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No lawmaker will say it aloud, though several privately admit to the strategy of asking the courts to redistrict Louisiana should Republican legislators fail to voluntarily give up power — particularly over whether this state sends two Black congr…
In the redistricting special session underway in Baton Rouge, Republicans and Democrats are sparring for advantage in drawing the new boundaries for electing state office holders.
Problems with the Lower Pontalba Building, a historic New Orleans structure overseen by Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser’s office, have re-emerged two years after the state Legislative Auditor uncovered issues with guest stays at the building’s apartments.
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Six White Republican senators voted in lockstep Friday to advance legislation that redraws Louisiana’s state Senate and congressional maps without creating additional majority-Black districts, repeatedly overriding the wishes of three Black Democrats.
Despite complaints from Black lawmakers, a state House committee Friday approved a bill that would spell out new boundaries for Louisiana's top school board and retain two majority-minority districts.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry failed to report that he received more than $4,000 in travel reimbursements last year within the time period that state public servants are required to submit such expenses to the state’s Ethics Board.
The work is scheduled to start in 2024 and last about a year.
Republican lawmakers on Thursday detailed their opposition to creating a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, amid threats from civil rights groups that failing to boost minority representation could result in costly litigation.
Could this Louisiana Senate map spark a civil rights lawsuit? Lawmakers debate first maps of session
Under competing proposals presented Wednesday, district lines in the Louisiana Senate would be drawn to maintain an overwhelming White, Republican supermajority.
Senate President Page Cortez said Wednesday he came away from a meeting with Gov. John Bel Edwards last summer with the clear understanding that there was no need for the Legislature to investigate events surrounding the death of Black motorist Ro…
An embattled Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a nearly hourlong news conference Tuesday that he did nothing wrong after the death of Black motorist Ronald Greene and said many of the comments from allies and critics alike are “categorically false.”
Should Louisiana draw a second majority-Black congressional district? Here's what lawmakers proposed
As the Louisiana Legislature considers how to redraw the lines of election districts for the next decade, Black state lawmakers and civil rights groups are keeping tally: How many majority-Black districts does each potential map include?
As it races to meet a self-imposed March 17 deadline to draw up new election districts for itself, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will hold three public forums this month in addition to two previously planned special board workshops.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is set to offer his most extensive comments on what he knew about the death of Black motorist Ronald Greene amid rising criticism from allies and critics alike.
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy is running for re-election this year with a campaign war chest that dwarfs those of his Democratic opponents.
With less than 24 hours to go until state lawmakers return to Baton Rouge to begin redrawing Louisiana’s political maps for the next decade, the public got their first look at proposed maps.
Luke Mixon, a first-time candidate running for the U.S. Senate, raised nearly $200,000 in his initial campaign reporting period, putting the Democrat far behind the total collected by Sen. John N. Kennedy, the Republican incumbent.
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said Monday the Legislature has a responsibility "to seek the truth” about Gov. John Bel Edwards’ participation in a possible coverup of how Black motorist Ronald Greene died, citing the findings of a recent Associat…
A legislative task force postponed a crucial vote Monday on its report to the Legislature on how to wean Louisiana off funding the court system with fines and fees that criminal defendants are expected to pay.
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said Monday the Legislature has a responsibility "to seek the truth” about Gov. John Bel Edwards’ participation in a possible coverup of how Black motorist Ronald Greene died, citing the findings of a recent Associa…
Political battle lines are already forming on Gov. John Bel Edwards' proposal to spend $500 million for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge.
The climate task force created by Gov. John Bel Edwards, the Deep South’s only Democratic governor, brought together people from across a broad ideological spectrum, from petrochemical executives to environmental advocates to urban planners.
In what almost seemed like a 12-step confessional, Baton Rouge lawyer Taryn C. Branson stood at a recent town hall and told the crowd that she had run for the Louisiana House. She didn't face an incumbent in the 2019 race to replace Steve Carter, …
When state lawmakers gathered a decade ago to redraw Louisiana’s political maps, population loss following Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans to give up six state House seats — cleaving the city’s voice at the State Capitol in half.
When state lawmakers traveled to Lafayette for their redistricting roadshow, speaker after speaker had the same request: keep Senate District 22 intact.
A dream in Baton Rouge, the one passed from parents to children, is building another bridge across the Mississippi River that can drain off enough Interstate 10 bypass traffic to keep everyday errands and commutes from becoming grinding slogs.
Louisiana Department of Revenue Secretary Kimberly J. Lewis left the Edwards administration Friday and will be joining LSU as chief administrative officer on Tuesday.
Traffic is expected to go from bad to worse in Baton Rouge when work gets started next year on the widening of Interstate 10. But if Gov. John Bel Edwards gets his way, motorists may be able to ditch their cars for a different transit option: rail.
Gov. John Bel Edwards flew to the nation's Capitol on Wednesday, but Louisiana politicos shouldn't expect to see him partying it up at Washington Mardi Gras.
Gary Chambers Jr. picked up his first significant endorsement in an uphill U.S. Senate campaign when outgoing state Rep. Ted James announced his support Thursday.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission upended its historic way of doing business by accepting a $1.5 billion plan for cooperatives to buy power for the next 20 years from utility companies in other states and to build a $750 million state of the…
Between billions of dollars in unspent federal aid and hundreds of millions more in better-than-expected tax collections, Louisiana’s Legislature and Gov. John Bel Edwards have an eye-popping $2.8 billion in one-time funds on-hand to divvy up, a r…
Ascension Parish was roiling over growth and development last summer after heavy rains in May blocked streets in new neighborhoods, flooded homes and prompted flashbacks of 2016.
The Louisiana Housing Corporation Board of Directors has launched a nationwide search for their next permanent executive director – the staffer in charge of running the affordable housing organization.
After years of bruising battles over budget shortfalls, Gov. John Bel Edwards unveiled a spending plan Monday that seizes on billions of dollars in federal aid and millions more in better-than-expected tax collections to boost Louisiana’s investme…
Legislators put aside proposed rule changes they had asked for to strengthen river pilot qualifications and were sold as a way to open up the cliquish professional ranks while guaranteeing safety on the Mississippi River.
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to come to New Orleans in March to speak at a Republican National Committee event, party leaders said Monday.
In a potential breakthrough, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday proposed spending $500 million to build a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge and called it Louisiana’s biggest infrastructure need.
The expansion of charter schools in East Baton Rouge Parish, briefly paused by the pandemic, got a fresh shot of adrenaline this past week as state education leaders approved three new charter school applications over the objections of two local s…
For years, White legislators have neutered minority participation in Louisiana politics and that needs to be corrected, at least so say the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and 15 other human rights organizations that have submitted dozens of proposals re…
Former Gov. Edwin Edwards, who died at 93 in July, left all of his assets to his eight-year-old son Eli, according to a handwritten document with his signature that was filed in Ascension Parish on Wednesday.
Another insurer has gone belly-up in Hurricane Ida's aftermath.
Louisiana officials said Thursday there’s reason to believe the state is nearing a peak in new COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant but cautioned that even after the latest surge turns a corner, the risk of infection will remain exceptiona…
Civil rights groups urge Louisiana lawmakers to boost minority representation in state House, Senate
With Louisiana’s White population on the decline, and its Black population growing, the state Legislature must include additional majority-minority state House and Senate districts in the upcoming redistricting session, a coalition of civil rights…
State Rep. Vincent Pierre, a third-term Lafayette Democrat, was elected chairman of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus during a retreat with colleagues Wednesday afternoon.
A company that sought but failed to win voter approval to build a casino in Slidell is expected to win a bit more time Thursday to decide on what to do with its license for the casino it operated but shut down in Bossier City.
Following decades of tepid attempts to diversify their ranks, the group of pilots that shepherd cargo up and down the Mississippi River announced a new initiative Wednesday aimed at recruiting more people of color into the lucrative maritime profession.
The federal government released another tranche of infrastructure money – $2 billion for Louisiana – that Republican Congressmen Steve Scalise, of Jefferson, and Garret Graves, of Baton Rouge, jumped in front of despite voting against the $1.3 tri…
State Treasurer John Schroder, who is making the rounds this week ostensibly to update folks on doings at the government office that holds Louisiana's bank accounts, is also telling supporters he plans to run for governor in 2023.
Louisiana highway fatalities shot up 20% in 2021 over 2020, state officials said Wednesday.
Christopher Dassau's unexpected death on Sunday has prompted a special election to be called Nov. 8 to fill the remainder of the 19th Judicial District judge's term.