 BY VICKI FERSTEL | Staff writer In a fiery speech Monday to the Legislature, Gov. Jeff Landry outlined plans to reshape Louisiana’s criminal justice system as he lambasted liberal activists, the state’s bipartisan 2017 criminal justice laws and violent criminals for what he described as a rash of crime engulfing the state. His speech started the 17-day special legislative session, which Landry called to fulfill his campaign promise of cracking down on lawlessness. Read more about his plans.
After her 26-year-old daughter died in 2021, Angele Mixson took refuge in flowers. The Denham Springs woman became a self-taught artist, but when she tried to become a professional florist, Mixson failed the state-mandated exam. Now the 47-year-old is suing the state, saying the test is strangling her new skill and preventing her from reaching full bloom. Staff writer Matt Bruce cuts through the weeds here.
In 2021, more than half of young students in the state could not read at grade level. So lawmakers offered free private tutoring to every struggling reader who wanted it. An estimated 160,000 students in kindergarten through fifth grade qualified. More than two years later, the effort has fallen staggeringly short of expectations. This school year, just under 1,400 students are receiving private tutoring — less than 1% of those eligible for help. Staff writer Patrick Wall explains what happened. | 
