Author
Legislators may sit on LHSAA’s executive committee
The Senate education committee approved a bill that would put four legislators on the Louisiana High School Athletics Association’s executive committee. SB 11 states that if any school athletic organization receives funds from the government, the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House, and the chairmen of the Senate and House committees on […]
Louisiana’s COVID-19 restrictions too onerous, Republican lawmakers tell state health officials
Pushing back against Louisiana lawmakers who believe that the state’s continuing COVID-19 restrictions are disproportionate to the threat, Dr. Jimmy Guidry, state health officer for the Louisiana Department of Health spoke ominously Wednesday of infections yet to come: “I predict there’s going to be another spike, and it’s going to be in flu season, and […]
Attorney General Jeff Landry is challenging Louisiana public schools and health department
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry challenged public schools and the Louisiana Department of Health on Sept. 24 over COVID-19 case reporting and disciplinary concerns. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry tweeted Thursday that he believes Gov. John Bel Edwards ordered the state health agency “to have schools report specific healthcare information on your child without your […]
17 Calcasieu parish public schools will start their semester next week
Calcasieu Parish, which took a devastating blow from Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm on Aug. 27, will open 17 public schools for face-to-face instruction next week, the Calcasieu Parish School Board announced on Facebook yesterday. On the list of schools to reopen are 14 elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school. Faculty […]
Louisiana’s census response rate is next-to-last with one week left
With less than a week to go before this year’s scheduled Sept. 30 end of counting for the 2020 Census, about 91.8 percent have been counted. Even so, in the ranking of state response rates, Louisiana’s has fallen from third lowest more than a week ago to second lowest now. Louisiana’s overall response rate to […]
Louisiana’s college COVID-19 numbers show wide gap between on-campus and virtual students
The COVID-19 dashboard run by the Louisiana Department of Health shows 1,558 confirmed cases among college students, faculty and staff and 523 cases of the disease in K-12 schools across the state. As one might expect, that dashboard shows more cases among students and faculty who’ve attended classes in person than among those who’ve accessed […]
White House coronavirus advisor said Louisiana’s COVID-19 restrictions ‘saved people’s lives’
Days before the Louisiana Legislature convenes a special session where Republican lawmakers plan to discuss taking away the emergency powers that Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has used to fight the spread of the new coronavirus, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said that Louisiana’s COVID-19 restrictions “saved people’s lives.” “It is […]
Gov. Edwards declares state of emergency in advance of Tropical Storm Beta
Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency on Sept. 21 in advance of Tropical Storm Beta’s expected landfall on the Texas coast Monday night. Tropical Storm warnings are in effect for much of Louisiana’s coastline, and the storm’s slow movement puts Southwest Louisiana at risk for flash flooding and river flooding Monday through […]
Hurricane Laura didn’t knock McNeese State out
Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm that made landfall in Southwest Louisiana Aug. 27, thoroughly devastated McNeese State University and caused about $200 million in damage, Daryl Burckell, the university’s president, told the Louisiana Senate Education Committee at a Wednesday hearing. “All parts of the institution were affected and impacted,” Burckel said. “From our academic […]
Hurricane Laura damaged 74 of 76 Calcasieu Parish public schools
Calcasieu Parish Superintendent Karl Bruchhaus told the Louisiana Senate Education Committee Wednesday that damage to schools caused by Hurricane Laura is “considerably worse” than the damage caused by Hurricane Rita. Of the 76 public schools in the parish, Bruchhaus said, 74 of them had damage and 15 had extensive damage such as torn-off roofs. None […]
LSU’s Building Name Evaluation Committee holds inaugural meeting since library’s name change
When a protest led by Black LSU students led to the university removing the name of a segregationist university president from the main library, those young activists said their work wasn’t done, and the university promised a more thorough evaluation of the names that adorn its buildings. On Tuesday, the university’s Building Name Evaluation Committee, […]
Louisiana sees slight increase in number of hospitalizations for COVID-19
The number of Louisianians hospitalized for COVID-19 has crept up from 664 to 667, a slight increase that nevertheless warrants concern, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a Tuesday afternoon press briefing. The governor’s press briefing lasted less than 20 minutes, but he covered three major topics: the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, Hurricane Sally and […]