With the revenue picture still in flux, the leadership of the state House has thrown caution — much less mathematics — to the wind by passing a damaging state budget bill that undermines Louisiana’s most valued institutions.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
For decades, Louisiana has been an outlier among the states in many ways, but none more so in the obscure realm of local government finance.
Nobody is happier than we are to see the boom in new construction of expensive apartments and condos both in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where downtown building is transforming the landscape.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Our Views: New income report provides glimpse of metro New Orleans' dismaying wage gap between races
In a deep dive into U.S. Census information, a new Data Center report provides a dismaying report on the income gap between the races in metro New Orleans.
Scores for Louisiana public school fourth-graders are among the lowest in the nation for reading and math, according to the latest assessment. In addition, eighth-graders finished 50th among the states and the District of Columbia in math and 48th…
Sunday, April 15, 2018
That Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Legislature were wrong to turn down the expansion of Medicaid insurance coverage for the working poor almost a decade ago is amply demonstrated by the experience of the first year since John Bel Edwards reversed course.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
The experts are forecasting a busier-than-normal hurricane season. They could be wrong. But they could be right.
Given the pitiful state of public discourse at the State Capitol these days, we shouldn’t be surprised when children visiting the Legislature end up looking more mature than the grown-ups. That’s what happened recently when 10-year-old Sam Peter o…
At up to five years of hard labor, anyone thinking that they should vandalize energy infrastructure in Louisiana ought to think twice about the penalty for such a crime.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
In announcing that he won’t run for re-election, U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has increased the likelihood that Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a Jefferson Parish Republican, could succeed him in filling one of the most important jobs in the f…
Yet another of the state's major hospitals says it will have to shut down its public health care arm unless the Legislature comes up with money to fill a looming budget shortfall.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
The recent death of Anna Chennault was a reminder of the contributions by a Louisiana hero in advancing freedom in Asia during World War II, a struggle still very much challenging the world order today.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
In recent months, Tulane professor Walter Isaacson has gotten renewed attention because of “Leonardo da Vinci,” his new biography of the 16th-century artist and inventor.
Sunday, April 08, 2018
Teaching is a noble profession which has rarely been, for almost all of its practitioners, all about the Benjamins.
Saturday, April 07, 2018
Louisiana’s state Senate has done the right thing in passing a bill giving voters the chance to improve the way juries decide felony cases. We urge the House to follow suit.
Friday, April 06, 2018
After more than a year of work, and a bailout of about $9 million in state and federal funds, the water in a small Tensas Parish town is once again safe to drink.
In many ways, Louisiana is one of the states worst positioned to deal with trade conflicts and thus suffers under President Donald Trump's belligerent new policies of tariffs and tough talk against longtime trading partners.
Thursday, April 05, 2018
After a high court overturned a Baton Rouge federal judge's stay, construction along the entire length of the Bayou Bridge pipeline is now in progress.
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death on April 4, 1968 — 50 years ago today — his friend Sybil Morial wondered what would happen next.
Tuesday, April 03, 2018
Louisiana lawmakers are debating whether the state should change its unusual law allowing defendants to be sent off to jail even if all of the jurors do not agree on a verdict, a proposed policy reform that could ultimately rest in the hands of voters.
In 2016, Louisiana lawmakers agreed to include 17-year-olds in the juvenile justice system, reasonably concluding that it didn’t make sense to house them with adult prisoners. That change brought the state in line with the rest of the country, but…
Sunday, April 01, 2018
One of the fundamentals of free markets is freedom to enter them, to set up a new business and trust to the discernment of customers to determine success or failure.
In a country created through noble dissent, Americans rarely expect or demand that even a small group of citizens will fully agree on anything.
Saturday, March 31, 2018
During Holy Week, the most solemn stretch of days on the Christian calendar, residents of Baton Rouge revisited the grim case of Alton Sterling, an armed black man shot to death during a struggle with two white Baton Rouge police officers in 2016.…
Friday, March 30, 2018
Good Friday, the most solemn day in the Christian church, is an occasion to reflect on the suffering that often touches the human condition, and how that suffering connects us with each other — and with the wider currents of history.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Cynthia Nixon, famous star of the "Sex and the City" franchise on TV and the big screen, is causing a stir by announcing she will run for governor of New York. Her candidacy is already being dismissed because she’s just an actress, but they said t…
Lasting 30 years past 2024, the proposed extension of the casino contract for Harrah's in downtown New Orleans is one of the most important decisions that the state will make for decades.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Placing loved ones in a nursing home is always a difficult choice. Part of the anxiety comes in not being able to quickly check on a family member while they are in an institution away from home.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
In announcing his findings in the shooting death of Alton Sterling, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has helped clarify a controversial case that attracted international attention. The public will have an even better grasp of the tragedy whe…
With Louisiana’s criminal justice reforms still in their infancy, some lawmakers are trying to push several bills in the current session of the Legislature that threaten to strangle progress in its cradle.
Monday, March 26, 2018
The old saying is that demography is destiny, and nowhere is it more true than in public retirement systems, many of them — not only in Louisiana — providing old-style pension plans based on the conception that folks will work 30 years or more for…
Friday, March 23, 2018
The last time the state of Louisiana increased its licenses for hunting and fishing, at least in any across-the-board fashion, was 2000. During the intervening years, our Southern neighbors were raising their fees and restructuring their licenses …
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Louisiana’s modern gambling industry was born a quarter-century ago, and the debate was so toxic that politicians have been understandably reluctant to revisit the topic.
A basic principle of American life is that home ownership is the foundation of strong communities, a belief that runs especially strong in Louisiana.
If Tennessee Williams were alive today, he’d probably be a star of Twitter. The thought comes to mind with the news that a new collection of Williams’ letters has been published just in time for this week’s Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary …
Earlier this month, when CBS devoted part of its “Sunday Morning” program to exploring the nature of genius, two Louisiana figures were among the commentators on hand to discuss what makes some thinkers truly great.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Members of the Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission are slated to decide on Thursday whether to go ahead with plans to move the Baton Rouge Zoo. Ultimately, parish voters should be able to weigh in directly at the ballot box.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Whether it’s fighting city hall or just finding out what’s going on in government, the most powerful instruments of the ordinary citizen are laws protecting access to public records and public meetings.
Last week, Jay Dardenne’s long and distinguished career was one of those featured in a video for his induction into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame, including his early activity as a Republican candidate and then officeholder.
Monday, March 19, 2018
We never thought that quoting an American president could get a citizen threatened with jail. But in a political climate in which all sorts of civic norms seem to crumble by the day, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
In a Pennsylvania House race, the winner, Democrat Conor Lamb, is being dubbed John Bel Lamb — a nod to another Democrat, Louisiana’s John Bel Edwards, who was elected in a race that favored the GOP.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Our Views: Belief that a rewritten Louisiana constitution would solve today's problem is unrealistic
The Louisiana Constitution was enacted in 1974, and it's showing its age. But we urge legislators, as well as the public, to reflect on a maxim that’s even older: Be careful what you wish for.
Friday, March 16, 2018
Disgraced Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler has cast his refusal to resign as a profile in courage. But his decision seems defined by hubris, not bravery, and the people he was elected to represent deserve better.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
The death of Tom Benson, a wealthy car dealer whose ownership of the New Orleans Saints coincided with the team’s rise from mediocrity to a 2010 Super Bowl win, is an occasion to remember a man who was much like New Orleans itself: resourceful, a …
Christopher Lawton was both a firefighter and a policeman for the city of Zachary, so his death this week was a double blow to his community — and to a state where bloodshed is all too common.
Although government transparency is often regarded as a running dispute between reporters and politicians, all citizens — not just media types — need an open look at the work being done by public servants.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
One of the rules of political life is that if you have anything to say, you will be sick and tired of saying it before the public has started to pay attention.
Monday, March 12, 2018
With only a couple of months left in office, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has landed a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to get ideas from the public on what should replace the statue of Robert E. Lee removed from Lee Circle last year.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
As legislators gather for the regular session of the Legislature, their failures follow them.