Baton Rouge McCollister Louisiana

Publisher: Will Baton Rouge ever learn … and embrace change?

They say, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” As I wrote in my last editorial, the world is not remaining...

Alford: An early legislative preview

It's no secret the Louisiana Legislature has undergone significant changes over the past few election cycles, and that both the House and Senate have...

Alford: Strong legislative cycle kicking off

Lobbyists, candidates, incumbents and consultants have been on pins and needles this week. They’re ready for qualifying to come and go, for the sign-up...
JR Ball

JR Ball: Don’t blame LSU football

To the surprise of exactly no one, the instant the LSU athletic department proudly unveiled its latest keeping-up-with-the-jones Taj Mahal of a football operations...
Stephanie Riegel CATS

Riegel: A bittersweet look into an emptying nest

Over the course of the next three weeks, all three of my now-grown children will be leaving Louisiana—one to Teach for America in Ohio,...

Publisher: Bob Dylan gave us all good advice in ’64

Come gather ‘round, people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time...

‘Alford:’ Silly season has arrived in governor’s race 

All credit goes to state Rep. Sam Jones, who probably stole it from someone else before I took it from him and made it...

Alford: The many faces of the governor’s race

They just keeping coming.  There are the super PACs connected (some firmly, others loosely) to the campaigns, ready and willing to spend money (lots of...
JR Ball

JR Ball: Perhaps Baton Rouge could use Batman to fight crime

Eight unrelated shootings in East Baton Rouge Parish over 10 days in late June left a senseless and bloody trail of bodies. Four lives...
Stephanie Riegel CATS

Riegel: Louisiana’s role in the immigration debate

The immigration debate raging across the country may seem somewhat removed from us here in Louisiana, where the biggest threat to our southern border...
Rolfe McCollister

Publisher: Gov. John Bel Edwards is no conservative

If you look up John Bel Edwards on Wikipedia, it describes the governor as a “conservative Democrat.” Someone should correct that. Sure, as we...

Alford: And now the weather… 

In south Louisiana, where politics and football are too easily labeled as theater and where forgotten pirates and fallen pastors maintain high regards, the...

Alford: Young voters, women candidates are trends to watch

On one side of the ballot, prognosticators and at least one poll are predicting that young voters will cast a long shadow over next...

Alford: Polling and politics are a match made in hell

Have you seen any polls lately? Did you get our poll? You're not going to cover that poll, are you?  Do you know who's in the field...
JR Ball

JR Ball: Brother, can you spare $2 million for poor Baton Rouge?

The outrage was almost immediate. Baton Rouge and its city-parish government, with an annual budget just shy of $1 billion, can’t find a spare...
Stephanie Riegel CATS

Riegel: Making sense of the MovEBR management contracts

I am still struggling to understand how the city-parish and its two program management teams of 16 engineering and consulting firms—that’s right, 16—will efficiently...
Rolfe McCollister

Publisher: Take a single step forward on Florida Boulevard

It was sad reading our recent cover story (“No man’s land,” May 21) on the demise of Florida Boulevard. I participated with the Regional/Urban...

Alford: Storylines for the Louisiana governor’s race

The inaugural campaign of Gov. John Bel Edwards dished up a full course of lessons for Louisiana.   We found out that personality politics can...
JR Ball

JR Ball: Baton Rouge keeps wasting its enormous potential

As someone who grew up somewhere other than here, it’s forever amazing to me how Baton Rouge—a natural resource rich capital city with the...
Stephanie Riegel CATS

Riegel: One small step for a north Baton Rouge community

In a recent column, I questioned why Louisiana, in general, and Baton Rouge, in particular, are so mired in the problems of the past...