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Elevated road for St. Bernard proposed Feasibility study produced for planned Port NOLA terminal
Terminal, or LIT — at Violet, in lower St. Bernard Parish. Construction of the terminal would for road and rail improvements in road at a cost of about $1 billion, begin later this year if the U.S. BY ANTHONY McAULEY St. Bernard Parish to support the with additional upgrades to exist- Army Corps of Engineers grants a Staff writer Port of New Orleans’ controver- ing roads, rail links and bridges. permit after it completes its enviThe report was partially funded ronmental study. The New Orleans Regional Plan- sial, multibillion-dollar container by the Port of New Orleans, which Port NOLA officials and other ning Commission on Wednesday ship terminal project there. The most favored options each plans to build the new terminal — backers of the terminal have arreleased its long-overdue and much-anticipated feasibility study would require building an elevated called the Louisiana International gued that a new road project must
ä See ELEVATED, page 4A
Lawmakers scale back anti-hazing legislation
WATER WOES
Rural areas of Louisiana dealing with systems that some fear are ‘ticking time bombs’
also start this year to avoid traffic mayhem when the first phase of the container ship port opens in 2028, with thousands of trucks expected to flow to and from the facility daily. A large number of St. Bernard residents and their political
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
The small town of Monterey in Concordia Parish saw its water system grade from the Louisiana Department of Health drop from an ‘A’ to a ‘C’ this year.
STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE
Louisiana lawmakers pared down a bill Wednesday that would have required college students to take an anti-hazing course, a proposal inspired by the recent death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson. Citing cost concerns, they replaced the semesterlong course with an annual two-hour training. In its original form, House Bill 279 required any student who joins a fraternity, sorority, band, athletic team or similar group to take a onecredit course on hazing prevention. Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, introduced the measure last month in honor of Wilson, who was 20 when he died in February after an alleged fraternity hazing ritual. But members of the House Education Committee voiced concerns Wednesday about the bill’s projected price tag after university officials said the course would cost millions of dollars to develop and administer. Some members also said plans for the course should be paused until a new anti-hazing task force issues a report next year, which is required by a separate measure that the committee advanced Wednesday. Ultimately, the committee approved an amended version of
ä See ANTI-HAZING, page 4A
Monterey resident Jennifer Barrington and her husband Todd say they can’t cook with the tap water because it’s too salty, and it destroyed two hot water heaters over the span of about two years. BY SAM KARLIN
the span of about two years, she said. “You can’t even use it for ice,” she said. “It’s been getting worse.” Like many small communities around The water started showing signs of the state, Monterey is dealing with a probtrouble a couple of years ago. It smelled like rotten eggs or bleach. It lem that elected officials have long known sometimes came out of the tap brown and was coming. murky. Louisiana’s aging water systems are In the small town of Monterey along decaying. Louisiana’s eastern border, about 30 miles Hundreds of water systems around southwest of Natchez, Mississippi, Jenni- the state are in dire need of fixes. Many are decades old, with years of deferred fer Barrington looked for ways to cope. Barrington, 55, said it got bad enough maintenance. Cast-iron or clay pipes are that she bought an expensive water fil- breaking down. Chemicals needed to puter for her home. She can’t cook with the rify the water are creating brown, murky tap water because it’s too salty, and it de- water. Treatment centers and pumps are stroyed two of her hot water heaters over faltering. Some small towns are hang-
Staff writer
ing on by a thread, nervous that one well breakdown could threaten their ability to supply residents with water. The state got a windfall of federal funds during the pandemic to address many of the problems plaguing the systems. And the money, routed through the state’s Water Sector Program, has been widely touted for repairing some of the most desperate problems. But the $750 million in federal funds has not come close to solving all of the state’s water issues. For instance: When the state began accepting grants, local governments applied for $2.2 billion in
ä See WATER, page 5A
STAFF FILE PHOTO
Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, proposed legislation that would require an anti-hazing course in college for some groups.
Murrill taking over death penalty cases from local DAs
justice for the victims of these heinous claims still unheard years later. AG’s actions riling capital defense advocates legal Murrill has offered to handle all of and brutal crimes,” Murrill said.
BY JOHN SIMERMAN
executions since the state resumed the practice in March after 15 years. Staff writer In doing so, Murrill has riled capital Attorney General Liz Murrill is taking defense advocates who argue that she’s the reins from local district attorneys in trying to short-circuit the rights of many a growing number of death penalty ap- of the 55 prisoners who remain on Louipeals as she aims to speed up the pace of siana’s death row, their post-conviction
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 72 PAGE 8B
those cases for local district attorneys, and she’s adopted several of them across the state this year as she argues that those condemned prisoners should be denied hearings for leaving their petitions to gather dust. “I intend to move these cases forward as expeditiously as possible to obtain
Recently the attorney general went further, tapping attorneys from the Baton Rouge law firm Taylor Porter to fight the post-conviction case of former New Orleans police officer Antoinette Frank, who sits on death row for an infamous
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ä See CASE, page 5A Murrill
12TH yEAR, NO. 276