Louisiana

Father’s Day, new redfish regulations coming soon

Published

6 months ago

June 8, 2024

Press Room

Father’s Day, new redfish regulations coming soon

So, you have a few days between now and Father’s Day — it’s next Sunday — to think of that can’t-miss gift.

If Dad is a fisherman, make that a coastal fisherman, then you might consider a Golden Rule.

Not the “Do unto others…” Golden Rule, but a golden measuring stick. He’s going to need it with the second of the new regulations coming a few days after Father’s Day.

Yep, come June 20, the new regulations will be in force for redfish.

Like these:

• A new minimum size of 18 inches with a maximum size limit of 27 inches total length;

• A daily creel limit of four redfish;

• A prohibition of keeping redfish measuring longer than 27 inches;

• And, charter skippers and their crew(s) will not be able to keep a redfish while on a paid trip.

The new limits reduces the daily per-person limit by one redfish, and eliminates the possibility of keeping one redfish longer than 27 inches.

It’s also advisable to check out how to measure a fish in the state Wildlife and Fisheries 2024 Fishing Regulations pamphlet. This regulation has been around for years and mandates the angler must make the fish “a long as possible,” meaning you can’t “fan the tail” to make any fish fall under the maximum length limit.

If you want to jazz up this new measuring stick, then take a red permanent marker and draw a line at 18 inches and at 27 inches.

While you’re at it, take a black permanent marker and draw a line at 13 inches and another at 20 inches to account for the new length limits on speckled trout.

There are so many other choices, but it’s always good to know exactly what Dad wants for tackle or other fishing options. Same’s true for hunters.

Gift cards work well, too.

At Grand Isle

If there was one extraordinary truth coming from last weekend’s Catholic High Alumni Rodeo, it’s that keeper-size speckled trout around Grand Isle and The Fourchon want live croakers. That’s what all the bigger trout ate.

Live shrimp worked, too, but took a lot of smaller trout and the ever-present hardhead catfish.

We fished with artificial bait for two mornings both under a cork and tight-lined and caught small trout.

Another oddity was all the flounder entered in the rodeo. Fisheries biologists know cold winters produce more flounder, and maybe that was the case, but constant 12-15 knot winds kept a lot of rodeo anglers inside and fishing around rock piles and jetties, places where flounder like to live.

No wake zone

Heavy rains in the Verret Basin forced the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office to declare a no-wake zone in the Stephensville-Belle River area “until further notice.”

The area includes portions of Grassy Lake and Lake Palourde in St. Martin Parish.

Project Appleseed

A national movement to make youngsters better aware of firearms and become better shooters produced the name Project Appleseed, and it’s coming to Palo Alto Rifle and Pistol Club located just northwest of Donaldsonville the weekend of June 29-30.

The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association is sponsoring the event for youngsters 17 and younger.

LSA spokesman Tony Geeck described PA as “…excellent program, you will be a better rifleman after attending.”

You can call Geeck at (985) 707-3443 to check out the availability of rifles, the limited quantity of ammunition and to answer any other questions.

A new chief

Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Madison Sheahan selected Stephen Clark to be the next head of the agency’s Enforcement Division with the title of “superintendent.”

Clark began his law enforcement career with the department in 1994 before moving to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he became an assistant special agent and a resident agent in charge, and special agent.

He has served as advisor since Sheahan was named to head the agency five months ago.

Red snapper

Through May 19, some 35 days after opening the season, Wildlife and Fisheries’ managers and biologists estimated the red snapper catch at 241,406 pounds. That’s 25.8% of our state’s annual allotment of 934,587 pounds.

The near real-time data is a product of the agency’s highly regarded LA Creel program.

And, through the first weeks, the agency continues to advise offshore anglers of the need to have a no-fee Recreational Offshore Landing Permit, which is available only from the agency’s website: wlf.louisiana.gov.

Offshore reef fishermen are required to have the ROLP to take a number of reef species, including snappers, cobia and groupers, and bluewater species, including tuna, wahoo, dolphinfish and billfish.

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Louisiana

Louisiana High School Football Scores – Second round of the Playoffs

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Louisiana High School Football Scores – Second round of the Playoffs

Here are the high school football scores from the second round of the Playoffs for the state of Louisiana:

Non-Select=

Division I=

Airline 42, Westgate 16

Destrehan 63, Shreveport Northwood 21

Neville 44, Covington 13

Ruston 42, Zachary 21

Southside 47, Walker 0

West Monroe 20, Mandeville 9

Division II=

Franklin Parish 35, Brusly 14

Franklinton 42, West Feliciana 21

Iowa 24, Wossman 8

Lakeshore 17, Iota 10

North DeSoto 38, Belle Chasse 14

Opelousas 30, Jennings 19

Division III=

Jena 56, Port Allen 20

Kinder 28, Westlake 12

Oak Grove 62, Mansfield 14

Pine 21, Kaplan 6

St. James 48, Donaldsonville 6

Sterlington 49, Lakeside 18

Union Parish 42, Red River 8

Division IV=

Franklin 22, DeQuincy 19

General Trass (Lake Providence) 38, North Iberville 6

Haynesville 61, Montgomery 0

Jeanerette 46, Grand Lake 24

Logansport 49, Elton 12

Mangham 44, West St. John 6

South Plaquemines 21, East Feliciana 6

Select=

Division I=

Alexandria 49, Evangel Christian Academy 6

Baton Rouge Catholic 42, East Jefferson 0

C.E. Byrd 37, Saint Paul’s 15

John Curtis Christian 28, Acadiana 27

Karr 56, Huntington 6

Division II=

E.D. White 51, Livingston Collegiate Academy 14

Leesville 42, Loyola Prep 24

Madison Prep 34, St. Charles Catholic 20

Shaw 49, Loranger 14

Vandebilt Catholic 49, Hannan 9

Division III=

Baton Rouge Episcopal 24, Pope John Paul 7

Bunkie 39, Amite 14

Calvary Baptist Academy 38, De La Salle 0

Dunham 42, Parkview Baptist 0

Lafayette Christian Academy 35, NDHS 28

New Iberia Catholic 59, Northlake Christian 22

Newman 49, D’Arbonne Woods 19

Sumner 48, Slaughter 28

Division IV=

Ascension Catholic 58, Opelousas Catholic 13

Covenant Christian Academy 41, Central Catholic 13

Kentwood 42, Ascension Episcopal 16

Ouachita Christian 28, Pointe Coupee Catholic 6

Riverside Academy 49, Hamilton Christian Academy 6

St. Edmund Catholic 78, St. Martin’s 37

Vermilion Catholic 47, Westminster Christian 17

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Louisiana

Will Sutton: Focus on Louisiana “tax reform” while lawmakers aim to jail 14-year-olds

Published

14 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Will Sutton: Focus on Louisiana “tax reform” while lawmakers aim to jail 14-year-olds

If things go according to conservative lawmakers’ plan, Louisiana children will be tried as adults and sent to adult prisons more often in the future, because the Legislature could increase the number of crimes for which minors can be prosecuted as adults.

Oh, you thought Gov. Jeff Landry’s third special legislative session was all about tax reform?

You’re not wrong. Taxation is the main focus. But it’s not the only agenda item.

Even as lawmakers see crime decline across Louisiana, many still preach the myth that sending more children to adult facilities makes us all safer. It allows them to campaign on “lock ’em up” and “tough on crime” platforms.

State Sens. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, and Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, and state Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, quietly secured legislative approval of a proposed constitutional amendment toward that end in the just-ended special session. They were able to do it because most Louisianans remained focused on Gov. Jeff Landry’s efforts to reduce personal income taxes on the rich while raising Louisiana’s combined sales tax rate to the highest in the nation.

All the noise about tax reform provided the perfect cover for Cloud, Morris and Villio to find new ways to punish our youth. Their Senate Bill 2 glided through the legislative process without so much as a minor headwind.

Truth be told, Landry was right to call his third special session this year to push his tax reform ideas.

For far too long we haven’t had serious legislative debates about how best to raise Louisiana from near the bottom among states where businesses want to relocate and bring good jobs. The problem with focusing solely on tax reform is that businesses consider more than just taxation when they locate or expand. They also consider housing quality, employee-friendly laws and practices, quality K-12 and higher education, public safety and other quality-of-life factors.

Fortunately, overall crime has been declining in Louisiana.

That apparently means little to politicians who want to make crime more than a party-line talking point. Some simply want to put more people, especially minors, behind bars. The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would allow lawmakers to treat 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds as adults without asking citizens if that’s what they want.

Our state constitution already allows lawmakers to authorize — by a two-thirds vote in each chamber — special juvenile procedures for minors charged with specific offenses:

First- or second-degree murder
Manslaughter
Aggravated rape
Armed robbery
Aggravated burglary
Aggravated kidnapping
Attempted first-degree murder
Attempted second-degree murder
Forcible rape
Simple rape
Second-degree kidnapping.
A second or subsequent aggravated battery
A second or subsequent aggravated burglary
A second or subsequent offense of burglary of an inhabited dwelling
A second or subsequent felony-grade violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law or prohibited transactions in drug-related objects, involving the manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances.

If approved by voters, SB2’s proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate that list and let lawmakers alone — by a two-thirds vote, without voters’ consent — decide which crimes should be “adult” offenses for minors

Imagine the Legislature deciding that a 14-year-old should be tried as an adult because he stole from a store or got into a fight at school. SB2 proponents say some children can’t be rehabilitated. Sigh.

Fortunately, voters will get to decide whether such scared-straight tactics make sense — or will actually attract more businesses to Louisiana. Do SB2’s sponsors really think businesses will come here because we incarcerate more youth? Shouldn’t we instead promote early childhood education and care, healthy living and higher literacy rates?

The governor, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and the Louisiana Sheriffs Association have endorsed SB2. But not everyone agrees with them.

“Senate Bill 2 is unnecessary and has the potential to end juvenile justice in Louisiana,” Laramie Griffin, founder of Evolve Louisiana, shared with me. “This bill does nothing to improve public safety.” Griffin added that the bill has an “invisible list,” meaning lawmakers could “add whichever law they choose without public vote.”

The proposed amendment will appear on the next statewide ballot, likely in March. A “yes” vote would let lawmakers decide which crimes committed by minors can land them behind bars with adult criminals. A “no” vote would keep the current list and rule in the constitution.

Let’s not wait to get through the holidays, the new year and Carnival to focus on what this means.

Now is the time to launch a “Vote No!” campaign.

Let’s tell the world that we can be business-friendly, socially responsible and compassionate toward children who make mistakes.

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Louisiana

Top 10 elementary schools in Louisiana, according to News & World Report’s rankings

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Top 10 elementary schools in Louisiana, according to News & World Report’s rankings

U.S. News & World Report has released a database comprised of the top elementary and middle schools in 2025 in each state.

The rankings of schools can even be narrowed down by city and district levels.

Top 10 elementary schools in Louisiana

There are numerous Louisiana elementary and middle schools ranked within U.S. News’ database, and here are the top ten best ranked elementary schools statewide in Louisiana.

No. 1 T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School

According to U.S. News, T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School, located in Lake Charles, is ranked number one in Louisiana elementary schools and is a part of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools.

The student population of T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School is 300, and the school serves K-5.

No. 2 Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies

According to U.S. News, Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies is ranked number two in Louisiana Elementary School and is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools.

Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies enrollment is 368 students, and the school is kindergarten through fifth grade.

No. 3 Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies

U.S. News says that Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies is number three in Louisiana Elementary Schools and is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools.

The student enrollment at Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies is 357 and serves the grades pre-k through fifth grade.

No. 4 Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies

Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies in Metairie is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools and is ranked number four in Louisiana Elementary Schools, according to U.S. News.

Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies’ enrollment is 418 students and teaches pre-k through fifth grade.

No. 5 South Highlands Elementary Magnet School

South Highlands Elementary Magnet School in Shreveport is a part of Caddo Parish Public Schools and is ranked number five in Louisiana Elementary Schools, says U.S. News.

The student enrollment at South Highlands Elementary Magnet School is 517 and the school serves grades pre-k through fifth grade.

No. 6 Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School

Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School is part of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools and is ranked number six in Louisiana Elementary Schools, according to U.S. News.

Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School’s student enrollment is 464 and the school serves pre-k through fifth grade.

No. 7 Fairfield Magnet School

Fairfield Magnet School, located in Shreveport, is a part of Caddo Parish Public Schools and is ranked number seven on U.S. News’ list of the top Louisiana Elementary Schools.

Fairfield Magnet School has a student enrollment of 515 and teaches pre-k through fifth grade.

No. 8 Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies

Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies is located in Westwego, which is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools, and is ranked number eight in U.S. News’ list of Louisiana Elementary Schools.

Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies teaches pre-k through fifth grade and the enrollment is 336 students.

No. 9 Phoenix Magnet Elementary School

Phoenix Magnet Elementary School, located in Alexandria, is a part of Rapides Parish Public Schools and is ranked number nine in U.S. News’ list of the best Louisiana Elementary Schools.

Phoenix Magnet Elementary School serves pre-k through fifth grade and student enrollment is 351.

No. 10 B.R. Foreign Language Academy Immersion Magnet

B.R. Foreign Language Academy Immersion Magnet is a part of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools and is ranked number ten in U.S. News’ list of Louisiana Elementary Schools.

Immersion Magnet’s student enrollment is 548 and serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

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