Publisher: Big decisions loom in 2012

The new year has begun with a bang in Baton Rouge and Louisiana, especially in the sports arena. But Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says there are bigger battles in store—with even bigger stakes—than those which Louisianans have been obsessing about on the football field. “There is a heavy dose of politics ahead—local, state and national. A mayor-president and Metro Council will be elected. Gov. Bobby Jindal has big plans for education reform in the upcoming session of the Legislature. And, of course, 2012 will see elections for president and Congress,” McCollister says. Meanwhile, “the pressure is on” the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to make a quality selection in its search for the next superintendent as “business and public support hang in the balance,” McCollister says. And all this is happening as a new charter school group, THRIVE, is presenting “a bold concept for Baton Rouge.” McCollister also gives the mayor another push to make an extreme makeover of the old city dock a priority and form a committee to solicit proposals. Read the full column here, and send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.