JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Businesses and communities around Alaska are one step closer to getting economic incentives to develop areas around the state's military bases and facilities after the House State Affairs Committee cleared the bill on Tuesday. Its sponsor, Rep. Steve Thompson, R-Fairbanks, said HB316 is modeled after laws... more »
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora has a knack for rallying the troops, but he didn't plan on having to do it this early in the season. After an eyebrow-raising 26-20 loss to Marshall in its conference opener last week, Southern Miss (1-1) is looking to regroup... more »
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - Officials in the Shreveport-Bossier City area say they will be ready with shelter space for about 8,500 people if a threatening Gulf coast storm prompts an evacuation this hurricane season. The Times of Shreveport says state officials have made shelter improvements since 2008, when poor shelter... more »
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration on Thursday imposed new rules to make offshore drilling safer, but said it was not yet ready to lift a temporary ban on deepwater drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called offshore drilling inherently risky and said, "We will only lift the moratorium when I,... more »
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chef John Besh's two restaurants were spared when Hurricane Katrina barreled through New Orleans five years ago, but the storm almost wiped him out anyway. Besh had just taken out a large loan to pay off his partners when the storm shut him down and sent... more »
New Iberia is moving forward with its initiative to grow and prosper. Wednesday, city and state officials met with residents about the "Louisiana Development Ready Community" program.
"This is about the business community, the private citizenry and the government coming together, to grow," said Mike Tarantino with Iberia Industrial... more »
ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) - Crew members aboard dozens of ships in the Gulf of Mexico prepared Thursday to evacuate as a tropical rainstorm brewing in the Caribbean brought the deep-sea effort to plug BP's ruptured oil well to a near standstill. Though the rough weather was hundreds... more »
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP and the Obama administration face mounting complaints that they are ignoring foreign offers of equipment and making little use of the fishing boats and volunteers available to help clean up what may now be the biggest spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast... more »
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - Lafayette is getting ready for the annual Festival International de Louisiana. The festival returns to downtown Thursday through Sunday. Kim Neustrom, vice president of marketing on the Festival's board of directors, says there will be an increased focus on children's activities Saturday and Sunday. And for... more »