Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Opelousas Downtown Development District (ODDD) recently announced $100,000 in grants to 12 businesses. Michael Lunsford wanted to know three things: who got the money, where they’re located, and what they’re going to do with it. That seemingly simple question has now produced two letters from an attorney and a four-week wait for answers. Meanwhile, ODDD is sitting on roughly $9 million in cash and has spent millions on other projects—including a football stadium. So where is all this money going?
Subscribe to this on Apple Podcasts
###
Facts First. Even When They’re Inconvenient.
Some outlets or groups tell you what to think. Others have discovered there’s an easier way to build an audience: tell people exactly what they want to hear. We’ve chosen a harder path.
At Citizens for a New Louisiana, we start with the evidence — public records, financial disclosures, court filings, voting records, audits, and original documents — and follow it wherever it leads. Sometimes the facts confirm what we expected. Sometimes they surprise us. Sometimes they disappoint our friends. Either way, we publish them.
That approach doesn’t always produce the loudest headlines or the easiest fundraising. But over time, it produces something much more valuable: TRUST. If you value independent Louisiana journalism that puts evidence ahead of outrage and principle ahead of tribe, please help us continue the work.
Become a Monthly MemberContribute $10 NowMake a Tax Deductible Gift
Already have a donor-advised fund? Ask your DAF administrator about recommending a grant to New Louisiana Foundation.
