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Louisiana politicians react to Jan. 6 pardons; celebrating Ghana’s ties to the Bayou State; 10 years of no smoking in NOLA casinos

It’s been just over a week since President Donald Trump took office for the second time. One of his first orders of business was signing pardons to all individuals convicted of offenses related to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, including some Louisianans.

But the pardons were met with mixed reactions from the state’s politicians, with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy speaking out against it.

Mark Ballard, Washington correspondent with The Advocate Capitol News Bureau, joins us to discuss their response.

Ten years ago, New Orleans passed its smoke-free casinos ordinance. It might seem like the status quo, but many remember when restaurants, bars, and casinos allowed for smoking and separate sections.

Onjewel Smith, southern states strategist for Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, tells us more about this landmark ordinance and what it meant for workers’ rights.

An event highlighting the historical cultural connections between Louisiana and Ghana will take place in Baton Rouge on Sunday. The West African nation is responsible for some of the integral elements of Louisiana culture, including dance, food and music.

Musicians Andrew Wiseman and Jeremy Thomas tell us more about this upcoming event, “Roots of Our Own: A Legacy Project,” which will take place at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library main branch at Goodwood.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts.Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you!

Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Adam is responsible for coordinating WRKF's programming and making sure everything you hear on the radio runs smoothly. He is Newscast Editor for the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom. Adam is also the Baton Rouge-based host for Louisiana Considered, our daily regional news program, and is frequently the local voice afternoons on All Things Considered.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WWNO from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.