Louisiana

Strong Storms Rumbling Across South Louisiana Monday Morning

Published

8 months ago

March 31, 2025

Strong Storms Rumbling Across South Louisiana Monday Morning

Louisiana residents who live north of the US 190 Corridor that bisects the state from east to west will need to be weather-conscious for at least the first few hours of this Monday morning. The Storm Prediction Center has posted a severe thunderstorm watch for this part of the state that will remain in effect until 8 this morning.

The storm system that is creating all of the strong storms and severe weather has already produced several “warned storms” in the overnight hours. It does appear as though that trend will continue for at least the next four hours.

Just before 4 this morning the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Evangeline and Allen Parish. And by looking at the screen capture of the radar scan from that time, it’s pretty easy to see where the strong storms are.

radar.weather.gov

If current forecast guidance is correct the heavier showers and storms should stay well north of Interstate 10 this morning. That doesn’t mean you won’t see a shower or storm between Lafayette and Lake Charles and Lafayette and New Orleans. It just means that the heaviest storms should stay well north of the area.

Jamie Scott via YouTube

There is also a good possibility that portions of the region will experience excessive rainfall over the next several hours as well. Again, the area under the greatest threat will be US 190 and north but heavy downpours could happen anywhere, including along I-10 as the morning progresses.

The threat of heavy showers and showers, in general, should move out of the area around 9 this morning. Skies should remain cloudy with slightly cooler temperatures for the day on Monday. Calmer conditions should prevail across the area for the bulk of the work week but Wednesday and Thursday could be complicated by gusty winds.

The next major threat of rain in South Louisiana will come unfortunately in time for next weekend.

Lafayette Restaurants We Wish Would Make a Triumphant Return

We’re not just waxing nostalgic here. We really wish these once-great Lafayette, Louisiana restaurants would come back to town. You guys are missed!

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Louisiana

How a Louisiana budget whiz and small business owner sees Congress’ fight over health care

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

How a Louisiana budget whiz and small business owner sees Congress’ fight over health care

WASHINGTON – When state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Winnfield, isn’t mulling complex finances as chair of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee, he runs a logging contractor firm in Winn Parish.

As a small businessman with about 20 employees, McFarland frets about the lack of action on health care. Time is of the essence, and McFarland wants the warring parties in Washington to figure out a solution.

Republicans want to overhaul the Affordable Care Act to lower health care costs and increase consumer choice. Democrats are not opposed to fixes but argue that will take too much time, so first, the enhanced ACA marketplace subsidies need to be continued before expiring.

About 24.3 million working Americans and small businesses — 292,994 in Louisiana — will see their monthly costs double, on average, starting Jan. 1 if the subsidies are not extended. Disagreement on extending the tax credits was at the center of the government shutdown.

An ardent conservative in a parish that gave 88% of its votes to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, McFarland agrees that substantial changes are necessary.

For instance, his employees can’t access the ACA marketplace.

Despite the promise in 2010 that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to lower health insurance premiums, it did not. The policy McFarland provided employees went from about $37,000 annually in 2011 to about $132,000 in 2024.

McFarland said his company had to stop covering premiums for his employees and now just pays a little to help. When some of his workers wanted to lower their costs by shifting to the ACA marketplace, they could not because his company offered health insurance, he said.

“As an employer, I would have to stop offering health insurance to all my employees for them to be eligible for subsidies,” McFarland said, adding that now many of his employees have no insurance.

Like most things that deal with health care and insurance, the Affordable Care Act is complex, with a lot of moving parts.

Obamacare protected people with preexisting conditions and made insurance available for those who couldn’t afford it. But the promise that premiums would decline because more people had insurance didn’t materialize.

Premium costs have risen from an average $177 per month in 2010 for individual policies, like the ones the ACA marketplace sells, to $467 per month in 2024, according to KFF, a Washington-based health analysis organization. Monthly costs for group insurance, like those offered by employers and cover roughly 170 million people, went up from an average $273 per month to $512 per month during the same period.

Senate Republicans are looking at various alternatives that align with President Donald Trump’s demand last week that the ACA subsidies go “directly to the people” rather than insurance companies.

In the House, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, told reporters Tuesday that House committee leaders also are looking at various ideas.

“We’re not here to bail out insurance companies,” he said. “We’re here to give families lower premiums and better options.”

But in both chambers, Democrats and Republicans are not talking officially to each other.

The Senate will need 60 votes to pass any GOP measure, which means seven Democrats have to sign on to any package that all the Republicans support — or eight Republicans have to agree with all the Democrats backing one of their ideas.

Right now, neither scenario looks likely when it comes to the key issue of whether to extend the enhanced ACA marketplace tax credits, which will get a vote in mid-December.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Thursday on the Senate floor that Republican ideas are “half-baked.”

“They are deeply flawed and woefully insufficient for our nation’s health care problems,” Schumer said. “When people’s monthly payments spike next year, they’ll know it was Republicans that made it happen.”

On Thursday, Johnson refined his oft-repeated accusation that Democrats only care about “illegal aliens” to point out what California, Illinois and Oregon spent more on health care for “noncitizens” than for police and roads.

Immigrants who slipped into the country without authorization are not legally allowed to take advantage of Obamacare. Legal immigrants who have jobs and children regardless of their status are allowed to buy insurance through ACA marketplaces. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 1.4 million immigrants have.

“Everybody’s just went to their corner and they’re just not coming out,” McFarland said. “It’s a broken system that needs to be fixed, not patched, for the people and for small businesses. They need to sit down and figure this out.”

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Louisiana

Louisiana communities brace for federal immigration crackdown amid uncertainty

Published

19 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

Louisiana communities brace for federal immigration crackdown amid uncertainty

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – More than 200 federal agents are expected to descend on south Louisiana in the coming days, according to Associated Press sources, in an operation aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants in the state.

But a local criminologist says much remains unknown about the operation, which the AP reports is being called “Swamp Sweep.”

“How are you even identifying people who are illegal or un-legal is the primary question,” said Dr. Ashraf Esmail of Dillard University.

Earlier this week, FOX 8 asked U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., where he stands on the anticipated arrival of federal agents in his home state.

MORE: Federal immigration operation targets New Orleans area

“So, I agree with President Trump, we’ve got to crack down on the criminals who are [here] illegally, and I think it’s important to note that this problem dates back to the Biden administration. And I think there is a valid concern that some people being picked up are like not members of Tren de Aragua,” Cassidy said.

This week, NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick made it clear that immigration enforcement is not her department’s responsibility.

“I, you know, think the recent actions of the consent decree, etc. I think we’ve developed that trust, and I think if you ask the general public, they’re obviously against what’s going on, and I think we’re going to follow Chief Kirkpatrick in that we don’t want to be involved in this,” Esmail said.

FOX 8 also asked the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office if it would assist federal immigration authorities by detaining individuals arrested for being in the country without authorization. A spokesperson said no one was available to speak on the matter.

However, Sheriff-elect Michelle Woodfork, who takes office in January, did respond.

Hispanic churches brace for Border Patrol operation in Louisiana

“As a law enforcement professional, I will always uphold and follow the law. What I can promise is that as sheriff, every person housed at OJC will be treated with dignity, respect, and humanity,” Woodfork said.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said it “will not comment on an operation conducted by another agency,” according to a prepared statement provided to FOX 8.

FOX 8 did not receive a response from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have also not released any details about the operation.

“Yes, they want to keep it private, but I think also again we’re at this time in New Orleans where we’re trying to again develop that trust and safety,” Esmail said.

Massive raids in other cities have led to large protests.

InspireNOLA CEO says schools will not allow immigration raids

“The way this is being conducted in other cities doesn’t seem, you know, people are like this is not the proper way of doing this, where people again are being stopped, arrested, not being charged, let go,” Esmail said.

“Local law enforcement counts on having a relationship with members of communities as part of their law enforcement,” he added.

“Violence is down, the last two or three years heading in a very positive direction, and so you don’t want this to kind of come down where it’s again violence starts, people are chaotic, people are nervous, etc.,” Esmail said.

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What is the best elementary school in Louisiana? These 11 rank at top

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2025

Press Room

What is the best elementary school in Louisiana? These 11 rank at top

When it comes to primary education, it’s important to choose a school that’s the right fit and offers educational opportunities.

U.S. News & World Report analyzed 103,391 Pre-Kindergarten, elementary and middle schools in order to determine which are the best throughout the U.S.

To do so, U.S. News & World Report assessed schools’ shares of students who were proficient in math and reading scores, and assessed such scores in the context of socioeconomic demographics.

US News & World Report best elementary schools in Louisiana for 2026

U.S. News & World Report analyzed 1,125 elementary schools in Louisiana, and these schools ranked as the 11 best.

1. Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies

Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies in Metairie is ranked as the best elementary school in Louisiana by U.S. News & World Report. This public elementary school serves Pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade, with a student population of 377 and a student-teacher ratio of 14:1. At this school, 98% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 98% scored at or above the proficient level for reading.

2. T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School

T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School in Lake Charles is ranked as the second best elementary school in Louisiana by U.S. News & World Report. The student population of this schools is 302, and the school serves grades Kindergarten through fifth, with a student-teacher ratio of 19:1. Here, 92% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 98% scored at or above the proficient level for reading.

3. South Highlands Elementary Magnet School

South Highlands Elementary Magnet School in Shreveport is the third best elementary school in Louisiana, according to U.S. News & World Report. This school has a student population of 512 with a student-ration of 16:1, serving grades Pre-Kindergarten through fifth. Ninety-seven percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math and 92% scored at or above the proficient level in reading.

4. Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies

Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies in Gretna is a public school that serves Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade. This school has a student population of 366 and a student-teacher ratio of 18:1. Here, 98% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math and 92% scored at or above the proficient level for reading, according to U.S. News & Word Report.

5. Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies

Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies is a public school in Metairie that serves Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade. This school has a student population of 429 and a student-teacher ratio of 16:1. Ninety-two percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and the same percentage scored at or above the proficient level for reading, according to U.S. News & World Report.

6. Fairfield Magnet School

Fairfield Magnet School is a public school in Shreveport that serves grades Pre-Kindergarten through fifth, with a student-teacher ratio of 15:1. The student population at this school is 528, with 93% scoring at or above the proficient level for math and 91% scoring at or above the proficient level for reading, says U.S. News & World Report.

7. Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School

Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School in Baton Rouge is a public school that serves Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade. Here, the student population is 468 and the student-teacher ratio is 14:1. At this school, 92% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math and 90% scored at or above the proficient level for reading, says U.S. News & World Report.

8. Mayfair Laboratory School

Mayfair Laboratory School in Baton Rouge is a public school that has a student population of 504 and a student-teacher population of 11:1. This school serves grades Kindergarten through eighth, with 88% of students scoring at or above the proficient level for math and 87% scoring at or above the proficient level for reading, says U.S. News & World Report.

9. Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies

Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies is a public school in Westwego that serves Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade. The school has a student population of 359 and a student-teacher ratio of 17:1. Here, 87% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and the same percentage scored at or above the proficient level for reading, according to U.S. News & World Report.

10. Phoenix Magnet Elementary School

Phoenix Magnet Elementary School is a public school in Alexandria that serves Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade. This school has a student population of 319 and a student-teacher ratio of 13:1. Seventy-seven percent of students at this school scored at or above the proficient level for math and 92% scored at or above the proficient level for reading, according to U.S. News & World Report.

11. Eden Gardens Fundamental Elementary School

Eden Gardens Fundamental Elementary School is a public school in Shreveport that serves Kindergarten through fifth grade. The student population of this school is 506 and the student-teacher ratio is 16:1. At this school, 88% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math and 86% scored at or above the proficient level for reading, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com

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