VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOUISIANA

Pence urges school reopening in Louisiana amid virus surge

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence insisted schools should reopen to in-person instruction for students in a visit to Louisiana. The state has reemerged as one of the nation’s hot spots for the coronavirus only months after signs pointed to a successful outbreak response. The Republican vice president appeared at Louisiana State University with Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and other state leaders. Pence described the nation as “in a much better position today to deal with the pandemic” even as virus cases surge across much of the country. Louisiana isn’t taking the wide-open approach sought by Pence. Schools are planning a mix of online and in-person learning this fall.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOUISIANA SCHOOLS

Louisiana board sets minimum standards for school reopenings

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Teachers and students will have to wear face coverings as much as possible. Schools will be limited to visitors. And classrooms for young students could become the equivalent of a one-room schoolhouse. Those provisions are included in new coronavirus regulations for Louisiana schools approved Tuesday by the state’s top school board. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted the minimum safety standards for schools reopening this fall a day before the deadline set by state lawmakers. The rules include a mask mandate for students in grades 3 through 12. But that regulation has language applying the face coverings “to the greatest extent possible and practical.”

RACIAL INJUSTICE-LOUISIANA DEATH

No prosecution in Black man’s 2018 custody death

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A suburban New Orleans district attorney says he won’t prosecute four sheriff’s deputies in connection with the asphyxiation death of a Black man during an arrest in 2018. Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick released a 27-page report Tuesday on his investigation into the death of 22-year-old Keeven Robinson. Robinson’s death has been the subject of multiple protests in Jefferson Parish, where the coroner said there were signs of trauma on Robinson’s neck. Connick said an investigation showed Jefferson deputies used justifiable force during an attempt to arrest him on drug charges.  A civil lawsuit by Robinson’s family continues.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ATTORNEY GENERAL

Louisiana attorney general has coronavirus, is in quarantine

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is quarantining himself after testing positive for the coronavirus. His spokesman said Tuesday that the prominent state Republican has no symptoms of COVID-19, but that he’s taking medications prescribed by his doctor and isolating at his property in Louisiana. Landry spokesman Millard Mule told The Associated Press the attorney general got tested for the coronavirus because he had planned to attend events with Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday. Pence’s trip to Louisiana is meant to focus on the pandemic response just as the state sees a resurgence in coronavirus infections.

FALSE STATEMENT-SENATOR

Probation for ex-state senator who lied to federal agency

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former Louisiana state senator has been sentenced to probation for lying to a federal agency about a hurricane recovery loan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans says 52-year-old Wesley Bishop was sentenced in federal court Tuesday. He had pleaded guilty in January. Bishop was accused of lying to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by falsely claiming certain individuals were tenants at his rental property that was renovated with federal dollars through a state program. As part of his plea agreement, Bishop agreed to pay $188,000 in restitution to the state office that administers the federal agency’s Small Rental Property Program.

CALCASIEU SALTWATER BARRIER

Some work remains on gates at 1968 saltwater barrier

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers has refurbished the gates at a 52-year-old saltwater barrier in Louisiana, but tells recreational boaters that some work remains. It says that means it will have to close the Calcasieu Saltwater Barrier gates intermittently, sometimes causing backups for boaters in the Lake Charles area. A news release says the intermittent closures are expected to last until July 27.  The barrier was built after the channel for the Port of Lake Charles was deepened in the early 1950s. The deeper channel increased shipping but let Gulf of Mexico saltwater move inland, damaging wetlands and threatening rice irrigation. The saltwater barrier was completed in 1968.

AP-US-FORMOSA-PLASTICS-LOUISIANA

Court asked to stop work at Formosa Plastics’ Louisiana site

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Opponents of a Taiwan-based company’s plans for a $9.4 billion plastics complex have asked a federal judge to stop work at the site in Louisiana. The 55-page request says planned construction will damage nearby wetlands, increase the likelihood of offsite flooding and desecrate graves of enslaved people. National and New Orleans-area environmental and community groups filed the request Tuesday in Washington, where they sued the Army Corps of Engineers for approving wetlands permits for the project. Formosa Plastics Group member FG LA LLC  says the motion is without merit. It also says limited site preparation doesn’t merit shutting down the whole project.

MISSING TEACHER

Trial delayed for man accused of killing wife in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The trial for a man accused of killing his wife in Louisiana nearly a decade ago has been delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Advocate reports 45-year-old Oscar Lozada was set to stand trial Monday on a second-degree murder charge in the slaying of Sylviane Finck Lozada. His attorney and Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings requested a delay, citing the ongoing pandemic. Investigators allege Oscar Lozada killed his wife and disposed of her body after the 51-year-old high school teacher went missing near Baton Rouge in 2011. Her remains haven’t been found. A new date for the trial wasn’t immediately scheduled.