A public service commissioner is speaking out against Constitutional Amendment 3. Joe Gallinaro reports.
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Through the first quarter of 2026, small businesses in Louisiana and elsewhere have found it challenging to fill openings. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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A public service commissioner is speaking out against Constitutional Amendment 3. That’s the one that would give teachers a permanent two-thousand-dollar pay raise. The raises would be funded in part through the retirement of three trust funds. Commissioner Foster Campbell says one of them would be the Educational Excellence Fund, which he helped create as a state senator in 1999.
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Campbell says that’s a lot of money the schools would be missing out on, especially since when two-thousand dollars is spread out over the course of a year, that amounts to just over 100 dollars a month after taxes. He says a better idea, in his view, is to tax imports on foreign oil – something he’s proposed for many years.
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Campbell says he believes the main reason for lawmakers to put Constitutional Amendment 3 on the ballot is not out of concern for teachers – it’s out of concern for themselves.
Cut 5 (05) “…that’s good politics.”
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Through the first quarter of 2026, small businesses in Louisiana and across the country have been having a hard time filling job openings. Leah Long, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says it’s not because of a lack of candidates, but instead it’s because of a lack of QUALIFIED candidates.
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Long says this is why it’s important for the state to reinvest in the workforce.
Long says it’s especially important for small business owners to find the right people due to rising labor costs.
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Nationally, 32-percent of small business owners reported openings they could not fill — well above the historical average of 24-percent.
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LSU was upset by Bethune-Cookman on the baseball diamond last night, as the Wildcats scored five runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Tigers, 10-to-7. In that seventh inning, LSU pitchers walked two hitters, hit two others and there was a critical error leading to two runs. Tigers center fielder Derek Curiel:
LSU is now 22-and-12 on the season, and six of their losses have come against nonconference opponents. Bethune Cookman has an RPI of 212, so losing to the Wildcats will make it tougher for the Tigers to host an NCAA Regional in June. Curiel says they will likely have to win two more SEC games to make up for last night’s loss.
It was a tough loss for LSU, who was coming off a thrilling series victory over Tennessee. WBRZ-TV sports director Michael Cauble was a guest on Tiger Rag Radio and says this team has failed to play consistent baseball since an 8-and-0 start.
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LSU is at Ole Miss this weekend for an SEC series that will begin Friday night.
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Law enforcement in Iberia Parish provided an update today on Saturday’s incident at the Lao New Year parade, where a suspected drunk driver plowed into a crowd of people, injuring 18 people. Many people of Asian descendent were at the festival, but Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero says that’s not what led to 57-year-old Todd Landry of Jeanerette hitting several people with his vehicle.
Landry remains in jail on a 247-thousand-dollar bond. State Police Trooper Monique Lavergne says Landry showed signs of impairment at the scene, and a breath sample indicated his blood alcohol content was .137, well over the legal limit.
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Romero says three of the 18 people injured were in intensive care, but they have not received any additional updates since Sunday, other than the hospitalized victims are in stable condition or have been released.