ADVOCATE THE
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
M o n d ay, n ov e M b e r 24, 2025
Flu levels in Louisiana highest in the nation
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Judges lining up for open Louisiana Supreme Court seat Trump nominates Crain to federal court
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Health officials say Louisiana’s high levels of flu activity are a reminder to get vaccinated.
Cases on the rise heading into heightened season BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana is heading into flu season and the Thanksgiving holiday with the highest flu activity level in the country. And while the number of severe cases of the illness at hospitals remains low, doctors are seeing signs that the respiratory virus season will get into full swing soon. New federal data released Friday shows the percentage of medical visits for flu symptoms in Louisiana climbed to 3.9% in the week ending Nov. 15, almost double the national rate and the highest level recorded in any state.
Each week, the CDC ranks states on a 14-point scale based on the number of people who visit the doctor for a fever, plus a cough or sore throat. Louisiana is at level 7. Almost every other state is under level 3, except for Colorado, which is at level 4. Almost 100 people were admitted to the hospital for the flu last week in Louisiana, compared to 39 at the beginning of November. Dr. Michael Bolton, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, said Louisiana often sees flu activity rise before much of the country. It’s not always clear why — or if a worse flu season will follow
as a result. But he said the timing should serve as a reminder to get vaccinated, especially after last year’s difficult pediatric season. Nearly 300 children died nationally, close to half of them without underlying health conditions. Most of those children had not received a flu shot. “The flu vaccine is a vitally important piece of your health care plan,” Bolton said. “I can’t underscore that enough.” There’s also another reason the flu may be spreading faster. One strain of the flu, known as H3N2, picked up
ä See FLU, page 4A
The race to replace Justice Will Crain on the Louisiana Supreme Court has begun even before Crain has left the position to become a federal judge. Crain’s nomination by President Donald Trump was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday on a party-line vote, setting him up for final confirmation by the full Senate sometime soon. In the meantime, five judges in Crain’s Supreme Court district along Interstate 12 are expressing varying degrees of interest in running for his seat after it becomes vacant. Crain The potential candidates so far are Judges Brian Abels, William Burris, Blair Edwards, Vincent Lobello and Britain Sledge. Also expressing interest has been Christopher Walters, deputy executive counsel for Gov. Jeff Landry, who played a key role in the election of the last Trump justice elected to the state Supreme Court. The judges and Walters are all Republicans. Two judges mentioned as potential candidates for Crain’s seat said they have ruled out running. They are Allison Penzato, a judge on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal, and Alan Black, a judge on the 22nd Judicial District Court. The Supreme Court district covers Livingston, St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa and St. Bernard parishes and a smidgen of Orleans Parish. “It’s a heavily Republican district with a very suburban tilt to it centered along I-12,” said John Couvillon, a pollster and demographer in Baton Rouge. Couvillon noted that Trump won the district with 73% when he ran for president in 2020 and 2024, and business owner Eddie Rispone, a Republican, won 58% of the district when he narrowly lost the 2019 governor’s race to John Bel Edwards.
ä See JUDGES, page 4A
‘Go over there and win’
Zachary schools go back to drawing board Bid fails to redirect taxes for teacher raises
Church Point cowboy heads to first National Finals Rodeo BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
Waylon Bourgeois is headed toward a dream he has carried since childhood: 10 nights in Las Vegas under the brightest lights in rodeo history at the National Finals Rodeo. Growing up in Church Point, surrounded by horses, cattle and a family that lived by the saying “Live your life to the fullest,” Bourgeois learned early what it meant to ride hard, live fast and chase his dreams with everything he had. Guided by the do-what-you-love
WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 68 PAGE 12C
PHOTO PROVIDED By ROSEANNA SALES
Waylon Bourgeois secured 12th place in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings, officially punching his ticket to his first National Finals Rodeo.
principle, he never felt pressured Rodeo wasn’t just an interest to follow a single path, he said. but a part of his family’s tradiHis childhood memories are a tion. His father and uncles rode mix of racing dirt bikes, play- bareback through high school ing football and baseball, and, of ä See RODEO, page 4A course, rodeo.
build schools like Copper Mill Elementary. The reallocation of the existing tax would have used the money to dramatically raise the pay of school employees, upgrade technology and fund building repairs. BY CHARLES LUSSIER The proposal, dubbed Zachary Staff writer Forward, was narrowly defeated, Years ago, in the early days of losing by 175 votes out of more educational independence, Zach- than 4,400 cast. If 88 voters had changed their minds, it ary voters readily agreed would have passed. multiple times to raise “We will continue to pritheir property taxes to upgrade the older school oritize competitive pay buildings they’d inherand benefits for our employees,” Zachary school ited from the East Baton leaders posted on social Rouge Parish school sysmedia that Saturday tem and build new ones. night, soon after the reAfter 22 years in exis- Necaise sults were in. “We respect tence, almost all of them at the top of state academic the decision of our voters, and we rankings, Zachary voters aren’t are grateful for the conversation so willing to tax themselves for this initiative inspired.” Ben Necaise, Zachary’s superintheir not-so-new, but still A-rated school district. tendent — its third in 22 years — That became clear after the said priorities have changed since Nov. 15 defeat of a proposal to ä See SCHOOLS, page 5A redirect taxes that were used to
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101ST yEAR, NO. 147