In the News

There are quite a few reasons to be thankful this holiday season.

Sure, there are still problems at several levels of local, state, and federal government. Locally, infrastructure issues continue to stare both people and politicians in the face.

At the state level, well, much of the same – except there's a decided issue on how to spend the money.

At the federal level, the recent election showed that the nationwide fracturing still exists as Democrats took control of Congress.

Starting with the federal level, it may seem like this could be a bad thing as these new congressmen and women – with control – could make life difficult for Republicans and President Donald Trump.

However, it is important to remember that Louisiana's Washington delegation has been deemed by several media groups and lobbyists as "one of the smartest on the hill."

Bayou State residents have a doctor and a man with a doctor of laws in the Senate, and those of us in District 6 have one of the hardest-working congressmen in the business – in recent memory, anyway.

All three of them have engaged in bipartisan lawmaking until this point, and see no reason why their work for Louisiana will fall off the rails because of the switch. Billions have come to Louisiana under their watch, and hopefully more is in store as they continue to bring home the bacon – so to speak.

The state of Louisiana has objects in the positive and negative column, but with a little help from local and federal representatives the state appears to be gaining ground in areas in which it appeared woefully inadequate in years past.

For instance, with a little federal help and a push on Garret Graves' part, the Comite River Diversion Canal has seen at least – some – dirt movement for the first time in more than a decade.

Not to mention Graves heads the subcommittee over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – an extremely beneficial position for the people of Louisiana.

Better roads are a focus at the Capitol, which is better than the pipe dream, multi-billion dollar wish list to which they have been relegated in recent years.

Educational improvements with tougher school scores have been rolled out – it's not to say that our schools are getting worse, no, only to say that the state will expect better.

And that's a good thing.