THREE KEYS FOR LSU WOMEN TO GET BACK TO THE FINAL FOUR 1C
N O L A.C O M
|
T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 12, 2026
$2.00X
Resignation deepens fight over judicial discipline Letter accuses improper action taken against judges
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
The colorful flotilla that is the most unique part of Bayou Boogaloo is not officially part of the fest this year.
Bayou Boogaloo scaling back
A former state Supreme Court justice resigned in dramatic fashion last week from the Judiciary Commission, accusing the body of failing to hold judges accountable for wrongdoing, days before Gov. Jeff Landry urged the Louisiana Legislature to pass legislation to rein in judges. “I have realized that I serve no purpose as a member,” former Justice Chet Traylor wrote in a letter to Landry explaining why he resigned from the commission, which investigates complaints against judges and can recommend their discipline to the Supreme Court. He called for more transparency around judicial discipline and alleged that complaints against judges often go unaddressed. “Judges need to be aboveboard and accountable as their actions determine the way our citizens view our government,” he wrote. “I only wish that my serving could have turned the tide.” Traylor’s scathing remarks stand out in a state
ä See DISCIPLINE, page 6A
20th anniversary festival will take place in two smaller locations and without an official flotilla of colorful watercraft
Av e.
on
llt
Bayou Boogaloo is celebrating its 20th birthday at a crossroads. The semiaquatic music festival that has been held on the south end of Bayou St. John each May since 2006 is scaling back and relocating. Founder Jarad Zeller said that a combination of financial risk, permitting struggles, a drop in sponsorship revenue and personal fatigue have combined to cause the popular event to “take a pause” this year. “We’re not in debt, we’re not entering bankruptcy,” he said, but the festival has to take a new tack. “You have to ask yourself if you want to keep hitting your head against the wall,” he said. The most unique, most conspicuous part of the event has been the attendees borne on kayaks, canoes, homemade boats, inflatable rafts and pool toys. The colorful flotilla is not officially a part of the fest in
2026, Zeller said, and he does not The second location of Bayou Booplan to appeal to the state for a ma- galoo 2026 will be a considerable distance from the bayou, at the landrine activity permit. Though, the bobbing crowd may locked Broadside event space at 600 appear “organically” anyway, Zeller N. Broad St. Most of this year’s consaid. certs will take place The 2026 fest, there. Food trucks City Park Av E s e. pla scheduled for May and art booths may na de 15-17, will take place be present during Mo at two locations. The The Broadside conss first is the Historic certs, though Zeller Pitot House Musesaid that specific Pitot plans are still up in um at 1440 Moss St., Tou House lou the air. which lies on Bayou se Bayou La The festival was St. John about a half fit St. John te Or founded after Hurmile from the origiGr l ea ee ns nal Bayou Boogaloo ricane Katrina with nw ay Av e. location. the mission of proThe small foot- MID-CITY viding entertainStaff map print of the Pitot ment and improving House property will be used as a the condition of the then-neglected “super intimate” experience, Zeller urban waterway of Bayou St. John. said, with music, a crawfish boil and In 2010, the fest planted oaks on possibly other food vendors. Keep- what had been the barren banks of ing a venue, even a small venue, on the south end of the bayou and has the bayou was crucial to the purpose ä See BOOGALOO, page 6A of the fest, Zeller said. ro
Staff writer
Ca r
BY DOUG MacCASH
2026 LEGISLATURE EDUCATION
Bills target new state rules for private pre-K BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Competing bills in the Louisiana Legislature that aim to quell the uproar over a new state law regulating private preschools take starkly different approaches: One proposal would revise the law, while the other would gut it. Passed unanimously by the Legislature last year, Act 409 imposes stringent licensure rules on prekindergarten programs at private schools but exempts programs at public and Montessori schools. Proponents say the law strengthens protections for young children in private settings, but critics — including two private schools that unsuccessfully challenged the law in court — call the regulations excessive and unnecessary due to
ä See BILLS, page 7A
Iran targets ships, oil facilities as economic concerns mount BY JON GAMBRELL, SALLY ABOU ALJOUD and LISA MASCARO Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport Wednesday and attacked commerCO ONFLICT cial ships as U.S. and Israeli strikes IN THE T MIIDDLE rocked Tehran and the U.N.’s most EAST AST powerful body demanded a halt to Iran’s strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten the world’s oil supply. The latest attacks marked an escalation in the Islamic Republic’s campaign aimed at generating
WEATHER HIGH 68 LOW 51 PAGE 8B
INSIDE
ä U.S., other countries will tap strategic reserves. Page 4A ä Trump unclear on explaining Iran endgame. Page 4A ä Outdated intelligence likely led to U.S. strike on school, sources say. Page 5A enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war that started 12 days ago. But there were no signs that the conflict was letting up. The first week of war with Iran cost $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon, which provided the es-
timate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The military reported spending $5 billion on munitions alone in the war’s first weekend. Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other as the conflict upends trade routes, chokes supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatens air traffic through one of the world’s mosttraveled regions. Iran has targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations and effectively stopped cargo traffic
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By HASSAN AMMAR
Flames rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs, ä See IRAN, page 7A on Wednesday.
Business ......................3D Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................8D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-7D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 212