By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
Here’s what you need to know for your Thursday.
Richard Nelson, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, told the state Board of Regents that opponents of the planned SpaceX launch facility in Vermilion Parish will be won over by the number of jobs the facility will provide. (Greg LaRose/LAI)
By Piper Hutchinson
The head of Louisiana’s network of workforce training institutions said the thousands of jobs accompanying the new Space X launch facility in Southwest Louisiana will win over critics who have expressed concerns about the project’s impact on the environment and the immediate community.
A liquified natural gas tanker travels into Calcasieu Lake. (Elise Plunk/LAI)
By Natalie McLendon | The Current
A federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of a major liquid natural gas project in Cameron Parish. The plaintiffs argued that FERC didn’t sufficiently account for the impact the facility, which is already under construction, would have on the local environment and the commercial seafood industry that depends on it.
SOCIAL SCENE
Reporter Piper Hutchinson explains how Louisiana colleges are looking for new revenue streams to feed their cash-hungry athletic departments.
By Anna Claire Vollers
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay 48 states up to $18 billion in penalties over claims that its social media platforms are addictive and a danger to children. As part of the settlement, Meta also pledged to make changes to Instagram and Facebook that are designed to reduce young people’s use of the platforms.
COMMENTARY
By Greg LaRose
This week’s announcement of SpaceX’s plans to build a rocket launchport in coastal Vermilion Parish has me recalling the heyday of space exploration just before and during my early years. But so far, it lacks that spirit of promise and hope that buoyed America’s first forays into the unknown.
NEWS FROM THE STATES
Vaccination protections ‘teetering’ with measles outbreaks in 3 counties | Maryland Matters
Environmental groups take steps to sue to protect gray whales | Alaska Beacon
Researchers expect ‘biggest year yet’ for energy siting bills | Iowa Capital Dispatch
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