Continually evolving
To the editor:
Louisiana and Baton Rouge have plenty of good things going for them [“Random Thoughts,” Nov. 16], including a government that is working hard to lure businesses to the area. We’ve got great freight infrastructure in the Mississippi River that we should exploit as the Panama Canal is widened. We have at least two competitive higher ed institutions [LSU and Tulane], and we have a diverse mix of cultures. We just need to sweat the small stuff a little more.
The people in this area are top notch, but the goal of Baton Rouge becoming “America’s next great city” is a bit of a stretch. We need to correct the basic problems with this city—a lack of infill development, crime, a lack of transit and a very poor highway system—before we can move on to being the next great city.
Submitted online by formerTexan
To the editor:
I’ve had four friends move from Baton Rouge since the summer. They all were in their 20s and looking to build their lives in the types of competitive cities suggested in the column [Houston, Raleigh, Austin, Los Angeles]. They moved for better jobs, better pay and better futures.
There’s nothing to suggest that this migration will change. People from Louisiana are very proud, and their children will be proud to say they’re from Louisiana when they move. But you can make jambalaya and watch LSU football from Austin.
I don’t think people in Louisiana are ready to face the realities of a globally competitive world, and their people will continue to vote with their feet.
Scott Bankston, Baton Rouge
To the editor:
I know what Louisiana and Baton Rouge are going to look like in 20 years. They will look the same. People here don’t change; they adapt slowly and fight progress.
Progressive thinkers will remain few in number and continue fighting until some of them, like me, give up and move away.
Submitted online by radiohead
Power to the people
To the editor:
Let’s not forget the root of the problem. The people need a place to sit while waiting for the bus [“Free ride,” Nov. 16]. The people walk to the bus stop, stand, transfer to another bus, stand again, get to work and then repeat the process to get home. These people are just trying to make an honest living. Let’s help them by giving them a bench to sit on.
Shame on the Metro Council. They are not thinking of the people. Let’s see council members trade shoes for one day with these riders. Whatever happened to helping thy neighbor? The benches now look terrible, and competition would be good for Baton Rouge.
Submitted online by its_all_about_the_people
Their time will come
To the editor:
Livingston Parish residents are anxiously waiting for the day when we no longer have to cross the Amite River for jobs, for restaurants or for retail [“Swoon song,” Nov. 16]. We want to spend our $900 million here, funding schools that actually educate children and law enforcement that is capable of keeping crime in check. The perception that people don’t want to come to Livingston Parish because of the traffic is wrong. If that’s the case, why is our population booming while Baton Rouge’s population is not?
Submitted online by Linzyrae
Parking problems
To the editor:
A majority of respondents to your online poll believe LSU shouldn’t charge for football game parking next year [Daily Report, Nov. 18]. This seems emblematic of the enormous disconnect between fans, on one hand, and the people who care about LSU, on the other.
After each home football game, the campus is trashed, requiring Facilities Services, the campus maintenance crew, to allocate enormous numbers of extra man-hours and money to return the physical spaces—inside and out—to acceptable conditions. Despite receptacles, trash is everywhere; plant beds have been trampled. I know of instances when fans have entered open buildings and urinated on the floors.
Who do these visitors think will pay for the cleanup, which is mandatory and above normal requirements?
If LSU fans don’t want to pay for game-day parking, which would raise money to help clean up the campus after games, perhaps they would like to rally the governor and their legislators, and demand they increase the state’s allocation to the university’s budget, not only to protect the academic side but also the physical plant.
Mary Ann Sternberg, Baton Rouge
