[StBernard] EDITORIAL: In retrospect, Blanco sees progress, hope

[Westley Annis]

EDITORIAL: In retrospect, Blanco sees progress, hope

Periodically, the press office will publish editorials, articles and columns that feature Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's work in various areas. 

Town Talk: Our view: In retrospect, Blanco sees progress, hope
Published Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Click here to read the article online. 
<http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/OPINION/710300310> 

Gov. Kathleen Blanco is delivering an important message this week called "Progress Report for Louisiana, 2004-2008." In it she describes the progress made during her tenure as governor. 

It's a list of compelling points, and provides a snapshot of what is working and what needs more work. Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal will want to read it closely. 

The report reflects the goals Blanco targeted as a candidate, and it speaks to the harsh reality known as Katrina and Rita. 


>From the start, Blanco put her energy into education and economic development. From these things -- with education first -- "all things flow," she said in a meeting with The Town Talk.


The state, while on her watch, has made progress in that area for one important reason. "I believe I have laid the foundation from which to build," Blanco said. 

During her term she pushed hard to get pay for public school teachers up to the average for Southern region average for the first time; she boosted funding for pre-K and kindergarten programs; and she initiated a redesign of the high-school curriculum with hopes of cutting the dropout rate and making the curriculum more relevant. Classrooms are more wired -- and more wireless -- than ever, and ACT scores are improving. 

Crucial to her education and economic-development efforts are the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative and the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise Center. Together, these digital investments give the state a unique capability and welcome opportunity to run with the big dogs in the world of supercomputing and research. 

"No other state is positioned for both of these projects," she said. 

This high-tech foothold will serve Louisiana education, research and economic development well for years, if funding and attention continue. 

Blanco also reports more than $18 billion in new capital investment in the state on her watch and 28,000 new jobs. 

That includes the investment by Union Tank Car Co. in the Alexandria area. The $1 billion, 800-job project was located in Central Louisiana in part because of Blanco's tenacity. It is a signature piece in political portfolio. 

A third of her "Progress Report" is dedicated to the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The historic storms and equally challenging recovery process have made her four years in office "feel like eight," she said. 

"The storm is going to be a genesis of some powerful things," Blanco said. "The world is going to be new when we finish building it." 

With that thought, she returns to education, pointing to the "education laboratory" that has replaced New Orleans' troubled public schools. She sees real hope there, and elsewhere in the state, because she sees real change taking place. 

That, alone, is progress worth reporting.


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