A police department in Alabama is asking residents and business owners to lend a hand in fighting crime. In November, the city of Birmingham launched a program that encourages people to share footage from their private surveillance cameras. As the Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist reports, this type of cooperation doesn’t come without risks. 

Every election cycle, we hear the same phrase: Every vote counts. One election where that certainly rings true is the race for Caddo Parish sheriff, where Democrat Henry Whitehorn beat Republican John Nickelson by a single vote.

But Nickelsoon isn’t going down without a fight. And after a recount failed to change the outcome, the losing candidate took the election to the courtroom. Today, a judge in Caddo Parish ruled the previous election void and ordered that a new runoff election be conducted.

Brendan Heffernan has been covering this story for The Shreveport-Bossier Advocate and joins us for the latest. 

Artist Robert X Fogarty, best known as the founder of the storytelling organization Dear World, is celebrating the legacy of his late mother, artist Mary Beth Fogarty, who died by suicide in 2002.  His latest project, Son of a Ghost, adds a new layer to his mother’s original paintings as he explores grief, reconciliation and artistic boundaries. 

The art project coincides with the opening of the namesake Mary Beth Hotel and Gallery in New Orleans. Robert X Fogarty joins us to talk about how he is honoring his late mother with this hotel and gallery. 

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our assistant producer is Aubry Procell. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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