State

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple speaks at the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana candidate’s forum April 27, 2023, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple speaks at the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana candidate’s forum April 27, 2023, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

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Legislators giving second look at auto insurance

Piper Hutchinson and Wesley Muller / Louisiana Illuminator
Friday, August 9, 2024
With Louisiana residents facing sky-high auto insurance premiums, state lawmakers are scrutinizing a state law that many say has prevented full transparency in jury trials on personal injury cases.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Monday she will ask a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit parents have brought to stop a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom. (Piper Hutchinson/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Monday she will ask a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit parents have brought to stop a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom. (Piper Hutchinson/Louisiana Illuminator)

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Judge asked to toss lawsuit against Ten Commandments law

Piper Hutchinson / Louisiana Illuminator
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Monday she will ask a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit parents have brought to stop a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom.
James Genovese.

James Genovese.

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Genovese president’s pay is more than his predecessor

Piper Hutchinson / Louisiana Illuminator
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
James Genovese, a former Louisiana Supreme Court justice with no higher education experience, will make $350,000 as president of Northwestern State University — $61,000 more than his predecessor Marcus Jones, who has worked in higher education for nearly two decades.
Turfgrass and tropical plants thrive in the summertime. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Turfgrass and tropical plants thrive in the summertime. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Summer steps to a stunning fall garden

Heather Kirk-Ballard / LSU AgCenter horticulturist
Friday, July 26, 2024
Summer is the best time to just sit back and enjoy your garden. While you’re at it, you can start thinking about fall gardening and planning bigger landscaping projects.

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Louisiana has least affordable, least efficient coal plant in region

Wesley Muller / Louisiana Illuminator
Friday, July 26, 2024
Utility companies in Louisiana saddled in- and out-of-state customers with $340 million in unnecessary costs over the past three years by choosing to run outdated, inefficient coal plants when cleaner, more affordable energy sources were available, according to a recent study an environmental group...
The Pearl River map turtle has been designated a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Cris Hagen, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory/Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey)

The Pearl River map turtle has been designated a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Cris Hagen, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory/Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey)

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Feds designate Pearl River map turtle a threatened species

Elise Plunk / Louisiana Illumimator
Friday, July 19, 2024
The Pearl River map turtle had its day in court – and won big. After 14 years and multiple lawsuits, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has granted federal protection as a threatened species to the turtle that, as its name indicates, inhabits the river that spans Mississippi and Louisiana.
Irrigation can be controlled by smart technologies, which include weather-based irrigation controller (WBIC) and soil moisture sensor (SMS) systems. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Irrigation can be controlled by smart technologies, which include weather-based irrigation controller (WBIC) and soil moisture sensor (SMS) systems. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

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Innovations in irrigation: The smart approach to water conservation

Stacia Conger / LSU AgCenter irrigation specialist
Friday, July 19, 2024
Every July, Smart Irrigation Month celebrates the benefits of efficient irrigation products, highlighting their positive economic and environmental impacts. One major component of gardening is providing sufficient water for plants.
A dead Rice’s whale washed up on a Florida beach in 2019. It was found to have been killed by a plastic fragment lodged in its stomach. (National Park Service photo)

A dead Rice’s whale washed up on a Florida beach in 2019. It was found to have been killed by a plastic fragment lodged in its stomach. (National Park Service photo)

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Protection plan stalls for rare Gulf whale

Tristan Baurick / Verite
Friday, July 19, 2024
The first significant effort to protect the habitat of an exceedingly rare Gulf of Mexico whale is getting pushback from several members of Congress who represent the Gulf Coast region.
U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson speaks at a town hall meeting in Opelousas in February 2023. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)

U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson speaks at a town hall meeting in Opelousas in February 2023. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)

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Johnson, Scalise envision GOP majority at RNC

Jennifer Shutt / States Newsroom
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
In back-to-back speeches during the second night of the Republican National Convention, the U.S.