November 25, 2019

Governor John Bel Edwards: Minimum wage, equal pay, early education top priorities

Gov. John Bel Edwards said increasing funding for early childhood education will be his top priority during a second term and he will double down on efforts to increase the minimum wage and reduce the gender wage gap in Louisiana.

Edwards and First Lady Donna Edwards held their first press conference since the Democratic governor beat Republican businessman Eddie Rispone in Saturday's runoff election 51% to 49%.

"It's time to get back to governing," Edwards said from the Governor's Mansion. "I've reestablished good communications with (President Donald Trump) and am reaching out to legislators."

Trump headlined three Louisiana rallies during the campaign to oust Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, but the president called Edwards Monday to congratulate him on his victory and pledge to work with Edwards for the state.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2019/11/21/louisiana-governor-john-bel-edwards-top-priorities-minimum-wage-equal-pay/4259028002/

November 25, 2019

Origin Bank to become Louisiana's largest bank

Can you name the largest bank headquartered in Louisiana? Not likely.

Origin Bank, headquartered in the village of Choudrant, will become the state's largest bank with $5.5 billion in assets when IberiaBank's merger with First Horizon is complete and its headquarters is moved from Lafayette to Memphis under the First Horizon name.

"Most people are going to be shocked," Origin Bank's Chief Executive Officer Drake Mills said, laughing.

Though the bank headquarters is located in Choudrant, with a population of fewer than 1,000 and one blinking traffic light, the corporate company headquarters is in the city of Ruston, home to a vibrant economy and Louisiana Tech University.

Mills said he promised his mentor and former CEO John Emory he wouldn't move the bank headquarters address, paying homage to the company's roots that got its start as the Bank of Choudrant more than a century ago in 1912.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2019/11/22/origin-bank-set-become-largest-bank-louisiana/4269926002/

November 25, 2019

Shreveport United Daughters of the Confederacy seek restraining order against Caddo commission

The local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has filed a request for a temporary restraining order against Caddo Parish and the Commission.

The petition, filed Thursday, seeks to prevent the commission from using Article 493 of the Civil Code to claim ownership of the monument located outside the Caddo Parish Courthouse.

The UDC argues in the court document that Article 493, in its history, was used for the right to claim and remove oil well facilities that were left on properties as a result of unsuccessful oil and gas well.

“In over 100 years, the statute has never been used in Caddo Parish or elsewhere as a device to claim ownership of valuable personal property such as attempted here,” the document read, and referring to the confederate monument.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2019/11/21/shreveport-united-daughters-confederacy-seek-restraining-order/4263283002/

November 25, 2019

As activists are arrested in Baton Rouge, in-depth coverage shows Louisiana's 'Death Alley' to the

As activists are arrested in Baton Rouge, in-depth coverage shows Louisiana’s ‘Death Alley’ to the world


Those of us who have been protesting the petrochemical plants along the Mississippi River as part of the Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA) can claim a long-sought success.

One of our goals has been to make Death Alley (formerly known as Cancer Alley) a Louisiana issue, not just a River Parishes issue — and in the October 31 editions of the Advocate/Times-Picayune that’s what finally happened.

For the first time in years, the recently combined papers teamed up with the nonprofit ProPublica news service to give us the urgent, in-depth coverage that the worsening crisis deserves.

The front-page headline: “La.’s industrial corridor is already polluted, and more plants are on the way.” Reporters Tristan Baurick, Lylla Younes and Joan Meiners went on to detail the pollution and damaged lives caused by the 200 petrochemical plants along the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and the augmented devastation expected as new plants are built and old ones expanded.

Read more: https://thelensnola.org/2019/11/13/as-activists-are-arrested-in-baton-rouge-in-depth-coverage-shows-louisianas-death-alley-to-the-world/

November 25, 2019

Corps' $26.7M part of funding to repair damage from spring's Arkansas River flood

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received $26.7 million to fix damage caused by this spring's Arkansas River flood.

That's part of $119 million total approved that will be disseminated in parts on a quarterly basis through next year.

So far, most of the funds are paying for dredging to aid the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Watercraft can pass through now, but not the typical barges that did before the flood. Those barges will drag on the excess mud and other materials without the dredging work, said Jay Townsend, a spokesman for the Corps' Little Rock district.

Eventually, the $119 million will pay for repairing other environmental damage related to the flood, such as stabilizing stream banks. Some of that funding will be supplemental funding for projects that aren't along the Arkansas River but that could have been delayed by work cleaning up after the flood. That includes improvements to Corps campgrounds.

Read more: https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2019/nov/24/corps-26-7m-part-of-spring-flood-repair/
(Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

November 25, 2019

Push on to get pot proposals on Arkansas ballot; foes in state also gearing up for 2020

With Election Day still nearly a year away, battle lines are beginning to form in the conflict over whether Arkansas should further legalize marijuana, this time for recreational use.

Canvassers for two recreational cannabis initiatives are in the early stages of gathering signatures, with thousands already on paper.

Meanwhile, opponents of the drug have begun actively discouraging registered voters from signing petitions for either group, and those opponents also are preparing for a campaign against them in 2020.

A new petitioning process and lack of funding have made getting a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot more difficult, sponsors of both pro-marijuana groups said in interviews last week, but they were optimistic about obtaining the requisite 89,151 registered voters' signatures by July.

Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/24/push-on-to-get-pot-proposals-on-ballot-/?news-politics

November 25, 2019

Policy aims to limit handouts of state Capitol access cards

Secretary of State John Thurston's office has instituted a new policy aimed at limiting the number of people who have electronic access cards that allow the holders to avoid the metal detectors at main entrances of the state Capitol.

Several state senators were surprised to learn last week that lawmakers have been able to obtain the cards for lobbyists and other people who don't work in offices at the Capitol. They suggested that an end be called to that practice.

Under the secretary of state's electronic key card access policy that went into effect Nov. 1, the Capitol Police agency maintains authority for issuing "electronic key cards" for entry to controlled-access areas in the Capitol and the nearby Capitol Hill apartment building.

The electronic key card is "a computerized alternative to mechanical locks and keys that is based on a presentation of a card or other device in order to obtain entry," under the policy.

Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/24/policy-aims-to-limit-handouts-of-capito/?news-arkansas

November 25, 2019

Little River News to suspend publication, owners seek buyer

ASHDOWN (AP) — The Little River News in Ashdown, Arkansas, has suspending publication after the Nov. 21 edition, but the publisher is hopeful someone else will want to buy the 121-year-old newspaper and continue serving as the county’s paper of record.

“We hope this is just a little hiccup. We would love to sell it to someone who can keep it operating as the newspaper of record in Little River County. We would love for this to just be a pause in publishing,” said Publisher and Co-Owner Mica Wilhite.

She owns the paper with Bob Palmer. They also own the weekly newspaper in Jefferson, Texas called “The Jefferson Jimplecute.” The Jimplecute, the fifth oldest newspaper in Texas, will still publish, Wilhite said.

Subscriptions for the Little River News have been strong, but it has been getting harder to generate revenue, Wilhite said.

Read more: https://www.swtimes.com/news/20191123/little-river-news-to-suspend-publication-owners-seek-buyer
(Fort Smith Times Record)

November 25, 2019

Clintons hold daylong conference in Arkansas, focus on inequality

LITTLE ROCK — Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday that efforts to increase access to credit and financial assistance in underserved areas can help bridge America's partisan divide, as he and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hosted a daylong summit focused on economic inequality.

The Clintons opened the daylong conference at the former president's library in Little Rock to mark the 25th anniversary of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a federal initiative that provides assistance to low-income communities. The conference featured former Clinton administration officials, nonprofit leaders, mayors and others.

"This is an enormous opportunity for us to bridge this partisan divide and do something together," the former president said. "Because a lot of these urban neighborhoods have the same sort of credit challenges that these small towns do."

Several of the candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination have campaigned on economic inequality as a major issue, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, but neither Clinton touched on presidential politics when they addressed the conference.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2019/nov/21/clintons-hold-daylong-conference-arkansas-focus-inequality/805027/

November 25, 2019

Feds file motion to reclaim $3.73 million from Rusty Cranford corruption scheme; sentencing set for

Feds file motion to reclaim $3.73 million from Rusty Cranford corruption scheme; sentencing set for tomorrow


Prosecutors filed a motion Friday to forfeit assets from Rusty Cranford, the former Arkansas lobbyist who was at the center of a massive web of corruption that led to federal charges against five former state lawmakers.

Cranford pleaded guilty in June to one count of bribery. He is cooperating with the government. His sentencing is set for tomorrow. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

Cranford consented to a money judgment of $3,726,589.73 as part of his guilty plea. He also agreed to forfeit to the U.S. government more than $17,000 in $100 bills that Cranford had in a black backpack at the time of his arrest.

Among the assets the government is seeking to forfeit:

• $95,034.21 in net proceeds from the sale of a house in Osprey, Florida
• A property in North Port, Florida
• $45,667.00 representing Cranford’s interest in a property in Rogers

Read more: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/11/24/feds-file-motion-to-reclaim-3-73-million-from-rusty-cranford-corruption-scheme-sentencing-set-for-tomorrow