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Tough-on-crime costs

AND: His final 'Oorah!'

Greg LaRose
Greg LaRose

May 25, 2026

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2 min read

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By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief

Our team recognizes the Memorial Day holiday and hope that you take a moment to acknowledge every weekend, every family outing and every way we celebrate our way of life is possible because of someone’s sacrifice.

New Orleans jail inmates line up during a mock evacuation drill June 15, 2023. (Nigell Moses/Verite)

Louisiana’s tough-on-crime policies stand to cost public millions for years to come

By Richard A. Webster and Charles Maldonado, Verite

Gov. Jeff Landry wants to add hundreds more beds in Louisiana’s largest prison and spend more on medical costs as prisoners stay longer behind bars. His proposed $798 million corrections budget, which the Republican-controlled legislature is expected to pass, represents a 9% increase from 2024, the last budget passed before his tenure. The increased budget is the first indication that the rising inmate population resulting from Landry’s policies is costing Louisiana taxpayers.

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David Greene, shown here in 2012, waves the American flag standing on top of Mount Suribachi in the island of Iwo Jima, where he fought as a U.S Marine on the beach below in 1945. (Photo courtesy of Paul Greene)

Iwo Jima Marine gets final ‘Oorah!’

By Patrick Kinney

David Greene almost didn’t live to see his 20th birthday, let alone his 101st. A artillery shell blast buried him and a fellow Marine buddy alive on Feb. 19, 1945 in the black volcanic sand of a little Pacific island named Iwo Jima. It was a good thing Greene had his helmet strapped around his chin.

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A floral designer in Newport, R.I., creates bouquets on April 30 (Janine L. Weisman/RI Current)

Automatic retirement plans spread as states, cities push workers to build nest eggs

By Kevin Hardy

Supporters say these automatic programs make it easier for more people to start planning for when they no longer work. As more people do, states expect to see an eventual savings through reduced social services spending. Some business interests have opposed state mandates to join plans, saying they’re a burden and questioning their effectiveness.

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COMMENTARY

Lawmakers shelve maternal mortality resolution despite La.’s worst death rates

By Alma Stewart Allen

In a state where women die from pregnancy-related causes at more than double the national average, Louisiana lawmakers quietly sidelined a resolution last week that would have forced a deeper examination of the crisis.

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