Louisiana
Morgan City filmmaker working to tell the story of the first woman executed in Louisiana
BATON ROUGE — A Morgan City filmmaker is in the process of making a documentary about the first woman executed by the state of Louisiana.
Nearly 100 years ago, a married woman named Ada Leouef was accused of having an affair with the family physician, Dr. Tom Dreher. Soon, Leouef and Dreher were sentenced to death.
Matison Leblanc is telling Lebouef’s story in her new project “Ada and the Doc.”
“Everybody on that trial knew Ada and thought she was a home wrecker, and so they only deliberated for 15 minutes, it was all men, came back in and sentenced her and the doc to death by hanging,” Leblanc said.
When Leblanc learned about it three years ago, she was so intrigued that she decided to make a movie.
Between 2021 and 2023, Leblanc wrote a script, then she and her team shot and produced a 15-minute short version for her senior project in film school.
Now, she is using it as a demo as she works to impress and grab the interest of an investor who can provide the funding needed to make a full feature.
Earlier this year, Leblanc and some of her crew screened her film at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France. The short got a lot of positive feedback.
Leblanc says exposure matters.
“This is hard, I’m gonna sit here and say it’s peaches and cream all the time…it’s not,” she said.
She hopes her journey inspires up-and-coming filmmakers in Louisiana, especially women.
“Everybody has something to say, and that is actually the first rule I learned when I went to film school. I entered film school as a painter; I didn’t even know I wanted to do film until I took Film 100. It just clicked, I was like this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.
She has written and directed five short films so far. She says the industry is starving for original content.
“The number one rule I learned was write what you know because that authentic perspective is what makes your work good,” Leblanc said.
Right now, productions filmed in Louisiana get a 40% tax incentive, which she says is a win for filmmakers here.
“It’s just gonna take the right person to believe in it, it’s the chicken or the egg situation, can’t get actors without money, and can’t get money without actors either, will take investors or a company or an actor to really believe in this thing to make it happen.”
She has already written the entire script, waiting for everything else to line up.
If Leblanc gets her way, you will indeed be able to watch the full feature of Ada and the Doc in theatres or streaming.
“You have to want it more than anything…and I do,” she says.
You can check out a screening of the film next month on August 21st through the 24th during the Baton Rouge Underground Film Festival at the Manship Theatre.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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