LUY-Development

Category: Regional News

  • 2023 NFL Draft begins tonight. How will the Saints and Tigers fare?

    2023 NFL Draft begins tonight. How will the Saints and Tigers fare?

    Baton Rouge –  The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is tonight and the Saints hold the 29th overall pick thanks to Sean Payton’s move to Denver. New Orleans’ tenth overall pick belongs to the Eagles after trading up in last year’s first round. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis is known for his aggressive drafting strategy and seems open to moving up again if possible. He said the Saints don’t have the ammunition to make a big jump forward, but don’t expect them to move back either.

    His philosophy is to “find somebody you love and go get him, and if you think you can get him where you’re at then stay where you’re at. I just feel like the philosophy of trading back means, if you really believe in your board and you believe how it’s gonna fall, that you’re moving back to get a lesser player.”

    After an offseason of speculation and key free agent signings many believe the Saints will try to address tight end or the interior defensive line with their top overall pick. Loomis said this year’s tight end and cornerback classes were especially deep, but New Orleans isn’t opposed to adding to an already strong position group.

    “We took Deuce McCallister when we had Ricky Williams. It was just glaring how high we had Deuce versus when we were picking, and yeah, let’s take him. We’d never remove a position no matter how strong it is. There’s nothing wrong with building a strength.”

    A couple LSU players will hope to hear their names called over the weekend. Edge rusher BJ Ojulari is the Tigers’ strongest prospect, but at 6 ‘2 ” 248 lbs could be slightly undersized for his position. Draft Analyst Mike Detillier said he’s shown a lot of technical talent at one of the most sought-after positions in the NFL Draft, but he’s just on the outside of the first round looking in.

    “From 24 to 44 in the rankings it’s so close, and it’s a matter of opinion what you wanna go by. BJ Ojulari is a guy that I think a lot of teams like because of his talent, also his leadership, and what he brings to the locker room.”

    Wide Receiver Kayshon Boutte shocked LSU fans when he declared for the draft after initially planning to return to LSU. Boutte began the season as a preseason All-American and projected first round pick but struggled throughout the year for the Tigers and wasn’t able to impress in pre-draft workouts. Detillier projects him to go in the third or fourth round and suspects the ankle injury that ended his 2022 season has a lot to do with his regression.

    “That seemed to be a major issue with him, that he was not nearly as quick or as fast, and when he made a catch as a freshman and sophomore his run after catch skills were so good. We didn’t see that a year ago, so that tells me he’s got a physical issue and then it started affecting his confidence as a player.”

    The first round begins tonight at 7:00.

  • City board votes to dissolve Natchez-Adams County pool commission

    City board votes to dissolve Natchez-Adams County pool commission

    NATCHEZ, Miss. – A divided Board of Aldermen has voted to dissolve the commission that oversees the Natchez-Adams County pool and assign city Parks & Recreation Director Sonora Cole to operate it.

    Mayor Dan Gibson said the commission appointed to operate the aquatic center has become dysfunctional as members have resigned and failed to meet after a dispute erupted in 2022. City and county leaders last year vetoed commission members’ plans to allow alcoholic beverages to be consumed at the swimming pool during private after-hours parties. Aldermen said they would oust pool commission members who continued to allow booze at the pool.

    The board voted 3-2 Tuesday to reorganize the pool’s management. The plan now goes to the Adams County Board of Supervisors for it to decide whether to concur.

    The community’s only public pool is jointly owned and funded by the city and county at Liberty Park. It’s been plagued by management instability since opening in 2018.

    Natchez aldermen Valencia Hall, Sarah Carter Smith and Ben Davis back Gibson’s plan to rid the commission and get Cole to oversee the pool. They cited commissioners’ ineptitude and the need for a professional like Cole to run it.

    However, aldermen Billie Joe Frazier and Felicia Irving disagree. Irving said she doesn’t want to “overload” the city’s parks & recreation director with more duties. Frazier said the appointed commission had been doing “a good job” operating the pool, and he expressed concerns about elected officials trying to “micromanage” the pool’s operations.

    The city and county boards in 2015 agreed to combine funds to jointly operate a community recreation program, including a new pool, run by the Jackson-based YMCA. However, the YMCA pulled out in 2019, leaving the city-county recreation program in disarray and not living up to expectations for enhancing recreational offerings.

    After Gibson became mayor in 2020, the two boards ended their joint recreation program – except for the pool – to embark on separate initiatives to enhance local parks and sports venues.

  • Mississippi jail escapee a suspect in killing, carjacking

    Mississippi jail escapee a suspect in killing, carjacking

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man who escaped from a Mississippi jail over the weekend is suspected of killing a man and stealing his pickup truck in Jackson, authorities said Tuesday.

    Anthony Watts, 61, was shot and killed Monday night around 7 p.m. on Interstate 55 after he pulled over to help a man who had wrecked a motorcycle. Police say that man shot Watts several times and then stole his Red Dodge Ram. Watts died at the scene.

    “Based on information gathered from investigators, the suspect … fit the description of 22-year-old Dylan Arrington,” Jackson Police Chief James E. Davis said.

    Arrington is one of four prisoners — along with Casey Grayson, Corey Harrison and Jerry Raynes — who escaped Saturday night from the Raymond Detention Center, a facility near Jackson, through breaches in a cell and the roof. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said the men might have camped out on the roof before fleeing the facility and going their separate ways.

    The four were in custody for various felony charges, most involving theft. Arrington had charges of auto theft and illegal possession of a firearm, WAPT-TV reported.

    Watts’ stolen Red Dodge Ram, which has tan trim and Cowboys stickers on the front and the back, was last seen heading south on I-55 in Terry, Mississippi, police said.

    Jones said one of the prisoners stole a Hinds County Public Works vehicle that was later recovered in a suburb of Houston. Investigators also believe a stolen Chevy Silverado is connected to the escape. None of the men had been captured as of Tuesday afternoon.

    In July, a federal judge ordered a rare takeover of the jail after he said deficiencies in supervision and staffing led to “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.” In December, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that order after the county filed a motion for reconsideration.

  • Legislation to legalize recreational marijuana is nipped in the bud

    Legislation to legalize recreational marijuana is nipped in the bud

    Baton Rouge –  Legislation to legalize recreational marijuana was snuffed out in House Criminal Justice before it could even be voted on. Bill author, New Orleans Representative Candace Newell said fearmongering is how cannabis was criminalized to begin with.

    “That these Black men would rape the white women, or they would be intrigued enough to want to sleep with these Black musicians and that is the fear that was put about in our society about making marijuana illegal,” said Newell.

    Newell said Louisiana shouldn’t continue to criminalize individuals for a substance that in other states the economy has flourished. The Democrat said the legalization in DC has been profitable for the nation’s capital.

    “It’s closer to $600 million in just the tax revenue. What could Louisiana do with that increase in our tax funding?” Newell questioned.

    State sheriffs, district attorneys, and chiefs of police in Louisiana oppose the legislation as a public safety issue and its potential to harm children. Will Hall of the Louisiana Baptist Office of Public Policy spoke in opposition to House Bill 24.

    “It’s not worth mortgaging the future of our youth, just to get tax revenue for the state, or allow friends to benefit financially,” said Hall.

    A call to vote on the measure was pre-empted by a motion to involuntarily defer the bill by Chalmette Rep. Ray Garofalo. Newell voiced her displeasure over the 9 to 4 vote to in essence remove the bill from consideration this session.

    “Normally we try to give our members the courtesy of deferring their own bill, but I have learned greatly about what this committee does, thank you very much,” said Newell.

    Newell filed two other marijuana bills this session; one to allow for the cultivation and sale of cannabis products and another on the taxation of cannabis.

  • Lawsuit: Mississippi violates rights by appointing judges

    Lawsuit: Mississippi violates rights by appointing judges

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is violating its own constitution with a new law that requires some judges to be appointed rather than elected in the state’s capital city and its surrounding county, civil rights groups said in a lawsuit filed Monday.

    It is the second lawsuit since Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed bills Friday to expand state policing in Jackson, to establish a lower court with an appointed judge and to authorize four appointed judges to work alongside the four elected circuit court judges in Hinds County, which is home to Jackson.

    About 83% of residents in Jackson and 74% in Hinds County are Black, and both the city and the county are governed by Democrats. The new laws were passed by the majority-white and Republican-controlled state House and Senate over the objections of most Jackson lawmakers and many local residents.

    The new lawsuit was filed Monday in Hinds County Chancery Court on behalf of three residents by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Mississippi Center for Justice, the ACLU of Mississippi and the MacArthur Justice Center. It says the Mississippi Constitution requires most judges to be elected.

    “State lawmakers have said that this takeover of our judicial system is for our own good, for our own safety, and that is deeply offensive to me,” one of the plaintiffs, Ann Saunders, said in a statement. “African Americans in Mississippi died so that we could vote. How does weakening the right to self-governance make us safer?”

    Stuart Naifeh, the Legal Defense Fund’s redistricting project manager, said the requirement for appointed judges is “is a blatant power grab by the legislature to further silence voters and assert control over a majority-Black county.”

    “Boxing voters out from electing officials who will preside over criminal cases is shameful and undermines the checks and balances that hold Mississippi’s democracy together,” Naifeh said. “We will not rest until the legislature abides by the state constitution and voters have a say in who runs their courtrooms.”

    The NAACP filed a lawsuit late Friday in federal court saying that “separate and unequal policing” will return Jackson under a state-run police department.

    The governor said last week that the Jackson Police Department is severely understaffed, and he believes the Capitol Police, a division of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, could provide stability. Jackson has nearly 150,000 residents and has had more than 100 homicides in each of the past three years.

    “We can arrest all the violent criminals in the city, but if the judicial system puts them right back on the street — what have we really accomplished?,” Reeves said in a statement Friday.

    Capitol Police officers have been patrolling around state government buildings in and near downtown, and the Jackson Police Department patrols the entire city. Critics say Capitol Police are aggressive, and expanding the territory could endanger lives.

    Debate since early this year over a larger state role in Jackson has angered residents who don’t want their voices diminished in local government.

    One of the laws Reeves signed Friday will create a court within a Capitol Complex Improvement District inside a portion of Jackson, and it will start work next January. The judge will be appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court chief justice, who is a conservative white man.

    The new court will have the same power as municipal courts, which handle misdemeanor cases, traffic violations and initial appearances for some criminal charges. Most municipal judges are appointed by city officials. Jackson has a Black mayor and majority-Black city council. The judge of the new court is not required to live in Jackson.

    The lawsuit filed Monday says that the law does not specify how people can appeal decisions from the Capitol Complex court. People convicted of cases in the court would be housed in a state prison. In other courts, people convicted of misdemeanors would go to a county jail.

    The appointed circuit court judges are to be chosen by early May and would not be required to live in Hinds County. In 2020 and 2022, Chief Justice Mike Randolph appointed retired judges from other parts of the state to help with a backlog of cases in Hinds County Circuit Court. The new appointed circuit judges would work through 2026.

  • Bill to extend film tax credits in Louisiana advances.

    Bill to extend film tax credits in Louisiana advances.

    Baton Rouge –  The House Ways and Means Committee approves legislation that would extend the state’s film tax credit program to 2035. The program which costs the state $180-million every year is set to expire in 2025. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said the credits create jobs.

    “This is something that is actually working, it’s putting people to work it’s putting locals to work it’s making our community stronger,” said Schexnayder.

    Schexnayder’s legislation not only extends the credit for ten years but a graphic must also be shown during the credits that let viewers know the movie was made in Louisiana.

    “I want to make sure that people know that this movie was produced and filmed in the state of Louisiana so that we get more recognition and more bang for our buck whenever that happens to be able to bring tourists in,” said Schexnayder.

    Independent studies have shown that despite the jobs gained, the state loses money with this program. But the president of the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association, Trey Burvant, disputes those studies.

    “We estimate that there’s up to $900 million if not more, directly spent in the state. Of that $900 plus million is $350, 000 is going directly into the pockets of the workers in the film industry,” said Burvant.

    The measure heads to the House floor for more discussion.

  • Louisiana woman sets record for world’s largest AFRO, with her hairstyle having a 5’5″ circumference

    Louisiana woman sets record for world’s largest AFRO, with her hairstyle having a 5’5″ circumference

    A woman from Louisiana has secured the World Record for the largest afro for the third time in 13 years.

    Aevin Dugas, 47, began growing her hair in 1999 and initially did so with the intention of promoting the beauty of natural hair.

    Dugas says she coveted the Guinness record for the longest hair, particularly because some cultures have historically associated beauty with straight hair.

    ‘I didn’t decide to grow an afro as much as I decided to go natural,’ Dugas told Guinness World Records. ‘It’s about pride in textured hair which leads to self-love.

    ‘At one time I strived to get hair that was bone straight and now all I want is it big and poofy’.

    In her 20s she began to admire natural hairstyles that many black women wore as a means of expressing identity and pride.

    It was after an unsuccessful trip to a hairstylist, she started braiding, perming, and coloring her own hair, learning how to cut her hair without much difficulty before growing he trademark afro.

    She recently revealed on her TikTok account, which has almost 48,000 followers how a stylist once braided her hair so tightly it made even the bottom of her feet ache, so she removed the braids within hours.

    ‘From that day on, I knew: “You know what? If you want to do your hair, do it yourself – learn it yourself,”‘ Dugas said.

    In 2010, she broke the Guinness world record for the largest afro with a circumference of 4ft 4in (132cm).

    Eleven years later, in 2021, she broke her own record with nearly 5ft 2in (157cm) before setting the current record of almost 5ft 5in (165cm) in September 2022.

    Her record-setting afro is also more than 9in (25cm) tall and 10in (26cm) wide.

    Even though size is everything, the record-setting afro still requires frequent trims and a strict styling regimen to maintain.

    Her jaw-dropping look brings her attention wherever she goes but it does have its drawbacks as she often gets it caught in trees, car doors and people’s earrings.

    It can also take two days to wash and dry and is so big she struggles to see clearly out from beneath it – which means she cannot drive with her ‘hair up’.

    To get her hair ready for a night out she shampoos it and then uses up to five conditioners.

    She then puts her hair into two French braids and from then it takes about two days to dry.

    But the positives far outweigh the negatives and she has become a hero in her hometown of Reserve, about 35 miles west of New Orleans.

    Her biggest joy is inspiring young girls to stop using chemical straighteners, which can cause long-lasting damage to hair.

    She said: ‘I don’t know why but there’s something very important to me about little girls appreciating my hair and then wanting to wear their hair the same.

    ‘I tell them there is nothing that I did special, there is no magical formula, we are born with our hair like this.’

    Aevin was originally inspired by a picture of her mum Deborah Dugas wearing an afro in the sixties – and she remains one of her biggest fans today.

    Mrs Dugas, 72, who runs a care home, said: ‘I’m humbled by the fact she did this because she liked my natural hair, way before she was born.

    ‘It was about half the size of Aevin’s and everybody loved it.’

    She added: ‘Her hair has definitely had an impact on the community.

    ‘She made her decision when wearing your hair natural was considered unattractive in the black community.

    ‘But, against all that, she started wearing her hair natural years ago. I am really proud.’

    Dugas says she receives a wide range of reactions from members of the public when she lets her afro loose in public with everything from words of admiration to even tugging on her hair without asking permission.

    ‘I’ve learned to just give them a little pop on the hand with a few words of choice I won’t repeat,’ Dugas told Guinness.

    Although Dugas says she likes how her distinctive hair helps her become a noticeable figure in a room, she also wears her hair in various other styles in order to survive the scorching Louisiana temperatures.

    ‘It’s hot. It’s not something you wear out in the Louisiana heat just because,’ she said.

    ‘When my hair is stretched out to its complete length and pressed, it goes down to my butt. But I don’t wear it like that because it looks weird.’

     

    newsbreak.com/louisiana-state/2992970276952-louisiana-woman-sets-record-for-world-s-largest-afro-with-her-hairstyle-having-a-5-5-circumference

  • Bill to require age verification for social media use advances to the Senate

    Bill to require age verification for social media use advances to the Senate

    Baton Rouge –  Legislation to require social media companies to verify a user’s age advances from a Senate committee. Covington Senator Patrick McMath’s bill would restrict a minor’s use unless there’s parental consent. McMath said former social media employees have testified about the danger of algorithms, they once developed, have on juveniles.

    “These platforms are harmful and are doing active harm to these developing minds. Selfishly I have four kids, my youngest is not yet nine, they’re not on social media yet,” said McMath.

    McMath said the increase in cyberbullying and teen suicides is related to the use of social media.

    Monroe Senator Jay Morris applauded McMath’s legislation and acknowledged that the bill would need to be amended in the future due to technological advances. And it’s not only children, Morris said social media creators have made use of their platforms extremely addictive.

    “I’m sure some kids will prevail upon an older brother or sister to help them try to circumvent the law at some point, but we’ve got to start somewhere,” said Morris.

    Kouri Marshall with the Chamber of Progress, a trade group that represents technology companies, spoke in opposition because the bill undercuts the privacy of every social media user in an effort to protect children.

    “The only way for a social media company to verify the age of any user, is to effectively verify the age of every user online,” said Marshall.

    Marshall also noted in states, for example, California, Utah, and Arkansas, that have passed similar legislation are all being challenged in court.

    Larry Murray with Tech Net, a network of technology CEOs and executives, also spoke in opposition and said adding age verification is not as simple as one would think, but he is willing to consult with lawmakers about the process.

    “I do trust Senator McMath completely that he will work with us, it’s just difficult to work out complex things like this during a session. It’s just not a simple bill,” said Murray.

    Senate Bill 162 with amendments passed in committee without opposition and advances to the Senate floor.

  • Mississippi to require consumption-based water billing

    Mississippi to require consumption-based water billing

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation Friday requiring localities to base water bills on personal consumption, blocking a proposed reform by the federally appointed manager of the troubled water system in the state’s capital city.

    The Republican governor signed House Bill 698 months after Ted Henifin, who was appointed in November by a federal court to help improve Jackson’s water infrastructure, released a proposal calling for billing water based on property values rather than personal use.

    Henifin said the new billing model would be a more equitable method of pricing water in a city where roughly 25% of residents live in poverty.

    It would be unfair to charge people for water based on factors unrelated to how much they consume, Reeves said in a statement on Friday.

    “Water bills based on property values squeeze the middle class,” Reeves said. “They can’t afford to pay more for the home they already own. Water bills will continue to be based off of personal consumption – just like what is being done throughout the rest of the country.”

    Rep. Shanda Yates, an independent from Jackson, introduced the legislation, which passed with bipartisan support. Several Jackson-area lawmakers opposed the bill.

    Repeated breakdowns in Jackson have caused many in the majority-Black city of about 150,000 residents to go days and weeks at a time without safe running water. Last August, people waited in lines for water to drink, bathe, cook and flush toilets. Henifin was appointed after the U.S. Justice Department won a federal judge’s approval for a rare intervention to fix the city’s water system.

    In January, Henifin released a proposal calling for a monthly cap on water fees for homes and commercial properties. The proposed solution was a response to the loss of revenue Jackson has experienced as its tax base eroded over the past few decades. It also would reduce the system’s dependence on city water meters, which have been mired in problems, Henifin said.

    “We are fundamentally flawed in the United States in that we price water only to burden that lower end of the economic spectrum, and we don’t even attempt to get more revenue from the upper end,” Henifin said in a December interview with The Associated Press. “If you look at property values as a surrogate for income, we could generate more than enough revenue to actually own and operate and maintain the system.”

    The new law takes effect July 1

  • Legislation to create the Center for Safe Schools within GOHSEP to be heard

    Legislation to create the Center for Safe Schools within GOHSEP to be heard

    Baton Rouge –  After creating a commission to assist schools and nonprofits with guidance and training for crisis management last year, Shreveport Senator Barry Milligan wants to make it a permanent entity, and establish the Center for Safe Schools within the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and Senate Bill 207 does just that.

    “That’s their full-time mission is to be an asset or resource to all of our school systems, private schools, charter schools, non-profit schools, your public schools everybody on how can we protect ourselves,” said Milligan.

    Milligan said initially it was students from the Legislative Youth Advisory Council who told him they might practice active shooter drills, but they aren’t necessarily prepared on what to do if it happens when they change classes or if they could be doing more to protect themselves.

    “They were also asking to know that every school had bleeding control kits, that they had the supplies on hand in case they did have an active shooter they could respond immediately and save lives,” said Milligan.

    Another reason Milligan said it’s important to have a central point of reference is to assist schools and non-profits with resources and how to apply for grants to increase security.

    “Programs out there to be able to provide camera systems, anything that they need but you have to start somewhere and we’re working on that with this,” said Milligan.

    The Center for Safe Schools would operate within GOHSEP and Milligan said the entity will also be able to apply for Federal funds as well.