Every now and then, our state leaders get something right! That now and then most recently occurred on May 18 when the Louisiana Legislature did not grant Harrah’s a 30-year contract extension to operate the state’s only land-based private casino with table games. With only six-years left on its current deal,...
WHAT WE’RE SAYING: Senate Committee Tanks Bill To Spare Students with Outstanding Lunch School Lunch Bills Embarrassment
Last week, the state Senate Education Committee voted 4-2 to reject a bill that would have prevented schools from punishing and embarrassing students with outstanding lunch debts. The bill would have prohibited the public identification of such students and relieved them of extra chores or exclusion from any school privileges for unpaid...
What We’re Saying: It’s time for Louisiana to Get Rid of Non-Unanimous Verdicts
One of only two states in the nation that actually allows juries to render verdicts in felony criminal trials without all 12 jurors agreeing, Louisiana is long overdue in changing its jury system. First, the system is steeped in racism—a remnant of Jim Crow, the post-emancipation de facto and de...
What We’re Saying: Just Scrap TOPS and Start Over
The state legislature has money problems and that means TOPS, the state's tuition scholarship program, is once again on the chopping board. We have an idea. End it—at least as it exists now. Quite frankly, TOPS recipients are already too White and too wealthy to actually consider the program a...