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Lawmakers make first move on $4B in K-12 funding

Greg LaRose / Louisiana Illuminator

Friday, April 19, 2024

Legislators took the first steps Tuesday toward approving more than $4 billion for Louisiana’s K-12 public schools in the coming academic year.

Right now is a great time to get those vegetable gardens growing. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

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Spring showers to summer flowers checklist

Heather Kirk-Ballard / LSU AgCenter horticulturist

Friday, April 19, 2024

As we transition from the lower temperatures of winter to the vibrant energy of spring, gardeners throughout the state are rolling up their sleeves, ready to nurture their green spaces into lush, blooming spaces.

Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, pictured at the March 21, 2023, Senate Finance Committee meeting. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

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Bill advances to exempt most state government records from public disclosure

Piper Hutchinson / Louisiana Illuminator

Friday, April 19, 2024

A Louisiana Senate panel signed off on a bill Wednesday that would essentially rewrite state public records law by exempting nearly every record at all levels of government from public scrutiny.

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Study finds postpartum depression costs state millions

Harlan Kirgan

Friday, April 19, 2024

A study commissioned by the Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families shows that Postpartum Depression (PPD), a condition affecting about 7,500 mothers in Louisiana, costs the state economy an estimated $280 million over a five-year period.

A boom traps litter in Bayou Fountain. (Photo provided by Jeff Kuehny)

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6 tons of litter later, Burden borrow pit becomes lab for environmental research

Olivia McClure / omcclure@agcenter.lsu.edu

Friday, April 19, 2024

A little more than two years ago, elected officials, community leaders and volunteer groups descended on a borrow pit and wetlands area at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden for a press conference calling attention to the problem of litter. The scene then was much different than it is now.

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Lights out urged for spring bird migration

Harlan Kirgan

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

The Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) is calling upon residents and businesses throughout the state to join others in turning off bright or excess lighting from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. through May 31 to help protect the billions of migratory birds that fly through Louisiana at night during this period.

Former Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Courtney Phillips will be paid $475,000 in her new position at LSU. (LDH photo)

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Former La. health secretary, Landry adviser to make $475,000 at LSU

Julie O’Donoghue and Piper Hutchinson / Louisiana Illuminator

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Former Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Courtney Phillips will be paid $475,000 in her new position at LSU. (LDH photo) Louisiana’s former health secretary who spent months advising Gov.

Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia

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Constitution changes proposed

Madison Maronge and Elizabeth White / LSU Manship School News Service

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

The Louisiana House Tuesday kicked off discussion of Gov. Jeff Landry’s call for a convention this spring to pare down the state’s Constitution. HB 800, sponsored by Rep.

Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek

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Senate bill guts public records access

Piper Hutchinson / Louisiana Illuminator

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Public unrest. That’s what Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, fears would happen if the public were made privy to the state government’s deliberative records — records they can already access.

Fire ants can bite and sting. Venom causes the stinging pain. (Photo by Claudia Hussender/LSU AgCenter)

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Fighting fire ants

Heather Kirk-Ballard / LSU AgCenter horticulturist

Friday, April 12, 2024

Fire ants are formidable pests in gardens and landscapes. They’re known for their painful bites and stings due to venom.