State

LAFAYETTE — Ernest J. Gaines, whose considerable imprint on American letters and culture rests on his examinations of race, class and poverty, will be depicted on a postage stamp to be issued in January. The internationally acclaimed author, who died in November 2019 at age 86, was UL Lafayette writer-in-residence emeritus; he taught creative writing at the University from 1983 until his retirement in 2010. The stamp, which the United States Postal Service announced in October, will be the 46th in its Black

LAFAYETTE — Ernest J. Gaines, whose considerable imprint on American letters and culture rests on his examinations of race, class and poverty, will be depicted on a postage stamp to be issued in January. The internationally acclaimed author, who died in November 2019 at age 86, was UL Lafayette writer-in-residence emeritus; he taught creative writing at the University from 1983 until his retirement in 2010. The stamp, which the United States Postal Service announced in October, will be the 46th in its Black

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Ernest J. Gaines to appear on postage stamp in January

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 11, 2022
Ernest J. Gaines, whose considerable imprint on American letters and culture rests on his examinations of race, class and poverty, will be depicted on a postage stamp to be issued in January.

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Louisiana Treasury receives $8M in uncashed tax refunds

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 11, 2022
State Treasurer John Schroder has confirmed that athe Louisiana Treasury Unclaimed Property Program is in receipt of more than $8 million in uncashed state income tax refunds from the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR).
Crystal Besse, left, director of the LSU AgCenter Louisiana Farm to School Program, walks through a squash field with Opelousas farmers Betty and John Chenier. Photo provided by the Louisiana Farm to School Program

Crystal Besse, left, director of the LSU AgCenter Louisiana Farm to School Program, walks through a squash field with Opelousas farmers Betty and John Chenier. Photo provided by the Louisiana Farm to School Program

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Winter squash is November’s ‘Louisiana Harvest of the Month’

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 4, 2022
Native Americans taught the Puritan settlers many things about life in America, including how to grow and prepare winter squash — a food they had never seen before but that would soon gain popularity and become a regular seasonal planting.

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Loggers prayed as fervently as farmers

Jim Bradshaw
Friday, November 4, 2022
In the late 1800s, before narrow-gauge railroads crisscrossed the piney woods of southwest Louisiana, loggers prayed just as fervently as farmers for just the right amount of rain. It wasn’t because they wanted the trees to grow. It was so that they could get their logs to the sawmills.
Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for purple and maroon colors of leaves in fall. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for purple and maroon colors of leaves in fall. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

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The science of fall foliage color change

Heather Kirk-Ballard / LSU AgCenter horticulturist
Friday, November 4, 2022
Shorter, cooler days bring brilliant foliage color changes for many trees and shrubs in fall. This time of year can be very beautiful as green leaves give way to brilliant colors of gold, orange, maroon, red and yellow. The reason for this color change?

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Nonprofits clean up ‘dirty little secret’ of oil and gas industry: abandoned wells

Terry L Jones / Floodlight
Friday, November 4, 2022
The following story was first published by Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action. Curtis Shuck stumbled upon what he calls one of the oil and gas industry’s “dirty little secrets” while visiting Montana for a work-related trip in 2019.
Election Day is Tuesday.

Election Day is Tuesday.

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John Kennedy for Senate

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 4, 2022
John Kennedy was raised in Zachary, and graduated from Zachary High School. He graduated magna cum laude in political science, philosophy and economics from Vanderbilt University and was president of his senior class.

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Should Louisiana ditch the sales tax?

Molly Ryan / LSU Manship School News Service
Friday, November 4, 2022
With no personal income tax and booming economies, Texas, Florida and Tennessee are once again drawing attention from Louisiana lawmakers who are wondering if eliminating income tax could create the same boom in their state.

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Jobless rates are at record low

Staff Report
Monday, October 31, 2022
Unemployment rates in the state and in the Tri-Parish area are at record lows, according to data for September released Friday by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. St. Landry Parish’s September unemployment rate was 4.4%, down from 5.5% in September 2021 and down from August’s 4.8% rate.