Central City News

On October 13, I visited a bookstore in my hometown and a grocery store in my neighborhood. This is what I found on one day…  The well-known bookstore has a magazine section of more than 300 publications.  My grocery store’s magazine rack contains about 100 different publications.  I had hoped to find a magazine about […]

A stroll through the Capitol on Inauguration Day this past Monday brought back memories, some from long ago. The State Capitol has been something of a second home for me for the past 56 years. Not only the 28 years I represented Baton Rouge in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 2000 but […]

On October 12, 2019, the people of the proposed City of St. George voted to incorporate by an overwhelming margin, thereby authorizing the creation of Louisiana’s fifth largest municipality with 86,000 residents. Nevertheless, after the election, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome filed suit to stop the incorporation.  She was joined in that […]

Perhaps attorney Mary Olive Pierson is stronger on rhetoric than on law. In any case, she has allowed Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome to place herself in an untenable and rather embarrassing position. Ms. Pierson has allowed her client to file a highly-publicized suit to block the incorporation of the City of St. George, which was […]

The Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish has endorsed Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone for Governor in the Oct. 12 primary.  The move was a surprise because the state GOP endorsed both Rispone and Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-Ado), the two major Republican candidates running to replace Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. Parish Republican chairman […]

There is really no mystery about whether the proposed City of St. George will be a success, and there is certainly no mystery about whether the proposed Southeast school district will be a success. We don’t have to guess whether incorporating a new city and creating a new school system in this parish can work. […]

The Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish has voted to endorse four parishwide officials: •Sheriff Sid Gautreaux •Assessor Brian Wilson •Clerk of Court Doug Welborn •Coroner Dr. Beau Clark All four have Democratic opponents who have been endorsed by the Democratic Party. The GOP said, “We are blessed in East Baton Rouge Parish to […]

The Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish has made its first round of endorsements. These endorsements are for races where there is only one major Republican in the race. Next week, the party said it will issue endorsements where two or more Republicans are running. The GOP endorsed the four parishwide Republican elected officials […]

Very few Louisiana governors have been elected from Baton Rouge. Only one governor in living memory had his roots here, and most of our residents don’t even know it. Dave Treen was raised in North Baton Rouge and attended Istrouma Elementary School. His mother taught at Istrouma High School before the family moved to Jefferson […]

In 2012, a handful of small business owners created the Chamber of Commerce of East Baton Rouge Parish. It was intended to be a conservative, free enterprise voice for small business owners throughout the parish. Today, more than 300 small business owners participate in the activities of the ChamberEBR. The “new” Chamber has often found […]