324online now

Active readers across Louisiana · Lafayette

The Cover Story

Double Demand: Louisiana's Industrial Hiring Boom Has a 2027 Deadline

From LNG terminals to AI data centers, megaprojects have Louisiana's industrial labor demand projected to nearly double by late 2027. The race is on to train the workers who will build it all.

Read the Story

Eric 337·October 17, 2026·4 min

The Pulse

The current, the close, the everyday pulse of the 337.

The Acadiana Heart Walk Returns to Moncus Park on Nov. 14

The 2026 Acadiana Heart Walk returns to Moncus Park on Saturday, Nov. 14, celebrating cardiac arrest survivors, raising CPR awareness, and raising funds to fight Louisiana's No. 1 cause of death.

Community

The Acadiana Heart Walk Returns to Moncus Park on Nov. 14

Eric 337·Oct 15, 2026·3 min

The Community Ledger

Notices, gatherings, and the everyday monumental.

Thibodeaux's Brings Cajun Cooking Back to the Former Original Patti Space

Thibodeaux's, a new locally owned Cajun restaurant with three generations of Acadiana food history behind its name, is set to open Oct. 19 in the former Original Patti space on Pont des Mouton Road, bringing seafood, steaks, gumbo, a large bar, live music and bingo to north Lafayette.

Food

Thibodeaux's Brings Cajun Cooking Back to the Former Original Patti Space

Eric 337·Oct 15, 2026·3 min

Latest Stories

Everything we've published, newest first.

Acadiana

Double Demand: Louisiana's Industrial Hiring Boom Has a 2027 Deadline

Industrial construction labor demand is projected to nearly double by late 2027 as six Louisiana megaprojects stack up at once. From LED FastStart to SoLAcc's expanded trades programs, here's how the state's training pipeline is racing to fill the gap.

Eric 337·Oct 17, 2026·4 min

Community

The Acadiana Heart Walk Returns to Moncus Park on Nov. 14

The 2026 Acadiana Heart Walk returns to Moncus Park on Saturday, Nov. 14, celebrating cardiac arrest survivors, raising CPR awareness, and raising funds to fight Louisiana's No. 1 cause of death.

Eric 337·Oct 15, 2026·3 min

Food

Thibodeaux's Brings Cajun Cooking Back to the Former Original Patti Space

Eric 337·Oct 15, 2026·3 min

Community

One Quarterback, Two Uniforms: Luke Warner Smith's Senior Year Double Duty

Acadiana Christian Athletics Defenders quarterback Luke Warner Smith threw for 2,560 yards in 11-man football, then also suited up for the First Baptist Christian Eagles as they reached the ACEL state playoffs for the first time in school history.

Eric 337·Oct 14, 2026·3 min

Community

Before the Freeze: A Fall Plumbing Checklist for Acadiana Homes

Acadiana gets only a handful of hard-freeze nights a year — the exact reason pipes burst. A 30-minute fall plumbing checklist for Acadiana homes, and the signs it's time to call a pro.

Eric 337·Oct 14, 2026·3 min

Community

Patch Season, Done Safely: A Family Guide to Acadiana's Pumpkin Patches

Parc de Oaks heads into weekend two and Carencro's fall calendar builds toward Scare-n-Cro. A practical guide to keeping patch day safe: parking in residential neighborhoods, the dusk risk hour, hayrides, petting zoos and carving night at home.

Eric 337·Oct 13, 2026·4 min

Community

Four Years Early: Louisiana Hits Its 85,000 Credential Goal

Louisiana met its goal of 85,000 post-secondary credentials per year four years early, with a record 54 percent attainment. The next target: 60 percent by 2030 — and Acadiana's campuses are a big reason the goal fell early.

Eric 337·Oct 10, 2026·4 min

Acadiana

Freshwater Bayou to Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX's Vermilion Parish Plans Take Shape

A proposed cargo hub at Freshwater City — wharf, barge facilities and a 16-mile heavy-haul road — adds detail to SpaceX's Starbase Louisiana spaceport plan on the Vermilion Parish coast near Pecan Island.

Eric 337·Oct 10, 2026·4 min

Community

Under the Oaks, Pumpkins Take Over: Parc de Oaks Opens Its 2026 Pumpkin Patch

Parc de Oaks, Lafayette's oak-shaded food truck park, is turning its lawn into a pumpkin patch for three straight weekends: October 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25, with food trucks, pumpkin painting, kids activities and photo ops.

Eric 337·Oct 9, 2026·3 min

Community

Carencro Is Getting a New Front Door

Carencro has landed an $8,600 state beautification grant for a permanent welcome sign and new landscaping at the I-49 Exit 4 roundabout — the city's main entrance and most visible gateway.

Eric 337·Oct 8, 2026·3 min

Acadiana

After Decades of Talk, the I-49 Connector Just Got Real

Lafayette landed a $28 million federal INFRA award plus state and local matches — a $50 million phase that funds the final engineering for the Kaliste Saloom–US 90 interchange, one of the nation's top 100 freight bottlenecks.

Eric 337·Oct 8, 2026·5 min

Acadiana

Before the Park, There Was the Building

The little cypress building at 219 E. Vermilion Street has been an inn, a post office, a bookstore and an art gallery across two centuries — and it's the reason Parc Sans Souci has its name.

Eric 337·Oct 8, 2026·4 min

Community

Comeaux High's Second Act: A Career Center Big Enough for the Waitlist

LPSS wants to shift $14 million toward converting the former Comeaux High campus into a vocational career center serving more than 1,000 students — a lifeline for a program with hundreds on its waitlist. The board votes on the funding Oct. 8.

Eric 337·Oct 8, 2026·4 min

Community

Athletes 4 Tomorrow: Because a Registration Fee Shouldn't Keep a Child Off the Field

Athletes 4 Tomorrow, a national 501(c)(3), helps families pay youth sports registration fees - up to $150 per child, twice a year - with a 2027 goal of $600,000 in assistance.

Bentley Turner·Oct 7, 2026·4 min

Community

Marketing that Attracts: How Acadiana Businesses Get Customers to Come to Them

Old-school selling treats everyone as a prospect and burns trust. Marketing that attracts flips the script: solve a specific person's problems in public, build brand trust, and let customers come to you. Here is how Acadiana businesses do it.

Eric 337·Oct 6, 2026·5 min

Acadiana

Dry Bones: The Archive Project Breathing New Life Into Old Louisiana Songs

UL Lafayette's Center for Louisiana Studies is handing its music archives to a new generation of musicians — and filming what happens when old songs meet fresh hands.

Eric 337·Oct 2, 2026·4 min

Acadiana

Under the Oaks: Festivals Acadiens et Créoles Returns for Year 52

Girard Park opens its gates October 8–11 for the 52nd edition of Acadiana's biggest cultural celebration. Here's what to know before you go.

Eric 337·Oct 1, 2026·4 min

Food

Bangkok Thai Set to Anchor New Johnston Street Development in Lafayette

Bangkok Thai is set to anchor a new 9,660-square-foot commercial center under construction at 101 Gerald Drive off Johnston Street, with more than $2.3 million in permitted construction work.

337 Magazine·Sep 30, 2026·4 min

Community

Midas Automotive Opens New Lafayette Location on West Pinhook Road

Midas Automotive has opened a new full-service auto repair location at 3115 W. Pinhook Road in Lafayette, offering oil changes, brakes, tires, diagnostics, A/C repair and more.

337 Magazine·Sep 15, 2026·3 min

Alexandria

From the Red River to the Rankings: Mastering Digital Marketing in Alexandria, LA

The landscape of Alexandria, Louisiana is changing. While the brick-and-mortar storefronts on MacArthur Drive and the historic charm of Third Street remain the physical heart of our city, the economic pulse has moved online.

Eric 337·Jan 20, 2026·7 min

Acadiana

It's Official: Construction on Lafayette's Trader Joe's Has Begun—Here's Everything We Know

For years, it has been the talk of the town and a permanent fixture on every Lafayette shopper's wish list. Now, the rumors are finally being laid to rest: the long-awaited Trader Joe's is officially underway.

Eric 337·Jan 17, 2026·5 min

Acadiana

337 Media Joins One Acadiana, Bringing AI-Driven Marketing to Acadiana's Business Community

337 Media, the Lafayette-based digital marketing agency behind 337 Magazine and 337 Local, has officially joined One Acadiana. Here's what the membership means for Acadiana businesses navigating AI-driven search and digital growth.

Eric 337·Feb 20, 2025·4 min