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Shreveport City Council Approves Three, Year Contracts for Parades-African American History, Krewes of Harambe, Highland, and Sobek

Shreveport city leaders are calling on all parties to help clean up litter along interstates in the community.

Bossier City Councilman Jeff Darby has recently started using his Facebook page as a platform to communicate official city business and political campaign messages. From sharing resolutions—such as one honoring the late President Jimmy Carter—to reminding voters of his upcoming reelection bid, Darby has made his page a public forum for civic engagement. But when that engagement turns critical, Darby’s commitment to public discourse appears to end.

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on Feb.14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world. There are a number of martyrdom stories associated with various Saint Valentines connected to Feb.14, including an account of the imprisonment of Saint Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in the third century. According to an early tradition, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer. Numerous later additions to the legend have better related it to the theme of love: tradition maintains that Saint Valentine performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry by the Roman emperor; an 18th-century embellishment to the legend claims he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter signed 'Your Valentine' as a farewell before his execution. The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on Feb.14. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries, when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the 'lovebirds' of early spring. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as 'valentines'). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. In the 19th century, handmade cards gave way to mass-produced greetings. In Italy, Saint Valentine's keys are given to lovers 'as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver's heart', as well as to children to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady).

Spring Break for Bossier Parish will begin March 10 through March 14, while Easter Break will begin April 18 through April 21.

I believe that Fairgrounds Field in Shreveport stands at a crossroads, with its future hanging in the balance. While some advocate for abandoning this valuable parcel of property, maybe we should instead focus on revitalization and innovative repurposing this site that is begging to be developed. Too often, we default to tearing down and never replacing, rather than rebuilding and reinvigorating the property. The property is a valuable asset that, with the right vision, can become a thriving hub for economic and community growth.

The new youth baseball infield turf installation is now complete at P.B.S. Pinchback Park (7903 Jefferson Paige Rd.-Shreveport). Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association Youth Development Foundation awarded Caddo Parish Caddo Parish has selected Blue Line Solutions to run a pilot program for traffic cameras on parish roads. Blue Line has the contract with the City of Shreveport for traffic cameras at schools in the city limits. Traffic studies will be conducted with the sheriff's office before any cameras are installed.

The non-profit was organized over the first half of 2024 with a board of directors in place by September.