It’s no secret that chemical plants in Louisiana have been releasing toxic emissions for years, risking the lives of the community members around them, who are most often people of color. But now, in a rare move, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking emergency action, trying to force one plant to immediately reduce or completely halt its emissions.
Reporter Lylla Younes, who has been covering this story for the environmental magazine Grist, joins us now for more.
The Baton Rouge Blues Festival returns April 21-23, featuring internationally-recognized performers and local blues legends. But even before the first note is played, anticipation builds for the unveiling of the festival poster.
This year the artist is Randell Henry, a professor of art at Southern University. He tells us about the musical themes found in his mixed media collage for this year’s poster.
But first, dollar stores have grown so quickly they now outnumber Starbucks and Walmart combined. What’s also grown are dollar store objections. Opponents warn the stores push grocers out of business, worsen American diets and harm local economies. But as Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Newsroom reports, researchers are still figuring out the consequences of the dollar store expansion.
Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman and Aubry Procell.
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