The 2023 legislative session is underway and with this being an election year it’s the last one for several lawmakers and Governor John Bel Edwards, who is term limited. For the first time, Edwards is publicly asking legislators to pass legislation to abolish the death penalty….

Cut 9 (08)  “…culture of death.”

Edwards is also asking lawmakers to add exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s abortion ban.

Abita Springs Representative Larry Frieman (freeman) has proposed legislation to crack down on parole eligibility for offenders who are dangerous. Frieman says the man who murdered a Covington priest and church volunteer last fall (and burned their bodies) was released from jail early several times. He says the current parole system fails to protect citizens from such people…:

Cut 15 (08)  “…their maximum time.”

The bill gives judges more leeway to refuse parole or probation.

A Tulane University study finds record-breaking rates of sea-level rise along the U.S. Southeast and Gulf coasts since 2010. River-Coastal Science and Engineering Professor of Tulane, Sonke Dangendorf says the widespread acceleration that extends from the Gulf of Mexico into the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Seas is independent of the subsidence in the area.

Cut 5 (11) “…the subsistence.”

He says it demonstrates the urgency of the climate crisis in the Gulf region.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested 19-year-old Landon Woodside of Slidell man for terrorizing on Monday. He was taken into custody after making alleged threats on social media, in a video holding an AR-style rifle with the quote “next schooler shooter in the making.” Investigators say he admitted to making the video but told investigators he was just joking.  Sheriff Randy Smith says such threats will not be tolerated.