BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 30 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. ACT 459--SB 36 Provides relative to net operating loss deductions on Louisiana corporation income. ACT 460--SB 97 Provides for advanced recycling facilities and processes for the conversion of certain recovered materials. ACT 461--SB 149 Provides for a special election for s  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 3 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. ACT 479--SB 60 Provides relative to the compensation of intercollegiate athletes for the use of their name, image, or likeness. ACT 480--SB 221 Provides relative to voting systems. ACT 481--HB 72 Requires the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 1 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on June 30, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards and KIK Consumer Products COO Jeff Schmitt announced that the company's BioLab division will make a $170 million investment to build a new chlorine products facility in Westlake, Louisiana, on the site of its previous facility that was damaged as a result of Hurricane Laura in 2020. The project will create 82 direct jobs, with an average annual salary of $76,00  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 1 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on June 30, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced more than $315 million in federal coronavirus relief aid will be allocated to 290 Louisiana towns and cities under the American Rescue Plan to help them respond to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and support economic recovery. "The American Rescue Plan provided vital aid for communities large and small all across Louisiana that are still working to re  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 2 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Louisiana marks five years since expanding Medicaid coverage for the hard working poor across our state. To date, more than 600,000 citizens are benefitting from access to quality healthcare that many otherwise have never been able to afford. Gov. John Bel Edwards first adopted Medicaid expansion in 2016 as his first official act as governor, making Louisiana the first state in the Deep South to par  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 3 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has now acted on all legislation from the 2021 Regular Session. He has signed 477 bills into law and has vetoed 28 bills. He also limited the unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars by using his line item authority to veto certain items in the budget and capital outlay bills. "While much has been made of a handful of controversial bills, the reality is that thi  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 29 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards supports the Biden administration's extension of the federal eviction moratorium until July 31, 2021. He encourages all renters, homeowners and landlords who are experiencing ongoing economic hardship due to COVID-19 to take immediate steps to apply for state assistance that will help them address their housing challenges. "We are grateful to President Joe Biden and his admin  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 1 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on June 30, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed HB 409 by Rep. Aimee Freeman, which creates a framework to ensure proper Title IX reporting and accountability. "I'm proud to have signed HB 409 by Rep. Aimee Freeman into law and have it as part of my legislative package," said Gov. Edwards. "Born out of disappointment and frustration over the troubling allegations of sexual misco  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 2 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards signed Senate Bill 60 by State Senator Patrick Connick into law, outlining how Louisiana's collegiate athletes may earn compensation for the use of their own name, image, or likeness, which passed Louisiana's Legislature with a bipartisan majority. Louisiana's law is in effect as of July 1, 2021. "This is a critical and historic moment for athletes in Louisiana. I thank Senato  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 30 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell released three Public Service Announcements today aimed at helping people with their emergency preparedness efforts, including getting vaccinated against COVID-19, hurricane preparedness and the importance of flood insurance. "This year, being prepared for hurricane season doesn't just mean buying bottled water and extra batter  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 29 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards and Delta Biofuel CEO Philip Keating announced the company is evaluating Iberia Parish, Louisiana, for a planned $70 million renewable fuel plant. The planned production facility would produce biomass fuel pellets made from residual sugarcane fiber, known as bagasse. If located in Louisiana, Delta would create 126 new direct jobs with an average salary of $62,500, plus benefit  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 2 (TNSOps) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: As sure as the sun will set, at least one hurricane will blow through the Gulf Coast region each year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season will be an above-normal season, meaning the potential for floods and wind damage is all but inevitable. Though storms aren't controllable, the human response to them is. Over the pas  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 30 (TNSAwa) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: Students from LSU Student Media outlets and LSU's Manship School of Mass Communication won 15 awards for journalism excellence in the 2021 Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition sponsored annually by the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), recognizing journalism excellence in Arkansas and bordering states. Reporters from The Reveille newspaper   more

NEWELLTON, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSGra) -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news: By Rexanna Powers Researchers discussed sustainability, farmland conservation and better water quality at the Cotton and Grain Field Day held at Somerset Plantation in Tensas Parish on June 24. Attendees took part in unique learning opportunities and hands-on demonstrations that highlighted the benefits of the best management practices that LSU AgCenter researchers are studying as part   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 30 (TNSAcc) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: The LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business has secured its business accreditation by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business for another five years. AACSB International is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. AACSB Accreditation is the hallma  more

RUSTON, Louisiana, July 2 (TNSGra) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: A $25,000 grant has been approved for a Louisiana Tech University interdisciplinary project to research and implement new ways to protect police officers' health. Principal investigator Dr. Todd Castleberry, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology; Dr. Jean Chen, Associate Professor of Kinesiology; and Dr. Vicky Green, Dietetic Internship Director in the School of Human Ecology; will lead the research project  more

RUSTON, Louisiana, June 29 (TNSRes) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: The Center for Economic Research, housed in Louisiana Tech University's College of Business, recently published the sixth installment of the Regional Economic Analysis of Louisiana (REAL) Report. A cohesive body of research examining multiple aspects of Louisiana standards of living, the Spring 2021 issue explores the economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with specific focuses on economic for  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSRes) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: For the first time, researchers have confirmed the detection of a collision between a black hole and a neutron star. In fact, the scientists detected not one but two such events occurring just 10 days apart in January 2020. The extreme events made splashes in space that sent gravitational waves rippling across at least 900 million light-years to reach Earth. In each case, the neutron star wa  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 2 (TNSRep) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: New data recognizes factors that may mitigate the health and economic effects of COVID-19 on Louisiana's Black residents, including their relationship with medical providers, specifically concerning racial dynamics, distance from medical facilities and comfort with telemedicine. The report, "Black and Essential: Characteristics and Coping Strategies of Black Communities Amid COVID-19," is a   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSPer) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: LSU College of Human Sciences & Education has appointed Tracey Rizzuto as interim director of the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development. Her appointment is effective July 1, and this decision comes after the retirement of current director, Reid Bates. Rizzuto, associate director of the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, has been at LSU since 2004. She holds the M  more

RUSTON, Louisiana, June 29 (TNSAwa) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: Louisiana Tech's Dr. Terri Maness, Associate Professor and Environmental Science Program Coordinator, received a 2019-2020 US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director's Conservation Partner Award for her work with the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network (GoMAMN) team. GoMAMN is group of conservation professionals who came together after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill with the aim of coordinating   more

RUSTON, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSPro) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: Louisiana Tech's Visual Integration of Science Through Art (VISTA) summer camp, funded through Louisiana Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), merged various disciplines last week to allow students to see the multidisciplinary facets of science and art. Louisiana GEAR UP is a college education access and preparation initiative administered by the Louisiana Office of   more

RUSTON, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSBook) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: Even before graduating with their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from Louisiana Tech, two School of Design students have illustrated the first in a series of books in collaboration with The Inspire Project through Tech's VISTA Center. Studio Art major Ronald McKinney of Shreveport and Graphic Design major Noah Ruff of Ruston, now seniors but juniors as they worked on the series this year, teamed up with   more

STILLWATER, Oklahoma, July 1 (TNSGra) -- Oklahoma State University issued the following news: Oklahoma State University researchers are studying hybrid sweetgum trees as a potential feedstock for biobased industries in the south-central region of the U.S. OSU faculty Omkar Joshi, Rodney Will, Bryan Murray and Lu Zhai in the Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department, along with Mike Blazier from Louisiana State University, have been awarded a Sun Grant to pursue research in the region.  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, June 29 (TNSBook) -- Tulane University issued the following news release: Charles Figley, director of the Tulane Traumatology Institute at Tulane University, knows all too well the psychological toll that serving in the military can take on troops. He served a tour of duty in the Vietnam War as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. And later, as a noted professor at Purdue University, he had a front-row seat to the failures of military mental health in the United States. T  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSOps) -- Tulane University issued the following news release: A Tulane University planetary scientist is one of 30 scientists from across the United States and Europe who will be part of a NASA mission to Venus, Earth's nearest neighbor. Jennifer Whitten, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, will serve as associate deputy principal investigator on the VERITAS team as it circles the fiery planet. The VERITAS spacecraft   more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSAwa) -- Tulane University issued the following news release: Tulane University's Dr. Greg Stewart, the W. Kennon McWilliams Professor of Sports Medicine in Orthopaedics, a crucial authority in keeping sports on track throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, has been selected to receive a Jimmy Collins Award from the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. While there are many different categories of awards presented by the   more

HAMMOND, Louisiana, July 1 (TNSPer) -- Southeastern Louisiana University issued the following news release: Department Head of Kinesiology and Health Studies Charity Bryan and University Housing Assistant Director of Operations Keonta Johnson, will take part in the two-semester program for faculty and staff who aspire to broaden academic, professional or administrative leadership roles. A resident of Hammond, Bryan is an educator with more than 23 years of kinesiology and health studies experi  more