Mike Smith

1 month ago | nola.com | Mike Smith

The "big, beautiful bill" making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives has further fueled the nation’s divisions, but one little-known aspect of it has managed to unite Louisianans from across the political spectrum. The federal spending bill as it stands now includes a provision that could increase the amount of money Louisiana receives from offshore oil and gas production -- revenue that must be used for coastal protection and restoration.

1 month ago | nola.com | Mike Smith

A new era emerging along the lower Mississippi River will pose serious challenges for Louisiana and the nation in the years ahead. Here are key takeaways from the newspaper’s project examining those issues. OUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: The river created south Louisiana with its sediment, led to New Orleans’ founding and serves as one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

1 month ago | theadvocate.com | Mike Smith

ABOARD THE HURLEY — Mayo Broussard is back at a familiar bend in the Mississippi River, looking over its deep, muddy currents, helping solve a problem. The world is depending on it. The 78-year-old, with a bushy white beard and a pack of Marlboros in his pocket, is maneuvering across the deck of an Army Corps of Engineers dredge ship downriver from Baton Rouge. Barges and tugboats are lined up nearby like an armada of commerce. Louisiana’s state capitol building shimmers in the far-off distance.

1 month ago | nola.com | Mike Smith

Denka's controversial plant in St. John the Baptist Parish has suspended production and is exploring a potential sale of the site, the company said Tuesday. The plant, the only one that manufactures neoprene in the United States, had faced sharply tightened regulations under the Biden administration over its emissions of chloroprene, which has been classified as likely cancer-causing.

1 month ago | shreveportbossieradvocate.com | Mike Smith

Denka's controversial plant in St. John the Baptist Parish has suspended production and is exploring a potential sale of the site, the company said Tuesday, leaving the future unclear for a facility that had become a flashpoint in a debate over environmental justice. The plant, the only one that manufactures neoprene in the United States, had also taken on political significance, with Gov.