WRKF News

On Tuesday, two republican lawmakers filed suit against the state for using one-time revenues to balance the budget. Where does the money come from?

Stephanie Powell Watts will be accepting this year’s Ernest Gains Award for Literary Excellence from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

Watts is being recognized for her collection of 10 stories, “We Are Taking Only What We Need," chronicling the lives of African Americans in rural North Carolina.

Watts writes from experience. 

Representatives Kirk Talbot and Cameron Henry have made waves about the constitutionality of the budget before. Talbot led a group of 19 GOP lawmakers that appealed to State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell with the same concerns last fall. Caldwell suggested the lawmakers go directly to the courts.

I saw a photograph of Third Street in the 1940s posted on Facebook recently where many people posted comments of their fond memories of Third Street from those days.

I have fond memories of Third Street in the 1950s.

Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy thinks taxpayers should question the Governor's new plan to eliminate personal and corporate income tax.

The state's treasurer is elected separately from the governor in Louisiana. Kennedy is a frequent critic of Gov. Jindal's policies, using his "Opinion Columns" as a venue to voice his thoughts.

State Superintendent of Education John White is advocating refinements to “Compass” – the program created by 2010 legislation to reform how public school teachers are evaluated. The changes stem from teacher input.
 

Governor Bobby Jindal’s plan to eliminate income tax is raising eyebrows. Jindal’s office confirmed Thursday that the plan would make up for lost revenue by increasing the state sales tax.

The Board of Regents is thinking of ways to bring in new funds to make up for the past five years of budget cuts sustained by the Louisiana University System.

The Board of Regents met for the first time this year on Thursday morning. Newly appointed members Richard Lipsey, Joel Dupre, and Edward Markle were sworn in and got straight to business.

Commissioner of Higher Education Jim Purcell addressed the Board with a presentation on the state of state higher education.

Chairman W. Clinton Rasberry requested the presentation.

Louisiana has jumped up in the ranks on a national education scorecard.

Education Week’s "Quality Counts" report, which combines measures of policy and performance, ranks the state 15th overall, up from 23rd last year.   

Louisiana gets an 'A' for accountability and curriculum policy, and an 'F' for student achievement.

Governor Bobby Jindal is calling for legislators to eliminate the state income tax in the upcoming session.

The details of Jindal’s tax reform plan have not been released, but according to a written statement Jindal says his goal is to replace both personal income tax and corporate income tax with revenue from an increased sales tax. Jindal says the reforms would be enacted in such a way as to not decrease or increase the state’s revenue.