BusinessReport.com

Posted on July 2 at 4:58 p.m.

To huskybee and others: No question, land use and a lack of planning for future growth is a significant factor. Who controls land use and whether or not this city pursues alternative transportation proposals? In EBR it is the Metro Council. Not only do council members vote on these issues, but they are the ones who appoint members to the various commissions that deal with the related public policies. I can't stress how vitally important the fall elections will be. I know the presidential race will dominate, but nine of 12 council members won't be running, due to term limits or personal choice. Not only would I suggest asking candidates in your particular district where they stand on these vitally important issues, but also find out his/her position on at-large districts. Adding at least three at-large districts is crucial to ending the parochial thinking of our Metro government.

On Fueling smart growth

Posted on July 2 at 2:23 p.m.

To Superbeefinder: The YMCA closest to my home (the downtown Y) doesn't offer all day summer camp. The next closest, Southside, had a camp (which is where my children were registered) but it was transferred to Manship because of construction at Kenilworth Middle School. I don't want to say much more, because it's this situation, and the lack of notification, that I refer to in the opening graph (blood pressure and salty language). Long story short, I was notified while sitting in the Kenilworth parking lot on the first day of camp.

On Fueling smart growth

Posted on April 18 at 2:08 p.m.

Editor's Note: We remove comments ONLY when all or a portion of the comment contains material that alleges activity that our company can't verify. Moreover, we reserve the right to remove a comment if the editors feel the comments are unnecessarily personal or vulgar. Under current law, we can't remove only a portion of an individual's post; we must either leave the entire comment or remove it. As it relates to this particular story, we removed several posts, including some by surfdog1958, because of allegations we could not verify. Despite the removal, some, including surfdog1958, reposted the information and we again removed it. It is our corporate policy NOT to remove public comments once they have been posted, other than for one of the reasons stated above.

On LeJeune, Dolores

Posted on April 14 at 11:29 a.m.

To Fourx5: For the record, Business Report wrote a cover story last year on the ICF situation. We uncovered numerous problems, including the timing of the contract and ICF's IPO. So in that respect, your comment is inaccurate. Thanks.

On The New Orleans reality

Posted on March 17 at 4:37 p.m.

Yolanda: All the facts in Ms. Brown's story were verified. No one has raised a question regarding the accuracy of the story. The attention seems to be focused on the motivation for the story being written and published.

On Gautreaux rides in style as EBR’s new sheriff

Posted on March 13 at 3:19 p.m.

FROM THE EDITOR: The company has made the decision to remove several posts regarding this story. Since we have received questions about these removals let me attempt to explain. Under our editorial policy, we will remove any posts that contain allegations against an individual that our news organization can not verify. Under current law, we can't simply edit the specific comments from the post, but must remove the entire post or be exposed to legal action. I, and not the writer of the story, who has nothing to do with what posts remain or are deleted, ordered the removal of some posts that allege a personal bias on the part of the writer. As I explained to someone who called on behalf of the sheriff, the personal life of the writer had zero to do with the pursuing of this story. More important to me, is not why the story was pursued, but whether or not it is accurate. At this point, no one has provided one shred of evidence that indicates there was a single incorrect fact stated in the story. If there are further questions, please direct them to jrball@businessreport.com.

On Gautreaux rides in style as EBR’s new sheriff

Posted on February 19 at 4:41 p.m.

By the way, I have ZERO problem with Gov. Jindal and the Legislature tackling ethics reform. In fact, I have lobbied for such action on numerous occasions in the past. My concern...and the point of the column...was to make sure people understand that ethics reform alone does not solve what ails this state. Far too often, after picking off the low-hanging fruit people want to relax, celebrate and think the job is done. Ethics reform is a fabulous start--but it is just that, a start.

On Gotta start somewhere

Posted on December 18 at 4:08 p.m.

It was originally called Smiley Heights. Business Report did a cover story on the project last year. The plan called for a mixed-use, mixed-income development on land generally behind the Tech Park. There was also talk of building a school within the project. As I understand it (and am not certain on this), finding a way to fund the project has been difficult. There was a hope to use some of the Federal money from Katrina-Rita recovery to help with the residential component but I believe most of that grant money was steered to areas directly impacted by the storms. As I understand it, Commercial Properties and the private-sector developers are looking for other grant opportunities. Some of the housing would be at market rates while others would be subsidized. I am not sold on this town being ready for a mixed-race, mixed-income project but I applaud those who propose to build it. One other hurdle is the area where the project is to be built carries a negative stereotype in this town (known as Mall City) and there will have to be a PR campaign to deal with that issue as well.

On Thanks, Camm

Posted on December 14 at 11:26 a.m.

The plan for the old Wal-Mart site on Perkins has changed considerably since that meeting at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation several years ago. The latest renderings I saw included far more mixed-use and discussions were ongoing regarding residential. As for urbnplnr's point that density is not up for debate... I will be happy to discuss that with him or her in another forum. Considering Mr. Morton brought us Bon Carre, the Cap House restoration, One Eleven, The Brownstones and the (likely not to be built for financial reasons) Smiley Heights (now called Arden) mixed-use project, it's wrong to be happy that he's leaving Commercial Properties.

On What now?

Posted on December 14 at 11:12 a.m.

To ticlsu: I agree adding a third lane (for left turns) won't do much for traffic on Perkins. My point is traffic on Lee Drive gets backed up waiting for people to try and cross traffic and make a left. I travel on Lee Drive every day and it's rare on weekdays when I don't have to wait in a line of traffic while someone struggles to make a left. As for Col. Johnson, I am planning to move into a TND (Willow Grove). As for the Mortgage Finance Authority... the issue wasn't its existence but rather who the mayor and Walter Monsour were attempting to appoint—a former business partner and friend of Mr. Monsour's. There were also charges that the administration wanted to use authority money for reasons the management group at that time did not agree with.

On What now?