The Supreme Court ruled on June 8 that the recently redistricted Alabama congressional map likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by diluting the votes of Black residents. Although the ruling was for Alabama, the ruling applies to Mississippi, Louisiana and South Carolina as well, and even Arkansas is investigating the ruling.
Seven days before Stormageddon, which left much of Shreveport without power for over a week, I helped push through funding for two emergency response sites with backup power and water systems to allow us to cope with our recurring weather disasters. Recent events have made the wisdom of this investment painfully obvious.
The major disaster that struck northwest Louisiana last week was unprecedented.
The textbook definition of “compassionate conservatism” is what Gov. Edwards and Senator Fred Mills did with respect to the LBGTQ community. They both rejected the efforts of some of their fellow conservatives, who wanted to codify in law the singling out of one group of Louisianans from the rest of us.
Recently, I attended a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) meeting that caused me to pause and ponder. A discussion that started out talking about the status or last words of input concerning the I-49 Inter-City Connector (ICC) ended up discussing the status of Shreveport housing and to what effect that the more housing is improved, the better for the whole city. Tim Magner was asking a land use question concerning the many (thousands) of vacant lots/adjudicated properties that exist and whose responsibility is it to put together the right policy to make the redevelopment possible? Housing is an economy within itself, especially when you realize the amount of industries that are connected to it, from the construction crews, the building materials, the financing entities, and don’t forget the realtors. This is exactly what is needed in most of Shreveport’s predominantly black communities and in fulfilling that need, the whole of the city of Shreveport can benefit. So who’s suppressing Shreveport’s Black economy?
We are all aware that our water system fails during extreme cold weather -- twice in the last four years. It is wise to plan for the types of emergencies that are likely to occur. It is unwise not to prepare for the emergencies that repeatedly occur in our city.
This Sunday is Father’s Day, the special day that celebrates the unique role fathers play in their children’s lives. It is a day to acknowledge and appreciate the formal title of 'father,' but it also serves as a reminder of the true essence of fatherhood, and that is the real work of being a dad.
A decision that lingered was all now in the mayor’s hand: to veto or not to veto.
Mayor Arceneaux missed a golden opportunity to show the workers in the Shreveport casinos that he would stand up for those who don’t have a voice, like those aforementioned casino workers. The effort to change the casino smoking ban, which will allow certain areas in Shreveport casinos to become smoking areas, was sudden and curious to a lot of citizens. It just seems like it became a priority in a short period of time.
Shreveport Councilman Green Claims Immunity on Defamatory Remarks
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