Charter school boom is back

with Matthew Albright | Assistant metro editor

Good morning! Here are some of our top stories as you go into the new week.

Thousands of new charter school seats opening up

The COVID pandemic put the brakes on how fast charter schools were growing in the Baton Rouge area. But things are picking up again: The state recently approved three new schools that intend to draw thousands of students from all over the region.

This story explains what they are, where they'll be, and how some of them have proved controversial. 

When a judge sues judges, who gets to be the judge?

A Baton Rouge judge is suing his fellow judges after they gave a retired judge's civil docket to someone else; he says the seniority rules mean it should have gone to him.

The Supreme Court has appointed a judge to hear the lawsuit, but the judges who are being sued say he doesn't have the authority to order them to do anything, because that judge isn't part of a higher court.

This story walks through the legal drama.

They caught him. Again. 

The Pointe Coupee Sheriff said his deputies had already arrested 16-year-old Damarion Simmons three times. But Simmons broke out of three different juvenile detention facilities, and was on the lam again as of Wednesday.

On Sunday, they busted him for a fourth time, the sheriff said. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great week.