State

State jobless rate dips to 4%

Harlan Kirgan
Monday, June 20, 2022
Preliminary data released Monday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has tied the 2nd lowest rate in series history. The May 2022 rate of 4% hasn’t been seen since December 2007.
Pollinator gardens filled with colorful annual and perennial plants provide a burst of color to the landscape and a place for pollinating insects and other wildlife. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Pollinator gardens filled with colorful annual and perennial plants provide a burst of color to the landscape and a place for pollinating insects and other wildlife. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Creating green spaces with garden zoning

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, June 17, 2022
Gardening offers so many options to create relaxing green spaces. Whether you have a great deal of land to create sprawling gardens or you are working with a small patio, a well-thought-out design can help make useful and unique outdoor spaces.
A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion, Louisiana Army National Guard, prepares to land to pick up a simulated casualty during the 2022 Joint Emergency Medicine Exercise at Fort Hood, Texas, June 8. The JEMX hosted by the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center brings together over 2,000 Service Members from across the services to train medical personnel in combat casualty care, aeromedical care and Forward Resuscitation Surgical Team care. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master S

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion, Louisiana Army National Guard, prepares to land to pick up a simulated casualty during the 2022 Joint Emergency Medicine Exercise at Fort Hood, Texas, June 8. The JEMX hosted by the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center brings together over 2,000 Service Members from across the services to train medical personnel in combat casualty care, aeromedical care and Forward Resuscitation Surgical Team care. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master S

La. Guard participates in medical exercise

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, June 17, 2022
Louisiana National Guard soldiers with the 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion and Detachment 1, D Company, 2-151st Aviation Regiment, provided aerial Medical Evacuation and Casualty Evacuation support for the 2022 Joint Emergency Medicine Exercise (JEMX) hosted by the Carl R.
Louisiana legislators, Republican Sen. Sharon Hewitt (middle) and her GOP colleagues Sen. Barry Milligan (left) and Sen. Glen Womack, study new congressional district maps proposed at the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana legislators, Republican Sen. Sharon Hewitt (middle) and her GOP colleagues Sen. Barry Milligan (left) and Sen. Glen Womack, study new congressional district maps proposed at the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

GOP lawmakers invoke ‘precedence’ to stall on 2nd Black congressional district

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, June 17, 2022
A proposed Louisiana congressional map with two majority Black districts failed to advance Thursday from a state Senate committee after Republicans insisted on honoring a procedural tradition of letting the bill lay over for 24 hours.
Compact SunPatiens come in a variety of colors. (LSU AgCenter file photo by Dan Gill)

Compact SunPatiens come in a variety of colors. (LSU AgCenter file photo by Dan Gill)

Out of the shade and into the sun

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, June 10, 2022
When I think of color for shaded areas in the landscape, my thoughts immediately go to impatiens. Impatiens have been the go-to annual bedding plant for decades to provide bright, beautiful flowers in partial to heavily shaded areas of the landscape.
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin cannot hold congressional elections this fall under a ruling by a federal judge rejecting a redistricting map passed by the Legislature. (Photo by Abbie Shull/LSU Manship School News Service)

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin cannot hold congressional elections this fall under a ruling by a federal judge rejecting a redistricting map passed by the Legislature. (Photo by Abbie Shull/LSU Manship School News Service)

Judge orders map with 2 black majority congressional districts

Harlan Kirgan
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
A federal district judge ruled Monday that the new congressional maps drawn during a special legislative redistricting session earlier this year need to be redone to be fair to the state’s minority residents. Gov.

FEMA hurricane preparation tips for seniors

Harlan Kirgan
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
From the Federal Emergency Management Agency When a hurricane threatens, the senior population may experience additional peril. They face many more obstacles during an emergency than most people: isolation, limited mobility, and medical needs.
Gov. John Bel Edwards held a press conference Monday shortly after the Legislature concluded its 2022 regular session. (Photo by Alex Tirado/ LSU Manship School News Service)

Gov. John Bel Edwards held a press conference Monday shortly after the Legislature concluded its 2022 regular session. (Photo by Alex Tirado/ LSU Manship School News Service)

Edwards reflects on session

Harlan Kirgan
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
As the Legislature adjourned Monday, Gov. John Bel Edwards expressed his support for the investments in education and infrastructure, including a teacher pay raise of $1,500 and $300 million toward a new Mississippi River bridge.

Gov. pushes university faculty pay higher with veto pen

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, June 3, 2022
Gov. John Bel Edwards has used his veto power to give higher education faculty a larger pay raise than the one legislators approved last month. Edwards restored funding for the LSU, Southern University and the University of Louisiana systems by a total of $8.7 million.