Commentary

A sign marks a polling site with multiple precincts at a fire station in New Orleans' Garden District

Dark money, infighting could change Louisiana governor’s race

BY: - August 18, 2023

Qualifying for the Louisiana governor’s election closed Aug. 10 without any last-minute surprise candidates entering the race. The major Republican candidates in the running include state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, the only prominent woman candidate, state Attorney General Jeff Landry, state Rep. Richard Nelson, State Treasurer John Schroeder, and former president of the Louisiana Association of […]

Why you shouldn’t sleep on the Louisiana secretary of state’s race this fall

BY: - August 17, 2023

Secretary of state hasn’t been one of the more fruitful statewide elected seats in Louisiana government when it comes to its holder advancing to higher profile jobs. Other than Paul Hardy and Jay Dardenne going on to become lieutenant governor, the post hasn’t been much of a launchpad in recent decades. But it would be […]

Jerry Davis, right, exits the confinement area of the Orleans Justice Center to applause Aug. 9, 2023, from his attorney, Richard Davis, no relation.

Prosecution errors alone justify clemency consideration in Louisiana death row cases

BY: - August 13, 2023

Add the name Jerry Davis to the list of people wrongly convicted of murder in Louisiana who narrowly avoided what could have been an unwarranted execution. Davis was released from Orleans Parish Justice Center on $25,000 bail late Wednesday night after his first-degree murder conviction was vacated July 26. Davis’s story lends credence to calls […]

Am illustration of a magnifying glass placed over construction plans

Cleco energy plan calls for tougher scrutiny from Louisiana regulators

BY: - July 30, 2023

The long-range energy plan that Cleco submitted to the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) this year is incredibly flawed and needs to be fixed. Every scenario in the utility’s energy plan assumes that expensive carbon capture and sequestration is needed at its Madison coal plant. Meanwhile, Cleco’s energy plan fails to use industry-standard, competitive bids […]

The hands of a person are shown holding a pistol at a gun shop

U.S. senators shoot blanks with Second Amendment stance on shipping companies

BY: - July 28, 2023

A long-standing bedrock conservative principle has been to minimize government interference in the free enterprise system. It’s a philosophy that holds any mingling between bureaucracy and business should be limited to activity that protects the public’s interests and while also promoting commerce.  Yet a group of 15 Republican U.S. senators have gone against the grain […]

prison cell

Louisiana AG’s fights against exonerees’ compensation are pointless, costly to taxpayers

BY: - July 17, 2023

More than nearly every other state, Louisiana has a dismal track record of wrongful incarceration. Its criminal justice system exonerates more people on a per capita basis — 1.93 for every 100,000 citizens — than anywhere else but Illinois (2.34), according to the National Registry of Exonerations. To be perfectly clear, these are people who […]

Representative Dodie Horton sits at the John Hainkel Senate Committee Room at the Louisiana State Capitol.

Calls for veto override session from Louisiana Republicans get downright weird

BY: - July 5, 2023

It’s anyone’s guess at this point whether Louisiana lawmakers will convene for a veto override session late this month, although it’s growing increasingly clear why those in favor want one. As promised, Gov. John Bel Edwards rejected three bills that target LGBTQ+ youth: a stricter version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law for school employees; […]

A broken window inside one of the dormitories at the Bridge City Center for Youth

Governor faces critical decision on Louisiana’s juvenile justice approach

BY: - June 29, 2023

Ample attention will be paid this week to see if Gov. John Bel Edwards follows through with promised vetoes of three bills the Louisiana Legislature approved that target LGBTQ+ youth. Meanwhile, another group of youth advocates hopes the governor strikes down what they see as an equally concerning proposed law.  A 17-year-old accused of committing […]

A student at Ben Franklin High School in New Orleans wears a mask with the transgender Pride flag painted on it Friday, March 31, 2023.

Readers React: Louisiana’s queer and trans youth, you are loved

BY: - June 26, 2023

You are loved, you are valued, and you are a sacred part of your community. You also represent the potential and beauty of this state. The people who have come together to write this letter are adults who are overwhelmingly queer and/or trans. We’re writing to queer and trans youth across Louisiana because you are […]

Louisiana Capitol sculpture

Public safety is more important than politics

BY: - June 22, 2023

Anyone following news from this year’s legislative session in Baton Rouge knows that politicians are desperate to be seen as “tough on crime.” At a time when Louisianans are very concerned about crime and public safety, many lawmakers have chosen to exploit this collective anxiety for their own political advantages – at the expense of […]

Doctors from across the U.S. march to the U.S. Capitol to protect abortion access and demand an end to the current and future criminalization of providers who perform lifesaving abortion care on Nov. 3, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

Dobbs decision spurs moral injury to abortion patients, providers alike

BY: and - June 21, 2023

On June 24, 2022, the landscape of reproductive healthcare in this country took a frightening turn for the worst. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned what had previously been a constitutional right to abortion set off a whirlwind of changes in healthcare – not only as related to […]

A march for Transgender Day of Visibility passes in front of Jackson Square in New Orleans

A teacher’s open letter urging Gov. Edwards to veto anti-transgender legislation

BY: - June 9, 2023

I am writing to you as a Louisiana teacher and concerned citizen to urge you to veto House Bill 466 and House Bill 81, both of which target educators and pose a significant threat to the safety, privacy, and dignity of transgender youth. These bills, if signed into law, would have far-reaching consequences for both […]