 BY VICKI FERSTEL | Staff writer Trying to follow Louisiana's congressional reapportionment saga is a bit like watching three-dimensional chess: Maybe Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock could figure it out, but we're confused. Here to help are staff writer Mark Ballard and columnist Quin Hillyer. Ballard notes two members of the judicial panel that shot down the maps said the plan puts too much weight on race and not enough on factors like compactness of the districts and "communities of interest." The third judge disagreed. Hillyer quips the maps feature a second Black-majority district that "strangely looks like a long, thin, twisted dog’s toy" — one result, he says, of competing federal laws. The judges set a hearing today to figure out the next steps. Your move, Mr. Spock.
Also on tap today is the first of a series of gatherings to address the long-dormant search for a new East Baton Rouge schools superintendent. The action begins tonight with a community meeting at Tara High and ends with a special School Board meeting Thursday night. Staff writer Charles Lussier explains that the School Board is juggling two matters: developing goals and a vision for the district while looking "for the person who can make those goals and that vision a reality."
Calling all LSU Tiger fans: sports columnist Scott Rabalais needs your help. He's writing a book. Not just any book. This tome, a project of The Advocate, will be released in November, in time for the 100th anniversary of the first game in Tiger Stadium on Nov. 27, 1924. Rabalais says he's "looking for folks who have an LSU room full of memorabilia. A scale model of Tiger Stadium made out of Legos. A piece of Tiger Stadium turf in your yard, protected by an electric fence and lasers. You get the gist." You know what to do: Start by clicking here for the details. | 
