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T u e s d ay, M ay 26, 2026
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After defeat, Cassidy doesn’t hold back
With seven months left in term, senator says he will continue to work for state BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
PHOTOS By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI
Flags adorn gravestones at the Louisiana National Cemetery on Monday.
SERVICE & SACRIFICE
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy isn’t sure when or even if he’ll go back to practicing medicine after January, when he leaves the Senate. “I really don’t quite yet know what I’m going to do. I’ve got some speaking opportunities,” Cassidy told local reporters over the phone at a news conference. “I just met with my staff. I’ve been really focused on the next seven months. What do we have teed up that we can do Cassidy that’s going to help my state and my country?” Cassidy was defeated in a closed Republican primary on May 16. But, for the next seven months, he remains chair of the powerful Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Cassidy already has been working on legislative ideas to lower the cost of healthcare and health insurance. “I’d really like to accomplish that,” he said. He’s got another measure to punish China for not enforcing environmental laws that he wants to see concluded. He’s working with LSU on ways to rebuild Louisiana’s fast-eroding coastline.
ä See CASSIDY, page 5A
2026 LEGISLATURE
The Glen Oaks High School Color Guard presents the colors.
Veterans stand next to the Memorial Day wreath on Monday during a ceremony at the Louisiana National Cemetery in Zachary. Hundreds gathered to honor those service members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Funding of local ‘pet projects’ questioned Louisiana Army National Guard members perform a gun salute.
Lawmakers defend not tapping reserve for teacher pay, vouchers
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
“People are really beginning to get it,” said Carole Lynn Meadows, chair of the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission. “There are possibilities here.” The largest project expected to transform downtown Gulfport is the construction of a $105 million mixed-use town center. The development, called Channel South, will include retail shops, more than 100 luxury
Louisiana legislators’ plan to draw millions from a special state fund to pay for local projects and other initiatives without funding a stipend for teachers or expanding a school voucher program has drawn backlash both sides of the aisle, with government policy think tanks questioning lawmakers’ priorities. The state’s latest set of budget bills, which could still be amended as legislators enter their final days of session, would divvy up $800 million from the Revenue Stabilization Fund for infrastructure upgrades, state economic development initiatives, regional law enforcement agencies, local governments and some nonprofits and other private organizations. Legislative leaders say it is smartest to spend money from the reserve fund on one-time expenses. They contend the many initiatives added to the budget will make a huge difference to local communities and strengthen the whole state.
ä See GULFPORT, page 4A
ä See LOCAL, page 5A
Gulfport’s downtown stages a comeback Construction is underway May 13 on Channel South, a $105 million town center at the corner of U.S. 90 and 49 in Gulfport, Miss. STAFF PHOTO By JUSTIN MITCHELL
WEATHER HIGH 84 LOW 73 PAGE 6B
nightlife hub that fell quiet Revitalization attracts tling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, vacant buildings are fillinvestors, spurs ing with businesses and word investment opportunities is growth along coast ofspreading.
BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer
Restaurants are opening. Hotels are rising. Developers are planning to build more apartments and shops. It is part of a downtown resurgence in Gulfport, the largest city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The growing scene could be the start of a new era in Gulfport’s city center — a once-bus-
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101ST yEAR, NO. 330