Focus SB

Make your long-term-care plan!

At its meeting on Jan. 28 the Bossier City Council approved a Conditional Use Approval for the retail sale of high and low content alcohol on the premises for consumption at Lucky Palace II, located at the Racetrack.

The City of Shreveport’s Department of Water and Sewerage has been awarded a $3,537,919 grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to enhance infrastructure resiliency. The funding will be used to install two permanent 1250-kilowatt generators at critical water pump stations, ensuring reliable water service during natural disasters.

If you have a tourism-related business idea but need some seed money to get it rolling, you'll want to know about an initiative that's just been launched. Existing businesses wishing to reach the next level are also invited.

The 6 NW LA sales taxing jurisdictions saw a mixed result for January, the first month of the fiscal year for all but the 2 local school boards whose fiscal years began 7/1/2024.

Walk around Shreveport’s historic Oakland Cemetery, the city’s oldest cemetery established in 1847 as City Cemetery, and many things likely catch the eye. A memorial on top of a mass grave names many of the roughly 800 people who were buried quickly in the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873, which killed a quarter of Shreveport’s population in three months. Updated walkways and gazebos adorn the expansive cemetery, fitting for one of Shreveport’s most historic sites, landing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. But one may also notice a large plot of land that appears sparsely populated bordering Milam Street, with few visible grave markers. This happens to be the land in which the original City Cemetery first started and where Shreveport’s oldest inhabitants would have been buried. The LSUS History Department is launching a project to examine this plot, approximately one acre in size, to determine how many graves may exist. Armed with historic records and ground penetrating radar, LSUS history faculty, staff, and students will attempt to map the plot. The project’s first phase is to reset any visible grave markers that may have fallen and remove other obstructions that could hinder mapping and data collection.

I want to start off this month’s report with announcing a new program from Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ) called the “Risks of Youth Vaping Workshop.”

The finalists of a competition that rewards witty, Southern song parodies performed live in Shreveport on Feb. 4. The Southern Wit Song Parody Competition finals will take place in the Jackson Auditorium at Southern University Shreveport. The competition showcased vocalists, performers, and lyricists of all ages. Louisiana State University at Shreveport (LSUS) is on track to set a new enrollment record this spring, surpassing 11,000 students. University officials also note not only has the number of students increased, but those enrolled are taking more credit hours, further demonstrating LSUS's growth and academic momentum.