State

City seeking options for old Opera House

<p> The city has begun looking for ideas to eliminate the ongoing expense of owning the 1830-vintage Duchamp Opera House. At the September 18 city council meeting, Dist.1 councilman Mike Fuselier said the time has come to rethink the city’s involvement with the historic building.

House veteran says session was one of the wildest in his 35 years

Not much about the Louisiana legislature has changed since House Sergeant of Arms Clarence “Smoke” Russ began working at the Capitol in 1982, but the end of the last regular session was one to remember.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill grants fund critical coastal research

Enhancing sediment retention of diversions and improving flood-risk assessment are among the 13 studies recently funded through the first round of Louisiana’s RESTORE Act Center of Excellence grant process. LSU faculty lead eight of the 13 funded projects.

Morgan City man guility in massive theft scheme

A judge found Armond Duhon guilty of 221 counts of theft, two counts of money laundering and one count of racketeering for his role in helping to steal nearly $2 million from a Morgan City company.

State budget goes into OT

The Louisiana Legislature failed to come to a compromise on the state’s $29 billion budget to fund state agencies next fiscal year, adjourned sine die (for good) at 6 p.m. amid House chaos.

Senate pours on the pressure

The Senate staged an unprecedented public conference committee on House Bill 1, the key funding bill, Wednesday night calling for the House Republicans and public stakeholders at risk of cuts to come together to better understand the effects of the House’s plan to leave money unappropriated as a...

Fighting terrorism: Hodges v. Norton

The House passed a bill, 82-8, Monday that works to prevent the state of Louisiana from funding terrorism, but not before two legislators got into an oral dustup which prompted a reprimand by the speaker of the House.

Budget funding restored

The Senate Committee on Finance unanimously moved to the Senate floor the state budget with amendments that restored funding cut from higher education, children and family services, corrections, veteran’s affairs and sheriff’s housing in the House version. House Bill 1, by Rep.

Rural hospitals face cuts

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) faces a $196.4 million cut in its fiscal year budget starting in a little more than a month. This singular cut makes up the majority of the projected $206.

Constitution rewrite isn’t in the air  

Efforts to call a constitutional convention to resolve the state’s “broken” budget and fiscal structure were thwarted Tuesday evening in a 50-45 House vote, considerably short of the two-thirds required for the bill to pass.