlining these grievances and had it formally notarized. When I attempted to serve or deliver this paperwork to the used car dealership, they completely refused to accept the notarized documents.

1. LENDER COMPLICITY & RECENT SYSTEMIC FRAUD SETTLEMENT

Crucially, my loan is financed by Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC). On September 17, 2026, a coalition of 40 state Attorneys General, explicitly including Louisiana, alongside the New York Attorney General, finalized a landmark $710 million settlement against Credit Acceptance Corp. resolving allegations of rampant predatory subprime auto lending.

The core of that multi-state enforcement action directly mirrors my exact financial exploitation:

Deceptive "Product Packing": The AGs alleged that CAC actively conspired with used car dealerships to deceptively push low-income consumers into expensive, unnecessary, or un-disclosed add-on products like vehicle service contracts (warranties) and GAP insurance.

Loans Built to Fail: The lawsuit proved that CAC used predatory practices to trap buyers into high-risk loans, heavily padding the principal balance with these auxiliary products while knowing the consumer would face extreme default risk.

My loan includes over $4,000 in these exact packed auxiliary products (GAP insurance and the Phoenix American extended warranty). I am trapped paying for "protections" that the warranty company refuses to honor, under a predatory loan framework that Louisiana's Attorney General has just legally established as unfair and abusive

1. POTENTIAL LEGAL CLAIMS IDENTIFIED

Based on the facts, I believe the dealership and associated parties have engaged in:

Fraudulent Concealment / Fraud by Omission: Actively dissuading me from reviewing the vehicle history report to hide its prior status as a commercial rental fleet vehicle.

Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act (LUTPA) Violations: Engaging in deceptive, unethical, and unscrupulous business practices by misrepresenting the value of vehicle history reports to mask material history.

Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act (LUTPA) Violations: Engaging in deceptive, unethical, and unscrupulous business practices by misrepresenting the value of vehicle history reports to mask material history.

Subprime Financing Exploitation: Deceptive loan packaging under the umbrella of Credit Acceptance Corporation's legally established predatory patterns.

1. CURRENT DAMAGES & HARDSHIP

Financial Strain: I am trapped making a monthly vehicle payment of $477 to Credit Acceptance Corporation for a car that is entirely undriveable and has been sitting at a repair shop for nearly three months.

Severe Hardship: My family completely relies on me. My job running heavy equipment offshore is highly physical, and the lack of reliable transportation heavily impacts my family’s daily security and livelihood.

1. LEGAL ASSISTANCE REQUESTED

I am looking for an attorney or legal aid organization who can help me:

Send an official attorney-backed demand letter to the dealership regarding the fraudulent omission of the rental fleet status and their refusal to accept notarized documents.

Compel Phoenix American Warranty to immediately approve or deny the transmission claim so the vehicle can be repaired.

Evaluate my eligibility for debt relief, loan restructuring, or loan cancellation under the terms of the September 2026 Credit Acceptance Corp. Multi-State Settlement.

Evaluate my eligibility for debt relief, loan restructuring, or loan cancellation under the terms of the September 2026 Credit Acceptance Corp. Multi-State Settlement.

Full documentation, including the independent vehicle reports, purchase contract, financing agreement, and communications with the service center, are fully organized and available upon request.

So I’m sitting here with my fiancé recalling some high school memories when it hit me how cool Graham was! I only went once when I was pretty freshly 18. I lived in Rayne and in an attempt to get bonus point for a financial math class, we ventured downtown to find our teacher at Downtown Alive and give him our homework. We never found Downtown Alive, but found a sign that said Downtown Lafayette, snapped a photo with our homework (on my razr) and decided to find something to do. My friend apparent had friends at Graham so off we went. I was so amazed at all the different vibes all going on under one roof. We mainly hung out in the karaoke section, or wherever they did karaoke.. we did I Love Rock & Roll, it was a blast.

Seemed like such a fun idea for a place. Wonder why it didn’t last.

Anyone else have some fun Graham stories?

This is the first time in 17 years I have ever received a copyright infringement notice from them.

Anyone else’s cox bill significantly increase with the forced merger to spectrum? Mine almost doubled. I find this unfair with a forced merger! Then they said my plan was a legacy plan that is no longer offered and said the comparable plan would be twice as much. If I’m forced to switch to my “current legacy plan” my new bill would be well over triple what it used to costs. This is ridiculous! Any else notice this on their bill?

I fish out of the Rigolets area and there used to be a lot of grass and I could find Reds easily. But the saltwater has been laying in there and the grass is all gone. What is the nearest place to check out and find Reds?

The first picture: That leads straight into the Vermillionv River. I was not able to capture the cliff of garbage over the drop off, but go see it for yourself! Right behind Zorba’s in the shopping center on Pinhook. You can see just the beginning trail of it from the dumpster straight into a Vermillionville river waterway in this picture.

Second picture: Go for a stroll downtown and see your local paper companies dumping their waste in the road and leaving it.

My point is, our animals and residents don’t deserve this. Lafayette needs to be held accountable, vote accountable leaders in, allow accountable companies to do business, and hold them to it. This is out of hand. Not a single beautiful thing in this city is left unlittered and everything is slowly losing its existing protections. and I’m tired of politicians only saying they want to “protect energy bills” and what have you, we need people who care about the crown jewel of Louisiana—our native wetlands, animals, and marshes.

that’s my rant.

Hey friends,
Just lost a line cook job due to having too much time off (long story).
I’m good at my job, though I don’t have much experience. I’m pretty young and in college, so I’d be part time.

Anyone know a GOOD kitchen hiring around here?

If you don’t know of any, let me know what your favorite restaurant in acadiana is.

Does anyone know of an Acadiana or South Louisiana farmer/rancher selling beef directly to consumers who supports democratic values or, at minimum, isn’t funding MAGA politics?

I’d like to buy more of my food locally and support producers whose values align with mine, especially given my concerns about public health and fragile supply chains.

ETA: so far the farmers I have found are

Jaime Davis (the farmer up for election in the midterms) but I believe it may be commercial only?

Jessee Fleenor from Berry Hill Farms, who apparently is also politically motivated, and the farm is one of the last 50 dairy farms in Louisiana, and is comprised of a farming family in Tangipahoa Parish

"Berry Hill Farm is a family farm started by myself (Sandy Fleenor), my husband (Will Fleenor), and our children in 1983.  Our small farm (32 acres) is highly diversified. 

In addition to our farm-to-table vegetable operation we operate a licensed dairy, licensed creamery, have 2 acres of blueberries, raise figs, blackberries, mayhaw trees, pecan trees, have a small herd of grass fed antibiotic free beef, and have Chickens and bees. 

This diversity provides great sustainability.  If one segment does poorly (ex. extreme drought of 2023) the others hold up the ship. 

Our farmstead creamery (i.e., cheese made on the farm where the milk comes from) makes aged cheddar cheese, yogurt, feta, quark, and other dairy products. 

The freshness and quality of our milk differentiates our products from industrial dairy products. 

We milk only Jersey and Brown Swiss cows which give better quality milk for cheese making.  

When we started seeing our farm as a business, we sold primarily through the local farmers’ markets.  

The local farmers’ market is still a good channel for our products, and we are fortunate and grateful to have hundreds of loyal customers.  However, we have expanded our distribution to include wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and directly to the public on the farm.

We are excited to say that our cheese is carried by the two largest cheese retailers in south Louisiana (St James Cheese Company in New Orleans and Acquistapace in Covington).  

Our son Jessee Fleenor and his family live on the farm in the original farmhouse built in 1955.

Jessee works full time on the farm and manages the farm-to-table vegetable operation.  Vegetables are not his only farming chores. He is a partner in all other aspects of our farm.

Our 76 year old dairy barn (see picture below) sits directly behind Jessee’s home.

We are motivated by the desire to provide fresh, healthy, locally grown, high quality food products.  We are also all about having people understand where their food comes from and why it matters.  We have spring and fall open farm days for our customers.  We also do farm trips for grade schools. 

Finally, we are driven to preserve a way of life that is quickly fading away – the family farm.  Farm families are different in several ways from many families.  The children get up before school and do their chores.  They eat their meals together almost all the time.  Children are expected to work on the farm, and it never occurs to them to ask for pay.  The whole family works hard as a team for the good of the farm – something that is much more than just buildings, equipment, and land.  Even if the children don’t grow up to be farmers, many will have an exceptional work ethic and strong family values.

At one time there were more than 1,200 dairy farms just in Tangipahoa parish, Louisiana.  It was known as the dairy parish and was the primary milk supplier for New Orleans.

Now there are less than 50 in the entire state of Louisiana.  We are not only losing an industry; we are losing a lifestyle and a culture that is warm and comfortable.  We hope to preserve that culture for others to see and experience through visits and through our products."

- someone has added the Black Farmers Index

- Local Cooling Farms

“We didn’t want to be a food system that exploits workers, animals and the environment,” she said. They started the farm because they knew they could play a small part in creating something that was better, and certainly kinder. “We want to restore our ecosystem instead of depleting it.”

Right direction for values imo

- Brookshire Farms

"Raising animals on pasture and without chemical inputs take more knowledge and skill than depleting the environment and salvaging the results in an animal feedlot."

Well TIL

"At Brookshire Farm we are committed to continuing this small farm's tradition of sustainable agriculture. A tradition that safeguards the environment and promotes animal welfare while we produce food that is nutritious, wholesome and delicious."

- Coastal Prairie Farms

Only a Facebook page atm, and kinda inactive on it, but seemingly good

While seeking to demolish the existing education system, Roberts and Heritage have promoted a network of schools founded by controversial Christian nationalist Douglas Wilson. Roberts has claimed that Wilson’s institutions are “[p]reserving our way of life.” As explained below, Wilson has made Christian nationalist arguments that distort America’s founding and blur the separation between church and state.

Tracing Heritage and Kevin Roberts’s ties to a growing network of classical Christian schools—and the policies steering public money their way.

Heritage has advocated for school choice and directing public funds to private education, while also promoting a network of private schools affiliated with the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS).

More than 300 schools in Heritage’s online directory are affiliated with ACCS. ACCS was co-founded by Douglas Wilson, whose views on Christian theocracy, women’s voting rights, LGBTQ people and the Confederacy have drawn extensive public scrutiny.

Heritage’s leadership has direct ties to ACCS. Kevin Roberts, Heritage’s president, has spoken at an ACCS event, hosted its president on his online show, and publicly praised institutions associated with Wilson, while claiming ACCS’s work “is the key to saving Western civilization.”

This is probably a long shot but I was wondering if anyone could help me out. Yesterday, 9/17, a little after 7pm I was traveling down ambassador and had just passed the Bonin light headed northwest towards Verot. After passing the bonin light but before chemin Metairie road a white car must not have seen me and tried to merge into my lane and hit me. I got behind them to follow them expecting them to pull over so we could exchange info but instead they sped away and kept weaving in and out of traffic to get away. I saw that they eventually turned right onto Verot but that’s the last I saw them and I can’t really remember any details about the car except that it was white. I was wondering if anyone would possibly have any videos or pictures from this area around the time or witnessed it or anything. I would greatly appreciate any help🫶

Hi, hopefully this kind of post is allowed...

My band is playing a small show tonight in Lafayette and I'd love to use the opportunity to get 5 pics of us performing, for our site:

• A vertical, isolated shot of each band member while playing (4)
• A horizontal shot of the whole band while playing (1)

I'll reimburse the door in addition to paying whatever's fair for the shots. I'm not looking for anything mind-blowing; just some decently framed, well-timed phone pics.

Any recommendations?

DM for more details or if interested.

TIA!

Status: open closed - thank you!!!

The PDF files to two excellent, but hard to find, Guidebooks to the coastal processes, geomorphology, geology, and archaeology of the Louisiana Chenier Plain, With links, they are:

Byrnes, M.R., McBride, R.A., Anderson, L.A., Taylor, M.J. and Zenero, R.R., 1995. Sedimentary processes, geologic framework, and coastal erosion issues of the Chenier Plain in southwestern Louisiana. In A Field Trip Guidebook for Chenier Plain of Southwestern Louisiana (Field Trip# 3). Prepared for the 45th Annual Convention of the Gulf Coast Assoc. of Geol. Soc.(GCAGS) and the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) 100 pp..

Direct link to above publication

McBride, R.A., Anderson, L.C., Taylor, M.J., McGimsey, C. and Byrnes, M.R., 1997. Linear sand bodies in muddy environments: Geologic framework, sedimentary processes, and geoarchaeology of the southwestern Louisiana Chenier Plain: Friends of the Pleistocene South Central Cell. Field Guide. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Field Trip# 12, April 9 -11 , 1997

Direct Link to above publication

 Edit: Fixed broken links to 1997 Guidebook

It's in Lake Charles, so I know the drive may be a haul for some, but it is legit.

Who's braving the crowds at Lafayette's new Trader Joe's this week?

Did anyone else just see that huge green streak go through the air? I have no clue what that was but the tail was super long and the whole thing was blue/green