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Riegel: Local control over Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program makes sense
Gov. John Bel Edwards set off alarm bells in June 2016, when he issued an executive order designed to rein in the state’s Industrial Tax...
Riegel: Sidewalk spat says a lot about parochial Baton Rouge
When the board of directors of the Stanford Oaks Property Owners Association voted in June to close to the public a sidewalk through their...
Riegel: Helping the autistic transition into adulthood
Like many parents whose children were being diagnosed in the early 2000s with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Steve and Sharon Whitlow did everything they could...
Riegel: How long will Louisiana ignore fiscal reform?
It’s hard to decide which of the travesties of the recent Legislative session to be more upset about: The failure of the gasoline tax...
Riegel: The start of something good
In March 2016, Dave Treppendahl made a major bet on north Baton Rouge, when he acquired the dilapidated Hawthorne Heights Apartments at 2136 N....
Riegel: Discouraging investment in our community
Between the state’s unpredictable and ever-changing tax climate, transportation infrastructure problems, troubled schools and skilled worker shortage, it’s hard enough attracting business, industry and...
Riegel: An arcane ruling with potentially big implications for affordable housing
A recent ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans could have negative implications for the development of quality affordable housing...
Riegel: An opportunity for leadership
There are those who expected the sky would fall on the day the U.S. Justice Department announced its decision not to prosecute two Baton...
Riegel: How Louisiana lost a $10 billion plant
It wasn’t easy for Tommy Kurtz to leave Louisiana. The former Louisiana Economic Development executive grew up in New Orleans—a Jesuit High School Blue...
Riegel: EBR Council on Aging needs more oversight
Supporters of the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging will tell you their organization and its embattled executive director, Tasha Clark-Amar, have been unfairly...
Riegel: The dirty fight over a flood recovery contract
When a contract worth somewhere between $250 million and $350 million is up for grabs, you have to know it’s not going to go...
Riegel: Question marks during a period of transition
On March 15, more than three months after her election, Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s transition team leaders were scheduled at last to release the...
Riegel: The futility of community dialogue
Baton Rouge will soon face what, inevitably, will become a pivotal moment in its history. That moment might come a week from now. It...
Riegel: The multimillion-dollar question facing Baton Rouge’s most ambitious plans
It’s been nearly a year since a study on the feasibility of building a new Baton Rouge Zoo put the estimated cost at $110...
Riegel: The face of Syrian refugees in Baton Rouge
I recently had the pleasure of meeting a new family that has relocated to Baton Rouge. They don’t have a lot of money and...
Riegel: Jindal-era economic deal doesn’t live up to billing
When Louisiana Economic Development was trying to woo GE Capital to Louisiana in 2013 to open a technology center in downtown New Orleans, it...
Riegel: FEMA failures and flaws
While most of us were enjoying the recent holidays from the comfort of our own homes—or, at least, those of our relatives or friends—some...
Riegel: The bitter divides of 2016 aren’t going anywhere in 2017
Now that 2016 is coming to an end, we can say goodbye to one of the more difficult and divisive years in recent memory....
Riegel: Sudden departure
After just 18 months at the helm of the LSU Foundation, Stephen Moret’s announcement that he is leaving the organization to take over the...
Riegel: Some thoughts on Thanksgiving in a ‘post-truth’ world
In this season of Thanksgiving, it’s important to remember all that we have to be thankful for in our nation. But I don’t think...
