BY VICKI FERSTEL | Staff writer Two major flood-control projects in Louisiana — the Comite Flood Control Project and the West Shore Hurricane Protection Project — may reap $575 million in federal spending to address their funding shortfalls. The big if: Congress first needs to approve the latest appropriations bill. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, expressed exasperation with the delays: “We’ve had to bail these projects out so many times in recent years, you’d think the chaos was engineered in their plans.” Just before he died, Clarence Augustus told his mother and sister that Jarvis Lee Bowie shot him. But will a Baton Rouge jury believe it? State prosecutors plan to use the dying declaration to prove Bowie’s guilt. But his defense attorney says the supposed statement is hearsay. The matter will play out in Bowie's second-degree murder trial scheduled March 11. Congratulations to LSU's Angel Reese and Mikaylah Williams. Reese was voted the 2024 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, and Williams the SEC Freshman of the Year. Reese joins Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles as the only LSU players to win the SEC Player of the Year award. Reese and Williams are among five Tigers honored with the SEC's postseason awards. | 