Still waiting: Two weeks into Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration, a few cabinet secretary positions remain to be filled by Louisiana’s new governor. The Associated Press reports Edwards has chosen leaders of most of the executive branch departments. But he has yet to name the secretaries of the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the state’s mineral resources, or the Department of Children and Family Services, which oversees child welfare, food stamps and child support enforcement. Also not selected is the person to run the Office of Juvenile Justice, which manages juvenile incarceration and prevention and diversion programs for at-risk youth. Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said Monday that the governor was meeting potential appointees early this week and hopes to make the announcements soon.
Plans into action: Louisiana has been awarded $92 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement to coastal resilience-building projects after winning the National Disaster Resilience Competition. The money will be used to implement the state’s Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments, or LA SAFE, which is a policy framework for areas hit hard by hurricanes, and to find a safer home for the Native American community of Isle de Jean Charles in Terrebonne Parish, according to a news release. The city of New Orleans also received $141 million to implement the first Resilience District in the Gentilly neighborhood. The LA SAFE grant is for $39 million and will help incorporate the plan that combines items from the state’s Coastal Master Plan with community planning lessons learned from previous storms.
Help needed: Researchers at the Department of Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising in LSU’s College of Agriculture are measuring and studying how body shapes change during weight loss using body scanning technology. According to a news release, assistant professor Casey Stanndard says the research will help the clothing and apparel industry better understand how clothing patterns should be configured to fit a particular body shape in different sizes. Researchers are looking for men and women who are losing weight to participate in the study. The scanner uses infrared depth sensors to take more than 400 measurements in less than six seconds and the entire session takes about 15 minutes, Stannard says. Participants will receive a printout of their measurements and 3-D image of their body shape and size.
