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New LSU arena may hinge on tax deal Local, state government might give up collections near site
BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER | Staff writer
FILE PHOTO By DAVID NORMAND
Four Livingston Parish library board members announced that they quit the board and walked out after the library director was ousted during a tumultuous board meeting on July 15.
4 Livingston library board members may be back
Parish attorney says verbal notice of quitting wasn’t official BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD | Staff writer Four Livingston Parish library board members announced that they quit the board and walked out after the library director was ousted during a tumultuous board meeting July 15. But the people who walked out could be walking back to their seats the next time the parish library system’s governing body meets — as active board members. A verbal ‘I quit’ isn’t technically an official way to resign, a parish attorney said Thursday at the Livingston Parish Council meeting. Additionally, the parish council didn’t have any official written resignations from the four board members to accept, making it seem more than likely that those same library board members would be returning. One Parish Council member even confirmed his appointee was going back. This development marks the latest political twist on a board that recently forced out its library director — a fallout from a yearslong battle sparked by complaints about youth access to sexand gender-related books. At a meeting earlier this month, library board members Jennifer Dorhauer, then-board president, Becky Morgan, then-board vice president, Rodlyn Hammond and Patricia Wilson all verbally quit the library board. This move was directly after
ä See ARENA, page 7A
Federal school grants restored
BY TYLER BRIDGES | Staff writer The anti-Bill Cassidy U.S. Senate Republican primary became a bit more crowded on Friday. Eric Skrmetta, a veteran member of the Public Service
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 76 PAGE 8A
Trump administration had frozen billions
STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
At a meeting earlier this month, Livingston Parish library board members Jennifer Dorhauer, then-board president, Becky Morgan, then-board vice president, Rodlyn Hammond and Patricia Wilson all verbally quit the library board. Parish President Randy Delatte and the rest of the board voted to not renew Michelle Parrish’s library director contract. During the allocated time to vote on and discuss the board appointments and resignations item at the Parish Council meeting Thursday, council
member Dean Coates wanted to include the library board’s resignations to get them finalized. His library board member appointee was not one of the people who were involved in the resignations.
next year. “I will embark on a journey with our President to reclaim what makes our republic great,” Skrmetta said in a statement. “We must protect our Southern border, invest in our military strength, and stop Skrmetta Cassidy Green New Deal whims.” Cassidy and his RepubCommission from metro New Orleans, said he will be the lican opponents will face third major Republican to try off in a closed primary in to keep Cassidy from winning April under the new elecreelection to the U.S. Senate tion rules put in place by
BY PATRICK WALL | Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry and the Republican-controlled Legislature last year. If no candidate wins more than 50% in the primary, which seems unlikely, the top two finishers would advance to a runoff held six weeks later. Election analysts believe that Cassidy will have enough stroke with voters to claim one of the top two spots. This means that Skrmetta is battling the
The Trump administration will release billions of dollars in federal education grants that it withheld from schools this month, officials said Friday, ending an abrupt funding freeze that had threatened to disrupt school services just weeks before students return from summer break. Louisiana had stood to lose more than $109 million, or about 14% of its federal K-12 education funding, according to one tally of the frozen funds. The administration last week released a portion of the money that funds after-school programs, but the rest remained in holding while federal officials reviewed the grants to ensure they aligned with the president’s priorities. The money, which schools had expected to receive July 1, helps pay for teacher training and programs for migrant students, English learners, adult literacy, violence prevention and more. School leaders and service providers, who had warned that withholding the money could cause devastating cuts, celebrated Friday’s announcement. “This is great news for Louisiana,” said Andrew Ganucheau, director of the Louisiana Center for Afterschool Learning, in a statement. “These programs provide vital
ä See SENATE, page 6A
ä See GRANTS, page 7A
ä See BOARD, page 6A
Skrmetta enters U.S. Senate race against Cassidy PSC official joins two other major GOP challengers
A deal discussed to build a new LSU arena would hinge on both the Metro Council and university officials agreeing to let the developer involved in it tap sales tax revenue related to the project, documents show. A draft agreement from November, obtained through a public records request, calls for local and state government to give up sales tax collections generated in and nearby the arena. Baton Rouge would “rebate” 2 cents of sales tax, and the state 2 to 4 cents. The rebate would go to Oak View Group, the company that is the sole finalist to build the new arena. In the deal’s term sheet draft, Oak View Group acknowledged the Tiger Athletic Foundation — a nonprofit supporting LSU athletics that is shepherding the arena project — has no authority to force government officials to rebate those taxes. But it says “this requirement shall be a condition to the closing.” It’s not clear how much taxpayer money that deal would entail or if the terms of the agreement have changed in the months since that draft circulated. LSU officials have previously emphasized that no deal has been finalized. LSU officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the status of the deal or the arena project in general. The proposed arena has been under increased scrutiny since Oak View Group’s CEO, Tim Leiweke, was indicted on federal charges in Texas earlier this month. He has since stepped down from that position.
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101ST yEAR, NO. 26