(The Center Square) — As school wraps up in the summer months, juvenile crime in Caddo Parish slightly increases starting in May according to Director of Juvenile Service Andrew Randall Jr.

He said May is the highest admissions month for the detention center. 

The Center Square spoke with Randall about upcoming efforts and partnerships in the parish that are ongoing to combat juvenile crime. 

“We’re always, of course, working to not just be responsive to crime, particularly among juveniles, but to be preventative as well,” Randall said. “When we look at this time of year, school is letting out or getting ready to let out, and the summer will begin. That kind of intensifies our efforts. If we track just from the data points, even of last year, our highest month of admissions to the detention center was actually May.”

With children being out of school for the summer, Randall said they are putting in place events to keep kids busy and engaged. Juvenile services partners with parks and recreation as a means to give children in Caddo parish a summer experience. 

The Be S.A.F.E. crime prevention initiative stands for Summer Activities in a Friendly Environment and seeks to support neighborhoods and communities in the area by offering free community events. As of now, a summer curfew is in place each night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those 17 and younger until August 31. 

Apart from the summer programs, probation officers work with churches and other community organizations. These efforts can include Big Brother and Big Sister type programs “that help with kids who are just looking to get plugged in, or even parents, frankly, who are looking for activities for their kids,” said Randall. 

According to Randall, the first quarter report for 2025 showed four top offenses for children arrested.

“We had 11 arrests for simple burglary, and 10 each for the domestic abuse battery and illegal possession of stolen things in the first quarter of this year,” Randall said. “The fourth one, I guess, because it’s related to the third, is illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile. We had eight arrests for that.”

As of May 5, reported juvenile numbers showed 14 in detention, two 17-year-olds, six in the Office of Juvenile Justice, 23 CCC and 456 probation cases. Parish Administrator Erica Bryant also reported one spot left in the Caddo Corrections Center with 1,499 filled.

With efforts still ongoing to decrease juvenile crime, statistics are reporting lower than at the beginning of the year for Caddo Parish. 

Emilee Ruth Calametti currently serves as Staff Reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Her articles have been featured in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, EntertainmentNOW, AOL, MSN, and more. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.

(The Center Square) – A halt to President Donald Trump’s tariffs was sought by a court motion filed Wednesday by a coalition led by Arizona and Oregon.

The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed by Democratic attorneys general from the two states as well as Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont. The states filed the motion in the U.S. Court of International Trade, which is primarily based in New York City. They’re asking the court to order federal agencies to stop collecting what the states call Trump’s “illegal tariffs.”

The motion is part of a lawsuit that the states filed in late April in the same court. The suit named Trump, the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its acting commissioner, Peter Flores, as defendants.

The Democratic attorneys general’s lawsuit challenges the Republican president’s executive orders calling for higher tariffs on most products around the world. The tariffs include a 145% tariff on most goods from China, a 25% tariff on most products from Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on most products from the rest of the world.

In addition to seeking a pause on those tariffs, the motion filed Wednesday calls for the U.S. Court of International Trade to block Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on 56 additional international trading partners on July 9.

Trump has contended he had the power to impose the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, but the states’ lawsuit and Wednesday’s motion disagree. The states also contend the constitutional authority rests with Congress, not the president. 

“These tariffs weren’t approved by Congress, violate the Constitution, and are already driving up costs for Arizona families, small businesses and local governments,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Wednesday.

“The law is clear. Only Congress can impose taxes like these, and the President’s attempt to sidestep that authority is both unconstitutional and economically disastrous,” Mayes said in a news release.

It’s important to pause the tariffs before they do any damage, she stressed.

The states in the lawsuit submitted an economic analysis to the court. The analysis said state and local governments in the states filing Wednesday’s motion stand to pay at least $3.4 billion per year in additional costs because of the tariffs.

“Unless this Court intervenes, the States will suffer irreparable harm,” Wednesday’s motion reads. “President Trump’s tariffs are already disrupting procurement by state agencies and universities and impairing state budgeting processes. States will have no practical ability to recover the enormous expenses they will incur when buying vital goods and equipment as importers inevitably raise prices because of the IEEPA Tariff Orders.”

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said the tariffs are hurting Oregonians and small businesses.

“Families cannot be expected to pay more at the store at a time when they’re already struggling to afford the basics.” Rayfield said in a news release. “The President can’t just slap on tariffs that hurt working people without following the law.

“I don’t know many families who can afford an extra $3,800 a year,” Rayfield said, referring to a figure his office previously published on the estimated impact on the average Oregon family. 

(The Center Square) – Protection from discrimination in financing for North Carolina farmers is poised to reach the finish line at the General Assembly.

The Senate on Wednesday evening gave final passage to a proposal that makes it illegal for a banks “denying or canceling service for agricultural producers based on greenhouse gas emissions or use of fossil-fuel derived fertilizer or powered machinery,” says the digest from the UNC School of Government in concert with the state legislative site. Environmental, social, and governance policies in investments are often called ESG.

The Farmers Protection Act, known also as Senate Bill 554 and with a companion House Bill 62, was approved 36-11 in the upper chamber with seven Democrats in favor. House Bill 62 has been in the lower chamber’s Committee on Commerce and Economic Development since March 17.

Sens. Buck Newton and Lisa Barnes of neighboring Wilson and Nash counties, respectively, shepherded the bill. No Republicans were against it. Democrats in favor were Sens. Gale Adcock and Dan Blue of Wake County; Woodson Bradley, Mujtaba Mohammed and Joyce Waddell of Mecklenburg County; Paul Lowe of Forsyth County; and Gladys Robinson of Guilford County,

If enacted, the bill becomes law immediately.