As you may have heard, the development includes a new state office building, but leaves an empty state office building behind – just two miles away – along with the annual maintenance and security costs of an empty building. That will just get added to the millions of tax dollars we already spend each year on vacant state buildings, though.

Also, both said they would hire dedicated personnel for economic development and tourism and make Shreveport a destination for the South. We needed to recruit new businesses, they both said, and work with those businesses already here to create goodpaying jobs so that our children wouldn’t have to leave and our economy would grow.

Jesus used the simile of the shepherd when he spoke of Himself, saying He was the “Good Shepherd.” Good shepherds, after all, were important in the world of the Old Testament because without the shepherd and his dog, a herd of sheep could not survive..

Would you rather sit and think, or give yourself a mild electric shock? As ridiculous of a question as that may seem, research from the University of Virginia suggests some people are so uncomfortable being alone with their thoughts that they would choose to give themselves mild electric shocks, rather than just sit and think.

And while the most likely path for these women to political office was through widowhood (at one point, 80 percent of women in office filled their husband’s seats), it’s not 1920 anymore, and someone should remind Shreveport City Councilman Willie Bradford of the same – and that it’s never too late to give up your prejudices.

Earlier this month, a website (that most folks have not heard of, 24/7 Wall Street) ranked Shreveport as the 21st worst city in the U.S. to live in, just behind Compton, Calif., and Little Rock, Ark.

Common sense is not partisan, nor political. It’s not racial. It matters not to common sense how much money you have, nor your gender, creed or family name. It pays no attention to how many diplomas are framed up on your wall, nor which side of the tracks you grew up on.

A 4-year-old is killed in a late-night Shreveport shooting. A 15-year-old is found murdered next to a bullet-riddled SUV.