Mudbugger

Shreveport has a Jason's Deli on Line avenue and yes, it is a goldmine. Every time i go in there it is packed. Mudbugger

SBC, Thanks for the clarification on that and i too, found it odd that they would try to pass off Cedar Grove in such a rosey light. Keith and co. are going bye-bye and i believe that Jerry Jones will be the next mayor. I see more and more of his signs up everyday and when i read in the Times that his are the most often stolen and defaced, then i know for a fact that the Dems are terrified of him and that he is the best man for the job. I have talked at length with him many times and he is the most grounded and decent of all the candidates. All my best, Mudbugger

I saw that insert and thought that it gave a pretty nice representation of the area, with one exception. They made reference to all the major neighborhoods: Highland, Broadmoor, Northern part of town, Western part of town... etc. But they didn't say one word about the forgotten neighborhood of Shreveport, Southern Hills. As a resident of said neighborhood i would like to take this moment to remind people of Southern Hills to reflect over the past 8 years and ask themselves this question "Do i want to see more of this neighborhood go down the toilet with more of the Hightower cronies in charge?" Since Hightower and gang took over they claim all the growth in town for the Youree drive area and downtown. Yet they act like they have their fingers in their ears and mumbling "I can't hear you!". Keith and friends motto for the past 8 years should be "If it doesn't happen in downtown or Youree drive then it mustn't happen in Shreveport!" Sorry about the rant, later! Mudbugger

Will someone please give me a list of Bradley's business and personal accomplishments that merit him being the next mayor? He is the former general manager of channel 12 and is well known for his on-air editorials. Aside from that, what qualifies him to be a candidate, let alone mayor? I have personally sat and talked with candidate Jerry Jones and i have found him to be refreshing in his honesty and his ability to answer my questions. Not like Bradley who, until now, has been living the "let's wait until after qualifying to answer any questions" standpoint. Heads up Ed, if you don't answer the public's questions, you won't even qualify and where will that get you. I am taking a pragmatic view on the mayor's race, even though i have decided on whom i am voting for. This city is so splintered and divided that if it doesn't take place Dowtown or on Youree Dr., the Hightower administration could care less about you. At least Jerry Jones recognizes the problem of all the businesses fleeing the Southern Hills area. Arlena Acree and Liz Swaine refuse to even admit the problem. The voters of Southern Hills have had enough of having to go to Youree drive to get any shopping done, we used to go to South Park Mall, oh wait it's been sold to a church, well at least we can go out to eat, no wait... all we have over here is cheap and lame local restaurants that i have visited once because the food is terrible and service is even worse. Citizens of Southern Hills unite! If you are sick of seeing the city leaders doing their best to turn this great neighborhood into another "hood" then get up off your butts and do something about it.... vote for real change and not more of the Hightower cronies... Acree and Swaine, say no to the term limited state rep. (Glover) and say no to a dottering old christmas tree salesman (Adams) and vote for someone who actually cares for more than Downtown and Youree drive.... vote for Jerry Jones. Sorry about the rant, the local media has been drooling for months to try and shove Bradley down our throats and i am sick of it. They conveniently forget the whole "rent a negro" program that was started in the Bradley campaign. This campaign of calling any black who would be seen at a Jerry Jones or Arlena Acree campaing rally. Notice that the media has gone deaf and dumb since then. Sorry about the rant, just gotta get it out of my system.... Mudbugger

You hit the nail on the head. Lack of vision. Shreveport has been miopic in the last 8 years and when the city leaders like to claim growth, they only point to downtown and Youree drive. They fail to mention the decline and fall of Southern Hills. Any leader who would allow one part of town to die just to build up their former city council district is reckless and should be investigated. Never mind the fact that Shreveport's debt has doubled in the Hightower years. But that is a rant for another day. Mudbugger

SBC, What do you think of my idea to buyout and convert both the old Sam's on Jewella and the old AT&T plant into movie studios? I pitched this very idea to candidate Jerry Jones at Expo Hall yesterday and he was very receptive. Hopefully it will bear fruit. Mudbugger

SBC, The new floor on the Willis-Knighton South hospital is going to be the new Neonatal Center. I believe it is going to have 40+ new beds, just for delivery of babies. If you stop in front of the building you will get to see how it shall look when it is complete. Just thought you would want to know. Mudbugger

You are telling me to have vision? Look to the most ineffectual city council this side of the Mississippi for a lack of vision. The real power in Shreveport is the city council. They saw the Mudbugs growing in popularity and when it came time for a new arena the city council said, let's do a study. Bossier went out and built the Centurytel Center and stole them away from us. The Hightower administration got a quickly manufactured study done to prove that we needed a convention center. After cost overruns the center's final pricetag was over 100 Million. Granted it is succeeding but how many infrastructural improvements could we have made with that money? Update the sewer system, fix the drainage problem on Youree, heck... we could have built a second Jimmy Davis bridge to alleviate the traffic snarls that are so common there, and we could have done it for less than 51 Million. The growing of the film industry here would have a huge snowball effect. Not only would you see more warehouses built that could be converted to soundstages but think of all the spinoff jobs. Someone (other than the Hightower people) should get a real study done to see the benefits of increasing Shreveport's profile in the film industry. After you have that growing, then you can use it as a tool to attract more companies and not just one sector. If anything Shreveport should be working to court more of the red-hot healthcare industry. Do you realize how big Willis Knighton and Schumpert have gotten here? One last thing. The new mayor (hopefully Jerry Jones) should make the revitalization of ALL of Shreveport the first thing on their list. For 8 years we have seen Shreveport split in 2 and all the growth in one part of town (Southern Hills) has been shifted to Youree drive. A true leader cares about all of his citizens and not just the ones in his former city council district. When he leaves office i would like to see an investigative report done on the financial dealings of the Hightower administration to see how many cronies of his got rich off the doubling of the city debt. Sorry for the long rant... just tired and have to make dinner now, Mudbugger

I started to believe your sincerity until the last sentence of your most recent post. Brocato's closed down years ago. Either you didn't genuinely know or don't really know anything about Shreveport. In regards to your earlier statement about what major industry is Shreveport tying to lure here aside from the casinos? Try the movie industry. My wife and i went to the former Expo hall yesterday and we got to speak with many people in the industry and they are simply blown away by the generosity and resourcefullness of Shreveport. Movies can generate millions of dollars directly and even more in spin-off jobs. Gotta run and get to work, Mudbugger

SBC, The old Walmart on Jewella, across from the old Sam's, is now a self-storage facility. A pretty low-scale and cheap one at that. Agreed, the new businesses that the civic leaders like to tout as progress are just like putting band-aids on bloody stumps where arms and legs used to be. They might sop up some blood but they do little to repair the damage that has been done. Speaking of damage done. How is Arlena Acree going to justify her term as Economic Developer for the city when Shreveport's debt has doubled in the 8 years of her Hightower administration? Jerry Jones is already on the record in agreeing that the office and title of Economic Developer need to be removed. He wants to be more hands on in getting the city council to be more fair in their pursuit of city projects. I saw a funny political cartoon in the most recent Forum magazine. In it a moderator asks the candidates who don't have a college degree to step back. Guess who are the only 2 that move back? Cedric Glover and ....you guessed it, Arlena Acree! Call me old fashioned but shouldn't you at least have a college degree to be mayor, let alone Economic Developer? Gotta run and get some sleep, Mudbugger

One more thing before i log off for the night. My wife and I went to Horseshoe's RiverDome Saturday morning and we got to audition for Deal or no Deal. They were expecting between 3000 and 3500 participants. Hopefully they got the number they hoped for. Anyhow, it was fun and we have no illusions that we will get called back for a 2nd interview but what they hey, it was fun none the less. Mudbugger

SBC, Thanks for the kind word. In regards to your observation that there are new businesses locating in Southern Hills: It will take more than a low-end bank, an even lower-end used car lot and a few cheap restaurants that fold inside of 6 months to save this part of town. I mentioned this to Jerry Jones and i recommended making a deal with any Hollywood studio house and said that there is plenty of land on Bert Kouns that could easily handle a production studio for filming of movies here. Not to mention the fact that the old Sam's on Jewella could easily be converted to become a new soundstage. Think about it, a building over 100,000 sq. ft. and it's ceiling's reach 20 ft. Those are the qualifications for most soundstages if i am not mistaken. With the loss of SouthPark Mall as a major shopping destination, the old Sam's and the demise of the old AT&T plant, Southern Hills is in need of a major player to revitalize it's fortunes. After hearing my opinions Mr. Jones asked me to call his campaign office to set up a meeting to just talk about what concerns me the most in Southern Hills future. Just another rant, Mudbugger

Here, here! Constructive criticism is one thing but outright bashing is totally unnecessary here. My wife and I went to the former Expo hall today and saw the sets being used for the NBC movie of the week "A year without Santa Claus". Many normal citizens were there and my wife and I got to meet and talk with mayoral candidate Jerry Jones. In the 10 minutes we talked with him we solidified i belief that he is the right man for the job of mayor. When i mentioned that i was displeased with the current administration's lack of vision regarding the Southern Hills area his ears perked up and was really receptive to my concerns. My concern is that Southern Hills is on it's way to becoming another Allendale or Cedar Grove. Some people would be hesitant to agree with that statement but look at the increase in crime, major businesses closing and people moving to other parts of town. People like imaterry are just posers who claim to be in San Antonio and have probably never stepped foot in Shreveport. Take what they say with a grain of salt the size of Montana. Just a short rant, Mudbugger

The problem with a gated community in Cedar Grove is that, without a serious decline in crime, you will constantly have these nicer than normal homes getting broken into and the people who just moved in will start to move out. Think of it like this. You are on the Titanic and the ship is already sinking. Do you really think that moving a few deckchairs is going to accomplish anything to save the ship? Of course not. The thing to do in this case is to increase the police presence, install cameras and get more of the citizens to help out by using a community watch to help the police. Too many people in that part of town are just plain scared and are afraid to speak up against the crime for fear that they will become another statistic. Real change begins from within and i don't mean in the neighborhood, i mean from the hearts and souls of those who live there. Until they get fed up and tell the criminals that they have had enough, they will never be free of crime and the idea of a gated community will never work there. Just a rant, Mudbugger P.S. Did anyone see that Hightower's left hand woman (I'm sorry but there is a joke there and i refuse to use it) Liz Swaine has stepped down so she can run for mayor. Good luck Liz. I just hope you aren't going to be like Ed Bradley and refuse to tell us what your positions on the issues are.

Until they root out all of the criminal elements in the area the idea of a gated community will not work in Cedar Grove. Let's just be realistic. Gated community in that area of town will not work as long as you have the crime and gang presence that basically rules that part of town. Just playing devil's advocate. Mudbugger

I can't wait to see how Arlena Acree spins the recent buyout of the Red River District by the El Dorado Casino. She has gone on the record touting her "success" with the Red River District and to suddenly see it change hands from Elkington's group to a local casino would seem to undermine her alleged success. Anyone who has visited the District can tell you that it certainly isn't, or has ever been, a success. The only business that opened there that is still open is the Funny Bone, if my memory serves me. SBC, You asked me who i intend to vote for in the upcoming mayoral race and after reading the positions available from the candidates i have chosen Jerry Jones. Unlike some of the candidates, at least he has a position for every question. Whether you agree with them or not you have to admire the fact that he is willing to put his word on the line this early in the process. I hope to set up a meeting with him in the next few weeks. His campaign manager said that he is interested in the thoughts and concerns of all the Shreveport citizens and to take time from his busy schedule to speak with me, a non-player in politics, is refreshing. How many candidates would clear valuable schedule time in a campaign to speak with a man and his wife about the future of Shreveport and, ultimately their livelihood in this city? Not many, i would guess. Bear this in mind. When i told Mr. Jones' campaign manager that my wife and i are in our mid 30's and are living in a nice apartment, saving what money we can for a house down payment and hoping to start a family in the next couple of years, he looked at me and said "I hope you find the home you want to start your family in the next year." That just threw me for a loop. He easily could have been like other politicos and only cared if i was going to donate money, when i told him i didn't have spare money and that i would like to help with the campaign by writing letters, he smiled and shook my hand. It's the little things like this that can sway a voter from one person to the next. The Jones campaign appears, on the surface, to be the most humble of them all. Not claiming everything good in Shreveport is their doing, not refusing to answer questions till after qualifying and not running for mayor because they are simply term-limited from serving in the La. House. Gotta run and get some sleep, Mudbugger

The people who are afraid of the crime in the Red River District won't have the Shreveport police to blame anymore. Now that El Dorado bought it the responsibility of safety falls more squarely on them than the police. As far as the other troublespots in the city, we can't wait around for another casino to buy them up and revitalize them, we have to elect city councilmen and mayors who will think of the city as a whole and not just the district they live in. Being greedy for your district's pork projects shouldn't take precedent over what the city as a whole needs. If you look out for all the citizenry then your district will benefit as well. Just a short rant on urban renewal and the hypocrisy of the pitiful excuse of leaders Shreveport has today. Mudbugger

SBC, Yes, that is the Jerry Jones headquarters. It's not much right now, just a few volunteers and whatnot but it is a start. What are your thoughts on my rant from earlier today? I appreciate your opinions and would like to know where you stand. Gotta run and get some sleep Good night, Mudbugger

SBC, If i were to vote for mayor today my choice would be for Jerry Jones. My wife and I went by his campaign headquarters for 4 saturdays in a row and they were only setting up, not in official mode. On the 5th saturday we met his campaign manager and he gave us some literature, bumper stickers and even t-shirts. We then talked with the manager for 20 minutes and he told us the basic Jones platform and we both like what we heard. The main thing is that Jerry isn't proclaiming he is something that he isn't. He was an attorney for the city of Shreveport from 1990-1998 and is currently a partner at his law firm. It boils down to this: Adams is stuck in the 1950s and is too beholden to his religion to even attend a cooking show for the candidates because of his religious beliefs about alcohol. Bradley is too much of a coward to take a stand on anything too early for fear he may distance himself from any possible voters (it's my opinion that if you have to wait for a certain day to tell people what you think, then they aren't going to like what you have to say). Acree, well you know how i feel about her. My wife came up with a good nickname for her "The Joker". Seriously, have you looked at her campaign posters lately? The woman looks like she had some bad plastic surgery done and is locked in a botox grin forever. On the Bossier front. I do make it over there at least once a month for a little shopping. Airline drive is incredible only because of the foresight of the Bossier civic leaders. They spent the money to expand Airline drive and Benton road (with the overpass) and now the businesses are opening second locations of all the stores at the W.70th/Youree drive corridor. Have said it before but it bears repeating " The Shreveport city council could screw up baking a cake." The Shreveport leadership is all about "What can we do for my district?" instead of "What can we do for the city as a whole?" Until Shreveport learns to unite as a city and not stay bound by their ignorance and frankly, their racist views Shreveport will never get larger. In fact, it will get smaller. Smaller because of the narrow view of the small-minded people who are at the helm (city council). Just a rant before heading out into the world to visit my folks and see the new Pirates movie, Have a good day. Mudbugger

SBC, I love that cartoon. From all the talk i have been hearing (not to mention the amount of campaigning he has been doing) i think that the race for mayor is Jerry Jones' to lose. Acree is too high on herself proclaiming that she is responsible for the growth on Youree and Downtown (the city council had more to do with it by working with the developers than she did). Bradley is too scared to admit to a position before the qualifying in August, at this rate he might not even qualify. Adams is frankly, too old and far too out of touch to attract any serious number of voters. Liz Swaine seems to be waiting for a few more hundred thousand to be thrown her way before she decides. In regards to your mention of the medical building going up on Bert Kouns, i am afraid you are mistaken. The site is going up as we speak, it's just that it is located between the East Ridge shopping center and the McDonald's. And speaking of the McDonald's, when is the city going to install a left turn arrow at the northbound end of Linwood, turning left (west) onto Bert Kouns? Have you tried making that turn in the morning lately? It's insane, you can sit there through 2 to 3 lights if you can't get in line with people who actually know how to drive. If Lowes does move to Pines road then that should be the final nail in the coffin of Southern Hills. Sure, we can get business owners to pony up a few bucks to buy some light pole signs that have an American flag on them but we can't get the city to do anything about the crime problem out here. Mark my words, unless there is some serious reinvestment of capital into this area it will become the next Cedar Grove or Allendale inside 5-10 years. I noticed that Acree is going to be at the Southern Hills Business Owners Association luncheon tomorrow (Sunday). If i showed up i would ask her a few questions. What qualifies you to be mayor when you, as Economic Developer, oversaw (by your own words) the great expansion of Youree drive and Downtown? Given the fact that Southern Hills has lost all of SouthPark Mall, Sam's, numerous restaurants, Lucent plant etc. A true leader doesn't just care about one part of town, they care about the whole town. If i were mayor i would reinvest in Southern Hills and make incentives available for business growth along the new I-49 Northbound corridor in the northern part of Shreveport. Couple those investments with investing more in the Port of Shreveport and the 5 laning of Flournoy Lucas road and you have the beginnings of a well-rounded and more secure Shreveport. Not like the Shreveport we now have where "if it isn't on Youree or in Downtown, we don't care about it." Sorry about the rant, Just get going sometimes and don't realize how long i have been typing. Goodnight all, Mudbugger

SBC, I think we should take anything imaterry78247 says with a huge grain of salt. They have used personal attacks and are making guesses as to the racial makeup of Shreveport. Troll Alert!!! By the way, have you gotten a site plan for the second phase of the King's Crossing development on Youree? Another newsflash is that the overpass of the Inner Loop over Bert Kouns is finally starting to take shape. Just this afternoon i drove by and the westbound overpass has got it's main struts up and i expect to see the eastbound half to be up in the next few weeks. Have you heard any rumors about potential development for the massive swaths of land on Bert Kouns? Most of them are represented by Coldwell Banker, Vintage Realty and the Sale group. Any rumors, news or possible deals would be welcomed. Thanks again, Mudbugger

I agree with the last post. We do need a mayor who cares about deveolping the WHOLE city and not just Youree Drive and the downtown area. I have said it in the past and it bears repeating. The city of Shreveport has thousands of acres on many major arteries that have yet to be developed. If Shreveport ever truly wants to grow at any acceptable rate it has to develop the whole city and not just one neighborhood. Bert Kouns Industrial Loop is the best example i can cite. One day Youree drive will reach saturation and any new growth must take place somewhere else. Hopefully the next mayor will see the wisdom of not placing all of your proverbial eggs in the one basket (Youree drive). Mudbugger

I don't particularly like councilman Lester but i do respect his calling for some accountability in regards to the funding going to the black hole that is the failed Red River Entertainment district. By the time we hear any real news as to "where the money went" the particulars in this tragedy will be out of office, et. al. Hightower. He likes to proclaim that he is responsible for the growth of this city but he is just fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time. I wouldn't go trumpeting the successes in downtown Shreveport because aside from the casinos (which where here before him taking office) and the Sci-Port (same thing), there are no successes in downtown. Arlena Acree is trying to claim that her leadership is what brought Youree drive up from the ashes. Again this is a case of someone laying claim to something that they had nothing to do with. Councilman Mike Gibson was more responsible for it's growth because he worked with the developers in that area to secure the explosion of growth. What did he get for his trouble? Railroaded out of town with false charges of corruption, thankfully he found a good job in New Mexico. Sorry about the rant about the political structure of Shreveport but sometimes i just have to vent. Mudbugger

SBC, Glad to hear from you again. In reference to your earlier question I no longer work at the business that you remember me from. I currently work at my family's production machine shop and i enjoy it so much more than retail. I go in and run parts on my machine and don't have to deal with the general public anymore, it's a relief. We hope to buy some land and build our own building in the next couple of years. It will be a great help for us to pay a note as opposed to paying rent. Why make someone else money buy paying rent when we can pay a note and own our own place? With the way the economy is and the rate we continue to get more business, we should do well to move out into our own place in the next 2 years at the latest. Glad to talk with you again, Mudbugger

SBC, I had to chime in when i saw this newsflash. It isn't flat-out layoffs, most of the people are taking the buyouts that GM offered to many of the employees at their plants. Buyouts and early retirements are a bit different from the traditional pink slip scenario that people are familiar with. On another topic, have you been able to get a more detailed site plan for for the King's Crossing Phase II by SDI Realty? I want to know who else is moving into this site besides Kohl's and JC Penney. Also, do you have any word on when the rest of that land will be developed and by who? Just curious about the saturation of the Youree drive corridor and when we can expect to see development in Shreveport in other areas aside from Youree drive, Pines road and North Bossier. I have said it before there is a massive amount of development in to be done in Shreveport and it will take place on Bert Kouns between I-49 and GM. Oh well, one day i guess... one day. Mudbugger