LSU’S SEASON ENDS IN ELITE EIGHT LOSS TO UCLA 1C
N O L A.C O M
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M o n d ay, M a r c h 31, 2025
$2.00X
ELECTION 2025
Political foes, Landry allies united against amendments 60% of Louisiana voters rejected constitution changes
BY ALYSE PFEIL | Staff writer
CONVERGING
CULTURES
ABOVE: The third annual Gretna Italian-Irish Parade rolls in Gretna on Sunday. The parade featured more than 1,600 riders on 55 floats and trucks, bands and marching groups. John Beninate was the Italian grand marshal, and Paul Leman the Irish grand marshal. MIDDLE RIGHT: A rider tosses a cabbage as the third annual Gretna Italian-Irish Parade rolls on Sunday.
Louisiana voters decisively shut down four constitutional amendments Saturday, handing Gov. Jeff Landry and Republican supermajorities in the Legislature one of their first major political setbacks. The Legislature passed all four proposals by two-thirds majority votes. Then Landry crisscrossed the state stumping in particular for Amendment 2, a revision to Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution that governs state finances. He promoted it as a pivotal piece to an expansive package of tax policy reforms he championed during a November special session. Yet every amendment, which failed by similarly large margins, was rejected by over 60% of voters. “It’s clear from the stunning repudiation of all four of these amendments that the governor and the Legislature, at least in this case, are out of step with the vast majority of people who voted,” said Pearson Cross, a professor of Louisiana
ä See AMENDMENTS, page 5A
N.O. housing agency director shares plans Queen Hailey Bourgeois waves as the Gretna Italian-Irish Parade rolls on Sunday.
STAFF PHOTOS By SCOTT THRELKELD
Willman took helm at authority 2 months ago
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE | Staff writer Two months after taking the helm of New Orleans’ public housing authority, Marjorianna Willman has big plans to turn around an agency plagued in recent years by management and personnel woes. Willman, who now oversees housing for 23,000 low-income families across the city, said last week that she has already made major changes in a bid to fill vacant units, maintain housing Willman vouchers, and beef up staffing, after the agency’s former director, Evette Hester, resigned amid scrutiny.
ä See PLANS, page 4A
Work-based learning lags in La., study finds Fewer high schoolers participating in internships, apprenticeships BY ELYSE CARMOSINO | Staff writer Fewer Louisiana high schoolers are participating in internships and apprenticeships than their peers in neighboring states, despite a push by state education officials to increase the number of work-based learning opportunities for students, a new study found. In 2023, about 5% of high school se-
WEATHER HIGH 83 LOW 68 PAGE 6B
niors graduated with internship credits — an all-time high for Louisiana but significantly lower than other Southern states, according to data compiled by Leaders for a Better Louisiana, a civic organization focused on education and economic development. Louisiana also lags in the number of students in apprenticeship programs, which typically last for a year or longer and help students learn trades such as construction, electrical work or plumbing. Just 3 out of every 1,000 high schoolers in the state complete an apprenticeship, the study found. The report comes as Louisiana’s Education Department is encouraging schools to promote work-based learning. A new accountability system that
takes effect next school year will rate high schools partly based on student participation in internships and apprenticeships, despite some concerns about limited opportunities in rural areas. “We support that Louisiana is encouraging more high school students to gain real work experience before graduation,” said Better Louisiana CEO Adam Knapp. “As we grow this number, we encourage more businesses across the state to consider high school students as part of their workforce supply.” Work-based learning gives students real-world job experience before they
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Instructor and chef Theresa Edwards helps Brielle Credeur make pralines at the W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center in Lafayette on Feb. 6. Fewer Louisiana high schoolers are graduating with work-based learning credits ä See STUDY, page 4A than their peers in other Southern states, a new study found.
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12TH yEAR, NO. 231