Commentary

Nurses and other staff care for a COVID patient at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland

Louisiana leaders must help recruit — and retain — more nurses and nursing students

BY: - June 8, 2023

As a long-time nurse, nurse practitioner, and native Louisianan, I am deeply concerned about the nursing shortage that is affecting communities across our state. According to estimates by the Louisiana Board of Regents, there will be a shortfall of approximately 6,000 registered nurses (or 40% of the current workforce) by 2030. This shortage is already profoundly impacting patient […]

Louisiana inmate taking out the trash

Better options are needed than returning 17-year-olds to Louisiana’s adult prisons

BY: - June 7, 2023

Members of the legislature were largely in sync in 2017 when they backed what was called the “Raise the Age” Act, which stopped treating 17-year-olds as adults in the state’s criminal justice system. Ample evidence showed Louisiana’s historic approach of warehousing youth offenders and treating many as adults did nothing to curb juvenile crime rates […]

Louisiana approves contracts held up over consultants’ work with environmentalists

The start of hurricane season should intensify coastal rebuilding efforts

BY: - June 1, 2023

You probably don’t need a reminder that the 2023 hurricane season begins today, but you’re welcome if it somehow slipped your mind. Unless you have the luxury of spending the next five months at your mountain hideaway, you know the drill — plan, prepare and execute early enough to get out of town safely. That […]

Debbie Villio speaks at a Louisiana House committee meeting, seated next to colleague Tanner Magee.

Only truth in juvenile justice ‘transparency’ bill is in its political motives

BY: - May 24, 2023

Proponents suggest a bill under consideration in the Louisiana Legislature would promote accountability for young offenders, especially those charged as adults. The proposal would allow victims to track minors, by name, accused of violent crime as their cases progress through juvenile court.  Yet rather than target the prosecutors who let such matters slip through the […]

The cover of the Hoey committee report released Dec. 15, 1950, concluding that homosexuals were unsuitable for employment in the federal government and constituted security risks in positions of public trust

America is in the grip of a new ‘Lavender Scare,’ spreading fear of LGBTQ+ people

BY: - May 21, 2023

In the early 1950s, the Eisenhower administration fired or barred thousands of gay, lesbian, and transgender people from federal government jobs. It was the Cold War era when fear of communists, called “The Red Scare,” overtook America. A questionable connection between communists and “homosexuals” arose from the following “reasoning.” Communists would threaten to out “homosexuals,” […]

Dollar store employees march in protest in New Orleans

Republicans’ callous indifference on minimum wage could cost all state lawmakers

BY: - May 8, 2023

There’s a good argument to be made for giving Louisiana lawmakers a pay raise, starting with the fact members of the state legislature last received one in 1980. You wouldn’t have to try too hard to convince me that being a legislator is a full-time job, given the near 24-7 accessibility to constituents via smartphones […]

A side on a sidewalk reads Voter Registration Here Today

Louisiana GOP’s recent efforts are thinly veiled voter suppression

BY: - May 4, 2023

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, it’s really no surprise Republicans are looking for ways to improve the odds at winning for an increasingly unelectable candidate. An increasingly prominent element in their strategy is voter suppression, and we’re already seeing it in action in Louisiana. Recently announced state party efforts complement proposals advancing in the […]

Senator Mack "Bodi" White of Central

The public shouldn’t be silenced for a lawmaker’s inability to schedule

BY: - April 28, 2023

More than a dozen proponents and nearly as many opponents came to the State Capitol Thursday to address lawmakers regarding Senate Bill 7, a proposal under consideration in the Senate Education Committee. It would require public libraries in Louisiana to set up a checkout card system that would restrict children’s access to materials deemed sexually […]

Members of the Supreme Court in the Justices’ Conference Room prior to the investiture ceremony.

U.S. Supreme Court justices take lavish gifts — then raise the bar for bribery prosecutions

BY: - April 27, 2023

Justice Clarence Thomas might be the most egregious when it comes to taking gifts and not disclosing them, but he’s not alone. His colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court also haven’t been shy about taking fancy freebies from rich people — many of whom have an interest in the actions of the court. The justices […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational – Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 28, 2022, in Bedminster, New Jersey.

It should be no surprise ‘the most pro-life’ Trump is waffling on abortion

BY: - April 21, 2023

It’s not that former President Donald Trump says one thing and does another. It’s that he says and does whatever he wants, but very purposefully. Both must provide him with some sort of personal, business or political advantage. As anti-abortion stalwarts are now learning, Trump won’t say anything if that benefits him the most. One […]

A person hands a stack of cash with a $100 bill on top to another person. Only their hands are shown

I tried to pay my taxes in cash — here’s what happened, and why the IRS should make it easier

BY: - April 16, 2023

About two-thirds of all U.S. residents who file federal income taxes typically get a refund. Unfortunately, this year I am among the other third who owe the Internal Revenue Service money. So I tried something I’ve never done before and few people do: I wanted to pay my tax bill in cash — that is, with real […]

A streetcar rolls past a voting precinct in New Orleans.

Louisiana’s down ballot statewide races require voters’ due diligence

BY: - April 14, 2023

There are a few months left before qualifying for this fall’s elections, but the stage appears set for historical turnover among Louisiana’s statewide officials. Out of the seven seats up for grabs, at least five will have new officeholders. Two incumbents have decided not to run for re-election, and two others want to move to […]