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Louisiana environmental activist loses freedom of speech lawsuit against parish officials

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Louisiana environmental activist loses freedom of speech lawsuit against parish officials


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana parish officials who threatened to arrest and imprison an environmental activist as she attempted to speak during a public meeting did not violate her right to freedom of speech, a unanimous civil jury ruled Wednesday.

Joy Banner had sought more than $2 million in damages from two St. John the Baptist parish officials — Parish President Jaclyn Hotard and councilmember Michael Wright — who she said blocked her from raising allegations of corruption tied to industrial development at a public meeting. While Banner’s attorneys said the case had important implications for protecting outspoken citizens from government censorship, lawyers representing the parish said they were model officials trying to curtail disruption and keep the meeting on track.

The case is part of a broader series of disputes playing out in courts and public hearings between grassroots community groups and Louisiana officials over industrial expansion in the 85-mile (136-kilometer) chemical corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, often referred to by environmental activists as “Cancer Alley” because of its high pollution levels.

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Banner, co-founder of the environmental and racial justice organization The Descendants Project, gained a national reputation fighting against an $800 million grain terminal slated for her predominantly Black community in St. John the Baptist parish. The project was later aborted.

In a November 2023 parish council meeting, Banner sought to oppose an agenda item introduced by Hotard to use taxpayer funds for a lawyer to defend parish officials from ethics complaints. The state ethics board had launched an investigation after Banner filed a complaint pointing out that Hotard’s mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, owned a marine transport company that owned land near the proposed site for the grain terminal.

As Banner began to discuss these concerns during the public comment period, councilmember Michael Wright repeatedly banged his gavel and both he and Hotard told Banner she was not speaking on topic as she made her remarks.

Wright then quoted from an obsolete law under which anyone who publicly shared testimony given to a state ethics board investigation could be subject to one year of imprisonment. A federal judge deemed the law unconstitutional years ago.

“When I heard the words imprisonment and misdemeanor, I thought, ‘That’s it, I’m going to jail, I’ve messed everything up, my business is going to be ruined, my name is going to be ruined.’ I was terrified and shocked,” Banner later testified.

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Ike Spears, the parish officials’ attorney, noted that they had also interrupted and instructed to stay on topic other members of the public who spoke during the public comment period. He described Banner as a “disruptive citizen” striving to become a “social media influencer” and garner media attention from the litigation.

“She wants us to reward this conduct with $2 million plus,” Spears told jurors.

Banner’s attorney William Most countered that her intended comments at the public meeting were “vital” to informing the parish about Hotard’s potential conflicts of interest.

“Joy Banner was treated differently than anyone else: She was the only person threatened with arrest and she was also the only one to raise the issue of Hotard’s family business interests,” Most said. “She was directly on topic.”

Hotard also used vitriolic language to describe Banner, including fantasizing about strangling her, in text messages to her mother-in-law that were introduced as evidence. Most said the messages indicated that Hotard had a personal motivation to shut down Banner’s participation in a public meeting.

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The state ethics board ruled last year that Hotard had not violated state ethics laws.

Yet Hotard’s mother-in-law later revealed during a deposition for Banner’s lawsuit that Hotard’s husband is a beneficiary of a trust that owned land overlapping with the planned railroad route leading into the proposed grain terminal.

Spears acknowledged that Hotard would “probably” personally benefit from the grain terminal’s approval. But he said increased tax revenue and good-paying jobs were the parish president’s driving motivation in supporting the project.

Hotard, who was not present for the verdict, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

The jury sent a “strong message against frivolous lawsuits,” Wright said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. “This is a significant victory for St. John Parish and a promising sign for businesses and industries considering the River Parishes as their home.”

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Juror Cam Owen said he was ready to vote in Banner’s favor following closing arguments. He changed his mind — and came to tears during deliberations — after closely reviewing the facts and video footage of the public meeting, which he described as the “deciding factor” for the jury. Owen said jurors calculated the amount of time Banner was able to speak and concluded she was able to express most of her viewpoint.

“At the end of the day, you know, they did try to stop her, but she did actually say what she had to say,” Owen said.

The jury also ruled that the parish had not violated Louisiana’s open meetings law.

Banner said she had no regrets about bringing the lawsuit and said it uncovered the parish president’s hidden financial interests.

“The purpose of this case was for transparency,” Banner said. “I think it’s important to hold people accountable for the things that we feel are wrong.”

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“I hope you can heal,” Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown told Banner and the parish officials after the verdict. “This is only one part of the process.”

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on X: @jack_brook96.



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Louisiana

SWLA oil and gas industry leaders optimistic under Trump Administration

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SWLA oil and gas industry leaders optimistic under Trump Administration


LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – President Trump has been in office just a month and 10 days, and already things are looking up for those in the oil and gas industry.

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA) is meeting in Lake Charles this week.

Those in the LNG business are pleased to bid farewell to the previous administration and welcome changes stemming from President Trump.

They were pleased to see the pause on LNG permits lifted last year by a federal judge, and now they welcome more certainty and security when it comes to decisions from the federal government industry officials feel they can rely on.

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“The big uncertainty around the Commonwealth LNG project was the regulatory uncertainty that had largely been created by what’s known as the Biden LNG pause. With that removed, the Trump Administration announced that they were authorizing the Commonwealth project to move forward,” said Jason French, LNG government and public relations consultant.

French said Commonwealth plans to make a final investment decision in September 2025 and move toward full construction. He said the authorization makes it much more likely the project will become a reality.

“Commonwealth has really just been on hold while they waited for the federal government to act on that authorization. And so now the project is much more viable for the global customers, for the partners who will be moving to build that project. That regulatory approval makes the project that much more real for all those counterparties, and it makes it more likely that project will move forward in Southwest Louisiana,” French said.

French said the U.S. is the world’s largest producer of LNG and will continue to meet the market demand as long as it is there.

French was the first executive director for the LNG Center of Excellence being established at McNeese State University. He said it was always planned for someone with an academic background to take over as it moved closer to working with students.

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A new director has not yet been named.



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HEART OF LOUISIANA: Winter Birds

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HEART OF LOUISIANA: Winter Birds


BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – For some nature lovers, an early morning walk with temperatures near freezing is the perfect time for spotting birds. You can hear all kinds of bird sounds coming from the trees and underbrush.

Jerhemy Lonzo, a long-time bird enthusiast, points to the top of a nearby tree. He tells me, “hearing the sounds is one of the most important things. If you listen to the bird, you can pinpoint it and try to find out where it is and when you see it like you hit the lottery,” Lonzo says.

Lonzo enjoys birdwatching and parks throughout the New Orleans area. Today he joins the Orleans Audubon Society for a walk through Joe Brown Park and the Audubon Nature Center in the eastern part of the city.

“There are three goldfinch right there,” said Joelle Finley.

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Finley of the Audubon Society helped organize the Joe Brown Bird walk.

“I like wintertime because we have a completely different set of birds. They come down from the north and they winter like the American goldfinch. They’re only here in our winter months,” Finley said.

The problem I have is that I can hear the birds all around me sometimes, but where are they? It’s so hard to see them sometimes.

“Well, you have to kind of home in on where you’re hearing the bird. That gives you a key as to where the bird’s located. So if you know that you’re hearing something from this big oak tree behind us, then you’re gonna walk over to the oak and you’re gonna start looking,” said Finley.

And you have to be quick with a camera. Just about the time I spot a bird and then get the camera pointed in the right direction. The bird flies away. The Audubon Society hosts workshops and field trips like this one to help newbies locate and identify birds. And spotting different types of birds is what brought bird enthusiast Kris Hansen from Chicago to New Orleans.

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“So in Chicago at this time of year, you get some waterfowl and some swans, but most of the things that are fun have come down here for the winter. So I followed them,” said Hansen.

“I’m taking this detour to see if we could get purple finches down here,” John Wise said.

Wise of Metairie says he is a lifelong bird watcher.

“The canals around here, you can find all kinds of birds. It’s probably one of the wilder spots in an urban environment,” said Wise.

But Wise has noticed changes in local bird populations.

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“One of the things you can notice, over a 10 year, 15 year period, is you can observe the decline in diversity of species in this area. And this is one of the richest areas in North America, at least in the United States,” Wise said.

Serious bird watchers will photograph and log all of the species they spot in the wild. Those lists can run into the thousands. And they also can enjoy a few hours of wandering through the trees, surrounded by the chirping sounds of birds.

More information about bird watching and the Orleans Audubon Society can be found on Heart of Louisiana’s website.

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Our Lady of the Lake expands lifesaving care in South Louisiana with advanced ECMO program

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Our Lady of the Lake expands lifesaving care in South Louisiana with advanced ECMO program


Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center is saving more lives in the Baton Rouge region with the use of a complex medical therapy that is only available at four hospitals in Louisiana.

Last year, Our Lady of the Lake implemented an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program to provide life support to patients with respiratory or heart failure. ECMO allows a patient’s heart and/or lungs to rest when the body does not respond to other medical treatments and the organs cannot properly support normal body functions.

So far, Our Lady of the Lake has successfully used ECMO in a wide range of patient cases, including individuals with heart failure, pneumonia, pulmonary embolisms, Covid, trauma and more.

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“Patients who otherwise may have died are able to have their lives sustained here by using ECMO as a bridge to other treatment. I’ve seen many of them ultimately recover and walk out of the hospital, which is amazing,” said Dr. Federico Guillermo De Puy, a cardiologist at Our Lady of the Lake. “ECMO also allows us to perform higher-risk procedures that we would otherwise not be able to offer at this location.”






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Dr. Federico Guillermo De Puy, a cardiologist at Our Lady of the Lake


Up to three patients can be on ECMO at any given time at Our Lady of the Lake. Dr. Owen Stell, medical director of the hospital’s ECMO program, said that in some cases, particularly among patients with severe respiratory illnesses, doctors may spend several hours trying other treatments before deciding to use ECMO. However, that decision may be made more quickly among patients with cardiac problems, particularly if they are unstable and not responding to medication.

“This is the highest level of life support you can provide,” Dr. Stell said. “In a lot of cases, people have failing hearts that can’t be maintained with smaller pumps or medications. For patients with respiratory failure, ECMO is used when a ventilator alone isn’t working. I credit the leadership at Our Lady of the Lake with understanding that ECMO is an important service, especially when it comes to keeping patients closer to home.”

A patient can remain on ECMO support for anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Once lab tests and imaging shows improvement, the patient is gradually weaned off of the ECMO support before being removed from it entirely as their heart and lungs are able to work on their own.

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By having an ECMO program in Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake is able to treat patients from the capital region, as well as cities like Lafayette that are within driving distance. Dr. Stell said the benefits are twofold, as it eliminates health risks associated with transporting critically ill patients and allows their family members to remain by their bedside without traveling long distances.







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Dr. Owen Stell, medical director of the ECMO program at Our Lady of the Lake

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“These patients are so critical that anything could change at any moment,” he said. “They may also need to be on ECMO for up to a month at a time. If their loved ones had to drive five hours to see them or spend money on a hotel room for several days, that’s an added cost and stress that families don’t need. The fact that we can keep them in Baton Rouge is a huge benefit to them.”

In order to ensure the ECMO program is providing the best possible care, Our Lady of the Lake has provided extensive training to doctors, nurses and therapists who are responsible for working with patients who are in the program. The qualified ECMO team at Our Lady of the Lake has more than 30 years of experience with ECMO management and transport, as well as close affiliations with the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology.

“Some of us received training about ECMO during our initial training to become a physician. Others learned about it on the job,” Dr. De Puy said. “I think we did a really good job with our nursing staff as far as bringing in highly trained personnel to explain the nuances of the program. It makes me feel proud to be a part of Our Lady of the Lake.”



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