BusinessReport.com

Rouzan row

To the editor:

I don’t appreciate having my name dragged through the mud in your editorials (Daily Report, Dec. 10-11).

Check my voting record while on the commission and check my reputation with members of the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition. Check with Boo Thomas, then issue an apology for what was said in the rantings on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

I have served this city at no compensation for 17 years and this Johnny-come-lately is going to take potshots at me while sitting behind his computer.

I demand an apology.

Frank Muscarello, Planning and Zoning Commission member, Baton Rouge

To the editor:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I choose not to address your stupidity. I will continue to pray that you find wisdom before you speak.

It’s my pleasure to serve.

Kip Holden, Mayor-President, Baton Rouge

20-30 vision

To the editor:

I am a single 20-30-something. One of the biggest obstacles in attracting single young professionals is the disappointing housing market for that age group [“Random Thoughts,” Dec. 4]. A young professional must either live in an apartment, an older condo or live 20-30 miles out of the city. There are no reasonably priced small homes, garden-style homes, or small older homes for the 20-30-something who doesn’t have a trust fund to pay half the costs, located in the city center where the restaurants and bars and shops this age group would frequent are located.

I see there is a push for more condos and townhomes in the downtown area which may help a bit—if they aren’t terribly expensive. Assume a 25-year-old looking for a first home can get a zero-down, prime interest rate loan with expected mortgage of $1,000 per month. The maximum loan amount is $160,000. I have found a few things … places that need $70,000 in work or places in a not-so-safe area of town or garden homes 20 minutes off the Gonzales exit.

It’s terribly frustrating to be condemned to apartment or condo life if you want to live in the city. My married friends of course have no problem: Two incomes means double the mortgage, and there are infinite possibilities for homes all throughout the city.

For a nearby comparison, there are several new developments in the Lafayette area. The homes are garden homes and smaller three-bedroom homes, and they are located closer to where the younger crowd works and plays. They are very reasonably priced. A single young professional in Lafayette can be a homeowner and not reduced to multi-family dwellings. I have not seen anything comparable in Baton Rouge and haven’t heard of it coming in the future.

I don’t think this city ever made a true attempt to attract single young professionals. No need to “re- focus” on young families. It’s apparent that’s where the focus has been all along.

Stephanie Bailey, Baton Rouge