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Artists Guild Unlimited will once again host this year's Labor Day Art Show and Sale.

Submitted Photos

NEW ORLEANS – Girl Scouts Louisiana East and Girls Scouts of the USA announced that the new Raspberry Rally cookie will join its nationwide lineup for the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie season.
The thin, crispy cookie is a “sister” cookie to the Thin Mints, infused with raspberry flavor instead of mint and dipped in the same chocolaty coating.
“Here at GSLE, we are thrilled to be offering the Raspberry Rally cookie as part of our 2023 lineup,” said Rebecca Pennington, CEO of Girl Scouts Louisiana East. “Each cookie season teaches our girls several business skills such as business ethics and interpersonal skills. We are also excited about the additional opportunities Raspberry Rally brings.”
This new cookie will be the first in the Girl Scout Cookie lineup to be exclusively offered for online sale and direct shipment only, enhancing girls’ e-commerce sales and entrepreneurial skills. Raspberry Rally will be available to consumers nationally during the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie season. Girl Scouts in the GSLE service area alongside favorites like Thin Mints, Adventurefuls and Caramel deLites.
Cookie season is an annual event for Girl Scouts across the nation. Proceeds raised from in-person and online cookie orders directly benefit the GSLE council and troops.
When Girl Scouts run their own cookie business, they are a part of the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. Girl Scouts learn leadership, problem-solving, and community building through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, resulting in an invaluable experience that cultivates an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program encourages girls to be risk takers, to think outside of the box, and to be confident in their own abilities. Whether they’re working toward earning their Cookie Goal Setter badge as a Daisy or their My Cookie Business Resume badge as an Ambassador, Girl Scouts are learning qualities crucial for all forms of leadership and life-skills.
The program embraces the understanding of the world of business, money management, and entrepreneurship. Cookie Business badges range anywhere from goal setting to learning effective in-person and online sales pitches, using market research, creating business plans, and implementing digital marketing campaigns.
GSLE kicks off cookie season in January with pre-sales and continuing into February and March with Cookie Booth sales in the 23-parish service area. Visit www.girlscoutcookies.org to sign up to be notified as soon as Raspberry Rally and other Girl Scout Cookies are on sale.
GSLE is actively recruiting new Girl Scouts. For information about joining Girl Scouts or volunteering visit online at www.gsle.org/join.

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

Local authorities reported nine arrests Tuesday and Wednesday, with suspected crimes including battery of a dating partner, theft and drunken driving.

St. Mary

Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 37 complaints and made these arrests:
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—Danny Wayne Aucoin, 48, Donaldsonville, was arrested at 12:49 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant alleging failure to appear on the charge of possession of synthetic cannabinoids. Bail was set at $568.

—Brock Matthew Menard, 36, Morgan City, was arrested at 3:41 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant alleging battery of a dating partner. Menard also held a failure to appear warrant on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence, no seat belt and possession of methamphetamine.

No bail has been set.

—Daniel Wilson Guidry, 60, Patterson, was arrested at 9:34 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of theft. Bail has not been set.

Morgan City

Interim Police Chief Mark E. Griffin Jr. reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 43 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests:

—Mary Priscilla Pool, 37, La. 182, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:59 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of theft (under $1,000).

—Aiden Duncan, 18, Mary Garret Lane, Baldwin, was arrested at 9:51 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

—Christopher Dwaine Woods, 30, Mount Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:19 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of failure to appear for arraignment (6th Ward Morgan City Court) and as a fugitive from the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Berwick

Police Chief David S. Leonard reported these arrests:

—Riccy Munguia Acosta, 28, Concourse Drive, Houston, was arrested at 11:42 p.m. Tuesday on charges of speeding 74 mph in a 55 mph zone and no driver’s license.

About 11:32 p.m. Tuesday, a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle for speeding 74 mph in a 55 mph zone. Officers met with the driver Munguia Acosta. Through the course of the stop, it was learned that Munguia Acosta did not have a driver’s license.

She was placed under arrest and transported to the Berwick Police Department, where she was booked.

—Erica Walker, 32, Teche Road, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:02 p.m. Wednesday on charges of driving while intoxicated (first offense) and speeding75 mph in a 55 mph zone.
About 9:32 p.m. Wednesday, a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle for speeding 75 mph in a 55 mph zone. Officers made contact with the Walker, and observed signs of impairment.

Walker performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest. Walker was transported to the Berwick Police Department, where she provided a valid breath sample of 0.211 G% BAC. Walker was booked.

Franklin

Police Chief Morris Beverly reported that the Franklin Police Department responded to six complaints over the past 24 hours and made these arrests:

—Rebecca Tate, 31, Railroad Avenue, Franklin, was arrested at 7:47 p.m. Wednesday on a war-rant for 3rd Ward City Court alleging failure to appear on a leash law violation. Tate was booked, processed and released on a $333 bond.

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana is warning about the “coastal fiscal cliff” looming a decade from now, when money for coastal work from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dries up.

A PAR report published on Monday highlights what the end of the settlement for the 2010 oil spill will mean for Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and coastal restoration work that’s critical for southern parishes.

“The state’s Coastal Master Plan currently relies heavily on dollars stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 that devastated Louisiana’s coastal ecosystems by spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico,” according to the report. “Because of the widespread environmental damage, Louisiana received $8.7 billion in settlement and recovery dollars, much of it divvied up from 2017 through 2031 and most of it allocated to coastal work.”

That coastal work, laid out in CPRA’s $50 billion dollar Coastal Master Plan, involves efforts to combat land loss and reduce flood risks through projects like water diversions, shoreline protection, marsh creation and barrier island building.

“These coastal restoration projects cost millions of dollars, hundreds of millions to rebuild islands,” Mart Black, coastal restoration director for Terrebonne Parish told The Center Square for a story about GOMESA.

PAR explained the money from the oil spill settlement is the most sizable, dedicated source of funds for Louisiana’s coastal restoration work. The state received $5 billion in civil penalties for natural resource damage, more than $1 billion from Clean Water Act penalties and nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines.

Other funding sources also contribute, such as federal revenue sharing from oil and gas production through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, as well as taxes on fuel, fishing equipment and boats, but those funding sources fluctuate based on factors the state cannot control.

“Louisiana is projected to receive $77 million this budget year and $90 million next year from (GOMESA), according to the state’s coastal authority. But federal decision-making about offshore oil and gas drilling, such as moratoriums on Gulf leasing programs, impact this significant revenue stream,” according to PAR.

Other funding sources include mineral revenues tied to oil and gas prices, expected to generate about $13.4 million this year, and revenues from the 1990 Coastal Wetland Planning Protection and Restoration Act. The latter is reliant on fuel taxes, fishing and boat purchases, and federal policy decisions.

“Those three financing sources are the only certain, sustainable money available for coastal restoration and protection when the oil spill money disappears,” PAR reports “The dollars from the criminal fines and plea agreements are projected to run out around 2026. Then, the remaining settlement and recovery cash — about $367 million received each year— ends in 2031.”

PAR is encouraging Louisiana lawmakers to begin planning for the loss in revenue now to ensure the state’s coastal work remains on track.

“Targeted deductions of surplus dollars and other short-term cash into Louisiana’s coastal trust fund could be a start, but that clearly won’t be enough,” according to the commentary. “The state’s economic viability and the survival of its southern parishes depend on the financial decisions elected officials will make to close that gap.”