How is it that a year can feel so long yet go by so quickly? We’re just weeks away from the end of 2021, and it’s been a ride.
This time last year, we were looking ahead to turning the page on the pandemic — and then two more waves hit. Hospitalizations got bad enough that the federal government sent reinforcements to Ochsner Lafayette General.
Even beyond the pandemic, Lafayette was rarely without controversy or big headlines this year.
Lafayette’s first Black police chief took office in January. He was out of a job by October.
We dodged two hurricanes and weathered a record freeze, but a flash flood stranded cars all over the city.
LCG made it rain on drainage after that.
Local boards and commissions became culture war hot zones.
Two different committees were launched to review Lafayette’s form of government.
Lafayette got $86 million in Covid relief and budgeted little on the pandemic. Meanwhile, Covid put a downpayment on the I-49 Connector.
Nearly 100 years after it was erected, a Jim Crow monument came down.
No doubt, we’re leaving out plenty of big hits or stories that were important to you. But this conversation isn’t about 2021. It’s about 2022.
What will be next year’s biggest headline? What story do you think we should be tracking?