How a solar project gets permitted in Louisiana
A utility-scale solar project in Louisiana doesn't get one permit. It runs a federal, state, and local gauntlet — and waits years in the grid queue besides.
Explainers
Plain-language guides to the institutions that run central Louisiana — who they are, what they control, and how to hold them accountable.
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How to comment on a federal permit (and why it actually works)
You don't need a lawyer to comment on a federal permit — and the agency is legally required to consider what you send. Here's how to write one that counts.
How to read a public notice
The most consequential documents in government are written to be skipped: dense, gray, and buried where almost no one looks. But every one of them starts a clock. Here's how to read a public notice like a reporter.
What is a PILOT? The tax deal you've never voted on
Sometimes a billion-dollar facility never shows up on the tax rolls at all — because on paper, a public board owns it. Instead of a tax bill, the company writes negotiated checks. That's a PILOT, and central Louisiana is about to hear the term a lot.
What is ITEP? Louisiana's biggest tax break, explained
A state board in Baton Rouge can excuse a factory, or any business, from most of its local property taxes for a decade. The money never touches the state budget. It comes out of your parish, your schools, and your sheriff's office.
How Louisiana's public records law works
Louisiana's Public Records Law gives any person of the age of majority the right to inspect and copy the records of state and local government, backed by the state constitution.
What is the Rapides Parish Police Jury?
The Rapides Parish Police Jury is a nine-member elected board that serves as both the legislative and executive branches of government for Rapides Parish. It runs parish roads, drainage, and fire districts, but duties handled by other elected or appointed boards.
What is a police jury?
A police jury is the elected board that governs most Louisiana parishes, combining legislative and executive powers that other states split between a county commission and an executive branch. The name is a holdover from French and Spanish colonial rule. Counties are called Parishes in Louisiana.
What is the England Authority?
The England Authority is an appointed board that owns and runs the former England Air Force Base — now Alexandria International Airport and England Airpark — as a political subdivision of Central Louisiana. None of its ten commissioners is elected by the public; every seat is filled by appointment.