By Piper HutchinsonLSU Manship News Service BATON ROUGE - The state Senate on Tuesday advanced a Republican plan to keep only one of the state’s six congressional districts with a majority of Black voters despite complaints from Democrats that there should be two. Tensions were high on the floor as...
Scrutiny of Gov. Edwards, Ronald Greene Case Comes at Interesting Time
By Piper HutchinsonLSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE–After a text surfaced suggesting that Gov. John Bel Edwards knew more than he had acknowledged about the death of a Black man in State Police custody, what was going to be a tense redistricting session became more contentious. Battle lines were...
Republican House and Senate Committees Vote Along Party Lines to on Redistricting
Bills headed to full Senate and House maintain one majority Black congressional district and 11 majority Black state senate seats, Civil Rights organizations vow to sue By Margaret DeLaney, Rosel Flores and Salena Ali LSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE—Republicans on Senate and House committees voted along party lines Friday (Feb. 4) to maintain...
As Special Session Starts the Question is Will Louisiana Get a Second Majority Black District?
By Lura Stabiler and Braxton BrownLSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE–As the Legislature gets ready to start a special session Tuesday (Feb. 1), during which redistricting takes centerstage, one major focus is whether two of the state’s six congressional districts should be redrawn to give minority residents a better chance...
Edwards Unveils Budget, Calls for Significant Investments in Education and Infrastructure
By Piper HutchinsonLSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE—With the state flush with cash, Gov. John Bel Edwards unveiled a proposed budget Monday that includes more than $1.1 billion in infrastructure spending and investments in education at all levels. “I think we have once in a generation, and maybe once...
The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus Elects its 2022 Executive Board Officers
Three Metro-Area Lawmakers Among Caucus Leadership On Jan. 19, the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus elected its Executive Board Officers for the 2022 year. State Rep. Vincent J. Pierre of Lafayette was elected as Chairman of the Caucus. "I have been a proud member of the Black Caucus for almost ten...
U.S. Senate Candidate Smokes Marijuana in Campaign Ad
Baton Rouge, LA – Gary Chambers, a Baton Rouge community advocate and former candidate for Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, launched his first campaign ad in his bid for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana with a spot that features him smoking a rolled blunt of marijuana as he voices over the statistics on marijuana...
Louisiana Will Have an Additional $1.6 Billion to Spend in Upcoming Session
By Piper HutchinsonLSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE--Louisiana will have an additional $1.6 billion to spend over the next year and a half after a state panel approved new revenue projections Tuesday (Jan. 11). The state expects to collect $1.2 billion more in general fund revenue than projected in...
Teachers, Students and Schools Across Louisiana Experiencing Tough Times
By Margaret DeLaney, Olivia Varden and Chris LangleyLSU Manship School News Service From the pandemic and virtual learning to teacher shortages to low-pay, the impacts are being felt BATON ROUGE-- In fourth-grade teacher Laura Spurgeon’s class, the students who attended school in person during the pandemic sit in one area,...
Gov. Edwards Urge Residents to Prepare for Arrival of Omicron Variant
The Louisiana Department of Health reports 479 new COVID-19 cases and 12 additional deaths today, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. Also, 213 Louisianans are hospitalized. State data indicates that the unvaccinated account for 82 percent of cases, 83percent of hospitalized patients, and 71 percent of deaths. To date, Louisiana reports 772,789 cases of COVID-19 and a total of...