Columns & Opinions

The word “fine” is defined as describing excellence, but another definition says it means to be satisfactory. Big difference, right?

Nothing satisfies more than a tidy email inbox. Unfortunately, I’ve seldom felt that satisfaction.

Really didn’t anticipate writing this after the season the Tigers have had, but here we are.

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Ahead of Tuesday’s Shreveport City Council meeting, the council’s Audit and Finance Committee met to hear reports on recent audits. If, like me, this is the stuff that you live for, you can find the meeting on Facebook’s Shreveport Government page -- a modern convenience that has allowed me to keep up with Shreveport even when I was in a hospital bed in Minden, L.

Almost 40 years ago, when I was a young man and starting a family in Shreveport, there was an impressive young man working in law enforcement, and his name was Steve Prator. He had already been a police officer for 10 years and was building a reputation as a solid individual. In 1990, after starting at the street level, he had raised his profile enough until he was appointed chief of police for Shreveport by then-Mayor Hazel Beard. He was 39 years old and had been on the force for almost 20 years. He was the right man for the jo, and immediately started to put his mark on the force.

With so much being written and spoken about the increase in violence and criminal activities in our city and parish, as well as the lack of solutions to decrease such, an ageold question comes to mind: Are we benefitting ourselves with the number of parish commissioners, school board members and council persons we have?

Jack Webb as Joe Friday on the TV series “Dragnet” was renowned for his constant mantra, “Just the facts, ma’am.”