ADVOCATE
RECORD PRODUCER
CLIVE DAVIS
THE
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
1932-2026 3A
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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T u e s d ay, J u n e 23, 2026
$2.00X
Audit: Regulator benefited off state contracts
Ex-official accused of helping associates secure deals to manage orphan wells BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
A former state regulator helped longtime associates obtain a lucrative state orphan well contract through a series of “shell” corporations that allowed them to “run it how we see fit, no questions asked”
and avoid scrutiny if the “Commissioner or anyone goes looking,” according to emails obtained in an investigative audit. Johnny Adams, the former assistant commissioner in the Office of Conservation, later received a $780,000, below-market loan from those corporations to buy a Baton
Rouge home, auditors said. And two of his children got jobs from the associates in a possible violation of state law, according to the report. Adams The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office has been investigating the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association and its associated companies since at least October 2024. The contract was part
of the state’s effort to address “orphan wells,” which are abandoned oil wells that are potentially dangerous without costly procedures to cap them. The company shut down last year amid scrutiny over alleged “selfdealing” and excessive management fees. On Monday, the auditor released a 72-page report that includes emails between Adams and four people involved with LORA. Reached Monday afternoon, At-
Teachers union opposes Landry cuts for stipends
torney General Liz Murrill — whose office previously opened a civil case against LORA — said in a statement that “we will be further reviewing the case for criminal charges that may be appropriate as well.” In response to the auditor’s findings, Adams’ attorney, Steve Moore, said the report contained “misstated facts” that he believes are “unfounded, misleading or completely inaccurate conclusions.”
ä See AUDIT, page 5A
Congress charges to stabilize Social Security Johnson, Cassidy leading efforts amid looming shortfall
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Kindergarteners watch the teacher write on a video board during a grammar lesson. Nearly two-thirds of those who responded to a survey by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers oppose an executive order by Gov. Jeff Landry that seeks to pay for $2,000 stipends for teachers and $1,000 for eligible support staff by cutting state education funding by $168 million.
Districts warn that reduced budget would force elimination of programs, staff BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Louisiana educators overwhelmingly want to receive pay stipends, but they oppose Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to bankroll the pay boost by cutting public school funding, according to the results of a statewide teachers union survey released Monday. Nearly 70% of survey respondents said they support giving teachers and certain
school support staff one-time stipends again this year, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Landry state’s largest teachers union. If the state fails to fund the stipends, educators who have received the bonuses the past three years instead of raises could potentially face a pay cut.
But nearly two-thirds of respondents also oppose an executive order by Landry that seeks to pay for the $2,000 stipends for teachers and $1,000 for eligible support staff by cutting state education funding by $168 million. School system leaders have warned that the cut could force schools to eliminate some programs or staff positions, though Landry has argued that school systems have enough extra money to weather the reduction. “This is not a simple yes or no from educators,” union President Larry Carter Jr. said in a statement. “They are saying: Protect our pay, but do not cut school funding to do it.” On Friday, a Baton Rouge judge temporarily blocked Landry’s order after several
education advocates sued, arguing that the governor exceeded his legal authority by effectively reallocating education funding, which is controlled by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Legislature. Lawmakers have until Tuesday to vote remotely on the funding cut, which needs the approval of two-thirds of the Legislature to take effect. However, the judge’s temporary restraining order has put the voting process in limbo. The survey results come after statewide associations representing superintendents, school boards and principals have all come out against Landry’s June 2 executive
ä See STIPENDS, page 7A
WASHINGTON — Nearly 1 million Louisiana seniors — about 17.4% of the state’s population — will see their monthly Social Security check drop significantly unless Congress can make changes enough to keep the trust fund from going insolvent in six years. T h a t d o e s n ’t mean an end to Social Security, as many have fretted. Johnson But it does mean a steep decrease in benefits. A typical Louisiana beneficiary would lose $460 from their $1,726 monthly Social Security check, acCassidy cording to a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget analysis of the dreary financial forecast released last week by the Social Security Trustees for the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust. The trustees’ report appears to have energized a Congress that has been dragging its feet for years since this problem first emerged. While a number of senators and representatives from both parties have been writing letters demanding action, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, are at the tip of the spear in trying to find ways to address the trust fund’s shortfall.
ä See SHORTFALL, page 5A
A L A N G R E E N S P A N 1926 -2026
Economist, former Federal Reserve chair dies at 100 BY PAUL WISEMAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writers
WASHINGTON — Alan Greenspan, the jazz-playing U.S. Federal Reserve chair who was celebrated for engineering a decade of prosperity but later shared the blame for a devastating financial crisis,
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died Monday. He was 100. Greenspan died from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his wife of 29 years, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell. “To me he was my husband, who shaped my life from our very first date in 1984,” Mitchell wrote. “He had ‘irrational exu-
berance’ for baseball, the Washington Commanders, tennis, golf, and music, especially jazz. He will be remembered for his brilliance and his kindness. Being his life partner was the joy of my life.” The Fed said Greenspan helped to cement trust in the Fed during a time of economic uncertainty.
“Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve achieved a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and helped anchor the public’s confidence in the institution,” the central bank said in a statement Monday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan testifies April 7, 2010, on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearing examining the causes of the collapse of major financial institutions ä See GREENSPAN, page 7A caused by subprime lending.
Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................6D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-5D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
101ST yEAR, NO. 358