State

Teacher pay raise turns into $2K stipend

Allison Allsop / LSU Manship School News Service
Friday, June 9, 2023
Under a compromise approved in the chaotic closing minutes of the spring session Thursday, state lawmakers limited a $2,000 pay increase for teachers to a one-year stipend and cut $100 million from what the Senate had sought for the Louisiana Department of Health.
Senate President Page Cortez proposed lifting the state spending cap, and the House agreed on Wednesday. (Photo by Francis Dinh/LSU Manship School News Service)

Senate President Page Cortez proposed lifting the state spending cap, and the House agreed on Wednesday. (Photo by Francis Dinh/LSU Manship School News Service)

House raises state spending limit

Allison Allsop / LSU Manship School News Service
Thursday, June 8, 2023
The House voted 85-19 Wednesday to raise the Legislature’s limit on spending to make use of much of the large pile of extra cash flowing into state coffers. Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 would raise the expenditure limit for this fiscal year and next.

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Permitless concealed carry dies

Jenna Bridges / LSU Manship School News Service
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
A bill to allow permitless concealed carry of firearms was withdrawn by a Republican lawmaker Tuesday, meaning that his efforts to push it are over this year.
Irregular, water-soaked greasy, brown leaf spots on upper (right) and lower (left) leaf surfaces on bell pepper caused by bacterium Xanthomonas species. (Photo by Raj Singh/LSU AgCenter)

Irregular, water-soaked greasy, brown leaf spots on upper (right) and lower (left) leaf surfaces on bell pepper caused by bacterium Xanthomonas species. (Photo by Raj Singh/LSU AgCenter)

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Diseases on the rise in Louisiana vegetables

Johnny Morgan / jmorgan@agcenter.lsu.edu
Friday, June 2, 2023
Vegetable growers all over Louisiana are facing Southern bacterial wilt and bacterial spot in tomatoes and pepper production. LSU AgCenter plant doctor Raj Singh said Southern bacterial wilt is caused by the soil-borne bacterium, Ralstonia solanacearum.
Blue Daze flowers can sometimes appear purple-blue or lavender. (LSU AgCenter photos)

Blue Daze flowers can sometimes appear purple-blue or lavender. (LSU AgCenter photos)

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Evolvulus named summer 2023 Louisiana Super Plant selection

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, June 2, 2023
If you are looking for something blue to brighten up the landscape this summer, have we got the plant recommendation for you.

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Ice cream in a block or angel food light?

Jim Bradshaw
Friday, June 2, 2023
With the temperature climbing higher every day, it was welcome news in Crowley in the early summer of 1923 that the town’s first ice cream plant would soon be ready for business.

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Could a crisis hotline number be printed on driver’s licenses?

Allison Allsop / LSU Manship School News Service
Friday, June 2, 2023
A House committee passed a bill Tuesday that would require printing the number for a crisis hotline on the back of driver’s licenses. Senate Bill 34, authored by Sen. Louie Bernard, R-Natchitoches, passed its first hurdle in the House without any objection.

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Bill to collect data on school diversity programs rejected

Claire Sullivan / LSU Manship School News Service
Friday, June 2, 2023
The House Education Committee rejected a resolution Wednesday that would have asked public schools, including universities, to provide information on programs and activities related to critical race theory, diversity, equity and inclusion, and social-emotional learning.
Representative Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, brought two bills to further exemptions for vaccines for children in schools. (Photo by Allison Allsop LSU Manship School News Service)

Representative Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, brought two bills to further exemptions for vaccines for children in schools. (Photo by Allison Allsop LSU Manship School News Service)

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Bill eases vaccine mandates

Allison Allsop / LSU Manship School News Service
Friday, June 2, 2023
The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced two bills Thursday that would relax vaccine requirements for K-12 students. Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, wrote both bills. Colleges and universities are no longer included in the bills after amendments by the committee.