Willson worked at Louisiana Tech as a fundraiser for the College of Engineering and Science when he heard about the opening at United Way in Shreveport. The board interviewed him, liked what they heard and hired him in April 2008.

“Allendale is right there next to downtown,” Brown said. “Allendale is kind of this gateway to the downtown area. A city is only as strong as its weakest neighborhood. Right now, Allendale is one of its weakest neighborhoods. That’s why I believe Shreveport is not strong.

“It got me thinking – life is too short,” Pourteau said. “I knew I needed to do something. The way I was going in life – just working customer service, going to work Monday through Friday, I wasn’t happy.

The panic that we all felt was real and justified. We separated, stayed home and tried to do our part to stop the deadly virus – the thought of sending our children off to school terrified parents everywhere. Thankfully, our education leaders responded quickly and developed alternative ways to continue to educate our children.

“The concept – the style of the restaurant – is already proven,” Heffern said. “It was here four years … What I’ve seen the past few days proves that. All the faithful regulars are back. They’re happy. I’ve got people shaking my hands a hundred times a day saying, ‘Thank you for getting back open.

“Teams of bakers have to go into a kitchen that is labeled the Crime Scene Kitchen,” Jason said. “It’s a kitchen that is set up with items, ingredients and design elements that were used to bake either a dessert, a showpiece — like a big cake — or something.

“The name comes out of scripture,” said Cassie Hammett, who founded the Hub 14 years ago and is its executive director. “In Corinthians, there is a verse that says, ‘You have been bought with a price. You are no longer for sale.’ The name is stating to everyone we serve that a person created in God’s image is not for sale.

It was Saturday night, Aug. 14, 1943, when the Allies shelled my father’s village along the southern coast in Italy. From their ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the naval bombardment from the Allies was brutal – over 1,000 shells were fired in less than 20 minutes.

Drew Mouton. That’s who. The 49-year-old, divorced father of five (three girls, two boys) has a resume’ lined with work as an entrepreneur and in areas of government, higher education, and most recently, health care. But Mouton is confident his not-so-obvious economic experience intersects with what the city needs to grow its economy.