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M o n d ay, au g u s t 3, 2026
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Bridge toll companies faced lawsuits, concerns ‘We’re learning from their mistakes,’ Lake Charles lawmaker says
BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN and MEGAN WYATT Staff writers
The companies responsible for tolling once construction finishes on the new Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge have been mired in controversy over problems with their tolling infrastructure on another south Louisiana bridge, leading to lawsuits and questions from public officials about the state’s continued partnership with them. Public infrastructure company Plenary and tolling operator Kapsch’s work Fourth in an on the Belle Chasse Bridge occasional series in Plaquemines Parish about the Lake prompted widespread comCharles I-10 bridge plaints from residents after it opened last year, who said the tolling system frequently malfunctioned and led to locals receiving fee bills as high as $7,000. Under pressure, state officials suspended tolling last October on the Belle Chasse Bridge while the state and companies faced lawsuits from Plaquemines Parish and a group of residents. In the meantime, Louisiana has moved forward with the same two companies as the lead developer and tolling operator for the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles, which broke ground in
A BRIDGE TOO STEEP
STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER
Scientist Solomon David holds a garfish after taking a fin clipping in Wilkinson County, Miss., on Thursday. The restoration efforts at Loch Leven, Miss., led by the Nature Conservancy, supports the growth of alligator gar populations and demonstrates the importance of floodplain habitats in the ecosystem’s health.
Alligator gar, once called ‘trash fish,’ now signal a healthy ecosystem on the Mississippi River
ä See CONCERNS, page 4A
BY ALEX LUBBEN
Staff writer
LOCH LEVEN, Miss. — A cast net spread out like a spiderweb over murky waters, hung for a moment and dropped. Charles Vaughan hauled it in and found what he’d traveled 1,000 miles for: a baby fish. The alligator gar was already more than a foot long at about 2 months old, armored in hard scales with a pointed snout full of sharp teeth. The species can live for a century and grow to more than 7 feet long. “They’ve got super fast growth rates,” said Solomon David, a professor of aquatic ecology at the University of Minnesota who calls himself “the gar guy.” Under the right conditions, these fish can grow to over 2 feet long within a year. “The right conditions are basically like here,” David said. The alligator gar is what a team of researchers — Vaughan and David, along
Israel says it has serious unease with Hamas disarmament Trump announces U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement BY SAM MEDNICK Associated Press
Centuries ago, the river ran through here. In 1776, it cut off the bend, leaving behind an oxbow lake — Lake Mary, which curves in a horseshoe around the property. The river kept flooding this land until
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said as Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday evening killed ONFLICT at least 17 people, including CO children, in Gaza. IN THE T The remarks by Doron Spiel- MIIDDLE man, spokesperson for Israeli EAST AST Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, were some of the first public comments since President Donald Trump announced the agreement. Spielman told The Associated Press that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarizing. He said
ä See SUCCESS, page 5A
ä See ISRAEL, page 4A
The Narrows and the Mississippi River are seen in Wilkinson County, Miss., as scientist Solomon David and his team of students collect gar on Thursday. with Gabby Gonzales and Luxi Feyereisen, all with the University of Minnesota system — spent a hot morning in July wading through the shallow waters at Loch Leven to find. And they found one, a sign that a restoration effort here is working.
At Loch Leven, a 6,000acre former farm surrounded by a levee built before the Civil War, the Nature Conservancy led a project to reconnect the waters of the Mississippi River with part of its natural floodplain, or the land that the river once flooded.
N.O. native has key role in Guard’s D.C. mission Cannon coordinates soldiers’ presence in nation’s capital
rines as a young man, serving 18 years, including multiple tours in Iraq. Now the Old Metairie native, who made a pivot to the Louisiana National Guard in 2021, is helping lead a different type of mission: A task force of more than 5,000 National Guard soldiers from across BY JAMES FINN the country who have joined with local Staff writer and federal law enforcement agents to Born and raised in the New Orleans provide security for the nation’s 250th area, Christian Cannon joined the Ma- birthday.
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“This is probably my favorite mission I’ve ever been on,” he said in a recent interview. “Every day I wake up, go to work and get to see the Capitol Dome and the White House above me.” Cannon, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, is high up in the Guard’s Joint Task Force-DC — part of what the government calls its mission to “Keep
ä See CANNON, page 5A
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Lt. Col. Christian Cannon, a New Orleans native, leads a National Guard task force on a security mission during the Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C. PROVIDED PHOTO By SGT. SHERALD McAULAy
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