BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched an investigation into allegations the Louisiana departments of Environmental Quality and Health discriminated against black residents in assessing permits for large industrial plants. The move stems from…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Legislation to exclude wind and solar farms from a Louisiana tax exemption program drew pushback from lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee this week, forcing the bill’s author to voluntarily defer the…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is partnering with his colleagues in Montana, Iowa and South Dakota on legislation to funnel funds from duties on Chinese crawfish imports to domestic producers in Louisiana and…
NEW ORLEANS — The city’s hospitality industry is revving up to host the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball tournament this weekend. The Kansas Jayhawks will play Villanova's Wildcats on Saturday evening, followed later that night by a matchup between…
WASHINGTON, D.C. (press release) – This week, Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA) and Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced the bipartisan Veterans Affairs (VA) Flood Preparedness Act. The proposed legislation aims to incorporate weather resiliency into Veterans Affairs facilities by allowing the…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Civil rights groups and voting activists filed lawsuits challenging Louisiana’s new congressional redistricting map hours after lawmakers voted to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of the maps. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The Louisiana Senate has unanimously approved legislation to require schools to develop a plan to install cameras in self-contained classrooms by the end of the year. The Senate voted 38-0 to approve Senate Bill…
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature voted Wednesday mainly along party lines to override Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards' veto of a congressional redistricting bill, marking the first time in nearly three decades that lawmakers refused…
BATON ROUGE – Members of the Senate Finance Committee questioned the head of the Department of State Civil Service over recent reports of substantial raises for the agency’s top employees, including himself. Civil Service Director Byron Decoteau struggled to explain…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – A bill to exempt booking photos from public records has gained approval from lawmakers on the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee and now moves to the full House. Committee members voted 11-1…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Louisiana officials announced Tuesday nearly $3 billion in funding for disaster relief. HUD is allocating $450 million to Louisiana for recovery from…
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many foundations came to New Orleans to invest in our city and communities. They came to stand alongside us as we did the arduous work of recovery. …
NEW ORLEANS (press release) — The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority and its nonprofit affiliate New Orleans Redevelopment Unlimited announced the results of the 2022 elections of officers after board meetings for each organization. “After a very productive election process, we…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The Louisiana Department of Education has distributed more than $17 million in grants to child care providers across the state in a second round of stipends. The Department of Education’s (DOE) second round of…
NEW ORLEANS — City Councilmembers Helena Moreno, J.P. Morrell, Joe Giarusso, Lesli Harris and Freddie King released the following statement in response to two violent crimes that made headlines on Monday, March 21: "While we don’t want to sensationalize the…
NEW ORLEANS — Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc., says he wants to “change the game” in regard to economic development in southeast Louisiana. The region’s most visible business booster delivered the message at a jam-packed…
NEW ORLEANS — Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc., says he wants to “change the game” in regard to economic development in southeast Louisiana. The region’s most visible business booster delivered the message at a jam-packed…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Officials with the Louisiana departments of Children & Family Services and Health provided insight on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee. Marketa Garner Walters, secretary of the…
HARVEY, La. (press release) — Jefferson Parish Schools announced a tiered plan to provide retention stipend to school-based educators, administrators, and staff. The plan strives to invest in the people who have worked hard to keep JP Schools open during…
NEW ORLEANS – From Xavier University: Emmanuel Ukot, president of Xavier University of Louisiana’s Student Government Association, will present virtually before the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, March 17, 2022, at 9 a.m. as part of the “HBCUs at…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed Louisiana lawmakers Monday on the first day of the new legislative session, delivering a state of the state speech focused on his budget, redistricting, storm recovery and legislative priorities.…
NEW ORLEANS — Audubon Nature Institute is celebrating the inclusion of two community funding projects in the federal Omnibus Appropriations Act that will enhance the security at Audubon Nature Institute through new emergency communications devices and pay for a refresh…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — From WalletHub: With states having received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal finance website WalletHub has released updated rankings for 2022’s Most and Least Federally Dependent States. This report…
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, Sen. Kirk Talbot and Rep. Mike Huval unveiled their joint Catastrophe Reform Package for the 2022 Legislative Session during a March 14 press conference at the Louisiana Department of Insurance. Talbot is…
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana's Legislature opens its 2022 regular session Monday with a welcome dilemma: how best to spend an influx of money the likes of which the state hasn't seen in years, while again debating familiar “culture war” issues…
NEW ORLEANS — On March 10, Carnival Cruise Line presented a special birthday cake to the New Orleans City Council to thank the City of New Orleans for its continued support. Carnival is celebrating its 50th birthday this month. Carnival…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans officials, facing a shortage of city police officers, can increase the number of hours a week that city police officers are allowed to work private security details, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District…
This guest editorial is based on remarks delivered at the March 8 Jefferson Chamber Legislative Breakfast. We just experienced a wonderful Mardi Gras. On…
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR released a report today calling on more government entities in Louisiana to livestream and archive video recordings of their meetings online, so citizens can continue to enjoy the benefits of…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Commentary from the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana broke down Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed budget for 2022-23, describing it as a “smart start” for deliberations in the Legislature. The Public Affairs Research…
