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Stretch of Perkins to get more lanes Staff writer
Work is set to start on a major widening of busy Perkins Road, a fouryear project officials say will improve traffic, help ease flooding and make the area safer for pedestrians. That stretch, from Siegen Lane to Pecue Lane, borders both Baton
and improve long-term flood migration,” he said. With the open ditch replaced with covered drainage, the side of the roadway will be open for a multiuse pedestrian path connecting Perkins’ subdivisions to its businesses, according to East Baton Rouge Transportation Director Fred Raiford. The entire project is estimated at
ä See PERKINS, page 4A
LSU football legend Billy Cannon pardoned
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Rouge and St. George. It will be widened from a two-lane roadway into a four-lane corridor with a median “to accommodate growing demand and reduce congestion,” said East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards. “At the same time, we are installing a covered drainage system designed to better manage stormwater
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$40 million, with construction potentially completed in 2030. All of these improvements fall under the “Complete Streets” design philosophy the parish uses to guide traffic development. “What it actually encompasses is improved capacity, which is number one in the goals (of Complete Streets). Number two is improved connectivity by cars, too,” Raiford said. “The other thing is looking at
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ELECTION 2026
Qualifying for spring primary elections ends Senate race sparks fiery comments
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
PROVIDED PHOTO
Billy Cannon poses with his Heisman Trophy in 1959. President Donald Trump pardoned Cannon posthumously for his 1980s counterfeiting conviction.
Trump acts on 1980s counterfeiting conviction BY MARK BALLARD
said the White House phone call came out of the blue Thursday night. “My mom and sisters and WASHINGTON — The family of the late LSU football legend Billy brother were ecstatic,” Cannon Cannon didn’t ask for it, but said. Her mother and four siblings they’re delighted that President Donald Trump pardoned him for were aware that some friends his 1980s counterfeiting convic- had reached out to the White House, she said, but the family tion. His daughter, Bunnie Cannon, had never asked for a pardon.
Staff writer
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“We never thought it would ever come to fruition. So, none of us pursued it,” said Bunnie Cannon, acting as the family’s spokesperson. “I just think he would be thrilled that he got this clemency because in his mind and in our mind, people saw him beyond the counterfeiting.”
Trump
If there were any doubts that this year’s Republican primary election for U.S. Senate is going to be a slugfest, the final day of candidate qualifying on Friday dispelled them. As U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, arrived at the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office in Baton Rouge on Friday to sign up to run, she had to walk past a van with a giant billboard on its side blasting “Liberal Letlow.” The ad, which accused Letlow of trading hundreds of stocks “like her pal Nancy Pelosi” and calling her a “champion of DEI policy” said it was paid for by the campaign of incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge. The attack ads highlight how ferociously Cassidy, Letlow and Treasurer John Fleming are battling for the mantle of “most conservative” as they seek the GOP nomination in Louisiana’s new closed party primary elections. “I loathe the negativity that has to take place in campaigns,” Letlow said after qualifying Friday, when asked about the attack ads right outside. “I wish that we all could run positive campaigns on our records and our vision and our dreams for Louisiana.” Letlow said that “President Trump would never endorse someone who is not a true America-first conservative,” and that she has battled against
ä See PARDONED, page 5A
ä See ELECTION, page 4A
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