Columns & Opinions

A Governmental Process We Can Be Proud Of

A young woman pulled up in a city of Shreveport truck to meet me and inspect a situation that neighbors were having with erosion of a muddy hill running off and eventually into the city’s storm drains. Smiling and energetic -- I’ll call her April -- she sprung out of her city truck and expressed great interest in the muddy mess that was causing distress in this small corner of Shreveport. April took lots of pictures and asked great questions. After her investigation was done, she seemed excited to help. She told me, “This is what I do. I love taking on these issues and getting them solved.” I actually believe April will solve it.

The past 20 months have been difficult ones for the city of Shreveport and for the country dealing with Covid and the economic toll it has taken on a lot of families. Today, despite historic amounts of monies being shoved out the door in Washington, many American families still find themselves struggling to make ends meet.

As I was signing in for the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association meeting in a crowded multipurpose room at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church, a Shreveport police officer walked through the door. I asked the ladies at the table if they had pitchforks and torches out in the parking lot. This was the first of two meetings I attended that had attendance of over 100-strong citizens of Shreveport that week.

Recently, the Shreveport City Council voted to implement a guaranteed income program that will give $600 dollars to some of the poorest households in Shreveport. The program is supported by the mayor, who evidently believes that this program will incentivize participants to look for meaningful employment and also help with childcare and other expenses.

A capacity crowd in Shreveport’s Broadmoor neighborhood Tuesday heard details of a proposed service center to fight absenteeism among grade-school children in the vacant Arth

Gangs, gangs, gangs.

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