Author
After Trump’s eviction moratorium order, Louisiana housing advocates express cautious optimism
A day after President Donald Trump’s administration announced a moratorium on evictions for the rest of the year, housing advocates in Louisiana expressed cautious optimism. Help for renters they say is long overdue and help from Congress remains no less necessary. There’s also the fear that landlords who are barred from kicking out tenants for […]
College COVID-19 numbers will be shared by state health department starting this month
The Louisiana Department of Health, which had previously announced that it would create a COVID-19 portal and send out a link to every private and public college and university in the state, will begin reporting numbers on those campuses beginning Sept. 16, Meg Casper Sunstrom, deputy commissioner for strategic communication of the Louisiana Board of […]
Photo Gallery: New Orleans remembers those lost to Hurricane Katrina 15 years later
Robert Green lost his 3-year-old granddaughter and 73-year-old mother when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005. Fifteen years later, Green spoke to a socially distanced crowd at a healing ceremony in their honor. “Our spirit didn’t die that day, Green said. “Our spirit has been lifted by all the people who came, […]
Prayers lifted up for immigrant workers who helped rebuild New Orleans after Katrina
Immigrant activist organizations across New Orleans held a socially distanced prayer service at First Grace United Methodist Church on Friday morning to support immigrant workers and remember the work they did to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The event, “Katrina Immigrant Workers Prayer Service: Looking back and Moving Forward Together in Faith and Solidary,” […]
In parts of rural Louisiana, it’s either slow internet or none at all
Bridgett Deleon and her three children are having a hard time adjusting to the “new normal” of schooling virtually. Bridgett is studying for a nursing degree. Her daughter Macy is an undergraduate at Southeastern, her son Beau is in electrical vocational school, and daughter Olivia just entered the 8th grade. But at their home in […]
Marco quickly falters; Laura still expected to become a strong hurricane
The effects of Tropical Storm Marco on Louisiana proved to be less than state originally feared, but Gov. John Bel Edwards warned Louisianans “to not assume (Tropical Storm) Laura (which was crossing Cuba Monday) is going to do us a similar favor.” Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Laura to strengthen significantly and in a very short period […]
Additional unemployment benefits to come next week, Gov. Edwards said
Gov. John Bel Edwards held his second of two weekly press conferences at the Louisiana State Capitol. What follows is a brief summary of a few of the many topics the governor discussed. Two named storms may make landfall by next week Louisianans who remain worried about the new threat posed by the novel coronavirus […]
Plans to help Louisianians pay rent can’t keep up with the immense need
“Families for Families,” a new initiative launched by the city of New Orleans, HousingNOLA, New Corp and Hancock Whitney Bank is looking to raise money from individuals and corporate donors who are motivated to help struggling New Orleans families avoid eviction during the ongoing pandemic. Organizers hope to raise $6 million, which they say, will […]
K-12 schools — not the state — are deciding what parents know about COVID-19 outbreaks
Azadeh Yazdi, a Lafayette parent of a fifth-grade student, is frustrated with the protocols that the Lafayette Parish School System has put in place to report positive COVID-19 case. Yazdi said, as a whole, school officials have unfairly left parents out of the conversation about how schools should reopen. According to a re-opening plan that […]
Colleges explore innovative ways to reopen safely
As colleges and universities reopen for the fall semester, campus officials are implementing innovative ways to make sure students and faculty return safely. Some of those changes will be noticed as soon as students and their loved ones arrive. LSU and Loyola University New Orleans are two examples of colleges that are increasing the number of […]
Education department offers solutions to state’s massive lack of technology resources
At a Tuesday meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Louisiana Department of Education released a list of solutions parishes can take to close the technology gap among students. About 1 in 4 Louisiana families has no access to the Internet. Louisiana State Superintendent Cade Brumley and Kim Nesmith, data quality and management […]
Louisiana housing advocates unconvinced President Trump’s eviction action will do anything
Although President Donald Trump said his executive actions to extend unemployment benefits and halt evictions would “take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it;” attorneys and housing organizations across the state tell a different story. “Trump’s order has no actual effect,” said Amanda Golob, housing unit managing attorney at Southeast Louisiana […]