BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 14 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Legislative Session. ACT 135--HB 13 Provides relative to the board of trustees of the Registrars of Voters Employees' Retirement Systems. ACT 136--HB 18 Creates an Employee Insurance Fund for the Franklin Parish Sheriff's Office. ACT 137--HB 19 Provides relative to the selection of certain optional surv more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 23 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on June 21, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Legislative Session. ACT 385--SB 8 Accelerates the sunset date for the tax credit for the conversion of alternative fuel vehicles. ACT 386--SB 10 Provides for mandatory kindergarten attendance and requires compulsory school attendance beginning at age five. ACT 387--SB 31 Provides an ex more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 23 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Legislative Session. ACT 413--HB 42 Provides relative to financial aid. ACT 414--HB 81 Provides relative to prescription. ACT 415--HB 85 Creates a literacy program for certain public school students. ACT 416--HB 108 Provides with respect to in forma pauperis proceedings. ACT 417--HB 119 Provides relat more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 24 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. ACT 441--SB 232 Establishes and provides for the Power-Based Violence Review Panel. ACT 442--HB 44 Provides for an additional exception when hauling construction aggregates. ACT 443--HB 93 Exempts the Iberia Parish Airport Authority from the public lease law applicable to ce more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 25 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. ACT 449--HB 7 Provides for a sales and use tax exemption for feminine hygiene products and diapers. ACT 450--HB 172 Provides for Medicaid coverage of dental care for certain adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. ACT 451--HB 430 Provides relative to the of more PR

RUSTON, Louisiana, June 22 (TNSOps) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: Less than a year after graduating from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Technology, Monroe native Riley Smith has begun to make his mark on Zachry Construction Corporation and north Texas. Smith is helping set up a batch plant in Roanoke, Texas, which will pave main lanes and supply concrete and earthwork for three multimillion-dollar, multiyear projects i more PR

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, June 24 -- Entergy issued the following news release: New Orleans - Entergy New Orleans' Green Power Option has achieved Green-e(R) Energy Certification by the Center for Resource Solutions. The Green Power Option gives residential and business customers in New Orleans the power to match some or all of their electricity usage with clean, renewable energy generated in Louisiana. Participating customers are now directly benefiting from resources like the New Orleans Solar more PR

THIBODAUX, Louisiana, June 23 (TNSOps) -- Nicholls State University issued the following news release: LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network has selected four Nicholls State University educators to help develop interactive dual enrollment courses using open educational resources. The project is part of the federal Open Textbooks Pilot Program, funded by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Participants from Nicholls are: * Elizabeth Batte, director of the Ellender Memorial more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 23 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following statement: * * * Gov. John Bel Edwards has vetoed Senate Bill 156 authored by Sen. Beth Mizell during the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. The bill, known as the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, sought to prevent transgender girls and women from participating on athletic teams or in sporting events designated for girls or women at elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools. Gov. Edwards issued the  more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 25 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards and PBF Chalmette Refinery Manager Steven Krynski announced the company is studying the possible conversion of an idled refinery unit into a renewable diesel production complex. The refinery's parent company, PBF Energy, would make a $550 million capital investment to retrofit a hydrocracker unit - out of operation since 2010 - with new technology to accommodate renewable dies more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 25 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on June 24, 2021: * * * Gov. John Bel Edwards and Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Shawn Wilson commended the bipartisan cooperation that resulted in a framework for historic federal investment in critical projects related to roads, bridges, mitigation and coastal protection among other things. "I commend the Biden administration and the bipartisan group of senators on reachi more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 24 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news: Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that the Advisory Council on Rural Revitalization has released its Strategic Plan Report. Established by executive order in February 2020, the council was created to identify the needs and issues facing Louisiana's vital rural communities, as well as solutions to removing any barriers that prohibit them from being more productive, healthy and attractive places to liv more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 25 (TNSAwa) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: World renowned evolutionary biologist and LSU Department of Biological Sciences Research Associate Mary Jane West-Eberhard is a recipient of the prestigious Linnean Medal for 2021. She was bestowed the medal for her "significant contribution to the science of natural history and to the wider natural sciences community," according to The Linnean Society of London. She is one of seven women t more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 22 (TNSGra) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: LSU Department of Marketing faculty members and principal investigators Kris Lindsey Hall and Dan Rice have successfully secured a five-year, $461,000 research grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents Departmental Enhancement-Comprehensive Program. Their proposal, titled "SEEDER FOR GROWTH LA" (Strategic Eye-tracking and Emotional Designs in Experimental Research for Optimally Reinforcing more PR

RUSTON, Louisiana, June 23 (TNSOps) -- Louisiana Tech University issued the following news: Parents, students, and educators in Lafayette Parish were able to participate in a two-week experience to learn about psychological first aid, mindfulness and positive psychology interventions thanks to a collaboration with Lafayette GEAR UP through a U.S. Department of Education federally-funded grant. Participants utilized both personal and professional applications of positive psychology. The faculty more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 22 (TNSAwa) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: LSU students Rohin Gilman and Benjamin Thomas were recently selected as 2021 Astronaut Scholars by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, becoming LSU's eleventh and twelfth recipients. The scholarship recognizes the best and brightest minds in STEM who show initiative, creativity, and excellence in their chosen field. Presented by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), the scholarship more PR

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 24 (TNSPro) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: LSU Online & Continuing Education in collaboration with the LSU National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education, or NCBRT/ACE, now offers the first-of-its-kind Homeland Security Specialist program. This online program was designed for law enforcement officers as well as public and private sector safety agents involved in security. This five-course more PR

IRVING, Texas, June 23 -- Nexstar Media Group, a television broadcasting company, issued the following news release on June 22, 2021: The Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation announced today it will donate $5,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana on behalf of KLFY News 10 (CBS), the Nexstar Media Inc. television station serving the Lafayette, Louisiana area. The donation will be specifically directed to efforts to the "Youth for Unity" program, aimed at improving attitudes and behaviors rela more PR

HAMMOND, Louisiana, June 25 (TNSPer) -- Southeastern Louisiana University issued the following news release: The Southeastern Louisiana University Alumni Association recently announced the newly appointed 2021-23 GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Council members. Members include Lauren Buchanan and Lindsey Prisk of Hammond, Karen Burks of Metairie, Olivia Habetz of Youngsville, Tre' Juan Johnson of Milledgeville, Ga., Calyn Landaiche and Caleb Morse of Ponchatoula, Peter Lewis of Covington,  more PR

HAMMOND, Louisiana, June 23 (TNSRes) -- Southeastern Louisiana University issued the following news release: Southeastern Louisiana University graduates have the least student loan debt out of all the universities in the state, according to statistics recently released by LendEDU. The average debt per borrower for Southeastern's graduating class of 2019 was ranked No. 1 for least debt and No. 36 lowest debt nationwide. In Louisiana, the average debt per student borrower is $23,855, the seventh more PR

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, June 22 (TNSGra) -- Tulane University issued the following news release: Tulane University's Commitment to Equity Institute (CEQI) has received almost $1.2 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting fiscal policies have affected inequality, poverty and mobility. The award will fund research to help shape more equitable outcomes in developing countries. Based in the Department of Economics within the School of Liber more PR