Slidell clears debris from tornado damage; Jazz Fest cooks serve up crawfish dishes

Two tornadoes touched down in the city of Slidell, north of New Orleans, earlier this month. The severe weather damaged hundreds of buildings in the area. Thankfully, nobody was killed.  But recovery efforts are expected to be ongoing for the next several months. Gov. Jeff Landry issued an emergen…

Families scramble to fill summer food assistance gap; NOLA artist documents changing coastline

There’s a lot of uncertainty around whether a popular food assistance program will serve Louisiana families this summer. Gov. Jeff Landry rejected $71 million in federal aid earlier this year to help feed children when schools are closed. Khalil Gillon, a reporter at Verite News, has been covering…

How Germany pumps billions into Louisiana’s LNG plant expansion

Today, we bring you the conclusion of part two of Sea Change’s special series All Gassed Up.  Hosts Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker head to Germany, one of the world’s leaders in green energy. But they discover the country is also playing a huge role in the expansion of Liquefied Natural Gas on t…

Where the effort to rewrite Louisiana’s constitution stands; Intimate partner violence costs millions annually

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with Stephanie Grace, The Times-Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist. We’ll get the latest on efforts to hold a constitutional convention in Baton Rouge this summer. Plus, a new leader takes top role in the state’s…

5th Circuit sees uptick in voting rights cases; LSU gets $160 million grant to study clean energy

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, is widely seen as the most conservative federal appeals court in the nation. It handles cases from Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. As voting rights legislation meanders through the courts, the 5th Circuit has had a lot to say about the…

Sanctuary city ban bill moves through legislature; tribute honors Alvin Batiste, Edward ‘Kidd’ Jordan

Sanctuary cities have become targets of Republican lawmakers across the country. Now Louisiana’s legislature is considering a measure that would ban parishes and cities from adopting their own policies.  Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, reporter at Verite News, has been tracking the proposal since it was intr…

1 in 5 Baton Rouge students is chronically absent; exhibit pairs quilting and planets

Students in the Baton Rouge area are missing school — and a lot of it.  More than 50,000 students across the area’s school districts had more than five unexcused absences last school year. That’s according to the latest research from the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which analyzed local attendance ra…

Why La. is exporting record amounts of LNG to Europe; crawfish prices remain historically high

Today we bring you the first part of “All Gassed Up, Part 2: The German Connection,” from Sea Change. Why is the U.S. exporting liquefied natural gas to Europe? Hosts Halle Parker and Carlyle Calhoun head to Germany to find out and learn what that means for the future of our climate. This crawfis…

How southern schools fared in NCAA March Madness; Subsistence agriculture thrives along the Gulf Coast

The University of Connecticut took home the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament this week. South Carolina won the women’s championship. This year, twelve teams from the Gulf South made it to the so-called Big Dance, including the Grambling State men’s team and LSU’s women’s team. Smaller…

Lawmakers debate rollback of ‘3-year’ insurance rule; Bill would block some La. power line construction

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with Stephanie Grace, The Times-Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist. This week, we cover lawmakers’ efforts to reform home insurance industry regulations.  One big proposal would eliminate the 3-year rule, a Katri…