Paying it forward: LSU Boyd Professor Emerita Shirley Tucker has given $2 million to the LSU Herbarium and plant systematics program in the College of Science Department of Biological Sciences, the university has announced. Her gift, supplemented with an additional $960,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents, creates a $2.96 million endowment to support the Dr. Shirley C. Tucker Chair in Plant Systematics, supports four superior graduate student scholarships and provides endowed support for the LSU Herbarium. LSU has more details.
Now open: Dallas-based chain Zoës Kitchen on Thursday opened its third Baton Rouge location at 18107 Highland Market Drive, Suite 104. Zoës also has locations in Perkins Rowe and Towne Center. The Highland Marketplace location seats approximately 82 guests in the dining room, and 58 on the patio. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The new location also plans to offer beer and wine. The Mediterranean restaurant now has 162 locations across the U.S., with eight of them in Louisiana.
On the docket: A federal hearing is set in Baton Rouge on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s attempt to deny state Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood’s Louisiana clinics. As The Associated Press reports, Planned Parenthood is challenging the state’s right to end the funding for cancer screenings, gynecology exams and other health services. U.S. District Judge John deGravelles was set to hear arguments this morning. Without court intervention, the funding is expected to end early next week. Jindal began the defunding effort after videos were released by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress.
