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S at u r d ay, M ay 30, 2026
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2026 LEGISLATURE
LANDRY SIGNS NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
After being purchased by the nonprofit Restore Grand Isle, the historic former Oleander Hotel will be transformed into a visitor and cultural center.
Historic Grand Isle hotel to get new life Nonprofit raises money for Oleander’s transformation
BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Gov. Jeff Landry speaks Tuesday during a news conference at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge. Landry signed into law Louisiana’s new congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black voting districts on Friday.
After a month of fierce debates, it eliminates one majority-Black district BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law Louisiana’s new congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black voting districts, hours after the Louisiana Legislature passed it Friday and following a month of passionate debate and marathon public hearings. But before the map can be used in November’s midterm elections, it must survive court challenges, potentially from groups at both ends of the political spectrum. The sprint to draw a new map effectively began one month ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court released a watershed decision weakening a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act, which for decades had driven states with a history of racial discrimination to draw majority-Black voting districts. The justices invalidated Louisi-
Legislature passes budget bills package
ana’s previous map with two majority-Black districts. And they all but banned map-drawers from using race as a factor to draw the lines of voting districts, saying that doing so is typically unconstitutional. That decision sparked redistricting in Louisiana and a number of other Southern states that are now allowed to dismantle African American congressional districts. The unusual cascade of mid-decade redistricting was also prompted in significant part by President Donald Trump’s calls to Republicanled states to draw new voting maps favoring more GOP candidates, so Republicans can hang onto their razor-thin majority in the U.S. House after the midterms. Black voters overwhelmingly favor Democratic candidates, so political leaders in Republican states seized on the Supreme Court’s
The Louisiana Legislature passed a package of budget bills Friday that will give pay raises to firefighters, judges and corrections officers, and draw over $800 million from a reserve fund to pay for infrastructure improvements, economic development initiatives, local projects and other programs. Even so, budget negotiations are not over yet: missing from the state budget is $200 million to fund permanent pay raises for teachers.
ä See MAP, page 5A
ä See BUDGET, page 5A
Pay raises not included for teachers; reserve fund tapped BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
A three-year effort to restore a historic landmark on Grand Isle is now coming to fruition after a local nonprofit purchased the nearly century-old Oleander Hotel last week. Restore Grand Isle, a nonprofit run by local residents, purchased the derelict hotel from the Augustin family for $362,000 last week after raising more than $400,000 for its acquisition and preservation, in partnership with the town of Grand Isle. While the Oleander will likely never house hotel guests again, the goal is to transform the site into a visitor and cultural center featuring a permanent exhibit for photographer Fonville Winans, famous for his black-and-white images of south Louisiana. It will also include rotating works from Louisiana artists, a visitor center, museum space and community gathering areas. “Today would not have been possible without the generosity and support of so many people who believe in preserving the history and spirit of Grand Isle,” Restore Grand Isle President Ronnie Sampey said in a news release. The Oleander Hotel, commissioned by Grand Isle resident John Ludwig, opened in 1929 with 30 rooms and a large porch overlooking the Gulf of Mexico’s waters. It was billed at the time by the New Orleans Item as “the most desirable stopping place for people
ä See HOTEL, page 6A
Trump meeting on Iran peace deal ends with no decision BY AAMER MADHANI and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump held a White House Situation Room meeting with his advisers on Friday but has not yet made a decision on whether to move forward with a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said the
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agreement has not been finalized. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said he was looking to make a “final determination.” A senior administration official later said the roughly two-hour meeting Trump with national security aides had concluded without
a decision. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump would only sign a deal that “satisfies his redlines” and curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Trump confirmed the high-level talks the day after The Associated Press and other news outlets reported that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had come to terms on a
tentative agreement. The deal would extend the fragile ceasefire by 60 days as new talks are held on Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Trump wrote on social media that “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb.” He said the strait must be reopened for international navigation and all sea mines destroyed. Iran’s main negotiator said Fri-
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day that it has “no trust in guarantees or words,” only actions, underscoring lingering distrust after the U.S. and Israel have twice attacked Iran over the past year while it was engaged in nuclear negotiations. “No step will be taken before the other side acts,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X. “We
ä See IRAN, page 6A
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