THE
ACADIANA
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T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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T u e s d ay, M ay 13, 2025
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Teacher stipends included in House budget
A turning tide?
Funds also allocated for private education grants BY ELYSE CARMOSINO, PATRICK WALL and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writers
Louisiana would spend nearly $200 million on one-time pay stipends for public school teachers and other school employees next school year under a proposed budget advanced by the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, essentially keeping educator pay flat as lawmakers explore ways to fund long-term raises. The spending plan, which the full House is expected to vote on Thursday, also includes $93.5 million that Gov. Jeff Landry requested for a new education program, called LA GATOR, that gives families tax dollars to pay for private school tuition and homeschooling expenses. It cuts $30 million that had been allocated for student tutoring. For the third year in a row, certified
ä See STIPENDS, page 4A
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Condo sales in Baldwin County, which includes Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, were down 17% last year compared with the year before, and are half what they were in 2021, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate, which is part of the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama.
Alabama beaches a big lure for Louisianans, but data shows condo sales are suffering BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
Louisianans will flock to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach over the next few months, drawn to the 32-mile stretch of sugar-white sand and blue water less than a three-hour drive from New Orleans. But while the Alabama Gulf Coast remains popular with beachgoers and many parts of Baldwin County are booming, the massive condominium complexes that line the shore are having a harder time attracting buyers. Condo sales in Baldwin County, which includes Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, were down 17% last year compared with the year before, and are half what they were in 2021, according to the Alabama Center for
Baldwin County condo sales 2019-2024
slightly. The insurance crisis that has had a chilling effect on real estate activity in south Louisiana is also dampening sales of beachfront property two states over, according to 2,000 brokers. And further complicating matters, they say, 1,500 is a growing “blacklist” of condominium complexes that Fannie Mae, the fed1,600 1,000 erally backed mortgage finance giant, will no longer 1,144 500 underwrite because it says the properties have not been adequately maintained or 0 don’t carry enough insur2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 ance to meet new, stricter Source: Alabama Center for Real Esteate, Culverhouse College Staff graphic guidelines. of Business, Univeristy of Alabama Nearly 70 complexes in Gulf Shores and Orange Real Estate, which is part of has continued. From Janu- Beach are on the list, acthe Culverhouse College of ary through March, there cording to Boston attorney Business at the University were 24% fewer condo sales and condominium law expert than during the first quarter of Alabama. ä See CONDOS, page 4A So far this year, the trend of 2024, though prices are up
Condo sales along the popular Alabama beachfront county have been declining since 2021. 2,379 2,500
U.S., China agree to slash sky-high tariffs for now BY JAMEY KEATEN, DAVID McHUGH, ELAINE KURTENBACH and KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press
GENEVA — The United States and China agreed Monday to slash their massive recent tariffs, restarting stalled trade between ä Wall the world’s two bigStreet rallies gest economies and after pause setting off a rally in announced. global financial markets. PAGE 10C But the de-escalation in President Donald Trump’s trade wars did nothing to resolve underlying differences between Beijing and Washington. The deal lasts 90 days, creating time for U.S. and Chinese negotiators to reach a more substantive agreement. But the pause also leaves tariffs higher than before Trump started ramping
ä See TARIFFS, page 3A
Former Acadiana coach, athletic director James Simmons dies BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
Simmons
WEATHER HIGH 86 LOW 64 PAGE 6A
James Simmons, who spent five decades influencing high school athletes in the Acadiana area, died this past weekend. Simmons storied career in high school athletics began in the Acadiana area as a high school coach — first at Crowley in 1970 and then Acadiana High
13 years later — mostly coaching football and track and field. The New Iberia native later spent 23 years as the Lafayette Parish athletic director, before serving as an Louisiana High School Athletic Association auditor around the state after his retirement from the school system in 2013. “He was always a professional, always encouraging and he
just always had that integrity about him and doing things the right way,” Lafayette Renaissance’s Trev Faulk said of Simmons. “I viewed him as somebody who did things the right way — a man of integrity. He’ll definitely be missed.” Former Acadiana High coaching colleague Ted Davidson remembered him as a
good secondary coach for the Wreckin’ Rams. “The kids responded to him and he did a good job,” Davidson said. “He was demanding and he had a good feel for the game.” But track and field is where his heart was and Simmons excelled in that area. “For track and field, he brought so much to this area in
Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
the high school settings,” longtime Comeaux High wrestling coach Keith Bergeron said. “He was really the pioneer of all the track and field programs in the parish.” His passion was first noticed at Acadiana High as the track coach. “He took care of his kids,”
ä See SIMMONS, page 4A
100TH yEAR, NO. 317