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BATON ROUGE--The House Agriculture Committee advanced a resolution to create a task force to study the impact of using farmland for solar energy developments.
House Concurrent Resolution 45, written by Rep. Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, stated that the Louisiana Solar Siting Task Force would “study the impact of, and alternatives to, locating solar energy developments on farmland.”
The discussion featured Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, expressing his concern that solar farms would destroy more jobs than they would create and that the task force would be filled by members with ties to the solar farming industry.
Rep. Vincent St. Blanc III, R-Franklin, responded that the task force’s job would be to protect farmers from making costly mistakes. He noted that many farmers' decisions to lease land for large installations of solar panels did not pan out.
The resolution is the latest action to try to control or limit where solar panels are located. Previous legislative measures sought to suspended tax incentives and other public financial support for certain utility-scale solar projects.
International energy experts say that the world is gradually reducing its use of oil and gas and shifting to greater use of renewable fuels like solar and wind power. To capture new jobs, other oil and gas states, like Texas and Oklahoma, have provided more incentives for alternative energy projects than Louisiana has.
But farmers in Louisiana say they cannot pay as much as big utility companies to lease land, and some local officials say there are few jobs at the solar farms after they are built.

October, 14, 1929 - May 13, 2023

Louie Luke LeBlanc, affectionately known as "Lou" to his family and friends, passed away in the morning hours of Saturday, May 13 just as the sun rose on another of God's glorious days. At his passing he was 93.
Lou was born October 14, 1929 in the rural Vermilion Parish community of Bayou Tigre to the late Delino LeBlanc and the late Jeilles Saunier LeBlanc, the eldest of three children born to that union. He was raised in a family steeped in Cajun heritage and taught the value of honest work and taking advantage of all that nature had to offer.
He proudly served his country as a soldier with the United States Army, and when he was discharged, he began a career in the oil and gas industry. He spent 26 years as an engineer with Odeco working offshore, and after his retirement began working with the Bayou Tigre Drainage District as a Dragline operator.
Of course, being that he was raised in cajun country, he had a love of the outdoors and spent as little time indoors as possible. In his family's eyes, he was a workaholic tending to his garden, maintaining his property and working in his shop fixing things, but in reality, Lou was in his glory. It didn't matter if he was fishing or trimming trees, just as long as he could be outside. He did relax on occasion and those times were spent on his patio overlooking his property. They also shared a laugh about Lou telling them he was "going work on his computer", which really meant he was going take a nap.
Above all, it can easily be said that his greatest love was that of his family. This man, who was a giant to some, was truly a gentle and loving man who dedicated his life to his bride of 63 years and the family they made. Many memories were made sitting on his patio that will remain in the hearts of the family he held so dear to his heart. His legacy will certainly live on and his spirit will remain with us forever. We rejoice in knowing that he is not gone, only gone on before us. Until we meet again. We love you.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife and best friend of 63 years, Dolores Campbell LeBlanc; his children, Dale LeBlanc (Judy) and Jenny LeBlanc (Brian Rush); his grandchildren, Zachary LeBlanc (Kristen) and Kiley LeBlanc; his great grandchildren, Kinley and Kayden LeBlanc; and his twin siblings, Mona Hanes and Morris "Boy" LeBlanc (Myrtle).
Along with his parents, Lou was preceded in death by his brother in law, Arthur Hanes, Jr.
A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating Lou's life was held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church with Fr. Buddy Breaux as celebrant. Following the mass, he was laid to rest in Our Lady of the Lake Mausoleum.
A gathering of family and friends was held at Evangeline Funeral Home of Delcambre on Monday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m., with the Rosary being prayed at 6 p.m. Visiting hours will resumed on Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.
Those honored to serve as pallbearers are Zachary LeBlanc, Brian Rush, Randy Campbell, Albert Wehbe, Kiley LeBlanc and Liz Hanes. Dale LeBlanc will serve as honorary pallbearer.
The family would like to extend the sincerest gratitude to Liz Hanes and Brian Rush, for their undying love and compassion while caring for Lou and our family. You are both loved and greatly appreciated.
Relatives and friends are encouraged to share their condolences and memories with the family by visiting Lou's memorial page at www.evangelinedelcambre.com
Evangeline Funeral Home of Delcambre is in charge of arrangements.Evangeline Funeral Home of Delcambre is in charge of arrangements

Organized Little League baseball was still far in the future when the Crowley Rotary Club decided in the spring of 1923 to set up a four-team league for any boy between the ages of 12 and 16 “whether he be a star or whether or not he feels that he is a good player.”
Several other south Louisiana communities had youth teams that year, but a team made up of Crowley’s best players was too good for most of them.
The Rotary Baseball Association planned a schedule of two games a week, “giving enough games to sustain the interest of the boys, with not too many to tire them out.” Each member of the Rotary Club put up $5 to pay for “the necessary equipment and the expense of preparing the grounds for games.”
About 60 boys turned out for the first meeting and most of them remained interested even after Rotary president L.A. Williams told them that before playing a game they would have to turn out “armed with picks, shovels, hoes, and other paraphernalia” to create a diamond on land provided by Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Chappuis near the municipal power plant.
That number swelled to 100 after the Rotarians decided to put the diamond on the North Crowley School grounds rather than the Chappuis property because much less work was needed to get a field in shape.
The boys were grouped into four teams, each reflecting Crowley’s primary business — the Rice-O-Las, the Rice Warehousemen, the Rice Millers, and the Rice Brokers. They played a regular schedule among themselves, but “a picked team” with players from each of them also played teams from other towns.
They beat a team from Roberts Cove in mid-June, and kept on winning. By mid-August their streak stood at six wins and no losses.
The Crowley Signal said good pitching had a lot to do with that, but that Rotarian Larry Martin, who was manager, “no doubt [had] one of the fastest boys’ teams in this part of the country,” and that “it is hard for a hitter to get one past the stone wall infield.”
I don’t find a final tally for the season, but by September 1 the “Rotary Boys” had also beaten teams from Prairie Hayes, Lafayette and Jennings.
It’s not clear whether the Rotarians continued to sponsor the four-team league, but they did organize the “hand-picked” team for the next several years, albeit with not the same sterling results.
In 1925, the team was challenged to a charity match by the Abbeville Farmers, who “declared they would play on [the Crowley] diamond, provided that the proceeds were turned over to the Louisiana Children’s Society.”
Five hundred people paid to watch Crowley win 1-0 in a ten-inning pitchers’ duel. According to the Signal, it was the third consecutive time that they had been forced to play extra innings. They won each of those games, but had some other tough outings on the schedule.
Several weeks later the Signal reported that “Crowley’s railway baseball team romped unmercifully through the Rotary nine in a game played in the Old Spanish Trail park.”
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

The First Amendment is the essential foundation for our nation’s greatness, guaranteeing Americans our precious freedoms that are denied in so many countries. Thus, it is disturbing to behold a bi-partisan group of politicians advocating a big government attempt to restrict the First Amendment in a disastrous piece of legislation called the RESTRICT ACT.
The goal of this legislation is to mitigate threats posed by technology, such as TikTok, developed in foreign countries. The bill gives vast new powers to the Secretary of Commerce to “probe and prohibit certain transactions between the United States and foreign adversaries concerning information and communications technology.”
Unfortunately, in exchange for this “safety,” Americans would be unleashing a massive expansion of the federal government and another intrusion into our free speech rights. Information from American users would become more accessible to the federal government and private citizens could face grave consequences for using “banned” apps.
The penalties would extend to $250,000 for civil infractions and $1 million for criminal violations and a possible sentence of 20 years in prison. At a minimum, the act would limit choices for American users and stifle innovation in the technology industry.
The Biden administration fully supports the legislation, which, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, would “empower the United States government,” which already has too much power. According to U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), the legislation is “a PATRIOT ACT for the digital age.” The PATRIOT ACT was passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and enabled the federal government to expand its surveillance capabilities. These powers should be curtailed, not expanded by another misguided bill.
Not only is the RESTRICT ACT an attack on our First Amendment rights, but so is any attempt to ban Americans from using apps, such as TikTok, according to Professor Eric Goldman of the Santa Clara University School of Law. He views the effort as “a flat-out invasion of our free speech rights,” “corrupt” and undermines “our moral authority by trying to invoke censorship.”
U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) shares the belief that a ban is counterproductive. On the Senate floor, he said, “I hope saner minds will reflect on which is more dangerous: videos of teenagers dancing, or the precedent of the US government banning speech.”
It would also be a tremendous blow to small businesses in Louisiana, which have faced some of their toughest challenges in recent years. From pandemic lockdowns to sky-high inflation to a worker shortage, small business owners have had to overcome plenty of hurdles to stay alive.
In the wake of these challenges, many small businesses turned to TikTok to help grow their customer base and increase sales. The last thing these small businesses need from Congress is a heavy-handed government ban that will negatively impact job creators who have come to rely on the platform.
Supporters of the ban claim that it will address national security concerns and that TikTok could be used as a surveillance tool by the Chinese government. However, all data for U.S. users is stored on servers in our country. More importantly, these politicians fail to recognize that TikTok has become a critical resource and marketing tool for American small business owners and that banning an app used by 150 million Americans infringes on our freedoms.
In Louisiana, thousands of content creators, including small businesses, have come to rely on TikTok to grow their customer base. For many of these users, TikTok is their only income source. In addition, countless Louisiana artists, musicians, and filmmakers depend on the platform for promotion.
It is also worth noting that banning a platform utilized and enjoyed by many Americans goes against our core freedoms and values. If politicians ban TikTok today, which app is next? A free and fair internet is critical to who we are, and prohibiting an app that promotes free speech goes against those principles.
Louisiana small business owners have learned to innovate and succeed over the last few years. We should not let D.C. politicians take away our hard-fought victories or our freedoms. A TikTok ban is the wrong policy, and our elected officials, such as our Republican U.S. Senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, should think about who it would hurt the most, our state’s small businesses.
The Trump administration tried to ban TikTok, but it was struck down by a U.S. District Judge who ruled it was “arbitrary and capricious.” While a more targeted ban on devices used by government officials, on the state or federal level, is legally defensible, a comprehensive prohibition for every American is a totally different matter. It is an assault on our free expression and free speech rights.
If Congress wants to act, a much better approach would be legislation to protect consumer data privacy across all online platforms. This would prohibit technology companies from over-collecting or misusing the data of American consumers. This approach is more focused and makes more sense.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com