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Black renters in New Orleans face discrimination more than half the time, fair housing group says
A Black person inquiring about an apartment called an agent about an advertised place to rent, and a White person in New Orleans did the same two hours later. According to a new report from the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, in the test scenario that the center arranged, the agent wouldn’t show the advertised […]
Louisiana school districts in ‘wait and see’ mode as COVID-19 cases spike and Louisiana returns to Phase 2
Madison Parish School District announced in mid-November that it would only instruct its students virtually starting the Monday after Thanksgiving. “Now that we are about to approach the holiday season, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control are expecting a surge in the number of cases,” Madison Parish Superintendent Charlie Butler said in a Nov. […]
Black Louisiana residents are worse off than White Louisiana residents, report finds
A Human Development report of Louisiana found major disparities in quality of life between Black and White Louisiana residents, and gaps between Louisianans and the rest of the country. A Portrait of Louisiana 2020: Human Development in an Age of Uncertainty, a new report from Measure of America, directed and authored by Kristen Lewis, uses the American […]
Early voting for Louisiana’s December election is underway
Early voting runs from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. until Nov. 28, excluding Sunday (Nov. 22), Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) and Friday (Nov. 27). The election features one open congressional seat in Northeast and Central Louisiana as well as a state constitutional amendment about the makeup of the state’s higher education boards. Local races will also be […]
Louisiana receives coastal restoration grants
Over $5 million will go to the St. Bernard Parish government to “protect the remaining ridge through strategic armoring and reforestation” by “installing shoreline protection.” And another $1 million will go to the City of New Orleans to “conduct preliminary planning and design for living shoreline and marsh creation on the New Orleans East Landbridge, […]
Louisiana has a sales tax holiday this weekend
Louisiana residents won’t have to pay the state sales tax on Friday and Saturday on most items due to a one-time sales tax holiday. The sales tax holiday was proposed by House Speaker Clay Shexnayder during last month’s special session and signed in by Gov. John Bel Edwards on Oct. 28. The tax exemption applies […]
Louisiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations rate is on a trajectory that is ‘quite frankly unsustainable,’ Edwards said
Governor John Bel Edwards talked to Louisiana about COVID-19 cases in the state and his expected working relationship with President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris during the governor’s monthly call-in radio show. Here are the highlights: Louisiana is on trajectory to move backwards in COVID-19 statewide restrictions, Edwards says COVID-19 cases and the […]
School districts affected by Hurricanes Laura, Delta revise their academic calendar
The Calcasieu and Cameron parish school boards announced updated academic calendars that would extend their school year to make up for time lost due to two hurricanes and an ongoing pandemic. Students in Cameron Parish will end their school year on May 27 now, while students in Calcasieu Parish will end their school year in […]
Louisiana pastor who defied COVID-19 restrictions appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court
Tony Spell, the charismatic Pentecostal pastor who defied the state’s order limiting crowd sizes, asked the United States Supreme Court for a writ of injunction after losing a battle in federal court last week over COVID-19 restrictions placed on the church. Spell, the pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, made headlines around the country […]
Louisiana reports the most daily COVID-19 cases ever
Louisiana reported 3,492 new COVID-19 Thursday — the most reported in a single day since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a Friday afternoon press conference.There were 692 COVID-19 patients in Louisiana hospitals Friday, Edwards reported, the most since Sept. 11. A total of 6,121 Louisiana residents have died due to […]
Judge rules against Louisiana pastor who defied state COVID-19 restrictions
Tony Spell, the charismatic Pentecostal pastor who defied the state’s order limiting crowd sizes, lost a battle in federal court this week when a judge ruled that the state had not mistreated his church. “The Supreme Court has always recognized that religious freedom does not act as an absolute shield against generally applicable laws,” U.S. […]
Voter who sued Louisiana for ballot access says voting should always be easy
When Jennifer Harding started caretaking for her mother, father and grandmother in March, she and her family started isolating from the rest of the world. “Before even the stay-at-home order went into place, we took our son out of school,” Harding said. Harding was worried about the safety of her mother, who has post-polio syndrome, […]