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T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 27, 2025
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La. has new plan to compete for jobs
Strategy calls for incentives, focus on high-growth sectors BY BLAKE PATERSON
automaker Hyundai in recent months, released a new strategic plan for economic development on Gov. Jeff Landry’s administra- Wednesday that included a road tion, which has boasted about map for making investments in the multibillion-dollar investments technology sector and other growfrom social media giant Meta and ing industries.
Staff writer
The 40-page plan, produced by a team of consultants in partnership with Louisiana Economic Development, bills itself as a blueprint to “build the most robust, innovative, and high growth economy in the Southeast.” It also sought to diag-
nose why Louisiana has struggled to add jobs and what the state can do to stem the flow of residents to other states for better opportunities. Among the recommendations, the report calls for a new incentive program for businesses that offer jobs with wages above the regional benchmarks; creation of
Beekeepers losing hives at alarming rate
a dedicated fund for site development; an increased focus on rural areas and small businesses; and more support for regional economic development organizations. The plan offered broad strategies as opposed to specific policy proposals, legislation or funding
ä See PLAN, page 4A
Gabbard calls Signal chats ‘mistake’ Trump officials face grilling over leaked military plan
BY DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press
STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Bees swarm beekeeper Josh Janway as he takes a beehive out of its case at Janway Farms.
Several factors worsen colony losses BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
For Louisiana beekeeper Josh Janway, this March has been one of the worst starts to a honeybee season he can remember. Last year, he was operating with just under 4,000 hives. Now, a confluence of factors, including pesticide use, Varroa mites and the destruction of the habitats where the bees find food has sliced his colony numbers nearly in half. “We’re talking about March,” Janway said. “That’s when flowers are supposed to be out, bees are supposed to be growing. And we’re just not see-
ing it.” Janway and beekeepers across the U.S. have reported unusually severe losses as the 2025 season begins. From June 2024 to February 2025, commercial beekeepers saw a 62% decrease in hives on average, according to results of a survey published by Project Apis m., a nonprofit beekeeping and agricultural research organization. The ramifications for consumers and the food supply are still unfolding. But considering that roughly 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators, it’s likely that widespread
The queen bee of the hive at Janway Farms is marked with a white dot from a ä See BEES, page 4A paint pen.
WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday it was a “mistake” for national security officials to discuss sensitive military plans on a group text chain that also included a journalist — a leak that has roiled President Donald Trump’s national security leadership. Speaking before the House Intelligence Committee, Gabbard said the conversation included “candid and “It was a sensitive” information mistake about military strikes against Houthi rebels that a in Yemen. But as she reporter was told senators during inadvertently testimony on Tuesday, added.” she said the texts did not contain any classi- TULSI GABBARD, fied information. director of “It was a mistake that national a reporter was inadverintelligence tently added,” Gabbard said. Wednesday’s hearing was called to discuss an ä The updated report on na- Atlantic tional security threats releases the facing the U.S. Instead, Signal chat much of the focus was showing on the text chain, which included Gabbard, CIA detailed Director John Rat- attack plans. cliffe, Secretary of PAGE 5A Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials. Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was also added, and on Wednesday his publication released more details from the chats, showing the level of detail they offered about the
ä See GABBARD, page 5A
Louisiana Supreme Court to rehear death row inmate’s case Robinson previously convicted in 1996 slayings of family
agreed to reconsider Robinson’s legal challenge to his conviction and death sentence on four counts of first-degree murder over a 1996 quadruple killing in Rapides Parish. Robinson, now 56, is among 55 BY JOHN SIMERMAN prisoners on death row in LouisiStaff writer ana, following the execution last When it comes to death row in- week of Jessie Hoffman Jr., whose mate Darrell Robinson, the Louisi- death by nitrogen hypoxia was a ana Supreme Court can’t seem to first for the state, following the lead of Alabama. make up its mind. Hoffman was the first person The latest whipsaw in his case came last week, when the court executed in Louisiana since 2010,
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due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs. Last year, Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill adding nitrogen gas and electrocution to a new menu of methods that opened the door to resuming executions in the state. The decision to Robinson rehear Robinson’s case follows a year in which the court waffled on his fate. In January 2024, a majority of justices
found enough failures by prosecutors to warrant a new trial, vacating his conviction and death sentence. The withheld evidence allegedly included a quid pro quo with a jailhouse informant and blood analysis from the crime scene. Chief Justice John Weimer ticked off several areas in which he found prosecutors had railroaded Robinson by failing to disclose exculpatory evidence. But after a rare rehearing, a 4-3 majority of the Louisiana Supreme Court re-
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versed that decision, reinstating the verdict and sentence in December. “After further review and careful consideration of the record, we find no merit to the claims raised ... and we erred in vacating defendant’s conviction and sentence,” Justice Jay McCallum wrote in the majority opinion. McCallum disputed that there was evidence of a deal between prosecutors and the informant,
ä See COURT, page 4A
100TH yEAR, NO. 270