Kate Archer Kent

A Shreveport community health provider is getting marketing and brand consulting from a group of Centenary College students who are part of a living learning community called Santé. It’s the French word for “health.” Since August, the students have immersed themselves in the work done by MLK Health Center. Scott Myers, a biochemistry major from Monroe, La., said they were able to produce marketing materials through a grant.

Pianist Christopher O’Riley, the host of the NPR music program “From the Top,” will perform Saturday, March 23, at Northwestern State University as part of its Louisiana Piano Series International. O’Riley is finishing up a three-year residency at LSU School of Music. Northwestern State associate professor of music Christine Burczyk Allen said the series brings in big artists, and it just so happens that this one wasn’t too far away.

A Shreveport science teacher will spend spring break canoeing 150 miles -- from Simmesport, La., to the Atchafalaya Bay -- to raise awareness about the state’s waterways. This is the third leg of a nearly 400-mile journey that began in a Shreveport storm drain one year ago. Jon Soul has created the Bayou to Bay educational program to help young people become more appreciative of the watersheds around them.

The head of the Louisiana Forestry Association says the state’s timber industry is poised for growth. Buck Vandersteen told foresters this month that international firms are looking to set up facilities in Louisiana. It comes at a time when home builders in this country are starting construction at pre-recessionary levels. Vandersteen said this translates into excellent opportunities for loggers. As such, he said, the Central Louisiana Technical Community College campus in Winnfield will launch a timber harvesting equipment operator training program in the coming months.

Flanked by supporters, Louisiana District 3 Rep. Barbara Norton of Shreveport explained her motivations yesterday for filing a bill that would require the state to sign on to an expansion of the Medicaid program and participate in the Affordable Care Act. Estimates are that up to 400,000 more Louisianans could be eligible for Medicaid next year and thereafter if the state chose to expand the program, with the federal government picking up most of the tab. Gov. Bobby Jindal has criticized such a move, calling Medicaid an inefficient and poorly managed program.