225BatonRouge.com

Elbert Hubbard, the American philosopher and writer, once said the easiest way to avoid criticism is to “do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.”

Sadly for us—and to the detriment of Baton Rouge—our two most recent former mayors failed to detect the irony of Hubbard’s words, instead taking a literal interpretation and turning it into their own uninspiring creed.

Our current mayor, Kip Holden, either never heard of Mr. Hubbard or grasps the writer’s intended message. Holden is demonstrating a willingness to create a vision for a better, more vibrant East Baton Rouge and—more importantly—is willing to take the action to make change happen.

Predictably, in a city that enjoys the status quo as much as college students love happy hour, critics are firing at the mayor from every direction.

Has Holden been perfect? Of course not, but at least his missteps have come while taking action. Agree with him or not, no one can deny Holden is leading this parish forward.

In office for less than 18 months, Holden has 1) kept his promise to give raises to police officers without raising taxes, 2) convinced voters to approve his aggressive Green Light road improvement program, 3) reorganized the Department of Public Works and is in the process of hiring an urban planner to bring some sanity to future development, and 4) been a driving force behind the redevelopment of our downtown riverfront.

Moreover, he’s become a salesman for our city, parish and the entire Capital Region, visiting countries and industries around the globe to diversify and strengthen our regional economy.

In short, his energy and enthusiasm for the job has been refreshing. So too has been his refusal to cave on tough, politically sensitive issues—like his refusal to create a review board to investigate racial allegations concerning the death of George Temple that would have only muddied the waters further.

The message from my conversations with people who either do business with the city or are helping shape its future convince me the mayor demonstrates a willingness to listen, but has the courage to make his own decisions. Yes, it’s still early, but so far Mayor Holden deserves kudos—and our support for making decisions, moving forward and taking risks.

Behind closed doors at BREC

Our cover story this month details some of the brawling and behind-the-scenes antics aimed at taking control of our local parks system and all its new tax money. False allegations, attempts to influence the board and ultimately to depose and replace former Superintendent Mark Thornton now threaten what most of us assumed was a promising future.

In 2004, voters of East Baton Rouge Parish narrowly approved a capital improvements tax package worth well over $100 million to overhaul and improve BREC’s aging parks. It didn’t take long for politicians and business execs to start angling for their piece of the pie by seeking to control decisions on how the money would be spent. Freelance writer, author and former federal agent Chuck Hustmyre (author of “FEMA’s dirty little secret,” February 2006) tells the story of the battle to control BREC.

Baton Rouge has voted!

225 is proud to announce the first annual Best of 225 awards, coming in July.

We began two months ago by asking readers to nominate their favorite restaurants, drinks, hot spots, night clubs and local celebs in more than 47 categories. You showered us with thousands of responses. So 225 got busy sifting through all those nominations for groups of top nominees in each category.

We commissioned S.C.I. Research to conduct a scientific market poll. Several thousand respondents were chosen at random. The votes are in and will remain confidential until the July issue of 225 hits the streets.

America may have American Idol, but Baton Rouge has spoken, selecting the best 225 has to offer. Read all out it in the July issue of 225.