WHERE DID EVERYTHING GO WRONG FOR LSU QB GARRETT NUSSMEIER? 1C H
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S at u r d ay, N ov e m b e r 15, 2025
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UL to eliminate 20 civil service positions Hundreds put on notice via email BY ASHLEY WHITE
The eliminations are part of the 70-position eliminations announced by former interim PresiThe University of Louisiana at dent Jaimie Hebert in October, UL Lafayette has started the process leadership told staff during a Friof eliminating about 20 civil ser- day morning town hall. Civil service employees are afvice positions.
Staff writer
forded certain protections under state law. As part of those protections, all employees who could be impacted are notified. The university then sends a plan to the state civil service board, which ultimately approves the plan and helps civil service employees find jobs within the state’s system that match their current
skill set, when possible. There are about 390 civil service employees at UL. They all received emails Thursday afternoon notifying them their position could be eliminated. The notice was sent as the University of Louisiana system board was appointing Ramesh Kolluru as the new interim president.
E LEC T ION 2025
Voters return to polls for millage votes
Kolluru previously served as the vice president of research. Hebert will return to his position as university provost. During Friday’s town hall designed to address faculty concerns and questions, Chief Human Resources Officer Paul Thomas
ä See POSITIONS, page 4A
More girls targeted in AI photos, police say 2 adults also deepfake victims, Lafourche officials reveal BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Lafayette Parish will go to the polls Saturday to vote on a pair of millages that were previously voted down.
Services for sexual assault victims among the issues BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
Lafayette Parish voters are being asked to return Saturday to vote on two millages they previously voted against. They include taxes that fund road and bridge maintenance, a self-explanatory measure that provides for road improvements and repairs to the tune of $12.8 million at 4.47 mills.
The other may be more vague — $10.8 million at 3.81 mills to fund public health and safety. The failure of this tax could result in Lafayette losing its “no-kill” animal shelter status, gaps and lags in essential services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and impacts to fire protection in the rural and unincorporated regions of the parish, according to officials with Lafayette Consolidated Government.
Other services include mosquito abatement, drainage and public health services. The Lafayette Parish Coroner’s Office began taking over sexual assault exams in March, said Keith Talamo, the coroner’s chief investigator. The service was once handled by Hearts of Hope, a local nonprofit.
ä See ELECTION, page 4A
Amid public uproar over the news that a Lafourche Parish girl was expelled for hitting a boy who allegedly shared AI-generated nude photos of her, local officials shared new details on Thursday about the case — including that seven additional girls were depicted in the explicit images. At least eight middle school girls and two adults were the subjects of the fake nude photos, which reportedly circulated on social media in August, said Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre and Lafourche Parish Schools Superintendent Jarod Martin in a joint statement Thursday. They said their goal was “to correct rumors and misinformation.” The Sheriff’s Office arrested one male student on 10 counts of unlawfully spreading explicit images of another person created by artificial intelligence, and an additional arrest against a second person is possible, according to the statement. Webre also said Thursday that social media posts about the case had “fueled hostility and provoked violent rhetoric” toward Lafourche Parish school officials and administrators at Sixth Ward Middle School in Thibodaux, where both the female victims and one accused perpetrator were students. Webre said his office is
ä See AI PHOTOS, page 4A
Gayle Benson backs Saints GM Loomis
in “high esteem” and is “pleased” with gest postseason drought since the early Team owner pushes back his work. 2000s. “It may not be what the fans want to don’t think Mickey Loomis is losagainst fans’ criticism hear, but as far as firing Mickey Loomis, ing“You sleep at night over all of this? He is,”
BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer
New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson issued her strongest public endorsement yet of general manager Mickey Loomis, calling demands for her to fire the football team’s longtime executive “ridiculous.” During an exclusive interview with The Times-Picayune on Thursday, Benson strongly backed the Saints’ embattled general manager, saying she holds him
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that’s ridiculous,” Benson said. “(He) does a great job.” Loomis has become a lightning rod of fan criticism in the wake of the team’s slow start to the 2025 season. The team’s 1-8 start was the franchise’s worst since 1980. At 2-8, the Saints are tied with the New York Giants for the worst record in the NFC. The Saints, meanwhile, have lost 21 of their last 26 games, dating to last season, and are on track to miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year. It’s the club’s lon-
Benson said. “It’s hard. It’s not an easy job. It’s not like he’s sitting on his butt, not worrying about things.” In his 24th season as the club’s top football executive, Loomis, 68, is the longest tenured general manager in the NFL. His tenure has included the most successful run in franchise history, including seven NFC South division titles, nine playoff appearances and the club’s only Super Bowl title in 2009.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore, from left, poses with owner Gayle Benson and general manager Mickey Loomis on Feb. 13 at the Saints ä See SAINTS, page 4A practice facility in Metairie.
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