Louisiana
Louisiana House approves grade reading bill
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Louisiana House overwhelmingly passed a bill to hold back third graders if they are not reading at that grade level.
After much debate, HB12 by Rep. Richard Nelson, R-Mandeville, which is modeled largely off of a similar law in Mississippi, passed 88-15.
The bill will next head to the Senate, where it almost made it all the way last year, but merely ran out of time while it was in its final stages.
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Louisiana
Army Black Knights Predicted to Beat Louisiana Tech in Independence Bowl
The Army West Point Black Knights came up short in their last game, as they lost their annual rivalry matchup against the Navy Midshipmen 31-13 to lose the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
But, their season is not yet over, as they will have a chance to finish things on a high note in the Independence Bowl against a new opponent; the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Originally, the Black Knights were supposed to face off against the Marshall Thundering Herd, but a change had to be made after they experienced a mass exodus of players entering the transfer portal following a coaching change.
Based on records, the quality of the opponent would seem to have dropped off considerably. Marshall had 10 victories, while Louisiana Tech had only five.
But, Adam Rittenberg of ESPN still believes that this will be a competitive game in Shreveport, La. in the Bulldogs’ backyard. Louisiana Tech is in Ruston, La., 70 miles away from Shreveport.
He predicted that Army will sneak away with a 23-16 victory.
“he Bulldogs have half the number of wins as the Thundering Herd, but their defense can be very stingy at times, and will need to perform against Bryson Daily and the Black Knights. … Army is undoubtedly still smarting from the Navy loss, and top running back Kanye Udoh entered the portal. Louisiana Tech jumps ahead early behind quarterback Evan Bullock, but Army eventually takes control and grinds out a low-scoring win, its 12th on the season.”
Rittenberg pointed out that several of LA Tech’s defensive linemen have entered the transfer portal. Udoh just announced his transfer to Arizona State.
This has already been one of the best seasons in program history, as they reached the 11-win mark only one other time in 2018. But, an argument can be made this is their best season since it won its last national championship because it was not independent.
The Black Knights were a member of the American Athletic Conference, the first time since 1998-2004 that they weren’t independent as a member of Conference USA. They found a ton of success, going 8-0 in the regular season before defeating the Tulane Green Wave in the AAC Championship Game in West Point, New York.
Army has shown an ability to grind out wins, playing a physical style of football on both sides of the ball. Daily is the leader offensively, producing with his arm and legs at a high level.
He threw for 942 yards with nine touchdowns and only four interceptions, three of which came in the matchup against Navy. On the ground, he led the AAC with 283 carries, 1,532 yards and 29 scores.
His 29 rushing touchdowns were the most in the country, as he won the 2024 AAC Player of the Year Award.
The Black Knights would love to see Daily provide one more memorable performance to help the team reach the 12-win mark for the first time in program history.
Louisiana
Normal is unremarkable in and of itself: 2024 Inspirit winners are 'doing something bigger'
The Inspirit Award winners seem to have found ways to thrive in the work they do that is bigger than themselves.
Louisiana
Merry Christmas: good luck with right gift
Ho, Ho, Ho oh no, it’s time to get that last-minute gift for your favorite hunter and fisher.
It’s a challenge, if only because most of these folks are particular about the things they use to pursue game and fish — “persnickety” was the way old folks described this trait decades ago.
What it means is unless you know — and really know — your outdoors recipient then don’t presume the guy or gal at the local or big-box store will know anything more about them than you do.
What it means is don’t buy fishing line, or lures, or shotgun shells, or bullets, or rods, or reels, or firearms cases, or those silly T-shirts with a stunned-looking bass and “Fish Fear Me” written underneath.
That T-shirt thing only makes your favorite angler the target for his sharp-tongued fishing buddies, who will tell him the thing he feared most was being afraid to tell his gift-giver that the T-shirt was going to be a target for barbed comments. Oh, he’d wear it for you, but not around his buddies.
So, what’s left?
Size matters, and it’s important when trying to make a gift of the just-right hunting jacket, warm boots, cooling fishing shirts and shorts, warm gloves and hats.
And don’t buy that tackle box because it “looks big,” unless you were with your fishing-frenzied, Christmas-present target and he or she admired it with piscatorial lust in their eye.
That leaves us with gift cards. Sure you can go shopping and make a reasonably good guess about hunting things and fishing things, and here’s where you find prices and buy a gift card for that amount.
It’ll send them to a store where they can get the just-right fit, the just-right style, the just-right camo pattern, the perfect handle, weight and length for a fishing rod, and things like the fishing line, lures and boxes they want.
What’s best is you’ll send them to a Christmas-night rest with all kinds of sugared thoughts that will turn into dreams of that hopefully marked-down shopping spree.
Merry Christmas!
Under the tree
An important bill awaits President Biden’s signature to take hold for our country’s anglers, and another is moving forward after passing a committee vote.
ACE — America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act — passed a U.S. Senate vote last week and sits on the president’s desk.
This act continues the National Fish Habitat Partnership, a voluntary, non-regulatory, and locally driven program that has funded more than 1,300 on-the-ground aquatic habitat improvement projects throughout the country.
“The $230 billion sportfishing industry and America’s 57.7 million recreational anglers applaud Congress’ efforts to advance fish habitat restoration and conservation,” American Sportfishing Association spokesman Mike Leonard said.
Included in its many pages is reauthorization of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and a provision that traditional tackle will not be banned by the Environmental Protection Agency for five years.
The second bill, EXPLORE — Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences — had the backing of more than a dozen hunting and recreational organizations. This new bill is designed to expand recreation opportunities, improving infrastructure and removing barriers to allow more access to federal lands for hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.
Striped bass
Yes, Louisiana waters, mostly from the Mississippi River east into the Pontchartrain Basin and to the Pearl River, has an annual fall-winter run of sea-run striped bass.
Now, Wildlife and Fisheries wants fishermen taking to those waters to help collect striped bass samples.
More than 20 years ago, a mid-fall trip to the Mississippi River produced three striped bass among the largemouth, spotted and white bass and redfish caught near Fort Jackson.
This project is one of four main items currently listed on the agency’s website.
To get details, description of this species and instructions, go to the LDWF website: wlf.louisiana.gov
Expertise needed
The Committee on National Statistics has a call-out for nominations for “experts” to review the standards and evaluate the survey and data standards of the Marine Recreational Information Program, the long-debated federal fisheries data collections and reporting plan.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has formed the committee and has a Dec. 31 deadline for nominations. Google this organization for details.
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