An opportunity for greatness
Rolfe McCollister
Nov. 3, 2009

The bond election we face on Nov. 14 is a huge decision for Baton Rouge, but many voters seem to be prepared to make the call based on questions like, “What’s in it for me?” or “How much will it cost us?” That’s normal in a tax election—and it’s human nature, too [looking out for No. 1].

But the fact is, our community’s finest moments—when we shined in the national spotlight—were those when we focused on others and on the “greater good,” as we did post-Katrina and post-Gustav. We weren’t average in our compassion or mediocre in our response to those in need. Our community was excellent and awe-inspiring, and I know I swelled with pride when folks I met elsewhere heard I was from Baton Rouge. The nation was impressed. We stood out as a community—and it felt great.

I also remember sitting in the New Orleans Superdome with my family in 2003 and 2007 as we watched the LSU Tigers capture the BCS championship. It was the exhilaration of watching our team excel and finish as the best in the nation. There is something special about being exceptional, instead of simply mediocre.

These memories are of opportunities we had to step up as a community and team to the next level—a level of greatness that would be remembered and that would stand out from the crowd. And Baton Rouge did. And LSU did. And these were proud moments in our history that made an impression on the nation.

On Nov. 14, I believe we have been presented with another opportunity to take our community to the next level. A vision for the future. A chance to build on our current momentum and invest our resources to separate us from the pack and put the spotlight back on Baton Rouge, positioning us as “America’s next great city.”

That’s something I get excited about, and it’s why I am voting yes for the bond issue on Nov. 14. I am asking you to join me, and also to encourage others to check out brgov.com and examine the proposal. Be an informed voter—not just an angry one.

Read more at businessreport.com

Our Views: Let us lead, not follow
Nov. 1, 2009

Despite the national recession, Baton Rouge is a city with plenty going for it.

Baton Rouge’s economy is relatively healthy. Its capacity to support more than $900 million in infrastructure projects is unusual in the nation; interest rates are at historic lows and construction costs are reasonable; while many have suffered here from the recession, the opportunity for growth beckons just beyond today’s economic shallows.

As a community, do we choose to go forward?

That, we believe, is the critical issue in the Nov. 14 election on Mayor-President Kip Holden’s tax proposition to pay for a parishwide program of construction. We support it.

Continue reading at 2theadvocate.com

Vote ‘Yes’ on Nov. 14 – 225 Editorial
Nov. 1, 2009

Nov. 14 is an important day for Baton Rouge’s future. We hope you will have a say in it and vote “Yes” to Mayor Kip Holden’s bond issue and the vision for our future it represents.

Much of what is included in the bond issue is long overdue–in some cases, embarrassingly so. Our Police Department operates in a decrepit headquarters that is literally falling apart. Worse, street cops must routinely let suspected criminals walk with nothing more than a written court summons because the parish prison is full.

Continue reading at 225batonrouge.com

By: Lanny Keller
Oct. 27, 2009 – Page 9B

A couple of weeks ago, Mayor-President Kip Holden was so offended by critical coverage of his upcoming bond proposal that he petulantly took a copy of The Advocate and threw it on the floor in front of a civic group.

For politicians, if the press taketh away, it sometimes also giveth.

Before the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday, Holden triumphantly held aloft The Advocate’s travel story about the extraordinary tourism success of Chattanooga.

The Tennessee city’s riverfront renaissance was described in glowing detail, and this time, the newspaper’s storyline fit in with Holden’s storyline about the bond issue.

Keep reading at 2theadvocate.com!

Mayor: Audubon good fit
Alive contract approval up to council

By: Greg Garland
Oct. 20, 2009 – Page 1B

The Audubon Nature Institute’s experience in New Orleans makes it a perfect fit to manage the proposed Alive riverfront attraction if East Baton Rouge Parish voters approve a bond issue Nov. 14 to fund that and other projects, Mayor-President Kip Holden said Monday.

Speaking at the Baton Rouge Press Club, Holden cited the nonprofit institute’s experience operating the zoo, aquarium and other facilities in New Orleans.

Read the complete story at 2theadvocate.com

Alive is not only element of bond vote

By: Lanny Keller

Oct. 16, 2009, Page 9B

There’s just a month to go before a Nov. 14 election on a major Baton Rouge bond issue. Backers of Mayor-President Kip Holden’s bond issue are mobilizing to sway the tax-averse electorate of Baton Rouge.

One important element of the final push: talking about the parts of the $901 million tax program that will replace public facilities crumbling with age.

Finish reading at 2theadvocate.com

By: Greg Garland
Oct. 13, 2009 – Page 1A

A move to pull a $901 million capital improvements bond issue off the Nov. 14 ballot in East Baton Rouge Parish failed by one vote Monday at a special Metro Council meeting.

The vote to call off the election was 6-6. A majority — seven votes — would have been required to rescind the council’s previous 9-3 vote, on Sept. 2, that set the Nov. 14 election date.

The decision followed more than three hours of debate among supporters and opponents of the bond issue, much of it focused on unresolved issues surrounding the proposed $255 million Alive riverfront attraction project.

Read the complete story at 2theadvocate.com

Daily Report AM – Oct. 8

Emma James

The Downtown Development District voted unanimously for a resolution supporting Mayor-President Kip Holden’s $901 million bond issue this morning in a special meeting, an hour before a press conference with the same purpose. Representatives from the DDD, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Downtown Business Association, Women for Progress, the Louisiana Associated General Contractors, Baton Rouge Union of Police and Progress Is… met at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation in an attempt to counter the public criticism due to an ownership dispute over the Alive site and uncertainty over $40 million in state funds to prepare it.

Read the rest

By: Lanny Keller

Sept. 18, 2009 — Page 9B

If you have been to San Francisco lately, particularly with children or grandchildren, you’ve seen — if you can get in — the hot ticket there this year.

The California Academy of Sciences is not a traditional aquarium or museum. “Housing a planetarium, a four-story rain forest, and an aquarium, along with natural history exhibits, the academy gives visitors a holistic view of our world and its inhabitants, past and present,” said one of the numerous gushing reviews from national magazines.

Read more at 2theadvocate.com

By: Greg Garland
Sept. 16, 2009 – Page 1B

Mayor-President Kip Holden used soaring rhetoric in pitching a $901 million capital improvements bond issue to business leaders Tuesday, saying his goal is to make Baton Rouge the “best city in the world.”

Holden’s remarks came during a presentation to the board of directors of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, whose members have been among the most vocal supporters of the tax package.

Read the rest at 2theadvocate.com