March 2018

Groundbreaking held for $14M Bollinger Canopy of Peace

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A groundbreaking was held for the $14 million Bollinger Canopy of Peace, which will serve as the defining architectural feature of the National World Museum and the newest distinctive addition to the New Orleans skyline, news outlets reported.

Work began Wednesday on the bright white canopy that’ll be about a dozen stories high, news outlets reported.

The Canopy_a steel lattice framework supporting Teflon-coated fiberglass panels_will be 482 feet

Lee Allison ‘Queek’ Bias

Article Image Alt Text

Memorial services for Lee Allison “Queek” Bias, 63 will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 31, 2018, in David J. and Rosa Fondel Church Chapel in Semien-Lewis Mortuary, .819 N. State Street, with Rev. Pernell Trent officiating.

Visitation will be held from.10:30 a.m Saturday until time of service at 11 a.m.

Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery.

Mr. Bias entered into eternal rest in Jennings .

Bonnets on Parade

Article Image Alt Text

Study: Armed security officers on the rise in US schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Armed security officers are becoming more prevalent at America’s schools, according to a federal study released Thursday amid a heated debate over whether teachers and other school officials should carry guns.

Armed officers were present at least once a week in 43 percent of all public schools during the 2015-16 school year, compared with 31 percent of schools a decade before, according to data from a survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Trump emerges from seclusion to promote infrastructure plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attempting a policy reset, President Donald Trump will push for upgrades to the nation’s aging roads and bridges Thursday in his first public appearance since an adult-film actress claimed on national TV that they had sex months after his wife gave birth to his fifth child.

Trump is visiting Richfield, Ohio, to sell the public on his plan to use $200 billion in federal money to spur at least $1.5 trillion in spending over a decade to repair or replace highways, bridges, ports, airports and other infrastructure.

His name was Lee Bias

Article Image Alt Text

The faded newspaper clipping, likely published around 1971, shows a young man standing in his baseball uniform, bat in hand, ready for the finals of the Shaughnessy Playoffs. “Lee Byers, who hit .279 with three homers during the regular season, connected for six hits during the first round of playoffs, which Jennings won over Abe’s three games to one,” the caption reads.

JDP under Roseau cane scale quarantine

The scale, an insect native to China and Japan, is destroying Roseau cane, a vegetation which helps protect Louisiana’s coast.

In response, Mike Strain, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner, has signed an emergency quarantine for Roseau cane scale which went into effect Monday, March 26 and which will remain in effect until further notice. This quaratine inludes the entirety of Jeff Davis Parish.

Easter Happenings

Article Image Alt Text

Political vision needed in Louisiana

There were several gatherings at the state capitol in Baton Rouge last week. Former legislators gathered for their annual reunion to catch up on old friendships and reminisce about past legislative accomplishments. And the few living delegates from the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention were honored for their service as talk of a new convention was being debated in the capitol halls. One theme ran through both gatherings. Why aren’t problems being solved? Why so little cooperation? Where is the vision?

Legislators should let the people decide

The Louisiana Legislature has killed an effort to allow local governments to seek gas taxes to pay for critical infrastructure improvements.

That’s a shame.

The bill that was effectively killed earlier this week would not have imposed taxes on anyone. It would have simply allowed local voters to decide whether they want to pay extra gas taxes.

That seems fair, regardless of what one thinks about the particular merits of any given tax question.

What the Legislature did, though, was deny local taxpayers across the state the ability to decide for themselves.