Israel’s West Bank crackdown triggers a wave of displacement unseen in decades

• February 19, 2025

By ISABEL DEBRE

FAR’A REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank — the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war.

After announcing a widespread crackdown against West Bank militants on Jan. 21 — just two days after its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza — Israeli forces descended on the restive city of Jenin, as they have dozens of times since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

But unlike past operations, Israeli forces then pushed deeper and more forcefully into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem, Far’a and Nur Shams, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.

During that war, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. That Nakba, or “catastrophe,” as Palestinians call it, gave rise to the crowded West Bank towns now under assault and still known as refugee camps.

“This is our nakba,” said Abed Sabagh, 53, who bundled his seven children into the car on Feb. 9 as sound bombs blared in Nur Shams camp, where he was born to parents who fled the 1948 war.

Tactics from Gaza

Humanitarian officials say they haven’t seen such displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel captured the territory west of the Jordan River, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, displacing another 300,000 Palestinians.

“This is unprecedented. When you add to this the destruction of infrastructure, we’re reaching a point where the camps are becoming uninhabitable,” said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency. More than 40,100 Palestinians have fled their homes in the ongoing military operation, according to the agency.

Experts say that Israel’s tactics in the West Bank are becoming almost indistinguishable from those deployed in Gaza. Already, President Donald Trump’s plan for the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza has emboldened Israel’s far-right to renew calls for annexation of the West Bank.

“The idea of ‘cleansing’ the land of Palestinians is more popular today than ever before,” said Yagil Levy, head of the Institute for the Study of Civil-Military Relations at Britain’s Open University.

The Israeli army denies issuing evacuation orders in the West Bank. It said troops secure passages for those wanting to leave on their own accord.

Seven minutes to leave home

Over a dozen displaced Palestinians interviewed in the last week said they did not flee their homes out of fear, but on the orders of Israeli security forces. Associated Press journalists in the Nur Shams camp also heard Israeli soldiers shouting through mosque megaphones, ordering people to leave.

Some displaced families said soldiers were polite, knocking on doors and assuring them they could return when the army left. Others said they were ruthless, ransacking rooms, waving rifles and hustling residents out of their homes despite pleas for more time.

“I was sobbing, asking them, ‘Why do you want me to leave my house?’ My baby is upstairs, just let me get my baby please,’” Ayat Abdullah, 30, recalled from a shelter for displaced people in the village of Kafr al-Labd. “They gave us seven minutes. I brought my children, thank God. Nothing else.”

Told to make their own way, Abdullah trudged 10 kilometers (six miles) on a path lighted only by the glow from her phone as rain turned the ground to mud. She said she clutched her children tight, braving possible snipers that had killed a 23-year-old pregnant woman just hours earlier on Feb. 9.

Her 5-year-old son, Nidal, interrupted her story, pursing his lips together to make a loud buzzing sound.

“You’re right, my love,” she replied. “That’s the sound the drones made when we left home.”

Hospitality, for now

In the nearby town of Anabta, volunteers moved in and out of mosques and government buildings that have become makeshift shelters — delivering donated blankets, serving bitter coffee, distributing boiled eggs for breakfast and whipping up vats of rice and chicken for dinner.

Residents have opened their homes to families fleeing Nur Shams and Tulkarem.

“This is our duty in the current security situation,” said Thabet A’mar, the mayor of Anabta.

But he stressed that the town’s welcoming hand should not be mistaken for anything more.

“We insist that their displacement is temporary,” he said.

Staying put

When the invasion started on Feb. 2, Israeli bulldozers ruptured underground pipes. Taps ran dry. Sewage gushed. Internet service was shut off. Schools closed. Food supplies dwindled. Explosions echoed.

Ahmad Sobuh could understand how his neighbors chose to flee the Far’a refugee camp during Israel’s 10-day incursion. But he scavenged rainwater to drink and hunkered down in his home, swearing to himself, his family and the Israeli soldiers knocking at his door that he would stay.

The soldiers advised against that, informing Sobuh’s family on Feb. 11 that, because a room had raised suspicion for containing security cameras and an object resembling a weapon, they would blow up the second floor.

The surveillance cameras, which Israeli soldiers argued could be exploited by Palestinian fighters, were not unusual in the volatile neighborhood, Sobuh said, as families can observe street battles and Israeli army operations from inside.

But the second claim sent him clambering upstairs, where he found his nephew’s water pipe, shaped like a rifle.

Hours later, the explosion left his nephew’s room naked to the wind and shattered most others. It was too dangerous to stay.

“They are doing everything they can to push us out,” he said of Israel’s military, which, according to the U.N. agency for refugees, has demolished hundreds of homes across the four camps this year.

The Israeli army has described its ongoing campaign as a crucial counterterrorism effort to prevent attacks like Oct. 7, and said steps were taken to mitigate the impact on civilians.

A chilling return

The first thing Doha Abu Dgheish noticed about her family’s five-story home 10 days after Israeli troops forced them to leave, she said, was the smell.

Venturing inside as Israeli troops withdrew from Far’a camp, she found rotten food and toilets piled with excrement. Pet parakeets had vanished from their cages. Pages of the Quran had been defaced with graphic drawings. Israeli forces had apparently used explosives to blow every door off its hinges, even though none had been locked.

Rama, her 11-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, screamed upon finding her doll’s skirt torn and its face covered with more graphic drawings.

AP journalists visited the Abu Dgheish home on Feb. 12, hours after their return.

Nearly two dozen Palestinians interviewed across the four West Bank refugee camps this month described army units taking over civilian homes to use as a dormitories, storerooms or lookout points. The Abu Dgheish family accused Israeli soldiers of vandalizing their home, as did multiple families in Far’a.

The Israeli army blamed fighters for embedding themselves in civilian infrastructure. Soldiers may be “required to operate from civilian homes for varying periods,” it said, adding that the destruction of civilian property was a violation of the military’s rules and does not conform to its values.

It said “any exceptional incidents that raise concerns regarding a deviation from these orders” are “thoroughly addressed,” without elaborating.

For Abu Dgheish, the mess was emblematic of the emotional whiplash of return. No one knows when they’ll have to flee again.

“It’s like they want us to feel that we’re never safe,” she said. ”That we have no control.”

​ Orange County Register 

Raducanu approaches the umpire in tears and a man is ejected during a second-round match in Dubai

• February 19, 2025

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Concern over a man who’d exhibited “fixated behavior” caused Emma Raducanu to approach the chair umpire in tears and take an unscheduled break in her second-round match at the Dubai Championships, the Women’s Tennis Association said Wednesday.

There’d been no immediate explanation Tuesday when the 2021 U.S. Open champion walked to the umpire after the second game, said a few words and then stood in a small space between the back of the official’s chair and barrier netting adjacent to Court 2.

Raducanu, who was still a teenager in 2022 when a man in Britain was convicted of stalking her at her family home the previous year, returned to play after a brief delay at 2-0 down and eventually lost 7-6 (6), 6-4 to 14th-seeded Karolina Muchova.

On Wednesday, the WTA issued a statement explaining that Raducanu was approached in a public space Monday “by a man who exhibited fixated behavior” and “this same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday … and subsequently ejected.”

“He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”

The chair umpire called tournament organizers immediately when Raducanu reported her concerns in the first set of the night match, and Muchova walked over to console the 22-year-old British player.

Raducanu then picked up a towel, wiped her face, nodded and continued the match. She didn’t immediately comment on the incident.

The WTA said it was working with Raducanu and her team “to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support.”

Raducanu rose to fame in 2021 by winning the U.S. Open as a qualifier, one of the the most unlikely achievements in tennis. She hasn’t advanced past the third round at a major since then and has spent long stints recovering from injuries.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

​ Orange County Register 

Trump throws Senate GOP budget bill in turmoil as Vance heads to Capitol Hill to meet with senators

• February 19, 2025

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) — No sooner had Senate Republicans voted to begin work on $340 billion budget bill focused on funding the White House’s mass deportations and border security agenda than President Donald Trump threw it into turmoil.

Trump on Wednesday criticized the approach from the Senate Budget Committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and sided with the House GOP’s broader, if politically difficult, plan that includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and other priorities. Senators wanted to address those later, in a second package.

Vice President JD Vance was on his way to Capitol Hill to confer privately with Republican senators.

“Unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” Trump posted on social media.

Trump wants the House’s version passed as a way to “kickstart” the process and “move all of our priorities to the concept of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.’”

The Senate’s Republican leadership is scrambling after being blindsided by the post.

“As they say, I did not see that one coming,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Thune had engineered the two-bill approach as a way to deliver an early victory for the White House and had pushed the Senate forward while the House is away on recess this week, saying it was time to act. Thune was meeting privately in his office with Graham.

“We’re planning to proceed, but obviously we are interested in, and hoping to hear with more clarity where the White House is coming from,” Thune said.

The sudden turn of events means more upheaval in the difficult budget process. Republicans have majority control of the House and Senate, but face big hurdles in trying to put the president’s agenda into law as Democrats prepare to counter the onslaught of actions from the White House.

Late Tuesday, Republicans had pushed ahead on the scaled-back budget bill, on a party-line vote, 50-47, in what was supposed to be the first step in unlocking Trump’s campaign promises — tax cuts, energy production and border controls — and dominating the agenda on Capitol Hill.

But it also comes as the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency effort is slashing costs across government departments, leaving a trail of fired federal workers and dismantling programs on which many Americans depend. Democrats, having floundered amid the initial upheaval coming from the White House, have emerged galvanized as they try to warn the public about what is at stake.

“These bills that they have have one purpose — and that is they’re trying to give a tax break to their billionaire buddies and have you, the average American person, pay for it,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York told The Associated Press.

Schumer convened a private call over the weekend with Democratic senators and agreed on a strategy to challenge Republicans for prioritizing tax cuts that primarily flow to the wealthy at the expense of program and service reductions in health care, scientific research, veterans services and elsewhere.

“This is going to be a long, drawn-out fight,” Schumer said.

The Senate’s budget process begins this week, with an initial 50 hours of debate followed by an expected all-night session with lots of attempts to amend the package.

The Republican package would allow $175 billion to be spent on border security, including money for mass deportation operations and building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, in addition to a $150 billion boost to the Pentagon and $20 billion for the Coast Guard.

Republicans are determined to push ahead after Trump border czar Tom Homan and top aide Stephen Miller told senators privately last week that they are running short of cash to accomplish the president’s immigration priorities.

Trump met with Republican senators last month, expressing no preference for one bill or two, but just that Congress “get the result.”

The Senate Budget Committee said its package would cost about $85.5 billion a year, for four years of Trump’s presidency, paid for with new reductions and revenues elsewhere that other committees will draw up.

Eyeing ways to pay for it, Republican senators are considering a rollback of the Biden administration’s methane emissions fee, which was approved by Democrats as part of climate change strategies in the Inflation Reduction Act, and hoping to draw new revenue from energy leases as they aim to spur domestic energy production.

The House GOP bill is multiple times larger, with $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $1.5 trillion in spending reductions over the decade across Medicaid health care programs, food stamps and other services used by large swaths of the country. The cuts could ultimately grow to $2 trillion to appease hard-right conservatives.

The budget plans are being considered under what’s called the reconciliation process, which allows passage on a simple majority vote without many of the procedural hurdles that stall bills. Once rare, reconciliation is increasingly being used in the House and Senate to pass big packages on party-line votes when one party controls the White House and Congress.

During Trump’s first term, Republicans used the reconciliation process to pass the GOP tax cuts in 2017. Democrats used reconciliation during the Biden presidency era to approve COVID relief and also the Inflation Reduction Act.

​ Orange County Register 

Beauty market shifts to target the young at heart in a rapidly aging Japan

• February 19, 2025

By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) — Yoshiko Abe is about to turn 89, but that hasn’t stopped her from going to the gym every day and trying the free-of-charge makeup course at her housing complex.

“It was really helpful,” she said, all smiles and glowing after putting on foundation and pink lipstick, something she hadn’t done in years.

Japan is the fastest-aging society in the world, where more than a quarter of its population is 65 and older, at 36 million people. In about a decade, the ratio will be one in three.

No wonder the young-at-heart, like Abe, is a growing target for Japan Inc. The market for older people is estimated to grow to more than 100 trillion yen ($650 billion) in size this year, according to a study by Mizuho Bank.

And that business isn’t just about remedies for sicknesses and old folks’ homes but taps into solid consumerism. The growth of artificial intelligence and robotics also offers promise for such services and gadgetry.

Akira Shimizu, professor of business at Keio University, calls them “cool grandpas and cute grannies” who remain sensitive to trends, including the latest luxury and health products.

“They think about the clothing and makeup that express their style,” he said.

From luxury cruises and “oldies” rock concerts, companies are leveraging the fact that older people these days remain active, go out with friends and on dates, so they want to dress up and look good, said Shimizu.

Maintaining one’s looks is good physical exercise because it takes hand agility to open cosmetics tubes and draw eyebrows nicely, and massaging the face gets one’s saliva glands going, according to Miwa Hiraku, the makeover class instructor from the Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido.

Shiseido Co., which started out as a pharmacy in 1872, said that makeup is not just good for your physical well-being but also your soul. The company has been holding free makeup courses for older people across the country.

“Putting on makeup works as a switch to turn on your energy at the start of your day,” said Hiraku, who vows to wear makeup even at 100.

“It’s not just about looking beautiful. It’s about living a long healthy life,” she said.

Yoshihiko Hotta, 85, the only man in the class of about 30 people, didn’t try the rouge but happily put on the hand cream and went along with all the exercise routines.

While acknowledging he felt some effects of aging like sore legs, he declared with conviction: “I don’t think age is relevant.”

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama

​ Orange County Register 

QR-code stickers mysteriously appear on 1,000 Munich graves. Police are now investigating

• February 19, 2025

BERLIN (AP) — Police in Munich are investigating a mystery: More than 1,000 stickers were put on gravestones and wooden crosses at three cemeteries in the German city, without any indication of where they came from or why.

The 5×3.5-centimeter (1.95×1.2-inch) stickers are printed with a QR code, that, when scanned, shows the name of the person buried in the grave and its location in the cemetery — but nothing else.

“We haven’t found any pattern behind this yet. The stickers were put both on decades-old gravestones and very new graves that so far only have a wooden cross,” police spokesperson Christian Drexler told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“People who have witnessed anybody putting the stickers on the graves are asked to reach out to the respective cemetery’s administration,” Drexler said.

The stickers surfaced in recent days at the Waldfriedhof, Sendlinger Friedhof and Friedhof Solln cemeteries.

Police are not only trying to find out who is behind the stickers, but are also investigating property damage, because the gravestones were partially damaged and discolored when the stickers were removed.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump seeks greater control of independent regulators with his new executive order

• February 19, 2025

By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving to give the White House direct control of independent federal regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

The executive order that Trump signed Tuesday gives the president more power to shape the oversight of the financial system and lay out criteria for transportation safety, basic consumer protections and wireless, broadcast, satellite and broadband communications.

It is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to assert greater authority over the government, possibly limiting the spending of congressionally approved funds in ways that could set up lawsuits and lead courts to weigh in.

Past administrations saw public benefit in having regulators that could operate in the long-term interests of the country without the daily machinations of politics. Presidents could exercise informal control by whom they appointed to lead the agencies without necessarily requiring those agencies to submit strategic plans to the White House and lose access to funding initiatives as the order lays out.

But the Trump White House maintains that independent regulators could undermine the president’s agenda and the will of the voting public.

“For the Federal Government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the people’s elected President,” said the order signed by Trump.

The move generated criticism that it could ultimately lead to abuses by the Trump administration.

“This action will serve only to politicize and corrupt independent agencies, which will now be subject to the political whims of those in power,” said Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the nonprofit Center for Democracy & Technology. “For a century, these agencies have been independent for a reason — Congress needs these experts to interpret the laws it passes, and to initiate investigations and enforce those laws without political favoritism.”

Independent agencies go back to 1887 with the creation of the Independent Commerce Commission, which initially existed to deal with railroad monopolies and the rates they charged. Multiple other regulators were built on this format and operated through presidential appointments and congressional oversight.

Roger Nober, a professor at George Washington University and director of the GW Regulator Studies Center, called the order “very significant.” The rule goes beyond existing requirements that regulations with an economic impact of more than $100 million or more go through a review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

“The intent of this is to significantly scale back the independence of independent regulatory agencies,” said Nober, who was previously chair of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, an independent regulator, during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Nober stressed that he could understand why Trump might wish to bring a stock market regulator such as the SEC under greater White House control. But, he said, “we’ll have to see if this is the right approach in the long run to make independent agencies more politically responsible.”

The executive order covers the regulatory responsibilities of the Federal Reserve, but it would specifically keep its independence on setting short-term interest rates that can influence inflation rates and employment levels.

A Fed spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday on the executive order.

The order may have only a limited practical effect, at least in the short term. The Fed’s vice chair for supervision, Michael Barr, a Biden appointee, said last month that he would step down Feb. 28. The Fed also said it would pause any major rulemaking until Barr’s successor is confirmed.

Ian Katz, an analyst at the policy research firm Capital Alpha, believes a court challenge is one of the goals of the order.

“The White House and conservatives not only expect, but want, legal challenges to the executive order,” Katz wrote in an email. “They would like a Supreme Court ruling that further solidifies executive branch authority over the agencies.”

Under the order, the White House Office of Management and Budget would set performance standards and management objectives for the heads of independent agencies. The OMB could also change the funding apportioned to the agencies based on “activity, function, project, or object” that might be in conflict with the president’s agenda.

The heads of independent agencies would need to have special White House liaisons to coordinate with the president’s aides and advisers.

Associated Press economics writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Travel: Enjoy a music and food tour through the Mississippi Delta and southern Louisiana

• February 19, 2025

It doesn’t get much better than listening to blues, Cajun and zydeco music while feasting on impeccably fresh seafood, an array of sausages and pulled-pork sprinkled with “bark” (the crisp pieces from the outside of the smoked pork butts), from the Mississippi Delta to the heart of Cajun country.

During a recent trip, we followed the Blues Highway (Route 61) from Clarksdale in the Mississippi Delta, then traveled deep into Cajun country where we made our base in Lafayette, Louisiana — one of the premier eating cities in the South, if not the entire country. Then we spent eight days that were chock-full of fabulous regional fare and music that will get even the most sedentary out on the dance floor.

Mississippi Delta

Clarksdale is ground zero, a town with numerous juke joints (blues music venues) where the Delta spawned such legends as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King.

There’s even a memorial at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49, called The Crossroads, where Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for becoming the best blues guitarist of his generation. Right next door is Abe’s BBQ, where you can get your fill of pulled pork and other ’cue delights that are spicier than those found in Southern California.

We stayed at the Clark House Inn for three nights; it’s centrally located within walking distance of downtown Clarksdale. The antebellum mansion served breakfast daily.

Juke joints and blues clubs abound in Clarksdale — none more famous than the Ground Zero Blues Club, partly owned by actor Morgan Freeman. We caught an afternoon performance by LaLa Craig that was incredibly dynamic; it reminded me of a cross between Big Mama Thornton and Janis Joplin!

Sink your teeth into a fried green tomato, or pulled-pork sandwich or impeccably fresh deep-fried catfish at Ground Zero. Live music is performed Wednesday-Saturday evenings.

Other music venues worth checking out include The Bluesberry Cafe, where Guitar Frenchie holds sway; The Hambone Art & Music Gallery; and the Delta Blues Alley Cafe. Two restaurants stand out: Yazoo Pass offers such items as chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits and a pork rib-eye with horseradish cream; Lil Sistas offers brisket sandwiches, smoked turkey legs, collard greens, yams and a slab of ribs. Both are located downtown.

Next to Ground Zero is the Delta Blues Museum, which provides a comprehensive history of Blues music and the musicians who made it famous.

There are numerous day trips that you can take from Clarksdale. Highly recommended is the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola (bbkingmuseum.org), which offers a complete history with photos, film clips, artifacts and outfits worn by the legendary artist. His two-toned Rolls Royce also can be viewed here in this homage to one of the blues’ greatest impresarios. Expect a special celebration around the 100th anniversary of his birth, on Sept. 16.

After working up an appetite, head to Betty’s Place for an ethereally light fried catfish platter for lunch, or The Crown Restaurant for its legendary smoked catfish plate.

On your way to Louisiana, both Vicksburg and Natchez are worth visiting. Vicksburg’s National Military Park provides a self-guided driving tour of the place where one of the most consequential battles of the Civil War was fought. Don’t miss the reconstructed USS Cairo, an ironclad Union gunboat on display.

While in Natchez, enjoy views of the Mississippi River as you stroll around downtown and enjoy the antebellum mansions built along the river cliffs. Visit Magnolia Grill for shrimp and grits, or catfish, bass or walleye pike plucked from the Mississippi River.

2025 food/music events in Mississippi

• Clarksdale Juke Joint Festival, April 10-13
• Ground Zero Blues Club Anniversary, May 23-24
• Clarksdale Birthplace of American Music Festival, June 12-15

Southern Louisiana’s Cajun country

If anything exemplifies the French joie de vivre, it is southern Louisiana dancing to the sounds of Cajun and zydeco music; feasting on gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée and all things porcine, including cracklings and andouille sausage; and the world’s greatest bacchanal celebration: Mardi Gras.

Lafayette is the ideal home base for your trip, with its outstanding restaurants and music venues, allowing you to visit such legendary small towns as Breaux Bridge, Eunice, Mamoo, and New Iberia — each within about a 30-minute drive. Bayou Teche runs right through Breaux Bridge where you can take guided canoe rides, and the Atchafalaya Basin is less than an hour away.

Lafayette is the beating culinary heart of Cajun country. T’Frere’s House B&B (1905 Verot School Road, Lafayette; 337-984-9347) is an ideal place to stay during your visit.

On your first day in town, I’d highly recommend taking the Original Cajun Food Tour to get a true sense of Cajun cuisine. It makes five stops at local food places, and it’s easy to hop on and off the bus. Starting at $69 per person, it offers a taste of such local products as gumbo, étouffée and boudin sausage. Don’t miss it. (Reservations: 337-230-6169, www.cajunfoodtours.com)

There’s also an all-day Cajun experience that includes a guided tour of the historic Vermilionville Cajun Village, a swamp boat ride on beautiful Lake Martin or the Atchafalaya Basin, and a Cajun dance session at Gator Cove; you’ll also be fed like a local!

Recommended restaurants in Lafayette

Don’s Seafood: 4309 Johnston St.; 337-981-1141. Must-try dishes include lump crab cakes, fried oysters, turtle soup.

Prejean’s: 3480 NE Evangeline Thruway; 337-896-3247. Live music; order the blue crab and crawfish items, and scrumptious fried catfish.

Vestal: 555 Jefferson St.; 337-534-0682. The city’s best craft cocktails! Excellent steaks and seafood.

Whiskey & Vine: 507 W. Pinhook Road; 337-534-0662. Live blues and jazz music daily; bottomless brunch with unlimited mimosas, Bellinis or sangria. Recommended: turtle bolognese, grouper topped with lump crab meat, house-smoked duck, bananas Foster.

Live music in Lafayette

The Blue Moon Saloon: 215 E. Convent St.; 337-234-2422. Cajun jam every Wednesday; top-draw talent includes Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and the Lost Bayou Ramblers.

Freetown Boom Boom Room: 300 McKinley St.; 337-806-9601. Open 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily except Sunday, which is from 6 p.m. to midnight. No reservations. Outside food allowed. Local, regional and national acts.

Rock ’n’ Bowl: 905 Jefferson St.; 337-534-8880. Not only can you bowl, but big-name Cajun and zydeco bands, including Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, play regularly. Cajun dancing is encouraged. Bar food is available.

Side trips from Lafayette

Be sure to take a side trip to Breaux Bridge, the crawfish capital of the world, for the Sunday Zydeco breakfast at Buck & Johnny’s. There’s live Zydeco music and a dance floor that’s always crowded with locals.

Try to score a table upstairs, which gives you a panoramic view of the band and the dance floor. No cover, and there is also live music Thursday to Saturday at night. The brunch menu is an extra added attraction with such enticing items as Eggs Savoy (two eggs over biscuits topped with crab portobello brie) and “troubled water” (grits topped with crawfish étouffée).

The regular menu is a blend of Cajun and Italian with such items as their justly famous zydeco or seafood gumbo; seafood pasta with shrimp, crab and crawfish; and the Ragin’ Cajun pizza with shrimp, tasso, smoked chorizo with two sauces. Reservations are essential for the Zydeco brunch. Book well in advance. 100 Berard St., Breaux Bridge; 337-442-6630.

The Bayou Teche is just down the road on Bridge Street. Take a canoe or kayak ride to burn off some calories. Guided and self-guided tours are available for variable distances. Bayou Teche Experience, 317 E. Bridge St., Breaux Bridge; 337-366-0337.

Eunice is a small town nearby known for its blend of Cajun, Creole and cowboy influences and is often regarded as the Cajun capital of the world. Visit the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center and the Cajun Music Hall of Fame. Also, don’t miss the Saturday jam session from 9 a.m. to noon at the Savoy Music Center for a truly enjoyable slice of Cajun life. Every Saturday evening from 6-7:30 p.m., a live French radio and TV show, called “Rendezvous des Cajuns,” is broadcast from the Center for Louisiana and Folklore at 200 W. Park St.

Mamou is considered the Cajun Music Capital of the World. Don’t miss the Courir de Mardi Gras on the morning of Fat Tuesday. Participants on horseback ride from town to town begging for ingredients to cook up a big batch of communal gumbo in Mamou.

Fred’s Lounge hosts a two-hour Cajun music radio show starting at 9:15 a.m. every Saturday. It’s a tradition that began in the 1960s. The lounge serves alcohol as early as 8 a.m. and offers samples of boudin sausage from T’Boys. Fred’s is only open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live music from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It also hosts happy hour on weekdays from 4 to 8 p.m. 420 6th St.; 337-654-2026.

No trip to Southern Louisiana would be complete without a swamp tour, particularly in the Atchafalaya Basin, the biggest swamp in the United States. For my money, smaller boats with outboards and fewer people have it over the bigger and noisier airboats which scare wildlife and can’t navigate into smaller bayous, where you can get up close and personal with the fauna and flora and your chances of spotting gators and other wildlife greatly increases.

McGee Swamp Tours out of Henderson, not far from Breaux Bridge, navigates either the Atchafalaya Basin or Lake Martin. You’re virtually guaranteed to see gators, water fowl and birds of prey on your trip. Your captain will dangle chicken parts on a line over the water and a gator is likely to jump up out of the water and devour that piece of chicken! McGee’s Swamp and Airboat Tours, 1337 Henderson Levee Road, Henderson; 337-228-2384.

Finally, we visited Avery Island, home to the Tabasco factory. Tours take you through the process from fresh tabasco chilis growing on plants to the finished bottled products. At the back of the gift shop and available to taste is an extensive array of different flavors you won’t see in your local grocery store. Make sure you have some water at the ready! And bring some home to spice up your life.

There is a restaurant at the factory site if you get hungry. Also, there’s a very nice self-guided driving tour, and a walking trail is available allowing you to enjoy the large moss-laden trees, waterways, and hundreds of white cranes nesting in a rookery along the marshy shore.

2025 festivals in Southern Louisiana

• Festival Internationale de Louisiana, Lafayette; April 23-27
• Étouffée Festival, Arnaudville; April 25-27
• Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, May 2-4
• Festivals Acadien et Creoles, Lafayette; Oct. 10-12
• World Championship Gumbo Cook-off, New Iberia; Oct. 11-12
• South Louisiana Black Pot Festival & Cook-off in Vermilionville, located in Lafayette; Oct. 24-25

​ Orange County Register 

San Clemente rejects proposal that would have required permits to serve food in public places

• February 19, 2025

An effort to require permits to serve food and drink on beaches and other public places in San Clemente was rejected.

The ordinance — prepared by City Manager Andy Hall at the request of Councilmember Rick Loeffler — failed to gain support on Tuesday, Feb. 18, with a 3-2 council majority rejecting it. Those opposed to the proposed ordinance said it infringed on freedom of association and religious rights and was generally an example of government overreach.

In the proposed ordinance — which Loeffler brought up for consideration because of the amount of trash left at North Beach — groups gathering at the beach or in other areas would have needed a city permit if they planned on serving food and beverages.

At issue, he said, was a growing number of groups, especially church groups and other volunteers, that gather regularly at North Beach and consume food and drinks. Residents in the area were unhappy, he said, and the city and park rangers have been getting more and more requests about litter and general nuisances.

Loeffler said the ordinance would also ensure that food preparation is regulated and that those consuming it know it is done under city licensing requirements.

Local activists, however, worried the ordinance would be another tool to target homeless people, while church groups said it infringes on religious freedoms and principles.

At least a dozen people spoke during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s City Council meeting, with the majority in opposition.

​ Orange County Register