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Category: Top Story

This category showcases the lead coverage readers need to know, offering context, clarity, and insight into issues shaping New Orleans and beyond.

Judge rules permit for LNG terminal in Cameron Parish ignored potential climate impacts

by Elise Plunk, Louisiana Illuminator October 17, 2025 Updated October 17, 2025

New report ranks states on climate-related health risks, clean energy policies

Health care systems nationwide are vulnerable to extreme weather and climate threats.
by Nada Hassanein, Stateline October 16, 2025 Updated October 16, 2025

Louisiana cancels another major coastal restoration project

Gov. Jeff Landry scraps sediment diversion planned for Breton Sound marsh.
by Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator October 14, 2025 Updated October 14, 2025

‘I’ll fight for your rights like I fought for my own freedom’

Calvin Duncan, an uncommon man with an all-too-common story, is vying to become clerk of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court – and his campaign may have gathered enough momentum to draw fire from high-powered Louisiana officials.
by Katy Reckdahl October 10, 2025 Updated October 15, 2025

Alfred Marshall, a voice of experience

Marshall is one of the main forces behind the Oct. 11 charter amendment that would amend the New Orleans Bill of Rights to add “conviction history” alongside race, religion, disability, and gender.
by Katie Sikora for ANTIGRAVITY magazine October 10, 2025 Updated October 10, 2025

Louisiana sues Food & Drug Administration to stop mailing of abortion medication

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill escalates her campaign against mail-order abortion pills, suing the FDA over its pandemic-era policy that permits remote prescriptions of mifepristone while pursuing criminal charges against out-of-state doctors she claims violated Louisiana’s strict abortion laws.
by Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator October 9, 2025 Updated October 14, 2025

Leah Chase School principal resigns

The school faces a sizable budget gap. Proponents say that it’s expensive to launch a stand-alone school, especially one that aspires to be a “beacon of culture.”
by Marta Jewson and Katy Reckdahl October 9, 2025 Updated October 10, 2025

Silence from Smitty’s Supply, EPA’s lagging response leave lasting stains

While Gov. Jeff Landry was quick to denounce the speed of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led clean-up, he's silent in holding Smitty's Supply itself accountable for the explosion, fire and recovery.
by Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator October 7, 2025 Updated October 7, 2025
A cluster of empty black chairs arranged haphazardly in a circle on a linoleum school floor symbolizes disorder and instability.

Success for whom? Twenty years of school reform.

The writers, an educator and a parent who works as an advocate within schools, contend that the state takeover removed Black teachers who provided continuity and did not improve academic outcomes for Black students who too often changed schools frequently.
by Ashana Bigard and Elizabeth K. Jeffers October 7, 2025 Updated October 7, 2025
Infographic explaining how parents in New Orleans can request special education evaluations for their children, outlining reasons to request an evaluation and timelines for schools to respond and complete assessments.

Back to school: How and when to ask for a special education evaluation

If parents notice their child struggling academically or facing more discipline in school, it may be time for a special education evaluation. Roughly 15% of students in Louisiana have special education plans.
by Marta Jewson October 6, 2025 Updated October 8, 2025

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Most Popular

New report ranks states on climate-related health risks, clean energy policiesNew report ranks states on climate-related health risks, clean energy policiesOctober 16, 2025Nada Hassanein, StatelineEnvironment
Judge rules permit for LNG terminal in Cameron Parish ignored potential climate impactsJudge rules permit for LNG terminal in Cameron Parish ignored potential climate impactsOctober 17, 2025Elise Plunk, Louisiana IlluminatorEnvironment
Boxing Up Choice: Louisiana AG sues the FDA to halt the shipment of abortion meds. And the Leah Chase School Principal Resigns.Boxing Up Choice: Louisiana AG sues the FDA to halt the shipment of abortion meds. And the Leah Chase School Principal Resigns.October 17, 2025Carolyne HeldmanBehind The Lens
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