By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
Let’s continue exploring pressing issues for Louisiana with candidates in the state’s competitive congressional races, focusing today on disaster recovery.
Damage from homes in Chauvin is piled up along the roadside after Hurricane Ida in September 2021. (Photo by Rachel Mipro/Louisiana Illuminator)
By Julie O’Donoghue
In Louisiana, candidates for U.S. Senate and U.S. House races in the 5th and 6th districts mostly said they would not support changing the level of federal funding states receive after a disaster. But Democrats and Republicans are divided on whether massive staffing cuts at FEMA under President Donald Trump should be reversed.
he Interstate 10 bridge Lake Charles, pictured on Nov. 18, 2025. (Photo by Wes Muller/LA Illuminator)
By Greg LaRose
Louisiana officials have been slow to identify and punish violations of federal climate laws in the Lake Charles area, according to environmental groups. In response, the state Department of Environmental Quality called the assessment too broad and said it doesn’t take into account the agency’s recent steps to provide more timely accountability.
Gov. Jeff Landry speaks at Magdalen Place in Abbeville during an event to announce the SpaceX project in Vermilion Parish on Aug. 25, 2026. (Photo by Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
By Anna Oakes | The Current
What exactly those jobs will be remains unclear. As of now, the company is looking for a civil engineer, senior construction and government affairs managers, and a real estate attorney. But with so little information available on Louisiana Starbase’s workforce needs and construction slated to start next year, is Acadiana prepared to take advantage of the opportunity?
By Kevin Hardy
WE BUY HOUSES. CASH 4 HOMES. FA$T CA$H.
The signs, text messages and mailers promise cash, quick sales and a seamless means of unloading unwanted homes. But advocates say the business of buying homes for cash can confuse vulnerable homeowners and rob them of home equity. And now, many states are cracking down.
By Shauneen Miranda
The bill — which sailed through on a 77-22 vote — would set a national framework for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA, establish a five-year eligibility timeline for athletes and bar professional athletes from competing in college athletics. The measure faces opposition from some Democrats for not distinguishing student-athletes as employees with labor rights.
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