News
Louisiana receives coastal restoration grants
Over $5 million will go to the St. Bernard Parish government to “protect the remaining ridge through strategic armoring and reforestation” by “installing shoreline protection.” And another $1 million will go to the City of New Orleans to “conduct preliminary planning and design for living shoreline and marsh creation on the New Orleans East Landbridge, […]
Louisiana has a sales tax holiday this weekend
Louisiana residents won’t have to pay the state sales tax on Friday and Saturday on most items due to a one-time sales tax holiday. The sales tax holiday was proposed by House Speaker Clay Shexnayder during last month’s special session and signed in by Gov. John Bel Edwards on Oct. 28. The tax exemption applies […]
Louisiana prisons hastily pull plug on resuming family visits during COVID-19
Louisiana prisons have been preparing for about a month to resume family visits during the week of Thanksgiving after suspending them over eight months ago. But prison officials hastily pulled back on those plans Thursday, saying family visits would no longer take place in a few days. The prison system is worried about the rising […]
Seven members of Congress test positive for COVID-19 in one week, as U.S. cases surge
WASHINGTON — Seven members of the U.S. House and Senate announced during the past week that they have tested positive for COVID-19, marking a burst of infections on Capitol Hill as cases have surged across the country. At least 29 members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began earlier this year, […]
Louisiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations rate is on a trajectory that is ‘quite frankly unsustainable,’ Edwards said
Governor John Bel Edwards talked to Louisiana about COVID-19 cases in the state and his expected working relationship with President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris during the governor’s monthly call-in radio show. Here are the highlights: Louisiana is on trajectory to move backwards in COVID-19 statewide restrictions, Edwards says COVID-19 cases and the […]
LSU declined efforts to help students, sexual assault services group says
One of Louisiana’s leading advocacy organizations for sexual assault survivors asked LSU to work more closely with the group for years, but its requests have been mostly ignored, according to the organization. STAR — which is short for Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response — operates in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Alexandria. The group focuses […]
These Louisiana Democrats are eyeing Cedric Richmond’s congressional seat
Several high-profile Louisiana Democrats are eyeing the soon-to-be vacant seat of the 2nd Congressional District after U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond announced Tuesday that he will resign his post in January to take a senior advisor position in the White House. President-elect Joe Biden tapped Richmond as his senior advisor and director of public engagement. The […]
School districts affected by Hurricanes Laura, Delta revise their academic calendar
The Calcasieu and Cameron parish school boards announced updated academic calendars that would extend their school year to make up for time lost due to two hurricanes and an ongoing pandemic. Students in Cameron Parish will end their school year on May 27 now, while students in Calcasieu Parish will end their school year in […]
LSU hires law firm to review sexual misconduct policies after negative report
LSU officials announced they have hired a law firm to conduct an independent review of its sexual misconduct policies in the wake of a USA Today investigation in which several female students said violence and sexual assault perpetrated by football players and other male students had been ignored by the school. Federal laws and LSU’s […]
Louisiana pastor who defied COVID-19 restrictions appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court
Tony Spell, the charismatic Pentecostal pastor who defied the state’s order limiting crowd sizes, asked the United States Supreme Court for a writ of injunction after losing a battle in federal court last week over COVID-19 restrictions placed on the church. Spell, the pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, made headlines around the country […]
Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond to join White House, sources say
U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond is leaving Congress for a prominent position in President-elect Joe Biden’s White House, said two politically-connected sources in Louisiana who have spoken to Richmond recently. The congressman is expected to discuss his resignation at a press conference he’s called about the “future of the 2nd Congressional District seat” Tuesday morning in […]
Louisiana commerce board approves tax exemption for Folger despite allegation that company used tax loophole
The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry on Friday approved $220 million of single-year industrial tax exemptions, including 13 exemptions for Folger Coffee Company that might allow the coffee giant to avoid paying as much as $12 million in back taxes to New Orleans. Board members approved nearly $4 million in first-year tax breaks for […]