The Louisiana Legislature has had six special sessions in two years to address an ongoing state budget crisis, accomplishing virtually nothing in most of them. A seventh special session is on the way, with taxpayers picking up the estimated $60,00…

With apologies to Charles Dickens, it may be the best of times in the nation, but it is also far from the worst of times in Louisiana. Even if, as some studies show, Louisiana's economy isn't doing as well as that of many other states.

Partisan divisions have not seeped but flooded into Louisiana's governing processes in a way that few would have predicted only a couple of years ago, as yet another collapse of a special legislative session in Baton Rouge this week made clear. Si…

While the State Capitol might be tied up in partisan politics, we hope that Louisiana can continue if not improve upon its bipartisan and widespread commitment to preserving the state's coastline.

Scan the headlines these days, and it’s easy to assume that civic discourse has seldom been more belligerent. But in a new biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, historian Robert Dallek brings us back to a time when political debate could get at …

A funeral oration for tax reform: We come to praise HCR11, not to bury it.

From the perspective of many education leaders in Louisiana parishes, no news is really not good news from the Louisiana Legislature. During the recent regular legislative session, while few changes were made in state law concerning schools, the f…

In Louisiana, where food is the foundation of cultural and civic life, the passing of a restaurateur can be as noteworthy as the death of a quarterback, a politician or an archbishop.

While the discussions of budgets and procedures in the State Capitol continues, it’s important to remember that there is now a human element in play.

Summer is supposed to be the most carefree time of all, but it doesn’t always seem that way for those of us who live along the Gulf Coast, where the vacation months also coincide with hurricane season.

The nation is doing a lot better than Louisiana at getting students to graduate from high school, but Louisiana is nevertheless showing signs of progress.

Editor's note: This editorial, with variations, has been published on previous Memorial Days in The Advocate:

If, as has been said, a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience, what is a sixth special session of the Louisiana Legislature?

A valuable new study by researchers at Tulane University suggests that Louisiana will not be able to build land fast enough to keep up with how quickly wetlands are disappearing.

President Donald Trump often speaks before he thinks, but he’s mostly right about the sad spectacle of an NFL culture in which basic respect for the American flag has become a matter of negotiation.

It may be too early to say that Louisiana is turning a corner on diversification of its economy, but there certainly is evidence that the technology sector is speeding up.

Hurricane season isn't even officially here yet, and Memorial Day is yet to come, and we're looking at Invest90L.

If the NFL owners had to choose a single city to play the Super Bowl every year, it’s no secret that they would pick New Orleans.

To those who argue that life is a marathon, not a sprint, Billy Cannon showed that it could be both.Cannon, the LSU football legend who died Sunday at 80, will always be known for his 89-yard punt return for the Tigers when they played against Ole…

LSU is committed to changing the future of Louisiana by investing in the next generation of leaders, scientists, scholars, artists, doctors, teachers and innovators. Collectively, our campuses educate nearly 50,000 students across this great state…

Through the wisdom of the Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana will remain the only state in the nation that requires retail florists to pass a licensing exam.

In theory, it’s possible for legislators to reform Louisiana’s struggling tax system in its special session beginning this week.

State money for schools is up in Louisiana this year, just slightly. That's only because a few more students are enrolled in public schools, which means the Minimum Foundation Program, which distributes funds on a per-pupil basis was obligated to …

Poverty, a perennial problem in Louisiana, hits families' health, kids' scores in schools and so much more.

The old saying about financial common sense is that when in a hole, stop digging. The House Appropriations Committee agreed, killing two Senate-passed bills that would have expanded eligibility for the popular TOPS tuition waivers at state colleges.

When a coroner's report showed that a suspect in custody of Jefferson Parish officers had died by asphyxiation, the sheriff's office responded promptly and correctly in classifying the death of Keeven Robinson as a homicide.

The companies that operate "riverboat" casinos are big winners in this legislative session, with lawmakers approving a bill to allow them to dispense with the longtime fiction that the facilities are creatures of the water.

The story of two lawmakers who walk into a bar sounds like the start of a corny joke.

In Baton Rouge last Friday, LSU and Southern University held spring commencement ceremonies, a time when graduates are urged to put away the things of childhood and think seriously about the world.

As evidenced by the political ascendance of Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan, having a background in the entertainment industry can be a plus for a political figure.

Louisiana’s House of Representatives is the most conservative and populist institution in state government.

For Louisiana, the cost of delay and bickering are growing every day that the Legislature fails to grapple with the state's big problems.