Welcome to 318 Digest, the latest addition to The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
I’m Barbara Leader, the managing editor. I lead a team of 10 journalists based in Shreveport-Bossier who are committed to covering local news that impacts our community.
I’ve lived in Louisiana for most of my life. I know and love Louisiana’s people and our culture. I’m happy to be part of this group and to tell the story of our people and our community every day.
More than three years ago, Publisher Judi Terzotis, President Kevin Hall and Executive Editor Rene Sanchez made many trips to northwest Louisiana to visit Shreveport-Bossier.
Business leaders and the community asked that our company, Georges Media, open an office in Shreveport-Bossier to cover local news. On July 17, 2023, we launched a digital site.
As we celebrate our third anniversary and the debut of 318 Digest, we’re thankful for the opportunity to serve our community. In our three years, we’ve told many stories that have impacted our community and brought about change.
There are many more to tell. We look forward to continuing to serve our community with stories that tell you something that you may not know and reporting that goes behind the scenes to bring a deeper look at issues that matter to you.
Managing Editor
318 Digest
The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate
Visitors spend nearly $1 billion as Shreveport-Bossier tourism surges
BY LIZ SWAINE Business Editor
The local tourist authority wants you to know that $28 of every $100 spent in local restaurants comes from visitors. So far in 2026, there have been 89,000 more hotel room nights booked in Shreveport and Bossier than in 2025, and that in 2025, visitors left more than $998 million of their dollars behind in the local economy.
Visit Shreveport Bossier, the cities of Shreveport and Bossier City, Shreveport Regional Airport and Regional Air Service Alliance cut a ribbon Wednesday at the latest amenity aimed at marketing local activities to visitors coming by air.
The new welcome center at Shreveport Regional Airport features a selfie station, a giant video screen of attractions and an interactive map of local restaurants and things to do.
The center is an addition to the newly updated airport terminal that focuses on locally created art and restaurants. Now those walk-
ing through the TSA checkpoint are greeted with food options that include Notini’s Italian, Tacomania, Great Raft Brewing and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. A Dripp Donuts that will serve Rhino coffee is coming soon.
SHV Marketing & PR Manager Mark Crawford said once Dripp is open there will eventually come an option for curbside pickup of donuts and coffee at the airport, perhaps to be followed by curbside pickup of orders from the other restaurants as well.
All the upgrades are being done with an eye toward appealing to travelers and the lucrative target market they represent.
Though inflation and the economy are top of mind, the U.S. Travel Association says Americans are still traveling in record numbers. Some Americans are delaying more expensive vacations and others are opting for shorter trips to locations that are closer-to-home.
VSB Executive Director Stacy Brown said her organization and their local partners have been putting a lot of work into sports tour-
ism, which she says creates travel resilience.
“Sports tourism is really not economy-dependent. People are going to travel with their kids no matter what the economy is,” Brown told The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate. She said the local community has seen wins with cheerleading events, an archery tournament and NCAA wrestling, as well as more traditional football, basketball and baseball competitions.
“Grandma, everybody’s coming because they’re going to watch that cheerleader, and so that’s really what builds our economy is the number of people that are traveling with those competing.”
Local growth sports include cheerleading, gymnastics, and BMX bicycling, and Brown is looking ahead to having more venues for Pickleball tournaments.
She said another tourist opportunity is the Red River Waterway Commission’s 1North Adventure Trails near Blanchard that will bring miles of mountain bike and running and walking trails that can be used by a family on vacation or
for competitions.
Nearby infrastructure — lodging, restaurants and retail — have been built and more is coming.
There is one more business she would like to see, one that will help locals and visitors connect to the outdoors. “We have great outdoors here, but we don’t have a lot of ways to connect to it, unless you bring your own equipment. So that’s one of our unmet needs and we’re really looking for businesses that are catering to those.”
Brown said overall visitor spending is up 17% and the local leisure and hospitality industry employs 20,000.
As he talked about the additional cities available via a flight from SHV, Regional Air Service Alliance chairman Tim Wilhite said his organization’s job is clear.
“The real part is getting people in here, and that’s what we’re going to continue to focus on. That’s what we’ve shown results to, and we’re going to continue that, and we’re not going to stop.”
50 Cent’s team reveals plans for Shreveport Films, food, rehab and a downtown revival
BY LIZ SWAINE Business Editor
Four members of the Shreveport Film & Entertainment Economic Development Corporation tasked by Gov. Jeff Landry to approve payments from the state’s $50 million incentive package to Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s G-Unit entities were in Shreveport Wednesday to begin the process.
But before state Rep. Jack McFarland of Jonesboro, Chris Stelly representing Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Susan Bourgeois, State Sen. Sam Jenkins of Shreveport and Shreveport resident Grant Nuckolls approved requests for $2,215,414, they got an in-depth look at Jackson’s plans, timelines and promises.
Attorney Steven Savva who is responsible for the legal, business and financial side of Jackson’s businesses, led off, saying that things have taken a while as pieces of the puzzle came together.
Those pieces included the state’s incentive deal that wasn’t approved until January 2026 and repairs to flood damage and drainage at Millennium Studios, which were completed just a month ago.
Savva said that at the same time work will be happening on Jackson’s film and TV properties downtown, people will see Jackson’s private buildings take shape.
‘You can’t buy a toothbrush in downtown Shreveport’
“Curtis also realized that the studio operations and opening film and television is one thing, but when you go around the city of Shreveport, when he wants to bring in actors and producers and people to work, you can’t buy a toothbrush in downtown Shreveport.”
That, said Savva, prompted the purchase of multiple properties “in really bad shape. “He knows if he takes those on, it’s going to be easier for people to come after him to go into the spaces that are a lot eas-
ier to open new businesses moving forward,” explained Savva.
He said the Humor & Harmony Festival in 2024 showed what downtown Shreveport could be.
“In Shreveport from Aug. 8 to 11 (Humor & Harmony), Mardi Gras had nothing on us, and that’s what we want to see in Shreveport every weekend,” Sava said. “And we think it’s possible. There’s no reason why Shreveport cannot be like Nashville, like the French Quarter.”
The chips fall into place
Jackson’s construction team discovered that the nearly one city block purchased on Commerce Street to build a permanent G-Dome had underground tanks and needed remediation, which was completed in December 2025.
Savva said the first order of business there is to create a public park with kiosks, concession stands and bathrooms. The full plans for the G-Dome are expected to be sent to the State Fire Marshal for approval
in late fall.
Having that green space and something else to do in the area is important, because things are going to be happening fast at the old Stageworks/Expo Hall, said Savva. “Our goal for Stageworks is to have production up and running by the end of November of this year.”
According to Jackson’s team, at present G-Stage Arena (Stageworks) is roughly 20-25% complete. G-Unit Studio is roughly 10% complete and G-Dome, is 15-20% complete. The park will come first, then the concrete slab for the dome should be poured in March, 2027.
“I think now that we’ve identified our financing plans and now that we have cleared access to all of the facilities, I think we’re in a position where we can move very quickly and succeed,” Savva said.
Upcoming 50 Cent projects
According to Savva, Jackson has been in touch with the families of the 8 children murdered in Cedar
Grove to produce a documentary about what happened in hopes it can shine a broader light on the problem of domestic violence.
Other projects involve live studio audiences:
“Put Me On, 50” is Jackson’s version of “America’s Got Talent.”
The unscripted “Big Things Go Viral” — online viral clips that are put in front of a panel of comedians and a live studio audience — should start shooting in the fourth quarter of this year.
“Flip the City” is an unscripted series of shows of Jackson making over portions of downtown Shreveport as he brings the entertainment district back to life. This project will start taping when construction begins.
There are four scripted feature films — two with a $1 million budget; the others with $2 million budgets. There will also be shows done for Starz, Peacock and Hulu.
The plan is to use locals, when possible
Savva showed a slide on the number of local or Louisiana workers they hope to use on each project,
ranging from 30 to 50% of workers.
The partners that will train, find and connect talent will be G-Unit’s Epic Center, Film Prize University, and Robinson Film Center.
The plan is also to use local construction crews, if the price is right, Savva said.
RNGD, a design/build general contractor from Metairie has been hired for at least some of the projects, but Savva said the order of preference will be “people from Shreveport, next preference, people from Louisiana, women minority owned businesses.”
He said there has been an issue that he hopes will change over time.
“The price that we get from the local contractor is 3x would be someone in Dallas, and it’s a challenge.”
“I think the more word we get out there that these opportunities exist and that we want people to be with us for the long term...it will solve itself because of the volume of work.”
$11 million and counting “Curtis has spent $11 million to date in Shreveport through the properties he’s purchased,” Savva
said. “Here is the map of the project properties that we have downtown, and when you look at why Shreveport, everything is here.”
“We don’t want the money leaving, and that’s what was happening in the past with the film and television business and industry, the companies were coming here. They were receiving the very generous rebates, and then they took the money back to LA, back to New York, back to everywhere else. Curtis is reinvesting every dime that he has back into the community.”
Some of that investment will be in offices in downtown’s American Tower where Jackson is moving his entities and related businesses. There are also plans to convert some spaces to residential. “We’ll talk more about that when we have more to discuss,” Savva said.
Samsung is a partner and there are others
“I cannot think of one time we’ve ever done this on a project like this,” said Jeremy Lee who works with Samsung on their LED installations. Jackson intends to make extensive use of LED lighting and
screens on his properties.
“The G-Stage arena , that wrapping of the LED is something that I’ve never seen anywhere. It’s going to grab some major attention.”
In March of this year, Jackson inked a partnership with Robert Earl on a Planet Hollywood restaurant in New York. He intends to bring one to Shreveport, said Savva.
Jackson has also met with Bally’s Corporation chairman Soo Kim. Bally’s is in the process of acquiring Sam’s Town Casino and Hotel on the Shreveport riverfront.
“I can’t stress how important that purchase is to the city of Shreveport, because this man made that purchase because of what we’re doing, and because of what he saw the city do, and the state do here in Shreveport. So, Bally’s and Sam’s Town are going to be consolidated to one casino hotel. I’m sure their team will share what that, what those plans are, but we are fully in aligned with with their ownership,” said Savva.
“We need your help to get “the funds flowing,” Savva told the committee.
Bossier City secured $44 million in state money during legislative session for these projects
BY JUSTIN O’CONNOR Staff Writer
Bossier City’s state delegation secured more than $44 million in state funding for local projects during this year’s legislative session.
It comes after a big jump in the value of the city’s five-year capital spending plan. The vast majority of the money coming in is earmarked for infrastructural improvements, particularly water and road projects.
That includes $23 million for the city’s ongoing nanofiltration water treatment upgrades.
The city put that project in motion in 2020 by rolling out a membrane pilot program to better filter dangerous organic materials out of the water system.
And in January 2025, the City Council approved $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act money going toward the first phase of a $35 million pilot program that would renovate the city’s ozone infrastructure for the sake of removing manganese from the water supply.
Also on the water side, the city secured $6.1 million to extend a water-
Bossier City Water Treatment Plant shown here Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Bossier City, La.
line from Swan Lake Road to Deen Point Road in North Bossier.
As for road projects, the city secured $7 million for a four-lane extension of U.S. Hwy 71 near Colleen Drive at Parkway High School, which has been a long-standing demand aimed at alleviating traffic during pickup and drop-off times.
That is coupled with $7.7 million going toward improvements of the LA 3/I-220 interchange, along with $500,000 for citywide striping improvements in areas where thermoplastic markings are no longer reflective and $350,000 for signal upgrades at Northgate Road and Patricia Drive.
While all of that may strike you as a bit dry, the city did lock down some money for fun stuff, like $100,000 for a roller sports pump track.
That project has been on the city’s list for a few years, and two sizable Facebook groups have popped up requesting a pump track or a fullfledged skate park to mirror investments the city has made into facilities for more traditional sports.
The city also wrangled around $110,000 for basketball court and sand volleyball court improve-
ments at Mike Wood Park, along with $36,000 going toward funding the new free swim lessons being of-
fered by Rock Solid Athletic Club through their new contract to manage and staff the Mike Wood Pool.
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Sam Burns finished a stroke shy of U.S. Open glory, but won over his father in the process
BY ROY LANG III Staff Writer
At one point during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont last year, it seemed as if Sam Burns couldn’t lose. That was before Mother Nature, an unlucky break and a couple of loose shots changed the complexion of the tournament – one the Shreveporter did not win.
Prior to his tee time in Sunday’s final round at Shinnecock Hills, it didn’t seem possible he could win.
An hour into his round, there was suddenly a chance. Two hours into his round, things looked even better. Three hours into the round, it seemed inevitable he would catch four-day leader Wyndham Clark, who began the final round with a seven-stroke advantage over the former Calvary and LSU star.
And, Sunday, just as they were during last year’s drama-filled event, Burns’ family was there every step of the way. Todd Burns, a dad who has dedicated his adult life to giving his children the best opportunity to succeed, played a great part in what transpired Sunday. Todd’s as com-
petitive as they come -- there’s no quit on the golf course, the business world, or when it comes to family.
Sam had that fire Sunday. With every birdie he made, Todd’s gait around the difficult terrain on Long Island hastened. I’ve seen it. From The Front Nine Tour to the LHSAA state championships, the Junior PGA, U.S Amateur to the Korn Ferry Tour and now the PGA Tour.
After eight holes, Sam was 4 under for the day and the lead was down to one.
The blood was pumping – inside and outside the ropes.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start,” Sam said.
Clark held a single-stroke advantage for much of the back nine before Burns suffered a setback with a three-putt on No. 15. However, the duel was back on with his bounceback with a birdie at No. 16.
That was the final bit of magic Burns could muster. On the 18th hole, Burns had a 16-footer to tie Clark at 4 under.
“I really thought I made that putt,” he said. “I hit it exactly how I wanted with the speed I wanted and it just didn’t go in.”
Clark’s two-putt par from more than 50 feet on the final hole secured the win.
“Last year, I felt like I lost the golf tournament,” said Burns, who led on the back nine of the final day at Oakmont. “I certainly don’t feel that way today.”
After the result was official, Sam and Todd shared a moment that included a one-armed hug that would suck the breath out of most mortals.
“He just said he was really proud,” Burns said as tears began to fill his eyes. “We both knew how special it could have been for Father’s Day.”
Sam’s recent journey into fatherhood – his son, Bear, is 2 – has offered another perspective of the father-son relationship.
“It’s just not very often we have a chance to win a major on a Father’s Day,” Sam said. “The weight of that and knowing what that memory could have been like, it would have been really special.”
Less than three years ago, Burns had nothing better than a 20th-place effort at a major (2022 PGA Championship). Now, at 29, he’s made the cut in nine straight Grand Slam events and has compiled four top-
10s. He’s had a chance to win three of the past five major championships (lead early at the Masters and finished seventh in April).
It’s hard to imagine the major breakthrough isn’t right around the corner.
It didn’t happen Sunday, as Clark walked away with his second major championship trophy, while Burns was left gutted after the toughest test in golf delivered another painful blow. But, like Sam said, this time he didn’t lose. In fact, the Burns scored a couple of victories.
Sam thinking the runner-up finish prevented the “really special” father-son moment, Todd would differ. There is little doubt Sunday’s rally that included a host of lengthy made putts incredibly special. A father saw his son nearly pull off the unthinkable against the best golfers on the planet in the wake of last year’s edition of everything-that-could-gowrong-did. It was a day he will never forget.
And for Sam, he didn’t get that hardware, but he did get to hear those magical words a son craves.
“I’m proud of you.”
That’s a heck of a consolation prize.
25 sit-down restaurants
open on Monday nights in Shreveport, Bossier City
BY ELIZABETH DEAL Staff Writer
So many restaurants are closed on Mondays that arranging a special occasion or work outing can be tricky. I put together a list of 25 local dining establishments across Shreveport and Bossier that are open on Monday nights for a sit-down meal. At first, I was surprised by the length of the list — until I realized how much area is covered geographically between both cities.
Athena Greek and Lebanese Grill
Athena specializes in authentic traditional family recipes and specialty Mediterranean options like gyros, kabobs and hummus.
Athena Greek and Lebanese Grill is located at 6030 Line Ave., Shreveport.
BeauxJax Crafthouse
BeauxJax Crafthouse is a Cajun and Creole restaurant with poboys, crawfish mac and cheese, jambalaya, and more. Outdoor seating is near the stage at Hurricane Alley in the East Bank District.
BeauxJax is located at 501 Barksdale Blvd., Bossier City.
Crawdaddy’s Kitchen
Crawdaddy’s Kitchen is a Cajun restaurant with a relaxed vibe serving seafood platters and Cajun favorites, po-boys and burgers, and pasta and fish.
Crawdaddy’s Kitchen is located at 9370 Mansfield Road in Shreveport.
El Cabo Verde
El Cabo Verde makes everything fresh in-house, including my favorite salsa around— which is served warm. They use glutenfree, non-GMO ingredients and sustainably sourced seafood and meat.
El Cabo Verde is located at 1023 Provenance Place, Shreveport.
Flames Mediterranean Restaurant
Flames serves fresh, authentic Persian cuisine like skewered chicken and beef with grilled vegetables and salad and rice with berries. And there is a large patio.
Flames Mediterranean Restaurant is located at 436 Ashley Ridge Blvd., Shreveport.
Frank’s Pizza Napoletana
Frank’s Pizza Napoletano makes everything from scratch. The woodfired pizza is made in a custom oven from Naples. I love Frank’s filet and charbroiled oysters and there’s so much more.
Frank’s is located at 6950 Fern Ave., Shreveport.
Frozen Pirogue
Frozen Pirogue serves oysters, coastal dishes, and Cajun daiquiris. There is some open-air seating and picnic tables near the stage at Hurricane Alley.
Frozen Pirogue is located at 515 Barksdale Blvd., Bossier City.
Imperial Cathay
Imperial Cathay specializes in Chinese Mandarin cuisine with chicken, beef and veggie rice and noodle dishes and has a nice dining room.
Imperial Cathay is located at 6359 Youree Dr., Shreveport.
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Johnny’s Catfish and Seafood
Johnny’s Catfish and Seafood is a family-owned restaurant that serves Southern dishes like chicken-fried steak and fried shrimp that are made fresh daily.
Johnny’s Catfish and Seafood is located at 5130 W. Bert Kouns Industrial Loop, Shreveport.
Koi Asian Fusion
Koi is an upscale dining experience in a fabulous setting. The fusion menu has items influenced by multiple regions in Asia including sushi and noodle and rice dishes.
Koi Asian Fusion is located at 6104 Line Ave., Shreveport.
Mae & Co.
Mae & Co. is a cheery restaurant with the slogan “Chicken. Oysters. Beer.” Find wings, fried chicken, wraps, po-boys, a big ol’ pretzel and more.
Mae & Co. is located at 1023 Provenance Place, Shreveport.
Noble Savage
The Noble Savage is a familyfriendly restaurant and a live music venue in downtown Shreveport. The menu ranges from cheese curds to filet mignon, muffuletta to mahi mahi tacos.
Noble Savage is located at 417 Texas St., Shreveport.
Orlandeaux’s Cross Lake Cafe
Orlandeaux’s sits on Cross Lake and serves historic and modern Creole, soul food, and Southern cuisine with made-from-scratch recipes passed down through five generations.
Orlandeaux’s Cross Lake Cafe is located at 5301 S. Lakeshore Dr., Shreveport.
Oyster Bar and Grille
The Oyster Bar serves Gulf oysters, New Orleans-style po-boys, mesquite grilled burgers, chips and salsa, and more.
The Oyster Bar and Grille is located at 855 Pierremont Rd., Shreveport.
The
Pearl
The Pearl is much more than just an oyster bar. They serve Louisiana seafood, steaks, and sides like bacon jam Brussels sprouts, and specialize in handcrafted cocktails.
The Pearl restaurant is located at 6871 Fern Ave., Shreveport.
Pham’s Vietnamese Asian Cuisine
Pham’s is an outstanding Vietnamese Asian restaurant with a casual setting. They serve banh mi, vermicelli noodle bowls, pho, and more favorites.
Pham’s Vietnamese-Asian Cuisine restaurant is located at 3544 Youree Dr., Shreveport.
Ramirez Mexican Restaurant
Ramirez is a lively Mexican restaurant with fresh-made chips and salsa and your favorite dishes, plus the festive crazy rice and queso Ramirez.
Ramirez Mexican Restaurant is located at 6715 Pines Rd. in Shreveport and in 929 Westgate Dr. in Bossier.
Superior Grill
Superior Grill Mexican restaurant, known for its fajitas and margaritas, has a vibrant atmosphere with two large dining rooms and a bar in between.
Superior Grill is located at 6123 Line Ave., Shreveport.
Superior’s Steakhouse
Superior’s is a Chicago-style steakhouse with an extensive wine list, and has a separate bar area with a piano and windows that open when the weather’s right.
Superior’s Steakhouse is located at 855 Pierremont Rd., Shreveport.
Sushiko Sushi and Grill
Sushiko has a sushi bar and plenty of table seating, plus a full bar including Japanese Sapporo beer and a selection of sake.
Sushiko Sushi and Grill is located at 650 Boardwalk Blvd., Bossier City, by Bass Pro Shop.
Sushikin Grill and Sake Bar
Sushikin has an open sushi bar where you watch the chefs prepare dishes using fresh, locallysourced ingredients. Service and presentation is an important focus.
Sushikin Grill and Sake Bar is located at 644 E. Kings Hwy., Shreveport.
Tsuyoi Ramen
At Tsuyoi, you can choose from authentic ramen, poke bowls, Japanese curry dishes and sushi tacos to enjoy in a tastefullythemed dining room.
Tsuyoi Ramen is located at 2113 Airline Dr., Bossier City.
Windrush Grill
Windrush offers regional American dishes like burgers and steaks, shrimp and catfish, dishes like chicken and waffles and specialty sandwiches.
Windrush Grill is located at 1023 Provenance Place, Shreveport.
Zaap Thai Cuisine
Zaap Thai serves authentic Thai dishes and noodle soups with high quality ingredients in a cozy, inviting, and Asian-inspired atmosphere.
Zaap Thai Cuisine is located at 3244 Barksdale Blvd., Bossier City.
Grilled mahi-mahi, seasoned potatoes and hush puppies at Crawdaddy’s Kitchen
Pizzas fresh out of a wood-fired oven sit ready to be sliced and served at Frank’s Pizza Napoletana
Stuffed shrimp at Orleandeaux’s Café
‘He
saw the potential in Shreveport’
Former mayor remembered as key figure in city’s modern history
BY ADAM DUVERNAY Staff Writer
Shreveport’s modern political history is younger than it feels. But the city lost recently one of that history’s last-living midwives.
Just before midnight of June 15, John Brennan Hussey Jr. died after a brief illness. Mayor of Shreveport for the majority of the 1980s across his two terms, Hussey was among the founding class of the city’s modern government and instrumental in shaping the decades that followed.
“A lot of the things that we think and say and do today about the role of the mayor and the role of the city council, those were things that he helped establish both as a council member and as mayor,” said sitting Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux, a friend and an acolyte of Hussey’s. Hussey’s memorial services begin today with a visitation at Osborn Funeral Home. Tomorrow, family, friends and those who knew him as one of the city’s leaders at 11 a.m. will attend funeral services at St. Elizabeth Anne Seaton Catholic Church in Shreveport, followed by his burial.
‘Trailblazer’
Born to John and Inez Hussey on May 29, 1934, the future mayor was a lifelong Shreveport resident.
Before politics for Hussey was the law. He specialized in contracts and would become a partner at the Smitherman, Lunn, Hussey and Chastain law firm, which still is doing business in Shreveport today as Smitherman, Hill and Brice, L.C. He’d remain there until first elected mayor.
Shreveport voters changed their government in the spring of 1978, a move largely motivated by calls for more inclusive representation. The charter overhaul did away with at-large representation in city hall, meant to allow Black residents the
Hussey was the city council’s chairman in 1980. He represented District D, the city’s southeast side.
That district today is represented by Councilman Grayson Boucher, who said though he met Hussey a number of times as an adult — “he always seemed to be there if needed for anybody” — he remembers him best as the city’s mayor from the formative years of his childhood.
“When I moved to Shreveport in the 8th grade, Mayor Hussey was in the middle of his term,” he said. “I watched a lot of the old Shreveport channel on Cablevision. A lot of that had Mayor Hussey and the city council. I grew up in Shreveport watching Mayor Hussey as the mayor.”
Field, recently demolished, was first erected.
The city under his mayoralty operated on a balanced budget and obtained the highest bond rating in the state. Its pension system was fully funded and ended each year with a budget surplus, according to the overview of the John B. Hussey Papers maintained by the LSUS archives.
Arceneaux described Hussey as a policy wonk, interested in and skillful with the minutia of city budgets and bond management.
“He really understood finance. He understood government from a 30,000 ft. view. He was very good at looking at the long term, and I think his role as mayor during that time reflected that. He was looking at infrastructure needs way down the line, and as a result of that we have some traffic arteries that, had we not had those, we would have had much more serious traffic issues than we have today,” Arceneaux said.
power to install leaders like themselves.
That vote separated legislative and executive power, creating the modern city council and establishing a more powerful mayoralty.
Hussey served as a member of the first Shreveport City Council, established after the city adopted its modern-day charter which did away with a form of government run by a five-member city commission government headed by the mayor. Hussey’s single term was from 1978 to 1982.
Hussey joined that body alongside local legends such as Hilry Huckaby III, Rev. Herman Farr and Gregory Tarver, the first Black men ever to serve in Shreveport government, as well as former mayor James C. Gardner, known as the architect of the city’s change in government styles.
Boucher said observing Hussey’s leadership was instrumental in his own decision to take part in the city’s governance.
“He was kind of trailblazer,” Boucher said. “He set the stage for a lot of the things we have today and the form of government we have.”
‘30,000
ft. view’
Hussey first ran for mayor in 1982, defeating fellow Democrat State Sen. Don Williamson by claiming 54% of the vote. He succeeded Mayor William T. Hanna, Jr. — another Democrat and the first executive to lead Shreveport under its new charter — to become the city’s 52nd mayor.
Hussey’s tenure as mayor included major projects across the city. Dirt roads were paved. A new landfill was established. A new water plant and a new sewer plant were built. Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway took shape. And Fair Grounds
But his achievements weren’t all bookkeeping and concrete, and his influence has lasted for the decades since he departed, Arceneaux said.
“John was very interested in making sure to establish customs and traditions and the actual practical effects of the charter,” Arceneaux said. “He had some young whippersnappers on that council. Dee Peterson was on that council. I was on that council. There were times where he felt like the office of the mayor had to keep the city council in check in terms of what it was we were trying to do — and he was right to do that.”
What Arceneaux said he remembers best about Hussey’s leadership is its emphasis not just on what was happening but on what was coming.
“What I saw John do was look forward,” Arceneaux said. “He taught me — he showed me — how to look beyond the current crisis and to
Former Shreveport Mayor John Hussey Jr.
Photo by Brendan Hussey
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Ochsner LSU Health is here to meet your healthcare needs through significant investments in facilities, expanded access, enhanced care, and the introduction of advanced technologies and services. From lifesaving treatments to specialized care at every stage of life, we are dedicated to building a healthier future for North Louisiana.
Ochsner LSU Health is here to meet your healthcare needs through significant investments in facilities, expanded access, enhanced care, and the introduction of advanced technologies and services. From lifesaving treatments to specialized care at every stage of life, we are dedicated to building a healthier future for North Louisiana.
Ochsner LSU Health is here to meet your healthcare needs through significant investments in facilities, expanded access, enhanced care, and the introduction of advanced technologies and services. From lifesaving treatments to specialized care at every stage of life, we are dedicated to building a healthier future for North Louisiana.
Ochsner LSU Health is here to meet your healthcare needs through significant investments in facilities, expanded access, enhanced care, and the introduction of advanced technologies and services. From lifesaving treatments to specialized care at every stage of life, we are dedicated to building a healthier future for North Louisiana.
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Meta data center tax infusion means $50,000 bonus checks for these Louisiana teachers
BY JUSTIN O’CONNOR Staff Writer
Many Richland Parish teachers got $50,000 bonuses this year thanks to a shortterm bump in tax revenues fueled by the construction of Meta’s massive, $27-billion Hyperion data center near Holly Ridge.
You read that right: $50,000 bonuses.
The end-of-year payments initiated on Wednesday, known as “13th checks,” ranged from $50,935 for eligible certified employees to $17,472 for eligible classified employees, up from last year’s bonuses of $10,200 and $3,323, respectively, Richland Parish School Board Superintendent Sheldon Jones told
The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
For the largely rural northeast Louisiana parish’s teachers, the bonuses are more than or on par with a full year’s salary, which range from $29,504 to $52,335, according to the district’s salary schedule.
Jones said the district’s median salary is $40,920, and state education data shows Richland schools ranked in the bottom quarter for average salaries across Louisiana districts in 2024-25.
“The Richland Parish School Board is excited to reward our employees for their dedicated service and meeting the organizational ad-
justments associated with economic expansion,” Jones said in a statement. “We will continue our ongoing efforts to attract and retain highly effective classroom teachers and productive staff members.”
The distributions for certified employees, as usual, were seniority-based, Jones confirmed.
Employees with four or more years of certified experience got the full $50,935, while third-year employees got three-quarters, second-year employees got half and so on. All classified staff got $17,472.
Teachers getting the full share totaled 106, 18 got a substantial share and 40 got a partial share, while 160
classified staff got payouts.
And Jones indicated this won’t be the last of it. Hyperion is expected to be in development until 2030, although construction may take longer.
“We anticipate elevated bonuses for the duration of the Hyperion construction project,” he wrote. “We are cognizant of the multiplier effect. Other industries might locate in Richland Parish as a result of rapid growth.”
Indeed, the hiked checks come as the data center project, Meta’s largest in the world, has been a massive boon to the parish’s coffers.
Richland Parish recently got its first sales tax payment on behalf of the site, which is the size of roughly 70 football fields and expected to bring in 5,000 construction jobs at peak. The total, a whopping $22.4 million, was greater than the parish’s typical total sales tax revenues in an entire year, and about half goes to the school board.
That comes on top of increased revenues from new commercial activity that has been drawn to the area, which has seen a hectic influx of new people and businesses. As of March, general sales tax collections were already at more than $43 million. In all of fiscal year 2024-25, the amount was $21.3 million.
The school board has collected more than $36.5 million this fiscal year, Jones said, with $16.2 million of that attributed to the one-cent tax created in 1968 that underpins these bonus payouts.
And on Thursday, the Monroe City School Board in neighboring Ouachita Parish also announced a 38% increase in their “13th checks” attributed to higher sales tax revenues. CEO and President Rob
Cleveland of Grow NELA claimed the “vast majority” of that was due to the data center’s impacts.”
All across the region we’re seeing sales tax revenue increases,” he said. “That’s teachers, that’s police and fire, that’s, you know, general funds and some of these parishes and municipalities directly benefiting.”
Still, the taxes coming in are less than they would be without the hefty sales, use and property tax breaks given to the project as an incentive package that has become a model for luring data centers to Louisiana, including Caddo and Bossier parishes.
Sales taxes were dropped to 1% for the site on construction materials, furniture and fixtures subject to state sales and use taxes, and sales taxes on certain data center equipment will be rebated under a recent state law.
Once the facility gets its certificate of occupancy, a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, arrangement will also kick in and give the center a big 30-year break on property taxes conditioned on it hitting
certain capital and job targets.
Statewide, data center skeptics, in some cases outright opponents, have criticized these tax break deals and raised concerns about public officials signing nondisclosure agreements during negotiations along with the potential impacts of these facilities to the environment and utility bills.
In Richland Parish, the Meta site has brought a lot of activity to a little place, and with it a mix of excitement and uncertainty about the future of the place’s way of life — along with a lot of dangerous traffic, according to a Gulf States Newsroom report.
However, Cleveland — himself a supporter of these projects, of course — contended that, unlike data center sites in northwest Louisiana, there isn’t a lot of controversy in Richland Parish.
Hyperion has been “overwhelmingly well-received,” he said, although he understands people worried about change.
“There are certainly growing pains with any development, and we’re working to address those,
but the massive economic impact is being felt from all areas of our community, and all socioeconomic classes throughout our region,” he said.
“The thing I will say to that is that the site has been marketed for more than 20 years for an industrial-type use, so there’s been no secret about what the intent was for that property, and so now we’re finally seeing the fruit of the labor that people have put in for decades to try and recruit new business,” he added.
The bonuses, Cleveland said, are an example of the public getting to reap some of the longer-germinating rewards of the project. But the shifts — higher wages, new companies, new jobs — have been around for many the whole time.
“The public is starting to see some of those benefits that have taken a while to develop,” he said, “but we have been having this kind of direct impact since day one.”
Business editor Liz Swaine contributed to this story.
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Shreveport’s oldest Black church knows change. Its next evolution celebrates its 160-year history.
BY DONECIA PEA Staff Writer
Sunday service at Shreveport’s oldest Black church looks much different than it did in years past, when the congregation would pack the iconic downtown house of worship for prayer, singing, breaking bread and building community.
Now, lifelong and new members of Antioch Baptist sign on via Zoom or meet in different spaces around town as they raise money to fix the interior of their church that has served as their homebase since it was built in 1903.
Antioch, founded the year after the Civil War, is used to adapting.
“We’ve endured slavery, post-slavery, Black codes, redlining,” said
The Rev. Bruce Carroll Sr., the church’s pastor. “We’ve endured the Great Depression … the Civil Rights Movement, Yellow Fever, even COVID. So the Black church in particular, has been able to make it over hurdles because we’ve seen this before. It’s not new to us.”
The perseverance of the congregation speaks to its tenure in Shreveport. Antioch is celebrating yet another milestone this year.
And the congregation marked their anniversary right where the church’s story began 160 years ago — at First Baptist Church in Shreveport where Black parishioners left to form Antioch in 1866.
“These 73 (formerly enslaved) free people had the courage to step out on nothing and create some-
thing,” Carroll said. “They didn’t have a building. They didn’t have a place to worship. They had courage and faith to say ‘Hey, you know, we want to create our own place of worship.’”
Steeped in history
Prior to their emancipation, local Black Baptist congregants were only allowed to attend First Baptist Church and sit in segregated sections with limited participation.
“Blacks who attended were basically town slaves and a small number of free men of color. All of the Blacks sat in traditionally assigned areas such as the balcony or the extreme rear of the sanctuary,” late historian Willie Burton Sr. wrote in “The Blacker The Berry … A Black
History of Shreveport.”
The church was originally named First Colored Baptist Church led by Rev. John Jones as pastor. In 1871, the name was changed to Antioch Baptist Church.
In 1901, nationally renowned Shreveport architect N.S. Allen was tapped to design its current Romanesque Revival style building located downtown at 1057 Texas Avenue. Construction was completed in 1903. And with the help of eight Antioch members, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The 160-year celebration at First Baptist included singing, praise, and prayers. But there was also a powerful reflection.
Antioch Baptist Church
Photo provided by Visit Shreveport-Bossier
First Baptist pastor, The Rev. Jeff Raines, apologized for the actions of his predecessors in his sermon. It touched the heart of Antioch member Anya Jackson.
“I really thought that was powerful … it was a full circle moment,” she said.
Legacy that spans generations
Of course, Jackson, 45, wasn’t alive when Antioch was founded 160 years ago, but it’s been a part of her family’s history her entire life.
“My parents tell this story,” she said with a laugh. “My mom was pregnant with me and then they joined Antioch.”
Bobbie Jackson and her husband, Walter Jackson Jr., were invited by their longtime friend Barbara Matthews Burney, daughter of the late Rev. David Matthews, who served as Antioch’s pastor for nearly 30 years.
Burney and Walter Jackson were co-workers at Huntington High School, “And she kept inviting us to come to her church,” Bobbie Jackson said. “She told us, ‘If you go, you’re going to join and you’re not going to want to leave.’”
More than four decades later, even after Burney’s death in 2009, Anya Jackson and her parents still attend every Sunday.
Walter Jackson Jr. is one of the
church’s longtime deacons and Sunday School superintendent, and their mom Bobbie Jackson has held numerous roles through the years, including Sunday school teacher, choir member and more.
“I cook, so I’ve been over the kitchen pretty much since I got there… And guess what? I still work in the kitchen,” she said with a laugh.
Their children, Anya and Dr. Walter Jackson III, 41, were baptized at Antioch while their older daughter, Sheros Thomas, who lived in California at the time, regularly attended whenever she was in town.
While they’ve seen members come and go through the years, for the Jackson family, Antioch will always be home. “It’s just our love for the church and the history is really special as well as our relationships with the various pastors throughout the years,” Anya Jackson said.
Carroll, a native of Holly, La., who has served as Antioch’s 17th pastor since he was elected in 2017, said families like the Jacksons are part of Antioch’s lasting legacy.
“We have third and fourth generations that are still a part of Antioch. I think that’s what makes it that type of legacy where we’re able to tell the story about Jesus, his love, his death, burial and resurrection and disciple to others,” he said. “Many people have come through Antioch, but because we were the first African American Baptist church in this city, I think, holds great weight.”
Looking ahead
Antioch is commonly referred to as the “Mother Church” in Shreveport because of other Black Baptist churches that were birthed from it, including Avenue Baptist, Evergreen Baptist, Trinity Baptist and Union Mission Baptist. But like many churches across
the country, Antioch has felt the sting of declining attendance recently. And due to much-needed repairs and renovations that have left the church uninhabitable, followed by the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Antioch’s church services went predominantly virtual in 2020 with occasional in-person worship held at various local sites.
Services also regularly feature guest speakers including those from other denominations and faiths.
But there’s good news and more change coming.
Because of the church’s historic status, the church was able to secure funding needed to renovate the church facility two years ago, “so we’re going through the process of drawing down these funds so that we can start work on our building,” Carroll said.
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legacy and is always representing our church and congregation while also getting the community involved,” Anya said.
Moving church services to Zoom has allowed Antioch to re-establish connections with its out-of-town members, such as Anya’s brother, who now lives in Baltimore, Maryland, but serves as the Sunday school teacher.
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“Prior to the pandemic, when we were going to church in-person, Walter wasn’t able to participate because he was away from home, but now with us having virtual service, he’s able to participate and he actually leads our Sunday School,” Anya said.
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In spite of all of the challenges, under Carroll’s leadership, the congregation is more connected than ever and still serving the community, Anya Jackson said.
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“That’s what I really love about Pastor Carroll’s spirit and action. He works hard to maintain (Antioch’s)
When the house of worship officially opens its doors again, Carroll expects the people filling the pews will look different, too.
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“The avenue around this historic building is shifting,” he said. “So even when you talk about the Black church, Antioch will no longer be a church just for Black people because there aren’t just Black people in the community. So we have to talk about being relevant.”
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Shreveport Chamber honors best and brightest minority businesses, professionals
BY LIZ SWAINE Staff Writer
The Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce had some tough choices to make in coming up with a recent list of winners.
Each year, the chamber honors the “best of” with their Minority Business Opportunity Awards. It is a strong reminder of what makes the local business community so special, said Scott Ward, the Greater Shreveport Chamber Chairman.
“Our 2026 honorees are not only successful business leaders, but they are also mentors, innovators, and community builders who inspire others through the opportunities they create and the lives they touch throughout northwest Louisiana,” said Ward.
The 2026 winners are:
Tia White of JPMorgan Chase was named the Top Business Professional of the Year. The Non-Profit Professional of the Year was Badreka Harper, the
administrative operations manager for The Arc of Caddo-Bossier.
Dr. Heidi Cram’s Apothewerx Pharmacy, a concierge pharmacy in downtown Shreveport, was named Emerging Business of the Year, while Antonisha Parish’s I’d Wax That Studios took Small Business Owner of the Year.
The 2026 Business of the Year is Whataburger, chosen, said the chamber, for their commitment to community engagement, opportunity creation and philanthropic impact across Northwest Louisiana.
A lifetime achievement award was given to Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, who has served in the city’s top law enforcement job since 2022, but has been with the department for more than 40 years.
“His lifelong dedication to serving the citizens of Shreveport, combined with his strong faith and commitment to family, exemplifies the highest standard of professional excellence and community impact celebrated by the Minority Business Opportunity Awards,” said the chamber.
Winners of the 2026 Minority Business Opportunity Awards given by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce.
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WHERE TO GO WHO TO SEE WHAT TO DO IN THE SEPTEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR
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LOUISIANA TECH UISIANATECH
I tried noodling for the first time
through a guided tour in Louisiana.
Here’s what I thought.
IBY MOLLY TERRELL Staff Writer
f you’ve been craving a lake day and are looking for an adventure, grabbing a catfish out of its underwater hole with your hand might be the perfect activity.
I did it, and let me tell you, grabbing a catfish out of a lake was one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had.
It all started when I saw a social media page for a noodling guide service on Caddo Lake in northwest Louisiana. I decided to find out more.
Noodling is a unique form of fishing that requires you to retrieve a catfish from its hole with only your feet and hands while standing in murky water.
I scheduled a noodling tour with Geaux Noodling. My guide, Vinny Wozniak, offers the tours from May until around the end of June, when catfish lay their eggs.
I was nervous about what it would be like and I didn’t sleep much the night before I went.
ramps, which Wozniak said the catfish like because they like concrete, which heats up faster. They also have their own boxes, like old tractor tires, cast-iron bathtubs and anything else they can make to imitate these holes and improve their chances of finding catfish.
Wozniak said there are often two in a hole if the female hasn’t laid eggs yet.
Wozniak and Bearden are very knowledgeable about where the catfish hot spots are. Even though I lost all sense of direction on the lake, I enjoyed the several spots we fished because I enjoyed seeing the cypress trees and Spanish moss.
By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer
I was still a bit nauseous on the early morning drive to the lake, but I was immediately put at ease by Wozniak’s friendliness and his thorough explanation throughout the day.
My colleague, Jill, and I started in a boat with Wozniak, while their client, Ryan O’Banion, and another guide, Remington Bearden, went in a separate boat.
Wozniak told us that when the water reaches a certain temperature,
male catfish go into holes and clear out the space for females to make a nest. When she lays her eggs, the male fertilizes them and guards them until they hatch. To noodle, you stick your hand or foot into the hole for the fish to attack and then catch them.
Geaux Noodling catches two types of catfish — the blue catfish and the Opelousas, or Flathead catfish.
Different types of catfish holes
According to Bearden, both types of catfish lay their eggs toward the middle of the hole, but an Opelousas male stays at the back to watch over its eggs, while a blue remains at the front of the hole. According to Wozniak, Blues are the more aggressive fish. All of the main catches we made were Flatheads. There are natural holes that catfish find in trees and in sunken old boat
At our first stop, I didn’t want to immediately try noodling when a fish was discovered in one of their holes, so I watched O’Banion go first as he pulled a catfish out. Even though he was less experienced than Wozniak and Bearden, he had been noodling before, and so he was ready for the challenge.
He went in barefoot, which Wozniak was not happy about because there are plenty of things on the lake floor that can pierce the bottom of your foot, like old fishing hooks, bottles, and other things that would require a tetanus shot.
Pulling my catfish out of the hole
I was wearing an old pair of running shoes, and when Wozniak found another catfish in a concrete hole, it was time for me to try. He went in first and waited for the catfish to
Vinny Wozniak, of Geaux Noodling Guide Service, poses for a photo with The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate reporter Molly Terrell after helping her noodle for the catfish for the first time Friday, June 5, 2026, on Caddo Lake in Caddo Parish, La.
latch onto his foot before telling me that it was my turn.
I went in extremely nervous and afraid the catfish might hurt me, but Wozniak was the perfect guide, calming my nerves and clearly ex plaining what to expect. He said that common fears are their bite and the barbs, but that the barbs get duller as catfish age, so bigger catfish, like the ones we were catching, were less likely to injure. I also got gloves to wear and a cut-resistant sleeve.
I laid on my side, partially sub merged in the shallow water to have enough leverage to grab the fish.
The first catfish in the hole got away, but there were two in there, and Wozniak guided my hand and the catfish latched on to it. I couldn’t feel anything through the gloves, but their teeth seem similar to sand paper. Wozniak also told me how to grab the gills so I wouldn’t hurt the fish, and then we pulled it out of the hole.
Mine was a female, Flathead cat fish, only about 10 to 15 pounds, but it was by far the biggest fish I had seen in person, so I was very pleased.
Wozniak said that his service has
also recently started “tagging” catfish they catch by attaching a zip tie to the part of their dorsal fin that won’t grow, so they don’t hurt the fish, and if they catch the same one again, they can see how far they’ve
yet because he had been focused on assisting, so we checked a few more locations.
We had luck at the last hole, and Wonziak pulled out an aggressive female catfish that was more than
“What I realized is I really like seeing other people conquering a fear of doing this type of thing,” Wozniak said. “...I’ve gotten so many people that probably haven’t even held a fishing rod in their life, and I was able to talk them into noo-
Wozniak said that he likes seeing clients’ faces when they overcome their fear and do something they never imagined they could do. He said he’s thankful to have been taught noodling by TV personality Skipper Bivins and Blake Pell, and he wouldn’t be where he is without
I could see myself noodling again or helping someone else catch the fish. But there are definitely limits to how far I’d be willing to stick my
Both lake days and traditional fishing are fun. But I found that combining them to experience the thrill of catching large catfish with your hands is unlike anything else.
To book a guided tour with Geaux Noodling and Wozniak, or to get pricing information, you can message the Facebook page or call at
A silver lining in ‘Theo of Golden’
The impact of intentional kindness
BY TEDDY ALLEN Columnist
As “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James, “The Martian” by Andy Weir, and the first book by “The Housemaid” author Freida McFadden (“The Devil Wears Scrubs” in 2013), who has since cranked out several bestsellers, “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi was a self-published novel that became “a wordof-mouth smash hit.”
Levi’s self-published debut novel in the fall of 2023 was re-published by Atria Books late last year and by March of 2026 was No.1 on the New York Times Bestseller List/Fiction.
It’s been on the list 26 weeks and is currently No. 4 in Combined Print and E-Book Fiction.
I read it this spring, after about 143 people suggested it. Glad they did. Glad I did.
Probably won’t be for everyone though. But then again, not everyone likes ice cream. Different strokes. “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke is currently No. 1 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list; I read it and wanted to like it but didn’t.
Who knows when it comes to books?
The accepted rule of thumb is to read the number of pages in a book that equals 100 minus your age, and if you don’t like it by then, bail. Example: If you’re 30 and get to page
70 and it’s not happening for you, move on, guilt free. Life’s both too short and too long to plod through what you consider a “bad” book.
To most people, I’d say give “Theo” a shot. If you haven’t heard and if you need a summertime book, a quick intro:
Theo, a kind, generous, mysterious man who moves to the fictional and present-day Southern town of Golden, symbolically around Easter, manages to spread hope and humor and generosity by living with a posture of the heart that is open to meaningful relationships. Through those, the lives of his new friends are altered for the better and maybe for eternity. Something like that.
We’ve all known people who’ve made us feel seen and heard. And if we didn’t know it then, we knew with age that they’d been intentional about making us feel that way. They did A Small Thing maybe, but it proved to be A Big Thing on our path, something that profoundly altered not just our day but our lives, that opened our eyes to the good news that we could be rescued back into a world of reawakened wonder, rescued out of a world of goodgone-horribly-wrong and back into a world where things can be playful in the best sense, snatched for good out of indifference and back into grace and something that at least closely resembles being fully alive.
One of Theo’s friends describes his spirit as one of “obedient faith, cheerful hope, and generous love…” Theo is fiction, but there are real Theos around; they are angels in disguise.
Even in a techno world that calls us to chaos, there are those people who live to call us back to purpose. Like Theo, they speak to us “the lan-
guage of another place,” their every kindness “a signpost, meant no doubt for the present but pointing to the up ahead, aiming at the still to come.”
“Theo” has taken its share of hits from reviewers. “Melodramatic.” Theo is a “saccharine saint,” “too Pollyanna for me.” I get that. It might have helped that I listened to it instead of reading it. Actor David Morse was the narrator; his interpretation was, for me, authentic, not pretentious.
As a story, I liked it. Kept expecting it to be too sentimental, but that never happened. There is violence and death and disappointment here. Just as there is for us all. This book
is no Hallmark card.
It’s a story about a man who loved people the way we all want to be loved, a stranger who moved into the neighborhood quietly, a soul who came not to be served, but to serve.
Somehow, in our busy and confrontational modern world, an old, old story that illustrates “the power of creative generosity,” the impact of intentional kindness, the love one soul of purpose can offer his brothers and sisters, is a bestseller, a story that still resonates. Pretty good news for all of us, like the book or not.
