Author Archives: John Settle

It’s not even the Ides of March, but yet the rumblings on Shreveport mayoral candidates are increasing virtually daily.  Qualifying for the local elections (mayor, city council and Caddo School Board) is July 18 – July 20. The primary election is November 6 and the run-off election is December 8. Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler has […]

Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler has announced that she will seek a second term as mayor. She indicated that any formal announcement will be after the April 28 vote on “new” ad valorem taxes. Tyler refers to the tax initiatives as “renewals.” Since the millages expired on December 31 of last year, her classification is technically […]

The $1 billion proposed development for Cross Bayou has been a hot topic of discussion lately. Most of the chatter is about the scope of the project which attempts to check all the boxes for “pie in the sky” dreamers. A closer look of the “development team” of Paul Pratt, Theron Jackson and Curtis Joseph […]

On Tuesday the Shreveport City Council should officially hang out the “We Want Your Business “ sign by approving an industrial tax exemption (ITEP) for Inferno, a Shreveport machining company.  This exemption has been on the books for many years. In the past, these applications were approved only by the Louisiana Board of Commerce and […]

Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler is on the rubber chicken circuit pushing what she calls a “tax renewal” set for voter approval/disapproval on April 28. Actually, these millages are not renewals.  The taxes expired on December 31 of last year. Critics are complaining that the Tyler Administration is being less than truthful in their sales pitch. […]

In all the political hot stove talk about the fall mayor’s race, very little has been said about the Council races. All seven of the Council seats will be on the ballot.  To date, Council members Stephanie Lynch and James Flurry have publicly stated they will seek re-election. Councilman Willie Bradford is undecided. Councilman Jerry […]

It’s a question being quietly discussed and cussed in many Shreveport venues. “Quietly” in the sense that getting comments for publication is like finding hens teeth. Shreveport Mayor Tyler has nominated, Erin McCarty, a well known newscaster, to fill one of two expired seats on the controversial Architectural/Engineering Selection Committee (A/E). McCarty is to replace […]

The recent announcement of new possible development on Cross Bayou has raised more questions than answers. In a presentation to the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Paul Pratt pitched a $1 billion ten year public/private,  mixed-use development on Cross Bayou. The information released by a public relations firm for the Pratt development group was long […]

Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler’s biggest setback as mayor was the defeat by the Shreveport City Council of her proposed sports complex for Cross Bayou. Now a private group is quietly making the rounds with the “downtown crowd” pushing a new development for this area. The December minutes of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) show that […]

In the “good ole days”, tax renewals for basic government services were generally a slam dunk for voter approval.  Those days have changed, as witnessed by the defeat of several Caddo Commission renewals last year. Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler has called a special election on April 28 to renew ad valorem taxes.  These five year […]