CenLamar | Est. 2006

  • Central Louisiana Denied Representation on House Appropriations Committee

    As The Town Talk reported yesterday, the Central Louisiana delegation, despite being the largest geographic contingency in the State legislature, “lost out” in the elections nominating members to the powerful House Appropriations Committee. The new members are: Rep.-elect Anthony Ligi, District 1; Rep. J.P. Morrell, District 2; Rep.-elect Simone Champagne, District 3; Rep. Jim Morris, District 4; Rep. James Fannin, District 5; Rep. Tom McVea, District 6; and Rep. Brett Geymann, District 7. The only one remotely connected to Central Louisiana is Fannin whose House District 13 includes a portion of Winn Parish. Our hope is that Representatives Ligi, Morrell,…

  • Notes on “The Shock Doctrine”

    A few months ago, I wrote about Naomi Klein’s latest book The Shock Doctrine and the assertions it makes about the privatization efforts underway in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But The Shock Doctrine is not only about New Orleans. Indeed, according to Klein, the dismantling of the public school system and the depletion of funding for public hospitals and low-income rental housing are merely symptoms of a larger economic paradigm, one primarily informed by the Chicago School and famed economist Milton Friedman. It is a paradigm predicated on the “science” of the “free markets,” and it…

  • Record Heat Wave (Apparently) Ending in Alexandria

    I have noticed that it’s been unseasonably warm here in Alexandria throughout the month of December. According to The Town Talk, we have set high temperature records for the past five consecutive days. Crazy…. After five straight days with high temperatures in the 80s, Thursday’s highs in Cenla are expected to be in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Today’s high of 83 set a record for Dec. 12 in Alexandria. The previous record was 79, set in 1939. Tuesday’s high of 82 set a record for Dec. 11 in Alexandria, besting the previous record of 80, set in 1949.…