Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day, and Wallet Hub has issued a report on race relations which indicates Louisiana is among the top 10 for making the most progress. We’re among a handful of other southern states in WalletHub’s rankings of racial progress, and spokeswoman Jill Gonzales says there is a bit of the “nowhere to go but up” factor at play…:
Cut 8 (09) “deep south states”
She says Louisiana’s biggest improvement areas over time were health care, education and civil engagement.

A homeowner in Slidell shot and killed a man early Monday morning, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. They say deputies were called to a disturbance where the resident told investigators that he confronted a subject who was acting erratically in the front yard of his residence; so he fatally shot the man. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.

A recent poll commissioned by Restore the Mississippi River Delta finds over half of Louisianans polled believe coastal land loss is at a crisis. Jimmy Frederick with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana says this shows the topic is important to residents here…:
cut 4 (06) “the future”
He says that’s why a master plan on coastal restoration is being proposed to the legislature for approval this year.

A special session could kick off as early as next month so that lawmakers can decide how to deal with the state’s $313 million dollar budget shortfall. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says the legislature raised nearly $2 billion in taxes last year, but it just wasn’t enough to balance the budget…:
Cut 15 (12) “wants to do”
Dardenne says they plan to use money from the rainy day fund to close some of the gap, but that still leaves about another 200 million dollars in possible cuts.