RABALAIS: 5 OBSERVATIONS FROM LSU FOOTBALL PRACTICE 1C
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T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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T h u r s d ay, au g u s T 7, 2025
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Rule to cut cost of prison calls postponed BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
Audience members listen Tuesday as East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services chief Chris Landry speaks during a meeting with members of the EMS, the Baton Rouge Fire Department and the East Baton Rouge Parish MayorPresident’s Office at EMS headquarters in Baton Rouge.
EBR officials struggle to ease merger fears
Proposal would move EMS under Fire Department BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
With Baton Rouge EMS workers pushing back on a recent announcement that their department will be merging with the city’s Fire Department, the mayor and emergency services leaders are trying to calm those anxieties. But after a town hall meeting Tuesday led by East Baton Rouge Parish MayorPresident Sid Edwards, EMS Director Chris Landry and BRFD Chief Michael Kimble, many of the EMS workers still expressed frustration. At the meeting, which originally was meant to be closed but which Edwards decided to open to reporters, officials said no jobs or promotion structure will be lost, and EMS will keep control of its
funding. “Funds will still be dedicated towards EMS,” Landry said. And while Landry, Edwards and others tried to put workers at ease, many EMS workers continued to voice their opposition to the merger. “We need support. We do not need a merger,” said emergency medical technician Amber Munch. “EMS has our own problems, just like everyone else, but the Fire Department is not the answer to those problems. Support is.” Since the merger was announced in June, EMS workers have voiced concerns about their positions and benefits, wondering if cuts would take place.
ä See MERGER, page 5A
Louisiana prisons and the phone companies they contract with have gotten a reprieve from slashing the cost of calls to inmates after the Federal Communications Commission postponed a rule it issued last year to require the price cuts. It’s at least a temporary win for state leaders and law enforcement officials who argued the FCC overstepped its authority and did not base the rule on proper evidence. The lower rates could also create budgetary challenges for the state and sheriffs, as correctional facilities typically receive a commission off the rates prison phone companies charge — earlier this year, the state said the lower rates were expected to leave a $4 million hole in the corrections budget. But the decision to halt the lower rates upset some members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, who believed the current rates are extortionate. And criminal justice advocates have argued phone calls are key to rehabilitation, as they allow inmates to stay in touch with their communities and loved ones.
ä See CALLS, page 4A
Judge delays redistricting hearing for La. election maps BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer
Mayor-President Sid Edwards, left, listens Tuesday as Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Jeff LeDuff speaks during a meeting on a proposal to merge Emergency Medical Services with the Baton Rouge Fire Department.
A key evidentiary hearing in a federal case that sought to get Louisiana’s legislative maps for state House and Senate seats redrawn was teed up for later this month. But, citing an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling that is poised to answer a key question in Louisiana’s voting laws, state leaders asked that the redistricting efforts be put on hold. During a hearing inside the U.S. Middle District of Louisiana Courthouse on Wednesday, a federal judge wanted to know why.
ä See MAPS, page 5A
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