Though Mayor Kip Holden had showed up to a press conference Wednesday morning to highlight a community cleanup effort and his office’s involvement, the mayor ended up stealing the show by publicly confirming that the Miss USA pageant would be returning to Baton Rouge this year for a second year.
“I am happy to tell you Miss USA is coming back to Baton Rouge,” Holden said at the press conference, as first reported by Daily Report. “They enjoyed it so much last year they called us and said they’re coming back.”
Though the timing of Holden’s announcement was unexpected, news of the development was not. Last month, the mayor’s office asked the Metro Council to appropriate $230,000 for expenses related to the 2015 pageant. At the time, an administration spokesman would say only that no deal had been finalized, though the request led to multiple media reports that the pageant would be back for a second year. The Metro Council OK’d the pageant spending on Wednesday evening.
Also this week, Daily Report received confirmation from Capital Area Transit System Board Chair Donna Collins-Lewis that she has reached an agreement with CATS CEO Bob Mirabito to extend his contract.
Collins-Lewis says the CATS Finance and Executive Committee will take up the contract next week.
“If everything looks good and they sign off on it, then it will be put on the full board’s agenda for the meeting on April 21,” says Collins-Lewis, who also sits on the Metro Council.
As for details of the new contract, Collins-Lewis says she isn’t disclosing any until the committee has had a chance to review the pact and vote on it.
