Wallis Watkins

After more than two years of an economic slump in Louisiana, a recent report published by the LSU Economics and Policy Research Group shows the number of jobs in Louisiana could reach record numbers by 2020. 

It’s been three years since the Louisiana Legislature approved medical marijuana as a treatment option for certain health conditions. The drug is expected to become available to patients this year, and the number of people who could qualify has grown to about 100,000, after the Legislature expanded the program to include medical conditions like chronic pain and PTSD. 

Teachers across the country, including Washington, Arizona, and West Virginia, are calling for higher pay and in some cases, going on strike.  According to a recent IPSOS/USA Today poll, a majority of Americans don’t think that public school teachers are compensated fairly. The issue is resonating in Louisiana.

Louisiana’s casinos and gaming laws got a lot of attention from the Legislature this year. Lawmakers approved a bill to let riverboat casinos move onto land, but a bill that could have paved the way for legal sports betting in the state failed to gain traction. 

The cost of printing a newspaper has grown by more than 20% this year, in part because of a tariff the Trump administration placed on imported newsprint - the paper that newspapers are printed on. But the industry could soon be seeing some relief. Last week, the United States International Trade Commission voted to lift the newsprint tariff. 

Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana as Tropical Storm Gordon continues making its way into the Gulf Coast.

The storm is expected to become a hurricane before it makes landfall Tuesday. Its projected path moved further east on Monday, putting Mississippi and Alabama under a hurricane warning. A tropical storm warning is in effect for much of Louisiana’s southeastern coast.

When Governor John Bel Edwards came into office in 2016, one of the first steps he took was signing an executive order expanding Medicaid in Louisiana. Under the new rules, more people qualified for the health insurance plan. A recent survey by LSU shows since then, the number of uninsured in the state has been cut in half.