Monumental case: A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear today arguments on whether New Orleans can remove the four Confederate monuments that have become flashpoints for racial controversy in the city. The Associated Press reports the New Orleans City Council voted in December 2015 to remove the statues, including a monument honoring whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government in New Orleans. The plaintiffs—four historical organizations—have advanced many arguments; among them, that their constitutional rights had been violated by the process for removal, the monuments were protected by historic preservation laws, by maintaining the monuments over the years they’ve gained recognizable property interest in them and that removing the monuments could irreparably harm them. Mayor Mitch Landrieu had urged the monuments be removed after police said a white supremacist who posed for photos with the Confederate battle flag killed nine parishioners inside an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year. Read the full story.
Greater good: South Louisiana rice farmers and mills have joined forces to help feed flood victims. The American Press reports that 13 tons of rice will be donated to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to help the organization rebuild its inventory after last month’s devastating floods. Randy Jemison, director of Louisiana field services for USA Rice in Kinder, says the gift will provide more than 300,000 half-cup servings of rice. Kevin Berken, a rice farmer in Jefferson Davis Parish, says the Louisiana rice industry has always stepped up to the plate to help those in need. Berken donated more than 1,000 pounds of rice to help restock the food bank and feed the flood victims. Berken says rice is always a good donation because it typically provides a nutritional meal for many people. Read the full story.
End of an era: It’s official—BlackBerry Ltd., the Canadian company that invented the smartphone and addicted legions of road warriors to the “crackberry,” has stopped making its iconic handsets, Bloomberg reports. Finally conceding defeat in a battle it had long ago lost to Apple and Samsung Electronics, BlackBerry is handing over production of the phones to overseas partners while it turns its full attention to the more profitable and growing software business. BlackBerry says today it struck a licensing agreement with an Indonesian company to make and distribute BlackBerry-branded devices. More deals are in the works with Chinese and Indian manufacturers. It’s the formalization of a move long in the making, ever since CEO John Chen took over nearly three years ago and outsourced some manufacturing to Foxconn Technology Group. Read the full story.
