News
Civil Rights hero John Lewis changed America making ‘good trouble’
Civil Rights icon and longtime Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who advocated for change through nonviolence, died late Friday night at the age of 80. The Georgia Democrat was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in late December. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed his death, saying the country had lost “one of the greatest heroes of […]
Louisiana Republicans don’t plan to sue over mask order, leader says
State Rep. Blake Miguez, chairman of the House Republican caucus, said Friday that there are no plans for Louisiana House Republicans to take legal action against the governor’s mandatory mask requirement after an opinion from Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry that says the order “does not pass the constitutional test” and “cannot be enforced with […]
White House determines 18 states are in coronavirus ‘red zone,’ but doesn’t publicize findings
This article about the coronavirus red zone was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom based in Washington, D.C. By Liz Essley Whyte A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force but not publicized suggests more than a dozen states, including Louisiana, should revert to more stringent protective measures, limiting […]
Louisiana’s face-mask order gets push back from multiple sources across the state
Governor John Bel Edwards’ new mask mandate is getting push back and resistance from officials, businesses and attorneys across Louisiana. A Jefferson Parish law firm is even offering to represent, at no cost, businesses that are reprimanded for violating the mask mandate. Stephen Petit, an attorney and founder of Petit Law Firm in Harahan, on his […]
Louisiana sets up rental assistance program for people affected by economic slowdown
Louisiana has set up a rental assistance program for people who are in jeopardy of losing their housing. The program is starting out with $7 million in federal funding, and is expected to grow to at least $24 million. Officials said they are also searching for more financial support. The assistance is available on a […]
Louisiana’s $250 front-line worker payment may run out by the end of the week
Louisiana’s supplemental $250 payments for front-line workers looks likely to run out in the next day or so. Gov. John Bel Edwards encouraged people who qualify to file their applications in a matter of hours if they want to receive a payment. The state has already received 125,000 applications for the $250 payment since the […]
Border officials did not follow guidelines on migrant children’s health care, government investigators find
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not consistently followed new guidelines for medical care of migrant children and spent some of the agency’s money designated for “medical care” on unrelated items like printers, speakers and their canine program, according to a new federal investigation. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent “congressional watchdog,” found gaps […]
Attorney General Jeff Landry says governor’s face-mask mandate can’t be enforced
Two days after Gov. John Bel Edwards’ order that shuts down bars and mandates face coverings went into effect, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who has often clashed with Edwards, issued an official opinion that the governor’s order “does not pass the constitutional test” and “cannot be enforced with criminal or financial sanctions.” In a […]
Child advocates warned of a surge in abuse cases, but there’s no evidence that’s happened
The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has seen a nearly 50 percent decline in the number of hotline reports of suspected child abuse and neglect since March. While some have warned that school closures related to the novel coronavirus would cause a spike in the number of children being abused, experts say […]
Technical issues plaguing revenue department as Louisianians apply for aid
The Louisiana Department of Revenue says in a press release that between midnight and 7 a.m. 14,000 residents applied for money set aside for front-line workers who stayed on the job during the pandemic. But since then a “network connectivity issue has affected all applications on the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point portal, including the frontline […]
White House leans on Louisiana to reopen schools
BATON ROUGE — Vice President Mike Pence visited the Louisiana State University campus Tuesday to meet with the state’s top leaders to discuss reopening schools next month. Pence’s message was clear: the White House wants Louisiana to fully open all its schools despite the state’s high rate of COVID-19 cases. Pence arrived on Air Force […]
Rise St. James files injunction seeking to halt construction of $9.4B Formosa Plastics plant
Rise St. James, a faith-based environmental justice group in St. James Parish took its fight against Formosa Plastics to Washington Tuesday by asking a federal judge in the District of Columbia to issue an injunction against the Taiwanese corporation’s plan to construct a $9.4 B, 1,500-acre plastics manufacturing complex. The group alleges that the U.S. […]