WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 -- The Democratic Governors Association issued the following news: Republicans have lost the argument over Medicaid expansion. But don't take our word for it. The former head of the RGA said, "The battle has been fought and lost on Medicaid expansion." Republicans ran against Medicaid expansion in 2018 and lost. Now Gov. Kelly struck a deal with the Republican legislature to expand Medicaid this legislative session. Republicans ran against Medicaid expansion in Louisiana i  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 7 -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: * * * - LSU astronomy researchers estimate the peak of brightness and explosion of luminous star brighter than any other in the Milky Way galaxy. * * * Currently, the faint star V Sagittae, V Sge, in the constellation Sagitta, is barely visible, even in mid-sized telescopes. However, around the year 2083, this innocent star will explode, becoming as bright as Sirius, the brightest star visible in   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 11 [TNSgrants-foundation] -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news release: The children of Charles E. and Rose Ashy Broussard, of Vermilion Parish, have created an endowment to support an internship. The internship has been supported widely through contributions and funding by many friends and business associates of the Broussard family, for which the family is grateful. The endowment sponsors, Yvonne Simon and her brothers, Richard, A  more

PINEVILLE, Louisiana, Jan. 11 -- Cleco, a regulated utility company, issued the following news release: Severe weather is expected to sweep across Cleco's service territory beginning this afternoon into Saturday, and Cleco is advising customers to prepare. "The weather forecast calls for severe thunderstorms capable of producing strong damaging wind gusts, lightning and tornadoes," said James Lass, general manager of distribution operations and emergency management. "Cleco is preparing, and we  more

PINEVILLE, Louisiana, Jan. 8 -- Cleco, a regulated utility company, issued the following news release: Cleco employees and mascot, Hot Spot, opened car doors, greeted students, and gave high fives and hugs at Brame Middle School in Alexandria, La. in support of "Together Tuesdays." The Rapides Parish School Board implemented "Together Tuesdays" to offer innovative and creative ways for employers and the community to become more involved with their local schools. The parish-wide program takes p  more

PINEVILLE, Louisiana, Jan. 10 -- Cleco, a regulated utility company, issued the following news release: The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) presented Cleco Power with the association's "Emergency Recovery Award" for its outstanding power restoration efforts after Hurricane Barry hit Louisiana in July. The Emergency Recovery Award is given to select EEI member companies to recognize their extraordinary efforts to restore power to customers after service disruptions caused by severe weather cond  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Jan. 9 -- Entergy issued the following news release: The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) presented Entergy Corporation with the association's "Emergency Assistance Award" after a severe windstorm impacted Dallas in June. Entergy also received the association's "Emergency Recovery Award" for its outstanding power restoration efforts after Hurricane Barry hit Louisiana in July. The Emergency Assistance Award is given to select EEI member companies to recognize their effor  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Jan. 10 -- Entergy issued the following news release: Chancery Court Judge Dewayne Thomas recently issued a ruling dismissing former Attorney General Jim Hood's more than 11-year-old case against Entergy. "We have consistently maintained that a courtroom is not the proper forum to address issues about utility rates paid by customers and are grateful the Chancery Court carefully considered the issue and ruled in our favor," said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi pres  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Jan. 11 -- Entergy issued the following news release: Entergy's Louisiana utilities remain prepared for the potential impact from severe weather today and tomorrow. Forecasters anticipate a system that is moving ahead of a cold front could bring scattered thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, strong winds, large hail and frequent lightning -- all of which could lead to power outages. Forecasters expect some areas of Louisiana could see wind gusts in excess of 60  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 10 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on Jan. 9: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that Base Craft, a motion picture equipment leasing company, will expand its operations in Harahan, Louisiana, under Louisiana's Entertainment Job Creation Program. The company provides custom-built vehicles, talent and office trailers, generators and other on-site equipment for motion picture and television productions. Base Craft will create five new pe  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 7 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Governor John Bel Edwards announced that he has accepted the resignation of Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee effective January 31. Gee has taken a new job, which will be announced by her employer at a later date. Gov. Edwards said, "On my first day in office, I signed an executive order expanding Medicaid and since day one Dr. Gee has been on the front lines of this transformational i  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 9 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following statement on the resignation of Education Superintendent John White: "Though we have not always seen eye to eye, I appreciate John White's service to our state. "By working together, teachers received their first pay raise in a decade, MFP funding increased and additional funding was provided for early childhood education, all things the Superintendent supported. "Louisiana has also achieved the highest  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 7 -- The Louisiana Democratic Party issued the following statement on Rebekah Gee's resignation as Health Secretary: "In her time as Secretary of the Department of Health, Dr. Rebekah Gee championed the innovative campaigns and ideas that have made Louisiana a healthier, better place to live and thrive," Stephen Handwerk, Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party said. "Although she began her work at a time when the department had been gutted by years of  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 9 -- The Louisiana Democratic Party issued the following statement: Tuesday, the LAGOP cancelled qualifying for the Republican State Central Committee due to an ongoing lawsuit filed by Rep. Beryl Amedee and the LAGOP. This lawsuit challenges a state statute that would now require the LAGOP give equal representation to women in the state central committee, a statute they've avoided since its beginning. "The LAGOP has already made clear they don't value equal repres  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 7 -- The Louisiana Public Service Commission issued the following order (No. T-35435) involving AmWaste of Louisiana: In re: Cancellation of Common Carrier Certificate Number 8248 for failure to maintain the required insurance coverage on file with the Commission pursuant to Commission's General Order dated January 12, 1976. ORDER OF DISMISSAL The Louisiana Public Service Commission ("Commission") issued a citation to AmWaste of Louisiana, LLC of Sylvan Springs, A  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 9 [TNSenvironmentresearch-U.N. Climate Change Conference] -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: Oxygen loss in the world's oceans, driven by climate change and nutrient pollution, is increasingly threatening fish species and disrupting ecosystems, according to a new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, released in December 2019 at the UN Climate Change conference in Madrid. This report is the result of   more

RUSTON, Louisiana, Jan. 11 -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: Neurology professor and physician Dr. Karl Kieburtz will deliver the next seminar in the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research series on Jan. 13. In advance of and following this seminar, Louisiana Tech University will share a series of stories designed to help readers know more about diseases of the central nervous system and how Louisiana Tech students and faculty are working to advance care for them. Dr. Ben G  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Jan. 7 -- McGlinchey Stafford, a law firm, issued the following news release: McGlinchey Stafford PLLC is pleased to announce the promotion of four attorneys to Members (Partners) within the firm, effective January 1, 2020. * Zelma M. Frederick (Baton Rouge) * Hillary Barnett Lambert (New Orleans) * Dhruv M. Sharma (Irvine) * Stephanie Laird Tolson (Houston) In addition, Chris Nichols (Baton Rouge) and Shannon Sale (New Orleans) have been promoted to Of Counsel. "I  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 9 [TNSmedicalresearch-Royal Society Open Science journal] -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: Infectious diseases have a substantially growing impact on the health of communities around the world and pressure to both predict and prevent such diseases is ever-growing. LSU Assistant Professor of Biological Science Tad Dallas and colleagues developed a simple approach to accurately predict disease outbreaks by combining novel statistical te  more

CROWLEY, Louisiana, Jan. 11 -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news release: Kenneth Gravois, LSU AgCenter sugarcane specialist, said the muddy 2018 harvest affected the recent sugarcane crop with reduced cane tonnage. "It was a light crop," Gravois said. "Anytime you have a muddy harvest in the previous year, you have a hangover effect into the next year." The average yield was 30 tons per acre statewide, compared to 39 tons the previous year. "That was a recor  more

HOUSTON, Texas, Jan. 8 -- Savills Studley, a real estate firm, issued the following news: Savills announced that it has completed a headquarters lease renewal and expansion for Enterprise Products Partners L.P. Enterprise expanded its space by an additional 22,000 square feet at 1100 Louisiana Street in Houston's central business district, bringing the partnership's total occupancy in the building to 500,000 square feet. The 17.5-year deal will go into effect January 2020. Enterprise has been a  more

SHREVEPORT, Louisiana, Jan. 10 -- Southwestern Electric Power issued the following news release: As part of a settlement agreement in the recently concluded Arkansas rate review, Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), an American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) company, has agreed to seek regulatory approval to retire the Dolet Hills Power Plant by the end of 2026. SWEPCO has committed to make the necessary regulatory filings at least 12 months prior to the retirement date. Also as part of the   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Jan. 11 -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news release: History tells us that people began consuming tea in China in 2700 B.C. Countless books have been written on the history of tea and how it has made its way from an emperors cup in China to around the globe. The healing properties are heavily documented, and countless studies have been conducted on the medicinal uses of tea. The research continues. Tea plants made their way from China t  more

RUSTON, Louisiana, Jan. 11 -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: VISTA Center students at Louisiana Tech University are putting the finishing touches on the second book in a new children's book series. The Journey Series aims to teach elementary-age children - and their parents - about topics in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as well as show career development paths in STEM fields. The Journey of a Stem Cell is the second book in the series, and it was   more