The once controversial REAL ID Louisiana driver’s license is becoming effective on May 7, 2025, for anyone planning to fly domestically. The goal is to prevent potential terrorists from using fraudulent identification for boarding flights like they did on four flights on Sept. 11, 2001, (9/11).

The Advocate reminded its readers Wednesday that REAL ID cards are marked by a gold circle in the upper portion of the card with a white star in the middle.

The Transportation Security Administration said REAL ID is a coordinated effort across the country to make sure driver’s licenses are authentic and people are who they say they are when getting the license.

Dan Casey, commissioner of the state Office of Motor Vehicles, said, “The May 7, 2025, compliance date is less than six months away. If you are up for a renewal or need a duplicate, we strongly encourage you to consider getting REAL ID compliant.”

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Although new treatments have improved for lung cancer survival rates, Louisiana residents continue to have one of the highest lung cancer death rates in the country. The state ranks 43^rd out of the 47 reporting states, according to the American Lung Association.

Lung cancer is a brutal killer in Louisiana, The Advocate reported, making up 27% of the state’s total cancer deaths. That amounts to more than 2,300 lives lost every year.

Louisiana’s rate is high because of a lack of screening, high rates of smoking, fewer dollars spent to get people to stop smoking, pollution and issues with insurance covering newer, more effective treatments.

The state spends about $4.6 million on tobacco prevention programs, less than 10% of the recommended $59.6 million by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state takes in about $436 million in tobacco revenue yearly.

The state needs to spend more to convince smokers to quit smoking and smokers also need to get that early diagnosis.

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Residents of a Baton Rouge senior living community took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of two brand-new backup generators that will supply power to its residents during storm outages. Power will also be available as an energy source to the surrounding neighborhoods when demand is high.

The generators are a result of partnering by Entergy and Cypress Pinchback developer Partners Southeast, according to The Advocate.

The CEO of Partners said of the residents, “Now, without a doubt, their medicine and their food will be refrigerated. Their mobile phones, their chairs, scooters, will be charged. Their AC will be blowing cold. Their rooms will be heated. Their power will be on.”

An Entergy vice president said outages will be there, “and so we will be able to partner with our more vulnerable communities, senior living, medical facilities, infrastructure that the community needs, to get back up and running after the storm — it’s really important to us.”

Again, let’s hope this is just the beginning of more dependable electrical power for more Louisiana citizens.

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The Advocate also reported that the clock is ticking for passage of a bill by the U.S. Senate that will roll back provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for 2.8 million public employees nationwide, including about 90,000 in Louisiana.

When the Senate returns to work, it will have only 12 days to approve those benefits along with many other major items. Louisiana’s U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy support the legislation.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, and co-author of the legislation that passed the House, said support in the Senate is strong enough to “quickly right this tragic wrong…”

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Louisiana is making it easier for non-college graduates to get jobs, the newspaper said, There are 1 million people in Louisiana that have the skills and experience that qualify them for higher wage jobs, but they are being held back because they don’t have a college degree.

Kenny Nguyen, a Baton Rouge entrepreneur, and the state are working together to help eliminate unnecessary degree requirements. The Legislature passed a bill prohibiting agencies from requiring a 4-year-degree or more than three years of experience for state jobs.

Arizona, California, Colorado and Connecticut are also looking for ways to make it easier for non-degree holders to get civil service jobs.

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Yes, there is definitely some news out there that people can use.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.