If you’re a regular Regional Transit Authority bus rider in New Orleans, there’s a good chance you've recently had to deal with long delays. That’s because RTA is functioning with fewer buses than it needs, and much of its fleet is old and needs updates and repairs. Reporter for Verite Bobbi-Jeanne Misick has been covering the bus shortage and joins us for more on how RTA representatives are responding to the crisis.
In the last week of September, a group of referees made history when they became the first all-female crew to call a Louisiana high school football game. The game between Glen Oaks and Parkview Baptist, in Baton Rouge, had eight female referees and was led by Marcia Cotton, who made history two years ago when she became the first woman in the state to serve as a lead referee at a high school football game.
Cotton joins us for more on her journey and paving the way for women in sports officiating careers.
A recent study out of Loyola University shows that as many as one in four inmates in Louisiana’s jails and prisons who died an unnatural death behind bars had not yet been convicted of a crime. These deaths have been linked to drug overdoses, accidents and not receiving adequate and timely medical care.
Andrea Armstrong is a professor at Loyola University’s College of Law and the report’s lead author. She was recently awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation so-called “genius grant” for her work, including the Incarceration Transparency Project, a database that tracks deaths in every prison, jail and youth detention facility in Louisiana since 2015. She spoke with WRKF’s Adam Vos earlier this year.
Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our assistant producer is Aubry Procell and our engineer is Garrett Pittman.
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