RSS Feed

BATON ROUGE–House Speaker Clay Schexnayder on Thursday announced a bipartisan legislative investigation into the fatal 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene, declaring “no crime should be ignored, no cover-up will be tolerated.”

Schexnayder said he is launching the select committee because of new information unearthed in an Associated Press article that suggested that Gov. John Bel Edwards knew more about the incident than he had acknowledged as well as what Edwards said in a news conference addressing the allegation.

“These events have raised serious questions regarding who knew what and when,” Schexnayder said in a statement. “The actions taken that night and the cryptic decisions and statements made every step of the way since then have eroded public trust. That trust can only be regained with a transparent and robust search for the whole truth in this matter.”

The announcement follows a public battle of truths. Schexnayder maintains that Edwards told him in a meeting last summer that Greene had died in a car wreck, while Edwards says he said no such thing.

Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, who also was in that meeting with the governor and the speaker, does not remember Edwards saying Greene died in a wreck. But he said he came away from the meeting with the understanding that no investigation was necessary.

At the news conference, Edwards called a potential investigation a “witch hunt with no basis in fact.”

Greene, a 49-year-old Monroe man, died after a high-speed car chase with State Police officers. Bodycam videotapes subsequently revealed that the troopers beat him severely after taking him into custody.

The bipartisan committee will be chaired by Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma and the second ranking Republican in the House. It will include several Democrats who have been active in the fight against police brutality.

Among those Democrats, Rep. Edmond Jordan of Baton Rouge, was one of the attorneys for the family of Alton Sterling, a Black man killed by Baton Rouge police in 2016.

Jordan sponsored a bill in 2021 that would have limited a qualified-immunity law that protects law-enforcement officers who use excessive force. The House passed the bill, but it failed in a Senate judiciary committee.

Rep. C. Denise Marcelle of Baton Rouge and another Democrat who will serve on the panel reviewing the Greene case, was a protester following the police shooting of Sterling.

The committee also includes Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, a retired law enforcement officer. Bacala served on a task force with Jordan that proposed a number of changes in policing in Louisiana after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But Bacala voted against Jordan’s qualified immunity bill.

The other members of the committee are Republican representatives Richard Nelson of Mandeville and Debbie Villio of Kenner and Democratic representatives Jason Hughes and Mandie Landry, both of New Orleans.

“The members of this select committee understand the seriousness of this issue and hope to bring some closure to the family and public at large in this matter,” Magee said in the statement.

Schexnayder said that the committee will hold its first meeting shortly after the redistricting special session ends. He said witnesses will be announced shortly.

“The truth must come out to show what happened in this case and in the events that followed,” Schexnayder said in the statement. “The public demands it and the family deserves it. No crime should be ignored, no cover-up will be tolerated.”

The 17th Annual Eagle Expo and More, scheduled for Feb. 18-19 in Morgan City, will feature seminars from wildlife and nature experts, a live raptor presentation, boat tours to view eagles and opportunities to meet fellow birders.
Heading into its 17th year, the Eagle Expo is a tribute to the return of the American bald eagle to Louisiana, which was removed from the endangered species list in June 2007. Laws banning the use of harmful pesticides such as DDT and greater public awareness and education have increased the bald eagle population throughout Louisiana and the United States. Currently, there are nearly 300 active nests in Louisiana, with a large concentration in the St. Mary and Terrebonne areas.
This year’s Expo will include a presentation by Wings to Soar sponsored by the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Patterson Civic Center. This lively and informational presentation showcases an array of eagles, falcons, hawks and owls soaring overhead.
Private schools, parochial schools and home-schooled students will have the opportunity to attend a Wings to Soar presentation at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the Patterson Civic Center. There is no charge to attend, but reservations are required. Please contact info@cajuncoast.com or 985-380-8224 to place your reservation. Wings to Soar will also visit the following schools: Franklin Junior High, Morgan City Junior High, Berwick Junior High and Patterson Junior High.
Tours to view eagles will take place Friday, Feb. 18, and Saturday, Feb. 19. Featured waterways include the Atchafalaya Basin and Bayou Black. Tours will be on Friday, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Each featured boat tour offers something different to attendees.
The Atchafalaya Basin Tour takes attendees into the largest overflow swamp in the U.S. with 10 distinct aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Home to over 170 bird species, 50 mammalian species, 40 reptilian, 20 amphibian species and 100 species of fin fish and shellfish, the Basin offers more than just eagles.
The Bayou Black Tour meanders through old oil and gas canals. Birds of prey including bald eagles, ospreys and various species of hawks call this place home. Other birds likely to be encountered include various species of ducks, wading birds and songbird species.
Field trips to the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge and Green Foundation property in Patterson are also being offered. The Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge in Franklin was established to provide critical habitat for the Louisiana black bear. The refuge provides a home for an abundance of wildlife including neotropical songbirds, wading birds, waterfowl, reptiles and amphibians. The Franklin Walking Trail and the Boardwalk will be optional tours. There is no cost.
The Green Foundation property off Cotten Road is a bottomland hardwood forest that includes wet sites that attract great blue heron, white ibis, pied-billed grebe, double-crested and neotropic cormorants, lesser scaup and ring-necked duck, along with raptors such as red-tailed and sharp-shinned hawks, merlin, American kestrel and American bald eagle.
The Friday evening will feature a social at Lake End Park and Campground at one of the cabins on the lake.
Saturday, Feb. 19, will feature a continental breakfast and a variety of speakers in the morning. Speakers for the morning seminars will include Krista Adams on purple martins, Erik Johnson with the Audubon Society and a presentation on the Louisiana National Estuarine Research Reserve project. Full registration includes the Friday social, Saturday continental breakfast, Thursday Wings to Soar program, a T-shirt and speakers. Registration fees are $45 per person. Boat tours are separate and range from $35 to $70. The field trips are free.
The Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau has partnered with the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP), LUMCON, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, Lake End Parkand and Morgan City Rotary Club.
For a complete event schedule, costs, registration forms and listings of hotel rates, contact the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau at 985-380-8224 or email info@cajuncoast.com. For tickets visit https://bontempstix.com/organizations/eagle-expo. For more information, visit https://www.cajuncoast.com/event/eagle-expo.

The small details and behind-the-scenes bartering involved with redistricting are sucking the oxygen out of the Capitol. The anxiety and politics, however, may all be for nothing if the maps produced are challenged in court.
While legal challenges have long been expected, lawsuits resulting from the ongoing special session of the Louisiana Legislature now seem inevitable. Nationally, there have been at least 75 lawsuits filed over process and map disputes, meaning nearly every state that has completed redistricting is now battling multiple challenges. States like Alabama, Alaska, Michigan, Ohio and Texas have seen five or more redistricting lawsuits each.
Most notably, a federal court in Alabama recently blocked a congressional map because the lines crafted by lawmakers would have diluted the minority vote, which was crammed into a single district. The U.S. Supreme Court responded this week with a ruling that allows the map to be used for the fall elections only. Another round of oral arguments is expected later this year to determine if the redrawn lines become permanent.
Legal eagles are worried what these litigation trends could mean for Louisiana, especially as the legislative leadership gets behind maps for Louisiana that maintain the status quo. There are warning signs everywhere. For example, Chris Kaiser, the advocacy director at the ACLU of Louisiana, has already labeled the leadership’s Senate map as a violation of the Voting Rights Act. Michael Pernick, a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, has also raised concerns about the lack of racially-polarized voting assessments employed by the Legislature.
The courts are positioned to play an outsized role this year in Louisiana’s redistricting process, according to Joshua Stockley, a UL-Monroe political science professor who served as a consultant to lawmakers during the 2011 special session. “Based on everything I’ve seen and heard,” said Stockley, “if there are not significant revisions to the maps that look most likely to pass, there will be legal challenges. And I expect the legal challenges will come from groups internal and external to the state of Louisiana.”
He added, “I feel like we’re in an unknown era with redistricting, and that’s largely related to some of the uncertainty that remains with how the bench is going to interpret what’s left of the Voting Rights Act. The other part is the Department of Justice. Trump’s Department of Justice was unlikely to intervene in this. Biden’s Justice Department will be much more proactive and reactive to these challenges.”
Some parties didn’t want to wait until the Louisiana Legislature finished redistricting. The Fourth Circuit dismissed a suit (English v. Ardoin) last week that was filed by the Democrat-aligned National Redistricting Action Fund. It sought an early redrawing of congressional districts by the court, just in case the Legislature and Gov. John Bel Edwards couldn’t come to an agreement.
But what if there are lawsuits filed over the actual maps produced by the Legislature?
Will election officials have to put their precinct-level work on hold ahead of qualifying in July?
Would lawsuits hinder the ability of Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin to properly prepare for the fall elections?
“We trust and hope the Legislature will pass plans that are not only lawful, but won’t be challenged,” said John Tobler, deputy secretary of state for communications, when asked these questions.
“However, we will defend any actions brought about by the Legislature’s decisions.”
There are more question marks hovering over potential actions by the courts.
In the past, we’ve seen courts ask lawmakers to produce new drafts of maps.
We’ve also seen the courts appoint outside groups, like the Public Affairs Research Council, to develop new election lines following challenges.
Lawmakers intimately involved with redistricting are well aware of these political realities. That’s why attention is being given to all bills and amendments are being presented in a timely fashion.
Still, there’s no telling know what could end up in a legal challenge.
Already the legislative leadership’s nonprofit group, Leading Louisiana, has been targeted in ethics and campaign finance complaints for allegedly being a vessel for lawmakers to influence redistricting.
From legislation to litigation, this special session is going to be a doozy.
But somewhere in between, the governor will have to take a stance on all of the maps as well.
His actions, whether via veto or signature, may not be the last taken on this matter, but the governor’s decisions could reshape the legislation-to-litigation model nonetheless.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.

InterMoor, the lead brand for Acteon’s Mooring and Anchors segment, has been granted "Fit for Offshore Renewables" status in the UK by Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

InterMoor has a facility at the Port of Morgan City.

Fit 4 Offshore Renewables is a program that verifies that UK service providers are equipped and have the key management systems and competence required to work in the offshore renewable energy sector. It is a journey of business excellence and sector-specific capability building to support the development of a competent, capable and competitive UK offshore renewable energy supply chain, maximizing the economic opportunity, both domestically and globally.

Alan Duncan, InterMoor managing director, said, “Achieving F4OR status confirms that we have the right key management systems and competence required for success in the offshore renewable energy sector and it illustrates our commitment to the energy transition. As offshore renewable projects move further away from the coast and into greater water depths, our mooring expertise becomes crucial to secure these assets. Participating in the F4OR programme has been of great value to assist our development in this field.”

InterMoor has a growing track record in floating renewables work in the UK and beyond, with key capabilities focusing on mooring design and engineering, mooring equipment procurement, and offshore installation of mooring systems, all whilst ensuring minimal project footprint and environmental impact.