LSU officials are thrilled about the success of their latest fundraising campaign. It has surpassed its goal and done that three years early. Marsanne Golsby has more.
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While many blame the Biden Administration for the increase in gas prices after a ban on new oil and gas leases, the state’s chief regulator of the industry says drilling activity is up in Louisiana. Brooke Thorington has more.
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LSU’S one point five billion dollar fundraising campaign has surpassed its goal—and done so three years early. The Fierce for the Future campaign received donations for every LSU campus. LSU Foundation President Rob Stuart says donations to the previous campaign were split evenly between academics and athletics. But this time two-thirds of the money went to academics.
Stuart says four hundred million dollars has been raised in the year since President William F. Tate IV arrived. He says direct donations flowed into every LSU campus in the system, and there’s more for scholarships.
The largest donations came from Our Lady of the Lake and LCMC Health to make major improvements in health care in Louisiana. Stuart says the focus on health care and research initiatives is important.
The next campaign has already begun. Its focus is on the university’s Scholarship First campaign.
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When gas prices soared to record highs, several placed blame on the Biden Administration for limiting oil and gas leases. But Louisiana’s Commissioner of Conservation Richard Ieyoub says last year the department issued more than 500 permits and they project that number will exceed 800 this year.
As the Chief Regulator of the Oil and Gas Industry in Louisiana and the oversight of permitting of wells, Ieyoub says it’s an actual increase versus a decline of drilling here in the Bayou State.
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As commissioner, Ieyoub oversees a budget of $28 million and 170 employees at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and while the agricultural industry is considered the largest as far as people, he says oil and gas revenues are the largest contributors to the state’s budget.
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Republican members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation do not support President Biden’s plan to cancel or in some cases reduce the student loan debt for millions of Americans. Senator Bill Cassidy calls it a spit in the face of Louisiana families who are struggling to get by.
Cassidy says the President is spending 300-billion dollars that the country does not have. But Democratic Congressman Troy Carter of New Orleans says the President is bringing long-needed relief to student loan borrowers and allow them to seek more opportunities in the future.
But Cassidy says it is unfair for a person who paid off their college loan, while others who have not are catching a big break…
Carter says America regularly forgives the debt of businesses, industries and even small countries.
Cassidy says instead of providing student loan relief, he believes the federal government should require greater transparency to college costs and post-college earnings. He’s once again calling on Congress to pass his College Transparency Act..
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is defending the 43-thousand dollars spent on a four-day trip to France where she signed a “sister city” agreement with a resort town on the French Riviera. Cantrell says the trip allowed her to promote tourism back to Louisiana..
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Cantrell and her aides stayed at a luxury hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tower. The mayor says she did not pick the hotel…
Cantrell is also taking heat for appearing in juvenile court supporting a 14-year-old convicted carjacker who was convicted on three first-degree robbery charges. The mayor says the juvenile offender participated in a program she created called Pathways. Her appearance in court upset the victims in the case, but Cantrell says she was not picking a side…