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Schools in jeopardy see little progress on LEAP Results come ahead of tougher grading system
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Balloons are released at a park on America Street in New Orleans during a 2023 memorial. A bill that would have made it illegal to intentionally release balloons into the air was vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry.
Landry vetoes ban on balloon releases Governor says bill would be difficult to enforce; environmental advocates express disappointment
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Some wildlife advocates, a lieutenant governor with a passion for Louisiana’s natural environment and at least one state lawmaker are dismayed after Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal to intentionally release balloons into the air, a regulation that supporters say would protect wildlife and their habitat. But others — even some who say caring for the natural environment should be a priority — were OK with the governor blocking the balloon release ban, which could have led to
civil penalties between $150 and $500 for anyone over age 16. Baton Rouge Audubon Society Treasurer Mark Pethke said his organization is “tremendously disappointed by the governor’s veto.” The organization says that balloons can end up littering the natural environment, including lakes, streams, beaches and oceans. Fish, sea turtles and dolphins sometimes eat those balloons, causing a slow, painful death by starvation, the society says, and birds can get wrapped in or even strangled by balloon string. Pethke said the anti-litter measure would have caused organizations that
frequently release balloons into the air, such as schools and businesses, to find “another, more environmentally friendly way to conduct celebrations.” State Rep. John Illg Jr., a Harahan Republican who sponsored the proposed ban in House Bill 581, echoed those ideas. “It’s just something Illg that needs to be recognized, that it is litter. It’s basically releasing litter into the air and who knows where it comes down,” he said.
ä See BALLOON, page 4A
Associated Press
The U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the national case count surpassed 2019, when there were 1,274 cases for the year and the country almost lost its status of having
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 74 PAGE 8A
eliminated the vaccine-preventcases of able illness. That measles could happen this have been year if the vihas nonstop reported rus spread for 12 in the U.S. months. this year. This year’s outbreaks, some of them interconnected, started five months ago in undervaccinated communities in West Texas. Three people have died — two children in Texas and
1,288
an adult in New Mexico — and dozens of people have been hospitalized. Public health experts maintain the true case count may be higher than state health departments have confirmed. North America has three other major measles outbreaks, with 2,966 cases in Chihuahua state, Mexico, 2,223 cases in Ontario, Canada and 1,230 in Alberta, Canada. Thirteen other states have confirmed outbreaks of three or more people — Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois,
ä See LEAP, page 4A
Finalist to build LSU arena accused of bid rigging BY ANDREA GALLO and PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writers
Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah — and four other states saw their outbreaks end. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles after two doses. The World Health Organization said in 2000 that measles had been eliminated from the U.S.
The CEO of the finalist developer that LSU enlisted to potentially build a new arena on campus has been indicted in a federal case saying he rigged the bidding process over a similar project at the University of Texas at Austin. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Oak View Group founder and CEO Timothy J. Leiweke was indicted by a federal grand jury “for orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process,” the DOJ said. Records obtained last year by The Advocate | The Times-Picayune showed that Oak View Group and ASM Global were the finalists for an LSU arena project that university officials pitched as a replacement for the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
ä See MEASLES, page 4A
ä See FINALIST, page 4A
U.S. measles numbers highest in decades
BY DEVI SHASTRI
Many Baton Rouge-area public high schools needed to see improved results on the LEAP tests students took this spring in order to position themselves better for a tougher new school accountability system. Many schools still have a long way to climb. Capitol, Glen Oaks and Istrouma high schools, all with “F” letter grades, had mixed results, with Capitol High, the lowest performing of the trio, declining in math, English and science. All three are in the single digits when it comes to the percentage of students demonstrating mastery on the annual standardized tests. LEAP results released last week generally showed improvement across the state in math, declines in English and no change in science. Social studies results are to be released later this year. LEAP tests — short for Louisiana Educational Assessment Program — are given annually in grades three to eight as well in six high school subjects. Scores for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, which operates Capitol, Glen Oaks and Istrouma, were unchanged overall, trailing the state as a whole, which was also flat overall. Superintendent LaMont Cole noted the Cole school system outperformed the state in two areas: fourth grade and in English II, a high school course. But he acknowledged there is a lot of room for improvement. “While we’ve seen encouraging progress in some areas, we know there’s still important work ahead,” Cole said.
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