A Forestry Forward Summit will be held Sept. 23-24 at the Holiday Inn Texarkana Convention Center to explore the future of southern forests. According to a summit flier, southern pine forests are at a crossroads after generations of timber defining their purpose and fueling local, rural economies. "But today, markets have shifted, mills have closed and many forests are overstocked and under-diverse." The next stage for southern forests is to re-imaging their future. The summi

State Rep. Jack McFarland said that given time, state education officials could find budget cuts that would provide money for teacher pay raises. (Photo by Cross Harris / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — Voter rejection of constitutional amendments, including one that would have freed up money for teacher pay raises, complicated this spring’s legislative session and raised questions about whether the public is being asked to vote on too many amendments that are

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Tuesday to redirect $168 million from the administrative spending section of the public-school funding formula to pay for $2,000 teacher stipends for the 2026-27 academic year. The executive order, which also includes $1,000 stipends for public-school support staff, would have to be approved by two-thirds of the state Legislature in a mail-in ballot. The $168 million figure does not include stipends for administrators

State Sen. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, was at the center of the biggest fights over congressional redistricting and cutbacks in the New Orleans court system. (Photo by Avery White / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — A push to redraw congressional maps and a fight to cut back the New Orleans court system produced the biggest fireworks in a legislative session that could end Monday with K-12 teachers still waiting to hear about possible salary stipends. Bids to strengt

State Sen. Gary Carter, who has criticized the new maps, talked before Friday’s vote with state Sen. Jay Morris, one of the main creators of the maps. (Photo by Avery White / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Senate passed the final version of a new congressional map in a 28-10 vote down party lines Friday, eliminating one majority-black district. Senate Bill 121, authored by state Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, creates five majority-Republican d

The House approved an amendment Thursday to tweak Louisiana’s redrawn congressional map before Senate Bill 121 went to a final vote. (Illustration courtesy of Louisiana House of Representatives) BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana House voted 66-35 Thursday to approve its final version of a new U.S. House map that would give Republicans majorities in five of the state’s six districts. The amended Senate Bill 121 was passed Thursday afternoon after eight hours of floor debate, the fin