Louisiana News

The slice of east Baton Rouge between Interstates 10 and 12 may be a step closer to seeing its own school district.

A constitutional amendment that would have funded the district failed to pass in the House last year. The same measure passed through the Senate Education committee Thursday without much debate.

Parents that live from Inniswold to Shenndoah testified that they just want to make schools safer and more academically successful for their children, like Norman Browning, president of the pro-breakaway group ‘Local Schools for Local Children.’

Commentator Gary Borders used to be the yes-man when it came to lifting loads of heavy stuff. Now he's rethinking that position after throwing out his middle-aged back.

Jim chats with state Treasurer John Kennedy about the legislative session and money matters in Louisiana.

Journalist Maxine Crump and Lisa Teer, with LA Delta Service Corps, discuss this week's Dialog On Race, with a focus on race in education.

Jim visits with legendary photographer Bob Adelman, known for visually documenting much of the American civil rights movement, and his iconic shots of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

State lawmakers are being more sensitive to how they spend money.

A bill containing minor change to the state’s Enterprise Zone program failed to pass in the House Thursday.

The Enterprise Zone is an incentive program that works to encourage businesses to expand in rural parts of the state. The bill would have changed the definition of a “multifamily residential housing”, making bigger apartment complexes eligible for a tax credit. 

Seven of eight bills to loosen restrictions on firearms passed through the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee Wednesday.

One bill seeks to circumvent federal restrictions on semi-automatic firearms, despite several members questioning how it would stand up to the Supremacy Clause, which establishes federal law as the law of the land.

The city of El Dorado is working through its certification process to become an affiliate city of the Keep America Beautiful organization. Six volunteers will pile into a city van Saturday and drive dozens of miles crisscrossing El Dorado to complete what’s called a "litter index."

Festival season is upon us and there are plenty of opportunities to boogie down to Louisiana music - both old and new. Some new artists bringing a different sound to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this year are Luke Winslow-King, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Alexis and the Samurai.

Alex Rawls, a New Orleans-based writer and editor who runs the music and culture website MySpiltMilk.com, was the guest editor of The Oxford American magazine’s 2012 Southern Music Issue, which was entirely dedicated to all things Louisiana music. He also helped put together its accompanying album.

And Rawls tells WRKF’s Ashley Westerman that even though this new music comes from a younger generation and may sound a little different - it is still authentically Louisiana.

A bill requiring gun owners to store firearms in locked containers died in a House committee Wednesday.

In the wake of the Connecticut shootings a bevy of firearm regulation bills were presented before the Administration of Criminal Justice committee.

Committee members who voted against the lock-up bill said accidents happen and that negligence laws are already on the books.  

Rep. Barbara Norton said her bill was aimed at curbing accidental fatalities and protecting our children.

A bill that seeks to prohibit the enforcement of federal restrictions on semi-automatic firearms in Louisiana barely advanced Wednesday in the House.