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Without the $600 added to unemployment checks, I don’t know how my family will survive
By Travis Smith Congress will soon be debating legislation that will determine if families like mine will be able to stay above water. My wife and I are both unemployed and blessed to have been receiving the Pandemic Unemployed Compensation from the CARES Act introduced in March. It has been a tremendous help while we […]
Pollution left us in St. James Parish vulnerable to COVID-19; now industry wants to build bigger
By Stephanie Cooper I grew up in St. James Parish, on a country road off Highway 18 on the west bank of the Mississippi River, before a dozen polluting petrochemical plants were built here, before my community became known as Cancer Alley and before our long exposure to industrial air pollution helped lead to some […]
COVID-19 infections in the prison system concern us all
By Andrea Armstrong At a July 8 press conference, Dr. Alex Billioux, assistant secretary of health for the Office of Public Health, attempted to explain why the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) does not provide independent data on COVID-19 in Louisiana prisons and jails. First, Billioux said prisons and jails are not public health risks […]
We can’t reform police departments if civil service boards tolerate abuse
Fr. Richard R. Andrus Jr., SVD The fact that Officer Robert Moruzzi continues to serve on the Baton Rouge Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board is a moral disgrace. In Louisiana, civil service boards hear appeals from police officers who have been disciplined for professional violations, including for using excessive force. I started paying […]
Money wasted on abortion fights could help struggling Louisianians
By Pearl Ricks, Reproductive Justice Action Collective On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to strike down Louisiana’s admitting privileges law. The majority ruled that Louisiana’s law was essentially identical to a Texas law the court struck down in 2016. The court also ruled that Louisiana providers can go to court to defend the […]