N O L A.C O M
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T u e s d ay, s e p T e m b e r 2, 2025
Halls of Ben Franklin strain at capacity
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State agency under scrutiny over wildlife rehab rules Some legislators seek more leeway for abandoned animals
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER
Students walk between classes at Benjamin Franklin High School, the top-ranked high school in New Orleans.
From Neuty the Nutria to Little Buck, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has sometimes faced criticism that it deals too harshly with people who take in wild animals. Now the department is under renewed scrutiny after it recently killed deer being kept by two different families, and after the Natural Resources Commission proposed even further restrictions on rehabilitating wildlife. Some legislators say the law needs to change to give people more leeway to nurse injured or abandoned animals back to health. But Wildlife and Fisheries officials say such policies exist for a reason: to protect animals and people. Deer taken from the wild may lose their fear of humans and can become dangerous, according to the agency. They can also spread diseases between herds if they are taken far enough from their original location.
New Orleans’ top high school looks to ease overcrowding
ä See ANIMALS, page 5A
BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
The top-ranked high school in New Orleans is running out of room. The cafeteria at Benjamin Franklin High School overflows at lunchtime, forcing students to eat in stairwells, hallways or anywhere they can find a spot. Some teachers don’t have permanent classrooms, instead floating between available rooms. Others teach in leased space that’s a 15-minute trek from campus. Since its founding, Franklin has accepted any student from New Orleans who can meet its stringent admissions requirements. Low scores on the entrance exam might keep a student from attending, but not limited space. “There’s no enrollment cap, there’s no waitlist, there’s no lottery,” said Alex Jarrell, the school’s CEO. “There’s no waiting on pins and needles.” But now, for the first time, the school is considering restricting enrollment due to overcrowding. The school has seen a 20% increase in enrollment over the last decade as more New Orleans students qualify to attend the academically rigorous school. About 1,100 students now
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries sought to confiscate Neuty the Nutria, a family’s pet nutria, in 2023, but came to an agreement with the family after public outcry. The academically rigorous Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans has seen a 20% increase in enrollment over the last decade as more students qualify to attend, and for the first time, the school is considering a cap on enrollment. attend Franklin, but its building in Gentilly adjacent to the University of New Orleans was only designed to hold about 850 students. This year, the nonprofit board that oversees the school began discussing
ways to expand, including building out the existing facility or working with NOLA Public Schools to find a bigger building.
ä See FRANKLIN, page 4A
N.O. developer to tackle $150M Aspen chalet skier named Ralph Melville After area hotel revamps, University opened it more than 70 years ago. In the decades since, it has attracted celebrity Kupperman heading guests, hard-core ski groups and interColo. mountain project est from prominent real estate inves-
tors. “Many people had tried to buy it over the years, including a former crown Staff writer prince of Saudi Arabia and Donald Zach Kupperman, the New Orleans de- Trump in the ’80s,” said Kupperman. Kupperman and his partners purveloper behind celebrated renovations like The Drifter and Hotel St. Vincent, is chased the property in 2021, winning tackling his boldest venture yet: a $150 over the Melville family with assurancmillion renovation of Aspen, Colorado’s es of their plans to restore the historic legendary Mountain Chalet. lodge and retain its storied ambience Known for its Alpine architecture rather than replace it with something and old-world charm, the five-story ski new. lodge has been a fixture of the downtown ä See DEVELOPER, page 4A Aspen landscape since a Dartmouth
BY ANTHONY McAULEY
WEATHER HIGH 89 LOW 73 PAGE 6B
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
New Orleans developer Zach Kupperman has been tapped to tackle a $150 million renovation of the Aspen, Colo., Mountain Chalet.
AFGHANISTAN
Earthquake destroys villages, kills 800 By The Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — Desperate Afghans clawed through rubble in search of missing loved ones after a strong earthquake killed some 800 people and injured more than 2,500 in eastern Afghanistan, according to figures provided Monday by the Taliban government. The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangarhar province, causing extensive damage. One resident in Nurgal district, one of the worst-affected areas in Kunar, said nearly the entire village was destroyed. “Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” said the villager, who did not give his name.
Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
ä See EARTHQUAKE, page 4A
13TH yEAR, NO. 21