Columns & Opinions

Three people have said they will run for Shreveport mayor this year. In the near future, there will be four in the ring.

Everything worked. The lights are back on the Texas Street Bridge. Gremlins did briefly get ahold of the switch that turned on the lights. Electronics disappoint us when we count on them most. The evening was a little rainy and warm for February. A year ago, Shreveport was enduring Snowpocalypse ’21 and the near total breakdown of our water system, so it was great to see this event downtown this year.

I was asked some years ago to speak at a black history program celebration. The individual who was chair of the organization gave me the specifics of what my presentation should focus upon: name recognition, achievements, accomplishments, etc. I didn’t necessarily agree with the criteria stated, but being the “Dean of Sarcastic Realism” that I am, I agreed.

Over the last several months, I have listened to and engaged in verbal exchanges with some of the people on social media and elsewhere who speak negatively about Shreveport. Some of it is warranted with respect to the spike in crime, specifically homicides in the city, but most of it is unwarranted and untrue.

At its regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 8, the Shreveport City Council adopted an ordinance establishing a (Shreveport) Metropolitan Planning Commission.

I admit it, I’ve become an urbanist in my late middle years. I was drawn to the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission’s (MPC) February hearing. It’s as entertaining as the local pro-wrestling bouts that were televised in my youth, except that the chairs are bolted down so that combatants can’t get hurt.

Have y’all seen these billboards around the city targeting cleanliness in our neighborhoods and our streets? I personally interpreted the “Don’t Dump on Us” this way: Children expressing their concern, in an innocent way, that trash, garbage and all that mess were not good for their environments.

Well, it is that time again when the political season starts in Shreveport and Caddo Parish. This is going to be an interesting time in Shreveport, because of the fact that there is a perceived weak incumbent running for mayor. That perception may or may not be true, but it certainly has spurred a lot of interest in the job from an array of potential candidates.