BY DEANNA B. NARVESON | Staff writer The chief deputy assessor in Ascension Parish illegally lowered the property tax assessment on his own house two different times in an apparent effort to save money, according to police. Officers told The Advocate they launched an investigation after an audit of the Ascension Parish Assessor's Office indicated "possible malfeasance." Read more. A year after Louisiana lawmakers left Baton Rouge by promising to return this spring and permanently raise K-12 teacher salaries, House lawmakers advanced a spending package that includes raises for only some teachers and cuts early childhood education. Statehouse reporter James Finn has the latest on how Louisiana's budget is shaping up. How did a Claude Monet drawing stolen by Nazis end up in south Louisiana? Monet, who would become one of the most influential figures in all of European art, was just 25 years old in 1865 when he sketched the Normandy coast. It's in FBI custody now, but the painting passed through a murky tangle of war, Nazi looting, European galleries and eventually an art and antiques gallery in the French Quarter first. Read the full story about this artwork's long journey. | 