Capital City News

Citizens of Louisiana, Two hundred thirteen years ago today, on January 11, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson directed Robert Livingston and James Monroe to enter into a treaty with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory. What followed was the largest territorial gain in the United States’ history. New American land from fifteen present-day states and two […]

On January 11, 2016 an icon of Baton Rouge and Parkview Baptist passed into glory.  If you were blessed during your high school years to be influenced by a special teacher or coach who you will never forget, then you know a little about what Boots Garland meant to us here at Parkview.  From 1984 […]

Louisi-ana voters will go to the polls on Saturday, March 5 in the state’s Presidential Primary.  Fourteen Republican candidatess will appear on the ballot including the top two candidates — Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Democratic voters will choose between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.  You must be a member of a political party in […]

On paper, the Speaker of the Louisiana House has enormous power.  Unlike Congress, where seniority is important in choosing not only committee chairmen but the members of each committee, Louisiana does not have a seniority system at all.  As a result, under House Rules, the Speaker appoints every single House committee chairman.  Not only that.  He […]

Republicans in the Louisiana House did something Monday that hasn’t been done in nearly 100 years.  They elected a Speaker of the House who was not handpicked in advance by the governor. This rare expression of legislative independence came after the election of a Democratic governor in a state where 61 of the 105 members of […]

Louisiana voters are wondering what the election of Rep. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, as governor will mean to the future of the state.  During the recent gubernatorial campaign, Edwards’ Republican opponent, Sen. David Vitter, described Edwards as a left-wing Democrat in the mold of President Barack Obama.  For his part, Edwards denied that comparison […]

“The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in, and ready at any instant to fall.” — A. E. Housman If we are going to learn from the recent election and not repeat our mistakes in the future, we have to be honest with ourselves and not blindly repeat our own […]

East Baton Rouge Parish native Robby Miller made history Nov. 21 by being elected President of Tangipahoa Parish — only the second person ever to hold that ofice.  Miller has lived in Tangipahoa since enrolling in SLU in the early 1980’s.  On Saturday, Nov. 21, the voters of Tangipahoa Parish went into new territory, electing a local […]

“Tradition?” one new Republican House member said, “I’m not here to uphold ‘tradition’!  I’m here to effect conservative change and serve as a check when Gov.-elect Edwards decides to pursue his liberal impulses!” For years, Republicans in the Louisiana House of Representatives have worked to get a majority of the 105 members of the House.  […]

One of the first important tests for new Attorney General Jeff Landry will be how he handles a major lawsuit filed in 2014 against insurance giant State Farm by outgoing Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. Caldwell alleged that State Farm has violated Louisiana’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and Monopolies Law by using scare tactics to steer […]