Central City News

Thank You I want to take this time to offer my sincerest “Thank You” to CH2MHILL. When our city was starting up, we advertised for a company to provide Central City Services, and CH2MHill was the only company to submit a proposal.  CH2MHILL carried us through several declared disasters and the day-to-day maintenance of our […]

Mrs. Cindy Richard made this wonderful German chocolate cake and brought it to the Central City News office to help celebrate the newspaper’s receiving the Louisiana Press Association’s annual Freedom of Information Award. CENTRAL — At the Louisiana Press Association annual awards ceremonies Saturday night, I felt very honored to accept the LPA’s Freedom of […]

CENTRAL — Councilman Tony LoBue has endured a world of unjust and undeserved criticism over the past two weeks, relative to his service as chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Legal Services. The criticism is that Councilman LoBue brought to his committee, which was holding its first meeting to look at the city’s legal services, […]

CENTRAL — Despite what some people at Central City Hall may think, neither the Mayor nor the Central City Council has the legal authority to alter the requirements of Louisiana’s Public Records Law (R.S. 44:1 et seq), much less the Louisiana Constitution. But that’s what some of them seem intent on trying to do. It’s […]

By Woody Jenkins. CENTRAL — The Advocate for Wednesday, March 23, 2011, recounted the fiscal crisis which parish school systems around the state are facing.  For example, the East Baton Rouge Parish School System has a $39 million deficit and the probability of layoffs of some of the system’s 6,500 employees.  Likewise, Livingston Parish schools […]

By Woody Jenkins. CENTRAL — The Louisiana Legislature called itself into a 25-day Special Session last Sunday to reapportion Louisiana’s Congressional districts, State House, State Senate, Public Service Commission, and  Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. For Central, district lines for these governmental bodies are expected to remain virtually identical, expect for the State Senate. […]

By Woody Jenkins WASHINGTON — Samuel Morse sent the message “What has God wrought?” from the old Supreme Court chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building to his partner in Baltimore via telegraph in 1844.  He soon extended his lines to New York City. Western Union was founded in 1851 and by 1861 had built a transcontinental telegraph line.  Telegrams flew from […]

By Woody Jenkins CENTRAL — When it incorporated five years ago, Sandy Springs, Ga., (pop. 83,000) was the first city in America to completely privatize all city services.  It was followed by the cities of Milton, Ga. (pop. 31,000), Johns Creek, Ga. (pop. 70,000), and Chattahoochee Hills, Ga. (pop. 14,000).  All of the cities farmed out […]

By Woody Jenkins CENTRAL — For the past three years, the Central City News has put the spotlight on the proposed Baton Rouge Loop.  Using Louisiana’s Public Records Law, we have brought you internal Loop documents that have shown: • The cost of building the Loop, based on their own studies, would be closer to $6 […]

By Woody Jenkins CENTRAL, Feb. 10, 2011 — The federal census results for 2010 are now pouring in, and it is clear that East Baton Rouge Parish is the largest parish in the state. Population has declined in Orleans Parish, while it has grown in the Capital region and on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. […]