Author: Will Phillips

  • Webster Parish struck with grief after passing of Doyline High School Principal

    Webster Parish struck with grief after passing of Doyline High School Principal

    The Webster Parish Community suffered a tragic loss with the passing of Mr. J. Todd Patterson, Principal of Doyline High School, that was announced earlier today. A statement from Doyline High School released on their Doyline Panthers Facebook page reads, “Today we grieve at the tragic loss and sudden death of our principal, Mr. J.…

  • Louisiana gas prices show summer stability not seen in decades

    Louisiana gas prices show summer stability not seen in decades

    Louisiana gas prices have fallen 1.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $1.83/g today, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 2,436 stations. Gas prices in Louisiana are 3.6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 40.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The cheapest station in Louisiana is…

  • House to go back into session early to vote on USPS bill

    House to go back into session early to vote on USPS bill

    Speaker Nancy Pelosi is cutting short lawmakers’ summer recess with a vote expected the Saturday after the Democratic National Convention on legislation that would prohibit changes at the agency as tensions mount.  New postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has sparked nationwide outcry over delays, new prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will be trying…

  • Louisiana begins borrowing process to replenish unemployment fund; higher business taxes on deck

    Louisiana begins borrowing process to replenish unemployment fund; higher business taxes on deck

    The Louisiana Workforce Commission has begun the process of borrowing money from the federal government to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund, said LWC Secretary Ava Dejoie. The fund currently stands at about $245 million, compared to more than $1 billion before the COVID-19 pandemic began. The unemployment fund is on pace to be insolvent…

  • Betty Bright Taylor Gentry

    Betty Bright Taylor Gentry

    Graveside services celebrating the life of Betty Bright Taylor Gentry will be held Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden, Louisiana with Rev. Steve Gilley and Rev. John Franklin officiating. The family will receive friends at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday at Rose-Neath Funeral Home in Minden prior to service…

  • Jerry C. Ray

    Jerry C. Ray

    Funeral services honoring Jerry C. “Pappaw” Ray will be held Monday, August 17, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home of Minden. Interment will follow at Gardens of Memory. Rev. Chris Frye, his grandson, will officiate. The family will receive friends on Sunday, August 16, 2020, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral…

  • Local teen receives supportive donations after online backlash over BLM phone case

    Local teen receives supportive donations after online backlash over BLM phone case

    After posting his handmade “BLM” phone case for sale in a local sellers Facebook group titled “Webster/Claiborne buy and sell,” Uriah Miles, age 13, received immense online backlash criticizing him personally and his case, with the post itself garnering 500 comments in less than a day and currently sitting just shy of 1000. With schools…

  • Edwards backs state lawmaker Rep. Ted James to lead Louisiana’s Democrats

    Edwards backs state lawmaker Rep. Ted James to lead Louisiana’s Democrats

    BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards threw his support Friday to state Rep. Ted James to be the next leader of the Louisiana Democratic Party, an endorsement that gives the lawmaker an edge in the competition. The current party chair, state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, announced in July she wouldn’t seek another…

  • US productivity rises 7.3% as hours worked are nearly halved

    US productivity rises 7.3% as hours worked are nearly halved

    SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — U.S. productivity rose at a 7.3% rate in the second quarter as the number of hours worked fell by nearly half, the biggest drop-off since the government started tracking the data more than 70 years ago. The Labor Department said Friday that output decreased 38.9%, also the biggest decline ever…

  • Louisiana Gov. Edwards: Unemployed residents will be eligible for $300 unemployment benefit enhancement

    Louisiana Gov. Edwards: Unemployed residents will be eligible for $300 unemployment benefit enhancement

    (The Center Square) – White House officials say Louisiana residents who are unemployed will be able to get an extra $300 in weekly benefits, even though Louisiana cannot afford to make the state’s $100 match, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday. The federal government had been enhancing state benefits by $600 per week, though…