If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, there’s a big event happening in Ponchatoula starting today. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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The House Labor Committee approves legislation that would protect a worker from disciplinary action if he or she does not use a co-worker’s preferred gender pronoun. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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Ole Miss fifth-year senior transfer linebacker T.J. Dottery spoke about his decision to follow his coach to LSU. Andre Champagne has more.
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If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, why not head to Ponchatoula and take in the Strawberry Festival? It starts this morning at eleven and runs through Sunday at Memorial Park on North Sixth Street. Donald Lanier with the Strawberry Festival says they’ll be taking over Main Street tomorrow morning with a parade that begins at 9:30.
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The best part about the Strawberry Festival is that it costs nothing to get in, and Lanier says there are strawberries everywhere.
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And if you’re wondering how this year’s strawberry crop is, Lanier says to put it bluntly, it is fantastic!
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One important change from last year – tonight and tomorrow night, the festival will close at eight o’clock. In past years, it would stay open until ten, but an unfortunate incident last year is leading organizers to close it two hours earlier. It closes at six Sunday evening.
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Teacher pay raises won’t be the only thing voters will be deciding in next month’s constitutional amendment election. There are four other amendments on the ballot, including one that would allow local governments to reduce or eliminate inventory taxes on businesses in exchange for a one-time payment. Steven Procopio, the president and CEO of the Public Affairs Research Council, says while the tax is universally disliked by the business community, getting rid of it is not that simple.
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Procopio says another amendment on the ballot is whether the mandatory retirement age for judges should be raised from 70 to 75 – the third time that this has been put to voters.
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Voters will also decide whether to authorize the creation of the St. George Community School System in East Baton Rouge Parish. Procopio says the only reason that this is going to voters statewide is because that’s what the rules say.
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But for the most part, the outcome of that vote would have no impact on anyone living outside East Baton Rouge Parish.
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The House Labor Committee passes legislation that would prohibit a private or public employer from firing or taking retaliatory action against an employee for misgendering. Chairman Raymond Crews of Bossier City is the author of the legislation.
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Crews is referring to Luke Ash, who was let go of his job last July after he refused to use someone’s preferred pronouns. The measure is heading to the House floor after a six-to-four vote along party lines in House Labor.
Shreveport Democratic Representative Tammy Phelps reminded the committee that as long as a business does not fire a worker based on race, sex, age, religion, natural origin or disability, it does not have to give a reason for the dismissal.
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Peyton Rose Michelle, with Louisiana Trans Advocates, believes the legislation is unfair, because state law does not protect trans people from discrimination, yet this bill would protect someone who intentionally tries to disrespect a transgender individual.
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Denham Springs Representative Roger Wilder voted for the legislation. Wilder says he will always use the birth-assigned pronouns based on his religious beliefs, and he shouldn’t lose his job over that.
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If you missed out on eating crawfish during Easter weekend, now is the time to get them and at a lower price. Laney King, the co-founder of The Crawfish App, says dock prices fell 50 cents per pound Monday, which has resulted in live crawfish selling for less than three dollars a pound.
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King says Easter is the highest demand weekend of the year for crawfish; but once that passes, demand softens slightly, but supply remains strong and that combination leads to lower prices.
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King says the post-Easter price drop is a typical seasonal pattern.
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LSU fifth-year senior linebacker T.J. Dottery is one of four players who decided to follow Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge after Ole Miss’ playoff run. Dottery, who led the SEC in tackles last season with 98, says he’s already enjoying playing for his new defensive coordinator, Blake Baker.
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The LSU defense brought in several top transfers while returning a couple of key starters from last year’s team. Dottery says the Tigers’ defense will have to do something special this season.
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The LSU baseball team begins a three-game series against Ole Miss in Oxford this weekend. Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide says he and his teammates are looking forward to playing another rival in another hostile ballpark.
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LSU redshirt junior pitcher Gavin Guidry says getting off the field quickly and inducing short innings will be key against an Ole Miss team that capitalizes on mistakes and errors.
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