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Grace Ann Blake will be sworn in as the new interim commissioner representing District 8 on Sept. 5 at the commission's 3:30 p.m. work session. Blake will be the second interim appointee to the District 8 commission seat. Former commissioner Jim Taliaferro resigned this position in December 2022 to become a member of the Shreveport City Council. This term ends in January 2024, when the new commission members take office.

State Senator Greg Tarver is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to Senate District 39. He has held this seat since 2011.

Picture it: Shreveport, Willamson Avenue. 1962. A then-33-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. gives an inspiring sermon at the old Galilee Baptist Church that would kick the Shreveport Civil Rights movement into overdrive. Fierce, influential and iconic, his appearance would go on to make history in the city. Fast-foward 61 years later, Shreveport is awarded the honor of MLK Jr.'s bloodline making yet another prominent visit, this time in the form of his namesake, Martin Luther King III! Delivering the keynote address for the annual David Raines Scholarship banquet, MLK III's speech was met with both high-profiled coverage and citywide anticipation. While he gave motivating messages of expertise and encouragement, MLK III also kept it very real about the conditions of equality in modern-age America. 'I think my mom and dad would be greatly disappointed in where we are,' explains MLK III as he describes his overall sentiments of racial progress in this country. Several onlookers, decked out in their business-formal best, listened and cheered MLK III on at several points throughout his talk as he highlighted the transgressions African-Americans endured back then as well as today, and stressed the same belief his dad famously chanted decades before: Here in America, all citizens should be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. He indicated both how true this quote is and how after over half a century, we are still fighting toward that saying becoming a regular practice. For years the social norm has been to denounce racism, embrace individuality and move with mutual respect. As MLK III so eloquently pointed out, these are the very things many Americans of color are battling with on the job, in public spaces as well the streets. Until we are able to truly acknowledge the lack of progress regarding racial equality we have in America, we as a people will remain stagnant and never see change.

My name is Kristin Gonzalez, and I have served in the Caddo Assessor's Office for 22 years. My devotion and experience are a positive testament to the community and is exactly what Caddo Parish needs to keep a good office working.

Isak Schmidley recently made history at LSU Health Shreveport as the youngest graduate ever from the university. He graduated on Saturday, Aug. 12, with his Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science at just 16 years old.

Mayor Tom Arceneaux released a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 22, regarding the appointment of a Small Business Task Force.

When the Thomas-Ogilvie Hardware Company building opened at its current location in 1927, it was a cutting-edge warehouse boasting of elevators, telephones in every department, and an almost unheard-of sprinkler system. Construction cost the princely sum of $210,000 in an era when a pound of ham cost 3 cents, a loaf of bread 9 cents, a lawnmower, $8.75. Shreveport was on the grow, and downtown was booming.

For the third and final week, I am going to preview the LSU Football 2023-24 season. A lot is expected of this team, but expectations should be tempered just a bit due to the early stages of the rebuild under the Brian Kelly regime. Last week, I previewed the LSU defense; this week, I am going to give my final preview with a prediction for each game for the season.