After a delay in request for two missing Loranger girls, a lawmaker is calling for an overhaul of Louisiana’s AMBER Alert system. Mel Bridges has more.
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As Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is making national headlines it also faces litigation. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Baton Rouge Representative Dixon McMakin is calling for an overhaul of Louisiana’s AMBER Alert system after a delay in request for two missing Loranger girls. Baton Rouge Representative Dixon McMakin sent a letter to the governor saying the current system is tedious and overcomplicated.
Police records showed it took 3 hours to issue an alert after Erin and Jalie Brunett were reported missing last week. McMakin says part of the rework would make sure alert requests always go through to a real person.
In the letter, McMakin asked state police to work with legislators to improve the system and work internally to self-identify any part of the alert system that could use overhauling.
Six-year-old Jalie was found alive in Mississippi but four-year-old Erin was killed by their kidnapper.
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Louisiana’s law requiring the Ten Commandments be posted in public classrooms is receiving national attention and groups like the ACLU say they plan to fight it in court. Author of the legislation, Haughton Representative Dodie Horton believes it will withstand the challenge.
Alanah Odoms with the ACLU of Louisiana says the law clearly violates the First Amendment and the law calls for a government-mandated version of the Ten Commandments.
Horton expects the legal challenge will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and she along with the governor are confident with the current conservative majority of justices the law will be upheld. But in the meantime…
Public schools, including colleges and universities that receive state funding, are required to post the Ten Commandments in the classroom no later than January 1, 2025.
Horton believes once the case is settled that other states will follow Louisiana’s lead on the matter.
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Governor Landry has signed legislation giving the Louisiana Workforce Commission the responsibility of spearheading state workforce changes and solutions. LWC Secretary Susana Schowen (sh-ow as in ouch-en) says Senate Bill 293…
LWC now has the power to align certain agencies and create a single point of contact in every region of the state to develop solutions to workforce needs. Schowen says these changes can only result in good things.
Under the bill, LWC will also empower the Department of Education to expand access to high school and university internships and apprenticeships. Schowen says this bill is an important first step to fixing several issues in the state, not just economic ones.
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The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame will induct its 2024 class on Saturday night. Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees and LSU women’s basketball star Seimone Augustus are the headliners. Augustus was special even as a youngster as her games at Capitol High School drew big crowds…
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Brees is not the only former Q-B in the Class of 2024. Former McNeese star Kerry Joseph will also be enshrined on Saturday night. The New Iberia native led the Cowboys to the 1995 Division One-Double-A semifinals and turned into an M-V-P performer in the Canadian Football League
The 2024 class also features great coaches. Tulane men’s basketball coach Perry Clark, former high school football coach Frank Monica and legendary Grambling Coach Wilbert Ellis, who won 701 games in 26 seasons as a head coach…