Halle Parker

2 months ago | veritenews.org | Halle Parker

Last year, Louisiana’s top utility regulators passed new standards to create a new, independently managed state program aimed at lowering energy consumption and saving customers money. The standards were more than a decade in the making. Louisiana became the first state in the South to embrace the model. But the move proved short-lived.

2 months ago | veritenews.org | Halle Parker

“How you doin’?” It’s my favorite Southern greeting. Since moving to Louisiana six years ago, it’s rare for me to walk down the street — or go anywhere, really — without hearing the familiar line. I’m annoyingly polite, so it took me a while to understand that, in this city, this question isn’t really a question. Here, “How you doin’?” is the same as saying “hello.” Even after bouncing from neighborhood to neighborhood, finally settling in the Upper 9th Ward, I still get tripped up sometimes.

Mar 21, 2025 | wwno.org | Halle Parker

Last time, we learned about the nearly century-old bond between the oil and gas industry and one university — LSU. In the second and final episode of our series, "Fueling Knowledge," we look at how much money is flowing into universities and what the industry may hope to get in return. This relationship comes with big benefits: student mentors, scholarships, research funding, and new buildings, among others. But is all that money truly free? No strings?

Mar 21, 2025 | floodlightnews.org | Pam Radtke Russell |Halle Parker |Piper Hutchinson |Pam was part

Gulf Coast — 14 min read Listen to the related Sea Change podcast from WWNO/WRKF. Jackson Voss loves his alma mater, Louisiana State University. He appreciates that his undergraduate education was paid for by a program dreamed up by an oil magnate and that he received additional scholarships from ExxonMobil and Shell. But the socially conscious Louisiana native was also aware of what the support of those companies seemed to buy — silence.

Mar 21, 2025 | yahoo.com | Pam Radtke Russell |Halle Parker |Piper Hutchinson

Louisiana State University President William Tate IV visits Shell’s facility in Convent, La., in 2023 to talk about his plan to focus on five areas at the university, including energy. Shell has announced it will convert the former oil refinery into one that produces lower carbon fuels. (Louisiana State University)This is Part 2 of a two-part investigative project exploring the relationship between the fossil fuel industry and Louisiana State University. Read Part 1 here.