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T u e s d ay, au g u s T 12, 2025
‘IT’S WORKING’
U.S. Secretary of Education McMahon praises gains in reading scores in Louisiana during visit to BR school
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Lafayette City Hall project on hold First phase of administration building overhaul restarting after funds pulled from budget
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, center, talks with Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley while touring Jefferson Terrace Academy on Monday in Baton Rouge. At left is Shanna Beber, Louisiana Department of Education executive director of literacy. BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited a Baton Rouge elementary school on Monday morning to praise Louisiana’s improved reading scores, her first stop on a cross-country tour as the Trump administration pushes to dismantle the Department of Education and grant more educational authority to the states. McMahon said during a stop at the Jefferson Terrace Academy that she embarked on the “Returning Educa-
tion to the States” tour to collect best practices that have shown educational success. With Louisiana’s unprecedented improvement in national rankings, the state seemed a natural starting point, she said. State Superintendent Cade Brumley, East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent LaMont Cole, Baton Rouge Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and other officials toured classrooms Monday morning at the East Baton Rouge Parish public school with McMahon, the former head of World Wrestling Entertainment and
the administrator of the Small Business Administration in President Donald Trump’s first term. McMahon watched intently as Melanie Arceneaux’s first grade class sat cross-legged on the carpet and broke down words that use a “short A” sound. Following Arceneaux’s lead, the group spelled out C-A-T, tapping on each letter sound with their fingers before writing the word. “It’s just like being back in first grade,” McMahon said as she walked
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La. sues firm hired to fix orphan wells
PROVIDED PHOTO
Proposed renovations to Lafayette City Hall include a new entrance that would face University Avenue instead of St. Landry Street.
D.C. officials question move, say crime is already falling
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN
BY JOSH BOAK and DAVID KLEPPER
Staff writer
Louisiana is suing a company it had tasked with plugging orphan oil and gas wells, alleging its leaders engaged in “self-dealing” with the help of a former state official who oversaw them. The lawsuit, filed Friday in the 19th Judicial District Court, asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association and its
Associated Press
PHOTO PROVIDED By THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
An orphaned and leaking oil well site undergoes testing in the ä See WELLS, page 4A Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge.
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ä See PROJECT, page 6A
Trump taking over Washington police
Filing alleges leaders drained money ‘for personal gain’
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Money for the first phase of a $17.5 million proposed renovation of the Lafayette Consolidated Government administration building has been removed from the proposed 2025-26 budget. City Council Finance Chair Kenneth Boudreaux, with no objection from other council members, removed $5.5 million from the budget that the administration requested for City Hall, returning the funds to a bond reserve account. He left the line item in place so funding can be transferred after additional discussions and input from council members and the public. Boudreaux said at Thursday’s budget review meeting the council is not abandoning the project but restarting it with more communication and outreach. In July, Mayor-President Monique Boulet distributed a news release and renderings of the proposed renovation, which would include moving the City Hall entrance to University Avenue, replacing with a staircase escalators left over from the time the building was a Sears store and adding more public meeting space separate from
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he’s taking over Washington’s police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling in the nation’s capital.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on Monday.
The president, flanked by his attorney general, his defense secretary and the FBI director, said he was declaring a public safety emergency and his administration would be removing
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