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April 11, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
“Louisiana Legends” host Gus Weill interviews Ed Steimel July 25, 1997.
This week, Edward J. “Ed” Steimel passed away at the age of 94.
While his name may seem unfamiliar to some; he was well known to many…
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April 6, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
The myriad of political and policy changes afoot in the State Capitol have dominated many a headline over the last year or so. We have a Louisiana economy in recession, a state budget seemingly in constant deficit,…
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March 28, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
Life is about the choices we make.
Whether big or small, made in the blink of an eye, or after much consideration; the choices we make throughout our lives tell the story of our very existence.
Some of these…
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March 21, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
This weekend started off as a rainy one.
The gloomy weather, along with my need for some down time to recover from an illness, left our family largely homebound for a few days. I came across “Rocky IV”…
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March 14, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
The fiscal special session to raise revenues mercifully ended last week. Many individual and business taxpayers were left dangling in the wind as their financial futures were debated ad nauseam. It was chaotic and controversial, filled with…
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February 22, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
The devil is always in the details.
The state government deficit is big and the Legislature is in a special session called by the governor to review his plan for solving the problem. His plan is largely dependent…
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February 15, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
Last week was a noteworthy week.
For likely the first time in our state’s history, the Governor delivered a state of the state address to the people of Louisiana to discuss the government’s budget shortfall. Immediately thereafter, the…
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February 9, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
In Louisiana, we sure do know how to stretch out a good time.
While the rest of the country typically gets back to work shortly after the New Year, we Louisianans have a knack for drawing that holiday…
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February 2, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
The Public Affairs Research Council (PAR), a well-respected good government group, declared in a 1988 report that, “Louisiana’s pattern of increased spending in boom times has resulted in an overall level of operating expenditures the state cannot…
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January 25, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
Throughout life, we often find ourselves on a quest for that one silver bullet to solve our problems.
The problem with that simple approach is that most of life’s challenges are complex and multi-faceted, demanding a similarly complex…
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January 18, 2016
By: Stephen Waguespack
There is a subtle, yet significant, distinction between being “at” the table or being “on” it. If you don’t believe it, ask the Thanksgiving turkey how much he enjoys his seat at the table every year.
Last week,…
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January 11, 2016
By: Jim Patterson
With the inauguration of Gov. John Bel Edwards concluded and the Legislature sworn in, the work of addressing the challenges that lay ahead for Louisiana begins in earnest. The greatest of these challenges is the state budget….
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January 5, 2016
By: Courtney Baker
The New Year’s holiday is not only marked by fireworks and parades, but it is also a time to reflect upon the last year while looking ahead to the future’s possibilities. As a state, we must also…
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December 14, 2015
By: Stephen Waguespack
Lawyers love to fight about the nuances and subtle distinctions in the English language in order to achieve a specific result. Politicians do as well.
In the last legislative session and throughout this fall’s gubernatorial campaign, politicians have…
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December 7, 2015
By: Stephen Waguespack
Much has been written about Louisiana’s chronic state budget deficit. It seems the $25 billion state governmental budget is short once again; and the upcoming special legislative session is being hyped as the solution we have long…
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November 30, 2015
By: Stephen Waguespack
The decision is made. We selected our leader, and now it is time to focus on solving our problems.
No, I’m not talking about Coach Miles and the work ahead for the Tigers’ top dog and his team…
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November 23, 2015
By: Stephen Waguespack
Thankfully, the 2015 election season is finally over. After six months of attack ads and sound bites filled with personal accusations and character assassinations, we can move on as a state and get to work on the…
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November 17, 2015
By: Brian Landry
One election cannot change an entire way of life for our state, but it can set us back to a time when free enterprise was just a dream.
Louisiana residents will head to the polls…
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November 9, 2015
By: Stephen Waguespack
The Louisiana people are rightly frustrated and they are looking for hope. They want a new approach to old problems, inspiring leadership to rally around, honesty to admire and integrity to emulate.
On November 21, voters head to…
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November 2, 2015
By: Stephen Waguespack
There is potentially no more important issue in Louisiana than improving our educational system, yet this is not getting the attention it deserves in the governor’s race.
Decades of poor educational outcomes have contributed to our chronic challenges…
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