Columns & Opinions

Should Gov. Landry appoint Ernie Roberson to Caddo Elections Board of Supervisors?

This has been a year of change in Shreveport, but it has been a slow change, which I think people are willing to deal with if it improves the quality of their lives. This has been a feeling-out year for all parties, and now it is time to stop the feeling-out and do the people’s business, which is the challenge for Mayor Arceneaux and the city council.

The good news first! On Jan. 16, Bossier City Charter Commission selected Preston Friedley as chairman, Shane Cheatham as vice chairman and Sandra Morehart as secretary during its first meeting after the city council. Lee A. Jeter Sr., David Johnson, Julianna Parks, Panderina Soumas, Vicky Whitman and Lisa Wilhite are the additional commissioners.

Greg Tarver just finished up his last term in the Louisiana Senate after serving from 1984-2002 and then from 2012-24. Governors in office during his tenure included Edwin Edwards, Buddy Roemer and John Bel Edwards. He is one of the area's most colorful local politicians, and he is regularly consulted by local leaders on political issues. He says he does not miss the drives to and from Baton Rouge; however, his interest in bettering Shreveport and Caddo Parish has not abated. Tarver's family has been in Shreveport for 150 years. He is the trustee for the family funeral home, and he has an office supply company. Whether or not it's really true, he says he still occasionally sleeps in a casket at work! Politics has been in Tarver's blood for many years. He served on the Caddo Police Jury (now the Caddo Commission) and the Shreveport City Council. He was a pioneer for racial equality on both bodies and developed a wellearned reputation for working with all parties to achieve results. As he says, 'You don't have to like someone to work with them' in the political arena. Tarver has been a constant advocate for the LSU medical school and worked continually in the Senate to ensure funding for the school. He also obtained money for advanced programs at SUSLA and Grambling, along with the medical school. He also was successful in achieving funding for the Biomedical Research Foundation, now BRF. Tarver has been a mentor for Sam Jenkins, who was elected to fill his Senate District 39 seat after he was termed out. Tarver still has many contacts throughout the state and especially in Baton Rouge. One can expect he will keep the phone lines busy, not only keeping up with matters but also sharing his wisdom and experience.

Serious Questions About Whitehorn's Campaign Finance Reports!

Next year will mark 100 years since Marcus Garvey stated that poverty is “a hellish state to be in. It is no virtue. It is a crime. The hungry man steals bread, and thereby breaks the eighth commandment; by his state he breaks all the laws of God and man and becomes an outcast. In thought and deed he covets his neighbor’s goods; comfortless as he is, he seeks his neighbor’s wife; to him there is no other course but sin and death. That is the way of poverty. No one wants to be poor.”

A narrative can be defined as a particular way of explaining or understanding things. It is a type of shorthand communication used to simplify and clarify that which is complex and opaque. Narratives are commonplace in the investing world. Investing is hard work – why not take a short cut here or there? Narratives are just that: short cuts. Consumers of narratives use them as substitutes for their own research and critical thinking. The more widely-disseminated the narrative, the more believable it becomes.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBS) members, policyholders and interested parties need to pay special attention to current happenings. The Louisiana Department of Insurance is conducting hearings in Baton Rouge on Feb. 14 and 15 to receive evidence and testimony regarding the proposed reorganization of BCBS from a mutual insurance company to a stock insurance company.