Author

Wesley Muller

Wesley Muller

Wes Muller traces his journalism roots back to 1997 when, at age 13, he built and launched a hyper-local news website for his New Orleans neighborhood. In the years since then, he has freelanced for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and worked on staff at the Sun Herald in Biloxi, WAFB-9News CBS in Baton Rouge, and the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi.

State commerce board wrestles taxation power from locals in Folgers case

By: - March 2, 2023

A state board has overturned the decisions of three New Orleans taxing authorities that sought to collect millions in property taxes from Folgers Coffee Co. Wednesday’s vote from the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry, composed of business group representatives and governor’s appointees, is the latest development in a saga that has spanned more than […]

Louisiana Supreme Court building

5th Circuit will hear decades-long case over Black seat on La. Supreme Court

By: - February 27, 2023

A federal appeals panel will consider whether to dissolve the only Black seat on Louisiana’s highest court.  The U.S. 5th Circuit in New Orleans will hear oral arguments next week in Chisom v. State of Louisiana, a decades old voting rights case that Black residents in New Orleans successfully litigated to gain their one and […]

An electric car charges at a public charging station in Baton Rouge

Louisiana 2nd worst state for electric vehicle infrastructure, but ‘we’re going to catch up’

By: - February 25, 2023

Louisiana has fallen far behind the rest of the nation when it comes to electric vehicle infrastructure, according to a recent study that analyzed the latest U.S. Department of Energy data. However, the state has plans to change that. The vehicle research company iSeeCars.com published a study Monday that analyzed data from the Department of […]

Folgers property tax break appeal heads to state board

By: - February 24, 2023

The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry is expected to hear the appeal of tax exemption denials from Folgers Coffee Co. next week worth more than $5 million to New Orleans government, schools and law enforcement that want the revenue.  It has been more than two years since Folgers filed six different applications for Louisiana’s […]

American flag steaked into mountain of cash

Nursing home agency director used state credit card for air fryers, smart watches, audit alleges

By: - February 20, 2023

The former head of a state nursing home oversight office allegedly racked up over $18,000 in personal charges on an agency-issued credit card, buying items such as phones, smartwatches, speakers, kitchen appliances and streaming TV subscriptions. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office issued a report Monday that detailed the credit card spending of Mark Hebert when […]

A row of solar panels

Solar-powered ‘lighthouses’ could offer refuge from natural disasters

By: - February 17, 2023

A coalition of churches and organizations across Louisiana are building hundreds of solar-powered microgrids that will give communities a place of refuge during natural disasters and other blackouts.  The nonprofit coalition Together Louisiana presented details of the plan, dubbed the Community Lighthouse Project, at Thursday’s meeting of the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC). Its members […]

electric vehicle charging station

Louisiana considers swapping gas tax with mileage fees

By: - February 15, 2023

Louisiana is eyeing a pilot program that would charge drivers a mileage fee as a way to replace or augment the gasoline tax. Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson unveiled the idea during the Louisiana Legislature’s Electric Vehicle Task Force meeting Wednesday.  Wilson, who announced his retirement later in the day, told lawmakers his department is looking […]

Senator Bret Allain

Louisiana tax cut triggers worry some lawmakers

By: - February 15, 2023

Two of the three requirements to trigger tax cuts next year for Louisiana residents and business have been reached. Now the chairman of the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee has introduced legislation to curtail potential revenue losses if the final condition is met. Two years ago, Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, championed a package of […]

empty classroom desks

Livingston school board duped in $2 million email scam

By: - February 13, 2023

The Livingston Parish Public School System was duped into transfers totaling more than $2 million to a cyber scammer last year. The school board was able to recover most of the money except for about $344,000 it lost to a still unidentified hacker. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor disclosed a report Monday that contained some details […]

Person rolling a marijuana joint

Will Louisiana miss its chance for a recreational marijuana market?

By: - February 10, 2023

For the third year in a row, the Louisiana Legislature will have the chance to vote on a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana and incorporate its cultivation and sale into the state’s economy. House Bill 17, sponsored by Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, is one in a package of bills that would build a new […]

Richmond Robert E. Lee monument pedestal

Survey of the South finds ‘shift’ on race issues

By: - February 9, 2023

A recent survey of 1,800 Southerners found that 74% believe the United States should offer some form of reparations to African Americans for harm caused by slavery and racial discrimination, though two-thirds of the survey respondents identified as Black or Latino.  The 2022 annual Survey of the South from the New Orleans-based nonprofit E Pluribus […]

Louisiana State Capitol Building

A controversial tax proposal to eliminate a controversial tax credit

By: - February 9, 2023

The Louisiana Legislature will be asked to do away with a long controversial business tax break and remove the tax burden of some of the state’s highest-earning companies. How the proposals would affect the bottom line of the state and local governments, as well as individual taxpayers, is yet to be determined. Sen. Brett Allain, […]