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Trump’s influence looms over Senate race
Cassidy and his challengers seek president’s backing BY TYLER BRIDGES | Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
Parents, students and family members line up before the start of a meet and greet with teachers, faculty and staff at the new Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts campus in Baton Rouge on Friday.
‘A whole new level’ $34.4M rebuilding of Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts completed in time for the school year
Drama teacher Timothy ‘Timmie’ Callais, aka ‘Mr. C’, right, shows off the roll-up door for the ‘Black Box’ studio during a meet and greet with teachers, parents and students Friday at the new Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts campus in Baton Rouge.
BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer “This is where I’m going to die,” an ebullient Timothy “Timmie” Callais said. The place in question was the modern black box theater on the rebuilt campus of Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts. The $34.4 million project — construction cost was $27 million — was completed this summer just in time for the start of the 2025-26 school year. Students and staff have spent the past two school years five miles away at the former Kenilworth Middle campus. Friday’s “Meet the Teacher” event was the first time parents and students got a chance to see the twostory facility that has been sprouting up for months from the ground at 2040 S. Acadian Thruway. Wearing a colorful top hat, which he called his “magician’s hat,” Callais welcomed parents and students into his new favorite place. The centerpiece of the very black and purposefully nondescript room is a large bay door. “Ta-da!” Callais said as he pressed the “open” button. The door slowly rose, revealing the school’s large tree-covered courtyard and its open-air amphitheater. Across the hall is a third performance space that Callais will also be using frequently, the school’s large modern auditorium. Friday was filled with joyous reunions for adults and children alike. One child sprinted toward “Mr. C,” as Callais is known by students, and gave him a flying hug. “Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome,” said the smiling teacher.
ä See SCHOOL, page 5A
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and his three Republican challengers will begin drawing sharp distinctions among themselves at some point in the upcoming Senate primary. But in the meantime, they Cassidy are all competing for the endorsement of President Donald Trump. No one can say for certain whether Trump will favor one candidate or when he might do so. But everyone agrees that any endorsement from Fleming him will pack a punch. This has prompted the four Republican candidates to tout their MAGA credentials at every opportunity. State Treasurer John Fleming said he worked in the White House during Donald Trump’s first term as president, 10 steps from the Oval Miguez Office. Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta said he chaired each of the Trump campaigns in Louisiana. State Sen. Blake Miguez styles himself as an America
ä See SENATE, page 8A Skrmetta
Births in La. drop to lowest point in decades
State has a shrinking number of women of childbearing age BY EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer For many families in Louisiana, staying close to home was long the norm. Maw Maw and Paw Paw might live just down the street, if not in the same house. “Where’d you go to high school?” is a common introductory question. For years, population growth in Louisiana came more from the people who were born here and stayed than from newcomers. But the patterns are shifting. In 2024, just over 52,000 babies were born in Louisiana, according to preliminary data.
ä See BIRTHS, page 6A
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101ST yEAR, NO. 34
Please join us in welcoming
ROBERT “TREY” BURNS III, MD
U R O LO G Y
Dr. Robert “Trey” Burns III, a native of Baton Rouge, LA, earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Louisianaa State University (LSU) in 2015, and his Medical Degree from the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2020. Dr. Burns completed his residency in Urology at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in 2025. He joined The Baton Rouge Clinic’s Urology Department in the Summer of 2025. Dr. Burns has joined The Baton Rouge Clinic’s Urology Department and is accepting new patients.
g for Generations Carin
To schedule an appointment, please call (225) 246-9240
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