SACRAMENTO, California, March 14 -- California Secretary of State Alex Padilla issued the following statement: The Chief Elections Officials in four states holding primary elections on Tuesday, March 17 confirmed that the elections would proceed, and that by following the directives of public health officials, voters could cast their ballots safely and securely. Meanwhile, Louisiana officials announced today that it would be postponing its primary elections. "The bipartisan statement by the ch  more

PINEVILLE, Louisiana, March 14 -- Cleco, a regulated electricity utility company, issued the following news release: Cleco announced it is implementing several initiatives to help control the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus, and ensure power reliability for its customers. "We want to ensure we're being socially responsible and doing our part to contain the spread of the coronavirus and to protect our customers, contractors, employees and the general public," said Bill Fontenot, president a  more

PINEVILLE, Louisiana, March 13 -- Cleco, a regulated electricity utility company, issued the following news release: Cleco is reminding customers of its self-service payment options as the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus or COVID-19 a pandemic which means the virus has spread globally and can be easily spread from person-to-person in an efficient and sustained way. "We offer our customers multiple payment options that don't require them to physically go to a Cleco customer s  more

PINEVILLE, Louisiana, March 14 -- Cleco, a regulated electricity utility company, issued the following news release: To help customers deal with the rippling effects of COVID-19, the new coronavirus, Cleco is temporarily suspending service disconnects and late fees on customer accounts effective until further notice. "The well-being of our customers, contractors, employees and the general public is our primary concern as the coronavirus has now reached Louisiana and was recently declared a glo  more

MONTZ, Louisiana, March 14 -- Entergy issued the following news release: Entergy Louisiana dedicated its power plant in St. Charles Parish, renaming it the J. Wayne Leonard Power Station in recognition of Leonard's legacy of environmental leadership and corporate social responsibility. Leonard served as chairman and CEO of Entergy Corporation from 1998-2013. Entergy Chairman and CEO Leo Denault presented the Leonard family with a plaque commemorating the official dedication of the facility. An  more

PORT FOURCHON, Louisiana, March 11 -- Entergy issued the following news release: Marine vessels docked at South Louisiana's Port Fourchon can now play a role in helping protect Louisiana's environment by replacing fossil fuel-generated ship power with Entergy's new shore power product. "We've been a significant part of the clean-energy dialogue for more than two decades," said Leo Denault, chairman and CEO of Entergy Corporation. "Our customer and community expectations are rapidly changing ac  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 11 -- Entergy issued the following news release on March 10: Despite news that our economy is one of the strongest in history, the reality is that 474,000 Arkansas households -- 41% of households in the state -- are trapped by low wages and rising costs and are unable to afford basic needs. The ALICE in Arkansas report, released today by Entergy Arkansas and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, paints a surprising picture of the scale of financial barriers experie  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 10 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards delivered the 2020 State of the State address before a joint session of the Louisiana Legislature and highlighted his legislative agenda which includes: Minimum Wage Increase SB 317 by Sen. Troy Carter The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not seen an increase since Congress passed legislation in 2009. Louisiana is one of only five states in the United States not   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 11 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following statement: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the Louisiana Department of Health has two new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, commonly called the coronavirus, bringing the total presumptive positive cases in the state to three. The Governor will hold a meeting of the Unified Command Group tomorrow afternoon, followed by a news conference at 4:30 p.m. "Currently, we have three presumptive positive c  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 14 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order postponing Louisiana's upcoming elections including the presidential primary in response to COVID-19, commonly called the coronavirus. The elections scheduled for April and May will take place in June and July. "The number of presumptive positive cases in our state is constantly increasing, and we want to make certain that we have maximum participa  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 14 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on March 13: Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a proclamation that among other actions immediately halts any gathering of more than 250 people until Monday, April 13, closes all K-12 public schools statewide effective Monday, March 16 resuming Monday, April 13, as Louisiana seeks to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state. As of mid-day Friday, Louisiana has 33 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19.   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 11 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards and Raistone Capital CEO Dave Skirzenski announced the New York-based financial technology firm is expanding to New Orleans with the establishment of an office in the city's Central Business District. Raistone Capital, one of the world's leading providers of working capital finance, will create 50 jobs over the next five years at its 400 Poydras Tower location. Raistone Capi  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 10 -- Tulane University issued the following news release on March 9: Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc., has made a gift to Tulane University to establish The Leonard A. Lauder Professor of American History and Values. The inaugural holder of the professorship will be Walter Isaacson, professor of history in the Tulane School of Liberal Arts and co-chair of The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University. The gift will als  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 12 -- Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry issued the following news release: * * * - Insurance Commissioner's Report Shows Lower Plan Premiums, Guaranteed Coverage for Pre-Existing Healthcare Conditions as a Result of Act 412 * * * Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon delivered to the Legislature his initial report on beginning the implementation of Act 412 - the Health Care Coverage for Louisiana Families Protection Act, bipartisan legislation pus  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 14 -- The Louisiana Democratic Party issued the following statement: Friday, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced that Louisiana's Presidential Preference Primary will be moved from April 4 to June 20. Statement by Senator Karen Carter Peterson, Chair of Louisiana Democratic Party: "We want to ensure every Louisianian has the chance to make their voice heard in this election. "The Louisiana Democratic Party is committed to working with our Governor, Secret  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 13 -- The Louisiana Public Service Commission issued the following order (No. T-35467) involving Big Dog Movers of Kenner: In re: Cancellation of Common Carrier Certificate Number 7687 for failure to maintain the required insurance coverage on file with the Commission pursuant to General Orders dated May 04, 2017 and January 12, 1976. ORDER OF DISMISSAL The Louisiana Public Service Commission ("Commission") issued a citation to Kevin Ivey dba Big Dog Movers of Ke  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 14 -- The Louisiana Public Service Commission issued the following order involving Executive Order Creating Emergency Suspension of Disconnection of Utility Services: In re: Executive Order Creating Emergency Suspension of Disconnection of Utility Services in Areas Under a State of Emergency/Public Health Emergency related to COVID-19. Due to the risks related to public health associated with the COVID-19 Coronavirus, Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state  more

CHICAGO, Louisiana, March 13 -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news release: LSU AgCenter rice researcher Ida Wenefrida was honored as one of the Top 20 Global Woman of Excellence for 2020 at a ceremony in Chicago on March 8. The award by the American Multi Cultural Ethnic Coalition recognized women from around the world, including Poland, Canada, the Philippines, Thailand and Africa. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, of Chicago, presented the awards at a ceremony held on   more

JEANERETTE, Louisiana, March 11 -- The Louisiana State University Ag Center issued the following news release: The coronavirus has affected all commodities, and cattle prices are not immune from the effects, an LSU AgCenter economist said at the Acadiana beef cattle producers field day held at the LSU AgCenter Iberia Research Station on March 7. "We may have a bit of a short-term lull in the market," said Kurt Guidry. The coronavirus has caused some disruption in normal trade and product move  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 10 -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release on March 9: Though fuel cell technology has been studied by researchers worldwide for the past 150 years, LSU Chemical Engineering Assistant Professor Chris Arges is about to change the landscape of renewable energy. He recently received a $500,000, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to optimize materials manufacturing for fuel cells--environmentally friendly power sources, as they on  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 14 -- The Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center issued the following news: LSU Law's student-edited legal journals--Louisiana Law Review and the Journal of Energy Law and Resources--have announced the articles they will publish in upcoming volumes. The Louisiana Law Review Volume 80 Board of Editors says the decision process for the Junior Associates selected for publication in Volume 81 was extremely difficult because of the number of well-written   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, March 12 [TNSbiologyresearch] -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: * * * - LSU researchers discover the Sulawesi hairy-tailed shrew * * * Researchers at LSU have discovered a new species of shrew, which they have named the hairy-tailed shrew, or Crocidura caudipilosa. "There was no doubt that this was a new species," said LSU Museum of Natural Science Mammal Curator Jake Esselstyn whose work on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia led to the disco  more

RUSTON, Louisiana, March 13 -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: A new book co-edited by Louisiana Tech University technical communication professor Dr. Kirk St.Amant examines how individuals in technical fields can develop materials for international audiences. The collection, titled Translation and Localization: A Guide for Technical and Professional Communicators, presents strategies for working with translators (individuals who convey ideas in other languages) and local  more

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, March 12 -- Palm Beach County issued the following news release: Marilyn Stephens, Assistant Regional Census Manager for the 2020 Census for the Atlanta Region will visit Palm Beach County, Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - the eve of the mail out of the 2020 Census invitations to every household. The Atlanta Regional Office is responsible for census operations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Ms. Stephens serves as the  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- The Ripon Society issued the following news on March 11: * * * - Graves & Carter Applaud U.S. Reduction in Carbon Emissions, and Discuss Need for Additional Common Sense Steps to Combat Climate Change * * * Two GOP leaders of the House Select Climate Committee appeared yesterday morning before a breakfast discussion of The Ripon Society, where they discussed why it is important for Republicans to put forward common sense solutions to address climate change, and the ap  more

HAMMOND, Louisiana, March 12 -- Southeastern Louisiana University issued the following news release: The Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeastern Louisiana University has announced a new partnership with the Young Sanders Center. The partnership combines the resources of the two centers to advance scholarly research on Louisiana and surrounding regions of the South. The merger includes the creation of two scholarly awards - the J.Y. Sanders Research Scholar Award, designed to adv  more

HAMMOND, Louisiana, March 13 -- Southeastern Louisiana University issued the following news release: Although there are no known cases of COVID19 currently on Southeastern Louisiana University's campus, beginning Wednesday, March 18, out of an abundance of caution, Southeastern will transition all in-person classes to remote instruction until further notice, university officials announced. The move is an effort to limit instances where sizeable groups of individuals gather in close proximity.   more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 12 -- Tulane University issued the following news release: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. More than half of NSCLC patients die after developing metastases. There are no tests currently that would allow doctors to identify patients where more aggressive therapy could reduce mortality. Researchers at Tulane University have identified a protein on tumor-derived extracellular ve  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 12 [TNSgrants] -- The University of New Orleans issued the following news release: The University of New Orleans awarded more than $330,000 in research grants and awards to 13 faculty members and 90 undergraduate students on Tuesday during its annual Achievements in Research, Creativity and Scholarship awards ceremony held in the University Center's ballroom. The awards presentation, hosted by the Office of Research, underscores the power of research and the oppor  more