Columns & Opinions

The Louisiana State Office of Facilities and Maintenance sent the DDA an update on Aug. 30, and it shows that the Phase I demolition and abatement work on the site is scheduled to begin on Sept. 18. Fencing of the site will be going up soon.

It’s 11 a.m., and the thermometer has already topped 90 degrees. Again. So, because misery likes nothing if not more misery, I checked the weather data for our little corner of heaven in summer hell. I wished I hadn’t. Ignorance sometimes is bliss. The National Weather Service termed it a “Very Hot Labor Day.” Duh?

Local sales tax receipts for August reflect mixed results. Two jurisdictions are flat, one moderately up and three well up in comparing them to August 2022. Let's review six entities.

While watching my favorite cable news network, I noticed that every commercial that popped up for two hours was the same one touting Shawn Wilson, candidate for governor, as a failed transportation secretary. The ad claims that during Wilson’s seven years as secretary of transportation, Louisiana went from 39th to 49th as the state with the worst roads. The ad also claimed that some 15,000 bridges were overdue for repairs, and it will take $18 billion to do all the work necessary to save you, the motorist, the $650 they estimate drivers are having to pay for repairs to their vehicles. What they don’t tell you is that the gasoline tax that is supposed to fund the upkeep is wholly inadequate.

Each year the Community Foundation of North Louisiana (CFNL) raises millions of dollars in its Give for the Good and in its other fundraising efforts.

To most, Election Day is pretty much simple. We wake up, go about our day, at some point go by the polls and cast a ballot, then tune in to find out the results.

“Golda” is a finely-chiseled biopic of Golda Meir (Helen Mirren), Israel’s prime minister from 1969-1974 and the fourth leader of the nation. The film focuses on the 19 grueling days of Israel’s Yom Kippur War in October 1973, when Egypt and Syria attacked the country simultaneously.

In school our kids are taught a lot of subjects, but financial literacy is not one of them. What is the value of money? What is the time value of money? What is the difference between simple and compound interest? The teaching of financial literacy, like morality or patriotism, is a parental responsibility. How are we doing? Surveys show most Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck and do not have enough money on hand to cover even a $400 emergency.