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Buras High School students
who built the Internet site 'Louisiana's Vanishing Coast' with instructor John Hoyle received hands-on experience in Web design while educating others about coastal erosion. Their site, www.bhs.ppsb.org/index.pl/wetlands_index, is an informative research tool on coastal erosion and wetlands loss and what people can do to stop it.

Oretha Castle Haley Elementary School
was awarded a $5,000 Regional Environmental Education grant earlier this month from the City of New Orleans. The grant was awarded in recognition of the school's environmental initiatives in the community such as recycling, litter abatement and clean-ups. The grant will provide professional environmental educational training for teachers and curriculum for students.

Bonita Brown,
executive director of the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana, last week dropped an anti-Jewish term during a meeting with the Senate Retirement Committee. In bragging about her agency's cost-cutting measures, Brown told senators it 'Jewed down' fees paid to money managers. She apologized after being chastised by Sen. Jay Dardenne, then continued to astound by explaining that she had actually meant for the slur to be taken 'as a compliment.'

Robin Houston,
former executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana, was fired after a "damning" internal audit revealed questionable spending of the nonprofit's money, board chairman Troy Carter says. In her three years as boss, Houston was unable to account for more than $61,000. She also spent about $8,000 on unauthorized meals and perks, and wrote $227,900 in checks without a mandatory second signature, the audit says.

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