LA must encourage generational opportunity

Louisiana policy-makers, from Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to the Legislature to the Public Service Commission, can’t blow the huge generational economic opportunity that, whether entirely intended, has come the state’s way.

In the past three months, two separate data center campuses have hit the drawing board in the state. The projects by Meta and Hut 8 (which may team up with Meta) if completed (scheduled within the next year or two) will change and in quantum fashion the state’s high technology sector. It’s part of a sweeping trend in the industry that plays exactly to the state’s strengths.

As cloud computing and artificial intelligence gain wider penetration into the global economy, areas that have three assets will win economic development based on these that in each instance attracts billions of dollars in investments and creates hundreds, even thousands, of well above-average paying jobs: lots of relatively inexpensive land, loads of relatively inexpensive energy sources, and a workforce enabled to service it all. And in these, Louisiana has hit the jackpot.

Edwards exit, Landry agenda spur development

Just under a year into the Republican Gov. Jeff Landry Administration it’s instructive to see how from night to day went the state’s economic development prospects.

Recently, Louisiana Department of Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois related the process of how Meta will bring billions of dollars of investment to the state in Richland Parish. The technology company snapped up a state-owned site for a data center that will create hundreds of well-paying jobs that will necessitate Entergy Louisiana to build three gas-powered generation sites, two nearby, just to provide enough energy for the complex.

She said not long after Landry’s election Meta came calling, and a years-long process ended up only taking months to complete. Hastening the process was Act 730 passed this year, which exempts data centers creating a minimum of fifty new direct, permanent jobs in Louisiana and involving at least $200 million in new capital investment in the state between Jul. 2024 and Jul. 2029 from paying any state or local sales tax on data-related equipment for 20 to 30 years.

Fleming to pose tough challenge to Cassidy

There’s nothing like getting an early start it seems for Republican Treas. John Fleming, who two years out from the 2026 Senate election has declared his intention to take on vulnerable GOP incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy.

He may not be the last quality candidate to enter the fray from his party. In the past, Cassidy might have expected only token opposition from anywhere on the political spectrum. Finishing two terms off a convincing 2020 win, he has banked through the third quarter of 2024 $5.8 million.

However, immediately after reelection he began making controversial votes, principally in favor of convicting after impeachment Republican former Pres. Donald Trump and for an enormous spending bill Democrats favored that ballooned the deficit further and ignited inflation that had little relatively in worthwhile or sensible objectives. If he took this course because he wanted to obviate a challenge from prominent conservatives by throwing bones to moderate and even liberal voters because of the blanket primary system in place where all candidates regardless of party run together in the general election, it backfired.

Race cannot dominate Monroe fire chief pick

Democrats on the Monroe City Council have embarked upon an unwise and disappointing course that puts ideology over good administrative practice.

At the last Council meeting, the trio rejected independent Mayor Friday Ellis’ nomination of 24-year veteran Daniel Overturf to become the next fire chief of the city. He would have replaced longtime chief Terry Williams. The two Republican councilors supported the decision.

The vote perturbed the union that represents the Monroe Fire Department’s and apparently much of the rank-and-file, a number of whom appeared in his support at the meeting. An anonymous survey sent out revealed 85 percent of respondents approved of Overturf’s nomination, and numerous professionals recommended him. He was one of 17 to take and pass the hiring exam, which was conducted through the state, for the position, ranking tenth on education and experience.

Black voter antipathy to Broome denies last term

And now Louisiana can say its second through eighth largest cities have Republican chief executives (and the ninth-largest has a non-Democrat; fifth largest will be St. George whose first elected mayor inevitably should come from the GOP), now that East Baton Rouge Parish has elected Republican Sid Edwards to boot out of office current Democrat Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome – thanks to black voters.

Broome had a fight on her hands for a third term when she trailed Edwards by five percentage points in the general election, not even cracking 30 percent of the multi-candidate field. Incumbents showing that poorly are in trouble, and this weekend Edwards, a high school football coach of renown and school administrator but rookie politician, closed the deal with voters.

He did it because of turnout. The 331 precincts can be parsed by race of registrants to determine this, assigning these to “favorable” or “unfavorable” precincts for each candidate, where from Broome a favorable precinct was one with greater than 80 percent black registrants – overwhelmingly Democrats – and an unfavorable one was where more than 80 percent of registrants were white – a plurality if not a majority of Republican typically. For Edwards, the definitions for each would swap.