Top honors: Six LSU alumni were inducted into the 2018 LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction this past Friday. The inductees include Art Favre, Performance Contractors owner and president; Walt Leger, Louisiana House Speaker; Jim Engster, Louisiana Radio Network owner and president; Kelly Spears, a speech language pathologist and behavior analyst; and Jerry Stovall, past president and CEO of SportsBR; and the late Mel Didier, a longtime high school, college and major league baseball coach. Favre was named Alumnus of the Year, and Leger was named Young Alumnus of the Year.
Out of caution: City Hall and the 19th Judicial District Court are scheduled to open at noon today after concerns about a “settlement event” at the River Center Branch Library prompted the closure of downtown businesses and streets Wednesday evening. The mayor’s office says the library, currently under construction on North Boulevard, experienced a “settlement issue” at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday. A structural engineer and design team were on-site this morning to assess the situation.
Homecoming: Louisiana has a new higher education commissioner to oversee policy governing the state’s public colleges and more than 200,000 students. The Board of Regents on Wednesday chose Kim Hunter Reed, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, for the position. Reed is Lake Charles native is returning home. She previously worked as chief of staff at the Board of Regents, as a deputy chief of staff for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and as executive vice president for the University of Louisiana System. She replaces Joseph Rallo, who plans to retire from the position in June. Read more.
