Columns & Opinions

As we attend the myriad of graduations, there is one class that may be an indication of the survival of the great city of Shreveport. Those kindergartners entering the first grade will be graduating from high school in the year 2035, the same year as the city’s celebration of its 200-year anniversary. We assume that there will be annual pomp and circumstance from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, but what will be offered as a future for the class of 2035? And what role will the Caddo Parish School Board, educators and parents play in providing the greatest of opportunities for all of the graduates?

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux, Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark, Finance Director Sherricka Fields-Jones and SPAR Director Shelly Ragel evaluated the four responses to the Request for Proposals (RFP) to evaluate the proposal submitted by REV Entertainment for the Shreveport entertainment venue to be located at the State Fairgrounds.

As of May 25 , money market funds can be purchased with yields of 5%; three-month CDs and T- bills can be purchased to yield 5.3%. What a deal! This is great news for savers and risk-averse investors. (It’s bad news for banks losing demand deposits to these higher-yielding cash equivalents, but’s that another story for another day.)

Shreveport’s Querbes Park golf and tennis facilities have gotten a long-overdue renovation just in time for the park’s 100-year anniversary in 2024.

Good morning. Do you have time to modify the Witness Protection Flyer to change it to Caddo?

Federal highway officials canceled the controversial Interstate 49 Inner-City Connector project in the 1990s due to environmental concerns.

The implementation of the Shreveport Smoke-Free Air Act in 2021 was lauded as a step in the right direction toward providing safer working conditions for residents of Shreveport. It acknowledged the harmful effects of tobacco use not only on primary users but on those who are exposed through secondhand smoke. It particularly sent the message that the health of those residents who worked in establishments where smoking is more likely to take place – bars and casinos – were being privileged over profit. It seems that is no longer the case.

Supporters and opponents of the controversial $1 billion Interstate 49 Inner-City Connector project took turns last week lobbying new Louisiana Transportation Secretary Eric Kalivoda in Shreveport. The setting was the monthly meeting of the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments, the regional transportation board promoting the ill-fated ICC. NLCOG met at the Caddo-Bossier Port’s Regional Commerce Center.