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S at u r d ay, J u ly 12, 2025
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La. better about holding prisoners, leaders say
Return of
FORT POLK
But some skeptical overdetention problem has improved
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP
Family members unveil a portrait of Gen. James H. Polk on Friday during the garrison renaming ceremony at The Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk in honor of the general, who was awarded the Silver Star during World War II and was named one of Gen. Black Jack Pershing’s 100 Heroes of World War I in Fort Polk.
Military renaming honors World War II general BY KRISTIN ASKELSON
In some cases, Louisiana has taken so long to convict defendants, calculate their sentences and then let them out of prison that they end up spending more time behind bars than their sentence requires. For years, this overdetention has drawn criticism from federal judges and investigators and spurred multiple lawsuits. But now, state officials say they have made big strides toward fixing the issue. “This is not going to be an issue going forward,” Jonathan Vining, general counsel at the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, said during a May meeting of the House Civil Law Committee. “I don’t believe it’s an issue. I really don’t. And you won’t find anybody in our agency to say otherwise.” The agency set up an online portal where clerks of court and sheriffs can electronically submit an offender’s sentencing information, speeding up the calculation process.
ä See PROBLEM, page 3A
Staff writer
Two years ago, Fort Polk became Fort Johnson, shedding its Confederate namesake and honoring a Black World War I hero. On Friday, Louisiana’s largest military installation became Fort Polk once again. But this time the base’s name refers to Gen. James H. Polk, awarded the Silver Star for his World War II service. Founded in the early 1940s, the fort originally bore the name of Leonidas Polk, a Confederate general, slave owner and Louisiana’s first Episcopal bishop. The name change, required after Congress approved the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, was part of a broader effort to remove the names of Confederates from military facilities. To get around that law, the new batch of names honors different people. Polk now refers to Gen. James H. Polk, a World War II The new sign hangs on the headquarters building at the newly renamed Fort Polk. cavalryman who became a commander of U.S. Army the Cold War’s height, ac- ness Training Center and change ceremony was Europe, bolstering NATO’s cording to an announcement Fort Polk. broadcast Friday on Fort defensive posture during from the Joint and ReadiThe 30-minute name- Polk’s Facebook page.
Trump tours Texas flood damage BY SEAN MURPHY and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
KERRVILLE, Texas — President Donald Trump on Friday toured the devastation from catastrophic flooding in Texas and lauded local officials amid mounting criticism that they failed to warn residents fast enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way. “The search for the missing continues. The people that are doing it are unbelievable,” Trump told first responders and other state and local officials gathered at an emergency operations center in an expo hall in Kerrville.
ä See FLOOD, page 3A
Governor appoints new coastal protection agency chief Landry taps Hare for executive director
does battle against its worsening land loss crisis and intensifying hurricanes while facing upcoming money shortages. Michael Hare replaces Glenn BY MIKE SMITH Ledet as executive director of the Staff writer Coastal Protection and Restoration Gov. Jeff Landry announced Fri- Authority. Ledet recently departed day he has appointed a new head to take over as secretary of the of the state’s coastal protection state Department of Transportaagency, a key role as Louisiana tion and Development.
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 75 PAGE 6A
Hare has served in a variety of roles in both government and the private sector related to environmental and coastal policy. His past roles include deputy district director and legislative assistant to former U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany and director of government affairs and business development at RES, which bills itself as the nation’s largest environ-
mental mitigation company. Before his appointment he was serving as founder of Wildhare Solutions LLC, consulting clients entering environmental markets, focusing on mitigation and coastal restoration, Landry’s office said in a statement. Both of those issues are important to Louisiana, which is required to carry out mitigation plans when projects such as levee
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construction damage the natural environment. While not a scientist or engineer, he holds an MBA from LSU and a master’s degree in U.S. foreign policy from American University. His bachelor’s degree was in political science and economics. “Michael has years of experience
ä See AGENCY, page 3A
101ST yEAR, NO. 12