Several lawmakers who voted for the bill spoke on the floor to express their frustration with the fund, which many have described as a Band-Aid on a large wound.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator
News + Notes
Unemployment in the Lafayette metro area ticked up .4 points in 2022. The region also saw the sharpest decline in labor force in the state, shedding 1,700 workers.
All of Louisiana’s nine metro areas’ unemployment rates increased from November to December 2022 as well, with the state seeing its rate increase for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: The Advertiser
Homewood detention pond property owners seek damages from LCG
The owners of a property seized for a massive detention facility are pursuing damages from Lafayette Consolidated Government.
Read More
Not some more convenient season
Before we can reconcile with one another and our past, we must learn to reconcile within ourselves, within our own hearts. Introducing Reflections on Reconciliation.
Read More
House advances program to Louisiana insurance crisis
The program would offer grants to certain insurance companies that underwrite new homeowner policies in the state.
Read More
Council Preview: Mardi Gras bar curfew up for final vote
This week, Lafayette’s councils will take a final vote on requiring bars to close up shop at midnight on Mardi Gras day.
Read More
Louisiana continues to rank as the unhealthiest state in the nation every year and actually got worse from 2021 to 2022. One of the key drivers is poverty.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator
$30 million trapped while auditor probes LCG
While the Guillory administration is confident the situation will resolve, it’s unclear how — and how soon.
Read More
Louisiana Democratic Party ‘funneled’ utility donations to climate candidate challenger
After endorsing Davante Lewis, the party ultimately threw its weight behind Lewis’s pro-industry opponent.
Read More
Between 1958 and 2012, according to the 2014 National Climate Assessment, the amount of rain falling in the biggest storms grew by 37 percent in the Midwest, 27 percent in the South, and 71 percent in the Northeast. Do last century’s weather records still hold water? Some researchers have concluded they don’t.
Source: Slate
The Ernest J. Gaines Black Heritage Stamp, is now available at US Postal Service stores and, may be purchased online.
Source: KATC
How governor, legislators will tackle insurance crisis
Gov. John Bel Edwards called legislators into a special session to address Louisiana’s worsening insurance crisis. Top officials say thousands could lose homes without a fix.
Read More