Central City News

As children, we learned Hans Christian Andersen’s story about the emperor who had no clothes. The Emperor was not known for making wise decisions but for spending much of his time in his dressing room. If someone wanted to see him, his advisors would tell them he’s in his dressing room. The city where he […]

A Central School Board member who led the fight to raise property taxes without a vote of the people in May is now running as though he never led that fight.  Mr. Phil Graham, who is running for the seat from District 4 in a special election Nov. 13, now says, “As your school board […]

A series of public meetings is being held across East Baton Rouge Parish to gauge voters’ reaction to far-ranging proposed changes in the City-Parish Plan of Government. So far, one of the most significant changes — adding a 13th Metro councilman elected parishwide — doesn’t seem to be getting much traction. Metro Councilman Dwight Hudson […]

The Republican Party of Louisiana is sponsoring an Override the Vetoes Rally at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 19 on the steps of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.  The Louisiana Legislature is expected to convene in a Veto Session at 12 noon the next day, Tuesday, July 20. Conservative leaders from across the state […]

By Woody Jenkins, editor, Central City News • BATON ROUGE — Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has vetoed 28 bills passed by the Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, including 12 conservative bills authored by Republican legislators who oppose much of Edwards’ agenda.  Edwards raised eyebrows by vetoing these bills: •To allow the Republican and […]

Early in the pandemic last spring, Gov. John Bel Edwards used a provision of Louisiana’s emergency powers law to have Central pastor Tony Spell arrested for holding worship services at Life Tabernacle Church on Hooper Road. Now, in a surprise move, the Louisiana Legislature has suspended the power of the governor to levy criminal penalties […]

It is almost impossible for the ordinary citizen to keep up with how his representative and senator votes in the legislature.  There are simply too many bills and too many votes. Things move fast at the legislature, and even if you were there full-time, you probably couldn’t keep up. However, now the Central City News […]

My friend, the late Rep. Shady Wall (D-Monroe), was committed several times, and fellow House members often thought that perhaps he was released a bit early. His dear wife was rather wealthy — as he often told us from the well of the Louisiana House Chamber.   Rep. Shady Wall was known as a dandy […]

During the course of the recently-completed 2021 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, the battle for the heart and soul of the state often got little attention. It was often fought in sparsely-attended committee meetings, unnoticed by the liberal media, or during floor debate on bills that never made the 6 p.m. news. The Louisiana […]

Sen. Bodi White’s legislation to allow the City of Central and the City of Zachary to retain taxes currently paid to BREC and use them for parks in their respective cities is moving steadily through the legislative process. SB 205 was heard in the Senate Committee on Municipal and Parochial Affairs, which passed it out […]