We
had our first home-social meeting in the lovely home of Kathryn Brandl
this past Monday. We’ll have one like this every first Monday of the
month. It was BYOB but our hostess provided us with delicious humus
regular and black bean. (Would we have eaten those things 30 years ago?
Who says life hasn’t gotten better!)
In attendance: Brian Salvatore, Kathryn Brandl, Feico Kempff, Maurice Loridans, Victoria Provenza, Cynthia Keith, Loren Demerath, Susan Keith.
MOVE AWAY OF LOCAL PLANNERS SADDENS
The group bemoaned the leaving of local urban planners Stephenie Pedro and Caroline Majors Eckel to Dallas. Relatedly, Victoria noted how frustrating it can be small local businesses to have city government farm out work that could be done in the city and keep talented people here rather than have to move out to the big metropolises. Loren reflected that was a complaint of former local planner at MHSM architects when the city chose an outside firm to do the master plan. That planner to has left the city and now we appear to be left with no one in the private sector who has been trained primarily as urban planner. The isolation of Shreveport may make it more important that we develop within and not farm out what we don't need to.
CAROLYN MANNING UPDATES ABS ON RED RIVER DISTRICT PROGRESS
As many people know, El Dorado Casino has turned over management of the Red River District properties to the city. The RRD Commission has now accepted a bid on maintenance. Among the issues are crime. Apparently it can get rough after midnight (though it’s also known among young Air Force people to have the best night life of any big base town). A greater police presence would help with crime, and the Commission has asked for the police substation there to be used to that effect. Litter is a problem in addition to crime (or at least perceptions of it) with Carolyn reporting that people are throwing trash into the flower beds. The Commission is working on that as well. It was noted that the area has great potential and people in the past have used it well, particularly the Mexican American community during Cinco de Mayo, when the shade under the bridge works well. It was noted that drum circles and hula hooping could be a nice activity there too. The Commission wants it to be a more family oriented district then it is now. the businesses they are making room for appear to be or and it more in that direction.
WENDY BENSCOTER TO SPEAK ON SHREVEPORT COMMON AT NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting on October 8th will feature Wendy Benscoter giving us an update on the Shreveport Common plan that SPAR has been working on.
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MAKING PROGRESS
The Downtown Development Authority seems to be making progress. Later in the month we hope to have Liz Swain talk about what they’re working on, and how ABS might help with getting more residence and retail downtown.
NOVEMBER 10TH RIDE FROM RHINO’S TO MAKERS FAIR SCHEDULED
The group began planning for a November 10th social ride to the Makers Fair, one of the great events now in downtown Shreveport. We’ll start at the star new local hangout, Rhino’s coffee shop at the end of the month students from centenary's urban sociology class will present a variety of ideas for the city.
DECEMBER FOR TRAILS, JANUARY FOR EDUCATION
We scheduled December to be our trail month with trail cutting freer of mosquitoes and poison ivy. Brian and Loren agreed to work on January as our education month. The month would feature a meeting of invited guests and big thinkers for Shreveport education at the beginning of the month and ending with the work session creating output that should help access to education in our city.
DOG PARK BECOMING POLITICAL FOOTBALL IS BEMOANED
The group briefly discussed what had happened at the City Council meeting recently and how the dog park has become a political football in that it has become a means for politicians to make points to their constituencies about how they care about them, rather than straightforwardly discuss the issue what a dog park is and how the city as whole benefits from it. What ABS has tried to say for many years now is that anything that benefits one constituency--like dog owners--can actually benefit the whole city if it's something that people have come to expect as a standard amenity in a city with good quality of life. Dog parks have become standard in this country. As Loren Demerath said in front of the City Council this past week, Shreveport maybe the last city in the south to get a dog park and it will be because politicians have played one constituency against another for their own political benefit instead of uniting everyone in what helps the city overall. Many dog park supporters are like Demerath in that they don’t have dogs, but want dog owners in the city to be happy, just they’re glad boat owners are with the Stoner boat launch, or mountain bikers are with trails there at the launch.
In attendance: Brian Salvatore, Kathryn Brandl, Feico Kempff, Maurice Loridans, Victoria Provenza, Cynthia Keith, Loren Demerath, Susan Keith.
MOVE AWAY OF LOCAL PLANNERS SADDENS
The group bemoaned the leaving of local urban planners Stephenie Pedro and Caroline Majors Eckel to Dallas. Relatedly, Victoria noted how frustrating it can be small local businesses to have city government farm out work that could be done in the city and keep talented people here rather than have to move out to the big metropolises. Loren reflected that was a complaint of former local planner at MHSM architects when the city chose an outside firm to do the master plan. That planner to has left the city and now we appear to be left with no one in the private sector who has been trained primarily as urban planner. The isolation of Shreveport may make it more important that we develop within and not farm out what we don't need to.
CAROLYN MANNING UPDATES ABS ON RED RIVER DISTRICT PROGRESS
As many people know, El Dorado Casino has turned over management of the Red River District properties to the city. The RRD Commission has now accepted a bid on maintenance. Among the issues are crime. Apparently it can get rough after midnight (though it’s also known among young Air Force people to have the best night life of any big base town). A greater police presence would help with crime, and the Commission has asked for the police substation there to be used to that effect. Litter is a problem in addition to crime (or at least perceptions of it) with Carolyn reporting that people are throwing trash into the flower beds. The Commission is working on that as well. It was noted that the area has great potential and people in the past have used it well, particularly the Mexican American community during Cinco de Mayo, when the shade under the bridge works well. It was noted that drum circles and hula hooping could be a nice activity there too. The Commission wants it to be a more family oriented district then it is now. the businesses they are making room for appear to be or and it more in that direction.
WENDY BENSCOTER TO SPEAK ON SHREVEPORT COMMON AT NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting on October 8th will feature Wendy Benscoter giving us an update on the Shreveport Common plan that SPAR has been working on.
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MAKING PROGRESS
The Downtown Development Authority seems to be making progress. Later in the month we hope to have Liz Swain talk about what they’re working on, and how ABS might help with getting more residence and retail downtown.
NOVEMBER 10TH RIDE FROM RHINO’S TO MAKERS FAIR SCHEDULED
The group began planning for a November 10th social ride to the Makers Fair, one of the great events now in downtown Shreveport. We’ll start at the star new local hangout, Rhino’s coffee shop at the end of the month students from centenary's urban sociology class will present a variety of ideas for the city.
DECEMBER FOR TRAILS, JANUARY FOR EDUCATION
We scheduled December to be our trail month with trail cutting freer of mosquitoes and poison ivy. Brian and Loren agreed to work on January as our education month. The month would feature a meeting of invited guests and big thinkers for Shreveport education at the beginning of the month and ending with the work session creating output that should help access to education in our city.
DOG PARK BECOMING POLITICAL FOOTBALL IS BEMOANED
The group briefly discussed what had happened at the City Council meeting recently and how the dog park has become a political football in that it has become a means for politicians to make points to their constituencies about how they care about them, rather than straightforwardly discuss the issue what a dog park is and how the city as whole benefits from it. What ABS has tried to say for many years now is that anything that benefits one constituency--like dog owners--can actually benefit the whole city if it's something that people have come to expect as a standard amenity in a city with good quality of life. Dog parks have become standard in this country. As Loren Demerath said in front of the City Council this past week, Shreveport maybe the last city in the south to get a dog park and it will be because politicians have played one constituency against another for their own political benefit instead of uniting everyone in what helps the city overall. Many dog park supporters are like Demerath in that they don’t have dogs, but want dog owners in the city to be happy, just they’re glad boat owners are with the Stoner boat launch, or mountain bikers are with trails there at the launch.
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