Columns & Opinions

It is de ja vu all over again, and now the mayor and his administration are coming back to the people of Shreveport with another bond proposal, one which could certainly suffer the same fate as the failed 2019 bond proposal. The question is whether there were any lessons learned about the process and whether the process is going to be more transparent than the last time, because transparency is important and necessary. The mayor and his administration are going to have to do a better job of selling these new bond proposals

The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments (NLCOG), a committee made up of mayors and parish leaders from Northwest Louisiana, met Jan. 15 to consider updates on transportation projects in the region. Two items on the agenda of particular interest were the I-49 ICC project status and an update on the stalled Jimmie Davis Bridge (JDB).

The city’s operating budget reserve has risen very much. It is $24,000,000. Last year at this time, it was below $3 million. How has this eight-fold increase happened? What does it mean for the city’s finances?

Recently, looking through Christmas pictures and I realized that we have very few. Apparently, I was so caught up in the festivities that I failed to take many. Lord knows that if I didn’t take them then, there will not be any taken.

In the early1970s while stationed at Lowery AFB (Denver, Colo.), I was privy to the initial development of the Denver Technological Center (DTC). Cable companies United Cablevision, United Artists Cable and later AT&T Broadband, all had their start in – and still have major infrastructure around – the Denver Tech Center. In the Colorado area, Bill Daniels and John C. Malone were early adopters who shepherded many standards in cable technology still used today.

In the AFC we will finally get a look at the No. 1 seed as the Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the Cleveland Browns in KC. The Browns, fresh off a defeat of division-rival and “big brother” Pittsburgh, will have their hands full against the vaunted Chiefs offensive attack. For the Browns, their run has been a fun one to watch. The perennial punching bag of the AFC North, they finished the season 11-5 and came into the playoffs with loads of confidence. They carried that confidence into the playoffs and punched the Steelers in the mouth, jumping out to a 28-0 lead. The Steelers put up a fight but it proved to be too late. The Chiefs earned their No. 1 seeding after finishing the season 14-2, thanks mostly to their quick-strike offense led by the NFL’s best player Patrick Mahomes. I anticipate a little rust from Kansas City but I believe that they will start clicking on offense and pull away from the Browns late in the game. The line for the game at the time of writing has the Chiefs favored by 10 over the Browns. That’s a big number! The game can be seen on Sunday January 17th at 2:05pm on CBS.

I saw last week in this publication that the Committee of 100 (C100) is planning a $100,000 ad campaign to raise awareness of the I-49 issue. I have one small correction to make: The Record of Decision (ROD) cannot happen until the first quarter of 2022. Unless something changes.

Snow in Louisiana. What? Something else to add to the list. Bigger and greater than anything. Forget about CO- VID and unrest. Louisiana saw snow! What’s better than snow in Louisiana?