Articles by Melinda Deslatte

Louisiana Senate Passes Statewide Rules for Ride-Hailing Services

Efforts to enact statewide Louisiana regulations for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, aimed at expanding the services’ availability around the state, won passage Saturday in the Senate, after two years of stalling there. Continued pressure from lawmakers in …

Louisiana Lawmakers Pushing Restrictions on Food Labels

Louisiana’s lawmakers are on a labeling binge this year, pushing ahead with food classification restrictions on milk, rice, meat, sugar, shrimp and crawfish as they try to assist the state’s agricultural industries. The protectionist measures are provoking ridicule on social …

Suspect in Multiple Louisiana Church Fires Faces Hate Crime Charges

The white man suspected in the burning of three African American churches in Louisiana will remain in jail, denied bond Monday by a judge, as state prosecutors added new charges declaring the arsons a hate crime. Twenty-one-year-old Holden Matthews, the …

Victims of 2016 Louisiana Flooding Sue Trump Administration Over Aid

Two Louisiana homeowners have sued President Donald Trump’s administration for policy change delays that have kept thousands of victims of a massive 2016 flood from receiving federal aid. Jeffry and Amanda Meyer, who owned a Livingston Parish home destroyed in …

Limits on Doctors’ Marijuana Patients Tossed in Louisiana

Amid concerns about bottlenecks to access, Louisiana regulators have agreed to loosen limits on how many medical marijuana patients doctors authorized to dispense cannabis can treat. Louisiana’s State Board of Medical Examiners voted 8-1 to remove a cap established in …

Louisiana Legislation Targets Pharmacy Benefit Managers; Drug Cost ‘Gag Rules’ Banned

Louisiana patients could soon get more details about what happens at the pharmacy counter and whether they’ve gotten the most affordable medication for an ailment. In the regular legislative session, lawmakers passed a package of bills requiring more transparency about …

Patients in Louisiana Could Get More Details About Medication Costs

Louisiana patients could soon get more details about what happens at the pharmacy counter and whether they’ve gotten the most affordable medication for an ailment. In the regular legislative session, lawmakers passed a package of bills requiring more transparency about …

Louisiana Expands Medical Marijuana Program Eligibility

More Louisiana residents with chronic pain and suffering will be able to seek treatment for their ailments through the state’s medical marijuana program. Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed to the expansion proposal a few months ahead of when therapeutic cannabis …

Louisiana Expands Medical Marijuana Program Eligibility

More Louisiana residents with chronic pain and suffering will be able to seek treatment for their ailments through the state’s medical marijuana program. Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed to the expansion proposal a few months ahead of when therapeutic cannabis …

Louisiana Senators Reject Statewide Rules for Uber, Lyft

Louisiana state lawmakers again have spurned efforts to enact statewide regulations governing ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. Facing pushback from senators, House Speaker Taylor Barras pulled House Bill 749 from consideration on May 8 in a Senate judiciary …