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Louisiana Illuminator
LDEQ, Ascension agree to handle ‘red dust’ from alumina plant. They’ll need more money.
GONZALES — The last Saturday in April started like many others for Ashanti White at her home in Pelican Point subdivision — warm and sunny. Then the sky turned red. “I was shocked the dust was so thick and coming so far,” White said. “We normally go to Rouses on Saturday mornings. But when that […]
Harris, DNC to face thousands of protesters ready to push their demands
CHICAGO – Visitors to Chicago this weekend were greeted with bright blue banners and smiling Democrats decked out in lanyards and wielding clipboards, welcoming them to the 2024 Democratic National Convention. But other welcome committees throughout the city bore different accouterments – Palestinian flags, keffiyeh scarves and signs castigating President Joe Biden and Vice President […]
Who’s Kaitlyn Joshua, the Louisiana woman who spoke at the Democratic National Convention?
The Democratic National Convention heard the stories of three women Monday night who struggled to obtain reproductive health care after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade decision in 2022. They included Kaitlyn Joshua of Baton Rouge, who shared that she was refused treatment for her miscarriage because doctors feared the criminal […]
Louisiana’s top environmental official keeps cozy connection with NRA
The leader of Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality spent public money on a three-day trip to Dallas to deliver a speech for the National Rifle Association, a group she worked with extensively before taking over the state agency. LDEQ Secretary Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto’s interstate travel to benefit a private organization raises ethical concerns and questions […]
As climate threats to agriculture mount, could the Mississippi Delta region be the next California?
A smorgasbord of bright red tomatoes and vibrant vegetables line the walls of Michael Katrutsa’s produce shop in rural Camden, Tennessee. What began a decade ago as a roadside farm stand is now an air-conditioned outbuilding packed with crates of watermelon, cantaloupe and his locally renowned sweet corn — all picked fresh by a handful […]
To lower prescription drug costs, states head to the courthouse
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission released a scathing report suggesting that pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in the drug supply chain known as PBMs, are “profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies.” The FTC found that because of consolidation in the industry, the three largest PBMs now manage nearly 80% of […]
Treasurer Fleming’s banking stance is purely political, impractical and at the public’s expense
Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming has recommended the state not work with Bank of America as a fiscal agent because of the financial institution’s environmental, social and governance principles. Conservatives have opposed such ESG standards, arguing they’re a form of corporate discrimination. “This decision was not entered into lightly but was made because there is evidence […]
Florida ballot organizer aims to take politics out of abortion measure
Three months into her new role as communications director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, the ballot initiative campaign to reinstate abortion rights in Florida, Natasha Sutherland unexpectedly found herself canvassing a cousin who comes from her religious Jamaican side of the family and lives in the southern part of the state. A self-described trilingual Navy brat […]
Louisiana utility regulators pass rule to keep electric vehicle charging competitive
State regulators have established a policy they believe will spur more private investment in electric vehicle charging stations in Louisiana — limiting competition from utility companies. The Louisiana Public Service Commission adopted a rule Wednesday meant to encourage private investment in the electric vehicle charging market by prohibiting the state’s major power companies from using […]
For now, the Supreme Court won’t stop states from blocking Biden’s Title IX changes
States shunning new federal rules on discrimination in schools over sexual orientation and gender identity won’t be forced to follow them for the time being. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday to reject a Biden administration request for a partial stay that would allow some of the new regulations to take effect while lower courts […]
Worshippers bless the Mississippi River by boat, in an act of Eucharistic revival
The air was already steamy at 8am on an August morning, the sidewalk radiating heat waves as a crowd filtered into St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Baton Rouge. Hundreds filed into the church, adorned in veils and athleisure wear, white robes and tennis shoes. They were among thousands of Catholics who converged on the Mississippi River Aug. 14 and 15 for the Fête-Dieu du Mississippi. The two-day boat procession traveled down the river from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Its star attraction is a 14-foot-tall golden sculpture called a monstrance, which is used in Catholicism to house the spirit of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Some LSU employees to lose state benefits after transfer to staffing agency
More than 500 people who work for LSU, including 165 faculty members, will become employees of a private staffing company. Of those, 50 are full-time employees who will lose state benefits. By the end of the year, 546 employees who the university had previously employed directly will work instead for nextSource, a staffing agency based […]
Louisiana senator wants controversial definition of antisemitism in state law
A Louisiana state lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would enshrine a controversial definition of antisemitism in law in response to increased tension on college campuses. Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, plans to introduce the legislation in the regular session next year that would use the working definition of anti-semitism the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance […]
North Louisiana power line project revived after lawmakers halted it
A proposed power line in north Louisiana that state lawmakers and landowners tried to block from development got a jumpstart Wednesday after the Louisiana Public Service Commission gave initial approval to the project. In a 3-2 vote, the commission accepted the recommendation of an administrative law judge to certify Pattern Energy’s Southern Spirit transmission project. […]
Louisiana Supreme Court to decide who stays in race for its District 2 seat
The Louisiana Supreme Court issued an order Thursday afternoon saying its justices will consider a case over which candidates get to stay in the election for a seat on the high court. The move means an appellate court ruling that removed one of three candidates from the field remains in limbo, at least until justices […]
AI will play a role in election misinformation. Experts are trying to fight back.
In June, amid a bitterly contested Republican gubernatorial primary race, a short video began circulating on social media showing Utah Gov. Spencer Cox purportedly admitting to fraudulent collection of ballot signatures. The governor, however, never said any such thing and courts have upheld his election victory. The false video was part of a growing wave […]
Praise, protest from ‘Cancer Alley’ on Biden’s $23 million investment in Tulane
NEW ORLEANS — Environmental activists from Louisiana’s so-called Cancer Alley had mixed reactions to President Joe Biden’s announcement Tuesday that researchers at Tulane University will receive up to $23 million to create an innovative cancer imaging system. The funding is part of the White House’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which has invested over $400 million in […]
Louisiana lawmaker who authored bill to reduce politicians’ ethics fines has racked up her own
The Baton Rouge lawmaker who pushed through a new state law to reduce fines for political candidates who don’t file campaign finance reports on time has failed to submit her own paperwork properly several times over the 15 years she has been in public office. State Rep. Denise Marcelle, a Democrat, missed deadlines to turn […]
‘Perfect storm’ of crises is leading to cutbacks in abortion care, advocates say
Advocates for abortion access say compounding crises of abortion bans, rising economic costs and systemic health care issues are beginning to cause significant funding challenges and potential disruptions to reproductive care of all kinds. Several people described it as a “perfect storm” of problems with the U.S. health care system, particularly post-pandemic, and the rise […]
LSU receives grant to expand Film & Television faculty
LSU has received a grant from Louisiana Economic Development’s Entertainment Development Fund to expand its Film & Television program. The $200,000 grant from the state will finance a new full-time faculty member to expand the program to cover digital and virtual filmmaking. Adding faculty will increase the program’s enrollment capacity, Kristin Sosnowsky, executive associate dean […]
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The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians, particularly those who are poor or otherwise marginalized. Here readers will find in-depth investigations and news stories, news briefs and commentary, all of which is intended to help them make sense of how state policy is crafted, how it helps or hurts them and how it helps or hurts their neighbors across the state. Notwithstanding the way political reporting is often presented, we see politics as neither sport nor entertainment. There are quality-of-life consequences – even life-and-death consequences – to environmental permitting decisions, to health care policy, to income- and sales-tax rates, to budgetary cuts and to economic development plans. For those reasons, the Illuminator does not cover politics in a way that centers on politicians, their squabbles with one another or their career ambitions. Instead, we center on Louisianians from Ouachita to Calcasieu, from Plaquemines to Caddo who must live with the decisions their political leaders make. Though we’re located in Baton Rouge, we understand that the ramifications of decisions made in our capital are felt across the state and that those stories are often best told in cities, towns and parishes far from the halls of power. As our name indicates, our mission is to shine a bright light on Louisiana, to highlight the state’s successes and its examples of good and responsive government and to expose its failures and corruption. An affiliate of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers like you, the Louisiana Illuminator retains editorial independence.
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