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If Brod Bagert had come to the river city of Baton Rouge in the 1850’s fresh off the steamboat with a trunk full of snake oil and promises of miracle cures, he could not have gotten a more enthusiastic reception than he got when he arrived here in 2011 with promises to make Baton Rouge […]

Ulysse Joubert tells his students they only have 15 seconds to make an impression ­— for good or bad — on someone they meet. And that is all the time it takes to size up Ulysse Joubert.  His thick Cajun accent, infectious laughter, expressive face, and imposing demeanor tell you this is a truly extraordinary […]

It’s not very popular and certainly not politically correct to talk about the problems in your own community.  But if we aren’t honest with ourselves, the consequences will be very grave indeed. Despite all the hoopla and Chamber of Commerce rhetoric, this parish and this city are so close to tipping over the edge and […]

If you own residential or commercial property inside the city limits of Baton Rouge or Baker, you could be getting a property tax refund, if the 10.6-mill CATS property tax is ruled unconstitutional in the pending legal case of Graugnard v. CATS. However, even if Milton Graug-nard, the plaintiff in the suit, wins, the only […]

A suit challenging the constitutionality of the CATS tax is now pending in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal, and a decision is expected any day.  Milton Graugnard challenged the 10.6 mill in the City of Baton Rouge in Graugnard v. CATS.  The basis of the suit is violation of equal protection because people outside […]

On Monday, Together Baton Rouge held a news conference to express its lack of confidence in the current board of the Capital Area Transit System and called for the resignation of board chairman Isaiah Marshall. But last year, Together Baton Rouge sponsored and lobbied hard for House Bill 865 by Rep. Regina Barrow of Baton […]

After gaining approval of a $165 million tax increase last April from voters in the cities of Baton Rouge and Baker, the Capital Area Transit System (CATS) should find itself “sitting pretty.”  But instead the government-owned bus company finds itself mired in scandal.  The legislative auditor is conducting an audit, the state inspector general has […]

Robert Mirabito, interim chief executive officer of the Capital Area Transit System held a news conference Monday to announce that bus fare money is missing and may have been stolen.  Mirabito said discrepancies between cash deposits and computerized fare collection totals go back three years.  In some months, the discrepancy could be as much as […]

A review of campaign finance records filed with the Louisiana  Board of Ethics, corporate records at the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, and the Advocate website provide a picture of who supported or opposed the $165 million CATS property tax increase approved last year. The two main organizations which publicly urged voters to pass the […]

TOP STORIES in Capital City News: • CATS Runs Wild: Scandal, Controversy Rock Agency • Possible Bid-Rigging of Contract at CATS Puts Pall Over Urban Socialist Enterprise • CATS Officials Can’t Account for Missing Bus Fare Money for Three Years (and Aren’t Totally Sure It’s Missing!) • Who Pushed FOR the $165 Million CATS Tax […]