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Wed
30
Sep

A Visit to DC

by Stephen Waguespack
 
A visit to the nation’s capital can be inspiring and discouraging at the same time. Last week, more than twenty members of the LABI Board of Directors traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with our Congressional delegation, as well as with policy and political experts from groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Tax Foundation and the Heritage Foundation. This was our second annual D.C. Fly-in, a new initiative we started at LABI to respond to the growing concerns our members have with the escalating, intrusive regulatory approach of the federal government.
 
Wed
23
Sep

DIGGIN’ IN DESOTO

By John Blanchard

 

The Great Depression (1930s) taught us we must live, have faith, cooperate and help others, near the 10 Commandments, and it was not easy since there was no lesson to follow only a strong will to survive. Joe Cur Leggett was our day hand, laborer and near one of our family since he lived in a small house behind ours and ate the three hot meals as did we. Joe had epilepsy, the serious kind.

 

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Wed
23
Sep

The Ultimate Goal

By Stephen Waguespack

 

Sometimes we can lose sight of the ultimate goal, especially when we are in the thick of the fight. The current political debate in Louisiana on government budgets and economic growth is a good example of this common mistake. These days, it is very much en vogue to wail away about the budgetary challenges of state government and promise to bear hug any option thrown around to address it.

 

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Wed
16
Sep

DIGGIN’ IN DESOTO

By John Blanchard
 
Politics make strange bedfellows’’
It is true throughout the land and less a fact in southern communities like ours when three of our important parish officials got home free, that is, without opposition. Jeremy Evans, serving his first term of clerk of court, drew no opponent (he is the son of district attorney Gary Evans and nephew of the coroner Dr. Jeffery Evans who drew no opposition). Anne Gannon, tax assessor, will go into another four-year term without drawing an opponent.
 
Wed
16
Sep

Standing Guard for 40 Years

By Stephen Waguespack
 
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) turned 40 years old on Friday, Sept. 4. LABI was created in 1975 by the merging of the Louisiana Manufacturers Association, the Louisiana State Chamber of Commerce and the Louisiana Political Education Council. This alignment of horsepower ensured the organization was ready to take on a huge political challenge, a successful fight that would turn out to be one of the most important victories for the Louisiana economy in modern history.
Wed
09
Sep

DIGGIN’ IN DESOTO

By John Blanchard

 

Boys will be boys and sometimes we are disruptive with our pranks. Stealing watermelons is not too bad, but plugging them to see if they are ripe is not too gentlemanly and one could hear a shotgun on the second trial in the watermelon patch. Entering the sugarcane field is expected, but the noise gives the thieves away and there is a race to see who gets away from there unscathed.
 
Wed
09
Sep

A Week of Reflection

By Stephen Waguespack

 

It was a tough week for many in Louisiana. This week, two Louisiana police officers were senselessly killed while simply doing their job. One officer had stopped on the side of the road to check on a stranded vehicle, the other was responding to a report of a domestic dispute. These brave public servants are unfortunately joined by three other police officers killed in Louisiana earlier this year in the line of duty.
 
Wed
02
Sep

Guest Column: 10 Years After Hurricane Katrina

August 29, 2015 marks the 10-year anniversary of New Orleans’ direct hitfrom the now in famous Category 5 mega storm, Hurricane Katrina. The power of the massive, 127 mph hurricane compromised the below sea-level city’s levee system, causing levee breeches that led to wide spread flooding in over 80 percent of the city. Hurricane Katrina was a disaster of un paralleled proportion in Louisiana. Over 1,000 people lost their lives in the storm, and hundreds of thousands of residents lost their homes and liveli hoods. People who had evacuated from New Orleans returned to a city that, for a time, see med to be without hope.

 

Wed
02
Sep

DIGGIN’ IN DESOTO

Let me tell you about “Mike the Magnificent”, an English setter which knew more about bird (quail) hunting than most hunters and liked nobody, but would hunt with anyone because that was what he was bornto do. He had a little swagger about him and his hard head. He was a gift from our dear friend and long time and long ago friend, the late FredNielsen of Winnsboro in Franklin Parish.

 

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Wed
26
Aug

DIGGIN’ IN DESOTO

By John Blanchard
 
This is the time of year when young mothers drop off preschoolers and first graders for the first time and with a few tears, certainly, but it is child’s play compared to leaving one at a college or university. As time grew near for him to enroll at LSU we noticed a definite quietness about the household as the days were counted by her ever so fast.
 

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