Louisiana
Louisiana Braces for Storm Expected to Hit as Hurricane
Tropical Storm Francine strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and was forecast to make landfall as a hurricane Wednesday night in Louisiana, where evacuation orders were quickly issued in some coastal communities and residents began filling sandbags in preparation for heavy rains and widespread flooding. Francine, the sixth named storm of the hurricane season, was expected to become a hurricane by Monday night or Tuesday morning, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm is already being felt in Mexico, where rains closed schools as the storm gathered strength, the AP reports.
Forecasters said the storm is expected to hit Louisiana’s coast as a Category 2 hurricane, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Officials warn that flooding in the area is likely to begin Tuesday afternoon and persist through Thursday.
- “We’re going to have a very dangerous situation developing by the time we get into Wednesday for portions of the north-central Gulf Coast, primarily along the coast of Louisiana, where we’re going to see the potential for life-threatening storm surge inundation and hurricane-force winds,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.
- A storm surge warning has been issued from east of Galveston, Texas, to the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana. A hurricane warning has been issued for the Louisiana coast from Sabine Pass to Morgan City.
- The storm surge pushed by Francine could reach as much as 10 feet along a stretch of Louisiana coastline from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said. And if the current track holds, the storm could blow northward up the Mississippi River, into the Illinois area by Saturday. “Francine is expected to bring multiple days of heavy rainfall, considerable flash flooding risk,” Brennan said.
- Louisiana officials urged residents to immediately prepare for the storm while “conditions still allow” for it, Mike Steele, spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told the AP. “We always talk about how anytime something gets into the Gulf, things can change quickly, and this is a perfect example of that,” Steele said.
- Francine is taking aim at a stretch of coastline that has yet to fully recover since hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2020, followed a year later by Hurricane Ida.
(More hurricane stories.)
BATON ROUGE — Hours before the execution of convicted murderer and rapist Jessie Hoffman was put on hold pending a hearing, a group of activists gathered outside the State Capitol to protest his death sentence.
The activists hoped to change Gov. Jeff Landry’s mind and argued that killing Hoffman, regardless of his crimes, would be inhumane and a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
The activists collected signatures for a petition attempting to convince Landry to stop the execution. They brought the signatures to officials in the Capitol.
Activists from Death Penalty Action stood on the steps of the State Capitol in front of a sign advocating to “DOGE the death penalty,” referencing the ongoing initiative spearheaded by Elon Musk with the expressed goal of reducing government spending.
The sign says that capital punishment, including the nitrogen gas-induced asphyxia that Hoffman faces as the first execution victim in the state in 15 years, is one of the most inefficient government programs.
“Jesse Hoffman may be guilty of the murder that he is scheduled to be executed for, but sooner or later, we’re going to get it wrong,” Executive Director of Death Penalty Action Abraham Bonowitz said. “And it’s not just about ‘Did the person do the crime?’ But are they fully culpable?”
The activists also rang a bell in protest of the execution, evoking the phrase “For whom the bell tolls,” which evokes the tolling of church bells, which signified death taking a toll on the entire community, regardless of culpability.
Hoffman’s execution was scheduled for Tuesday but was halted Monday, saying the Buddhist inmate needed time to press his claim that his death by asphyxia could be torturous and impact his later rebirth.
Louisiana’s oldest and largest craft brewery has opened its second location in New Orleans along a riverfront strip that has emerged as the city’s unofficial “brewery row.”
Abita Brewing Company opened its New Orleans brewery and taproom Friday at 2375 Tchoupitoulas St. in the former home of Urban Roots Garden Center.
The 39-year-old brewery’s new location features 35 taps, a seven-barrel on-site brewing operation and a spacious outdoor area that attracted families on its opening weekend. Projectors are set up to turn the building’s walls into large TV screens for game days and other special events.
Abita Brewing Co. opened its New Orleans taproom at 2375 Tchoupitoulas St. on March 14, 2025. (Photo by Jonah Meadows, The Times-Picayune)
Abita representatives say the brewery will use the Tchoupitoulas location for smaller-scale beer production, in addition to offering its existing line of beers like Abita Amber, Andygator, The Boot and Jockamo Juicy IPA.
Current limited edition offerings include DeltaGator, Bourbon Barrel Aged Pecan, Maison Blanche, Vanilla Triple Dog Dare, Turbo Booster, Fruity Pebbles, Blueberry and a house beer.
Heidi Guerra, Abita’s vice president of marketing, said the soft opening of the new location has been a big success so far.
“Adding this second location in New Orleans just makes sense,” Guerra said. “This location gives us the opportunity and freedom to experiment and develop innovative beers and offerings, since we have the capabilities to brew on a smaller scale, which opens a plethora of options for our brewing team.”
After outgrowing its original location, Abita’s owners relocated its brewing operation to Covington in 1994 and turned the original location into its current taproom across the Tammany Trace from the Abita Springs trailhead. A $12 million expansion in 2013 allowed for the current brewing facility on La. 36 to handle increased demand.
Patrons gather at the Abita New Orleans taproom on Tchoupitoulas Street in the Irish Channel neighborhood. The brewery opened to the public on March 14, 2025.
The brewery has long touted its use of pure artesian spring water from the Southern Hills aquifer north of Lake Pontchartrain.
That foundation will remain unchanged at the new location, with water trucked in across the lake to make its new brews.
“We are committed to our craft brewing principles and staying true to who we are,” Guerra said, “which means all our beverages crafted at the Tchoupitoulas location will be brewed with the same pure, artesian spring water as our northshore location.”
With 79,000 barrels produced in 2023, Abita was ranked the 33rd largest craft brewer in the nation by the Brewers Association — and the only one of the top 50 based on the Gulf Coast.
Abita’s new Irish Channel taproom joins a cluster of local breweries to set up shop nearby, with Miel Brewery & Taproom, NOLA Brewing, Port Orleans Brewing Co. and Urban South Brewery all located within a mile of it.
Abita Brewing Co. opened its New Orleans taproom in the Irish Channel neighborhood to the public on March 14, 2025.
A ribbon-cutting event is scheduled for March 26. Following its recent soft opening, taproom patrons on their first visit already had praise for its relaxed atmosphere.
The only thing missing at the moment, said Emerson Alvarez, is food. After enjoying some drinks, Alvarez and his companions were on the move to find some lunch.
Guerra said Abita plans to offer a rotating selection of food trucks and vendors in the future.
“I’m glad that they finally came down to New Orleans,” Alvarez said. “Competition-wise, we’ll see how it goes, since they’re right in the middle of everybody.”
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