News

The Jennings Recreation Department is kicking off registration for its 2026 recreational soccer season with two major changes aimed at giving more young athletes the opportunity to play. For the first time, the league has expanded beyond city limits, welcoming participants from throughout Jeff Davis Parish, while also adding a new 14-15-year-old division in response to requests from returning players who wanted to continue participating after aging out of the program.

— Louisiana's effort to keep mail-order abortion pills out of the state is headed back to a federal appeals court next month, with the legal fight potentially affecting how mifepristone is distributed nationwide.

(The Center Square) — Louisiana public schools will begin operating under new physical education standards in the 2027-28 school year that call for fitness assessments beginning in kindergarten, but local school systems will have discretion over how those assessments are administered and whether individual results are shared with parents.

— SpaceX has officially chosen Louisiana for the largest launch facility in its growing spaceflight empire, committing $100 billion to a Vermilion Parish campus that the company says could eventually send thousands of rockets into space each year.

LAKE ARTHUR — A standing- room-only crowd filled Lake Arthur Town Hall last week as residents, council members and representatives from LFT Fiber spent nearly an hour discussing a proposed broadband expansion. The special meeting drew one of the largest crowds in recent memory as residents took advantage of the opportunity to question company officials before council members voted on the request. Ultimately, the board of aldermen unanimously declined to provide a letter of support for the company’s grant application.

The Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury voted recently to decline participation in the Acadiana Watershed District after jurors questioned whether the regional organization provides enough direct benefit to justify an annual membership contribution. The decision followed discussion over a request for the parish to contribute approximately $8,400 annually to remain a member of the regional watershed organization, which was originally established through federal grant funding.

Art, fine wine and an elegant dinner will take center stage Thursday, Oct. 1, when the Zigler Art Museum hosts its annual Fine Wine and Dine fundraiser.

A live stream “Meet the Candidates” forum is being planned for the 31st Judicial District Judge and Jeff Davis Parish District Attorney candidates in September. Parish residents are asked to submit questions to be presented to the candidates regarding decisions they would make if elected to office.