BY DEANNA B. NARVESON | Staff writer Fundraising in the race for mayor: The 2024 Baton Rouge mayoral election continues to dwarf the fundraising of past races, as candidates have already hit notable milestones with a month still to go before Election Day. With more than $202,000 in contributions reported in the most recent period, Democrat Ted James has now raised more than $1.01 million this election cycle, significantly outpacing any other candidate in the race. No other East Baton Rouge mayor-president candidate has reached that mark 30 days before the primary in recent cycles, and according to immediately available data from the Louisiana Secretary of State, no other candidate has reached $1 million in donations through an entire cycle. Read the full story from City Hall reporter Patrick Sloan-Turner. More details: Features of Gov. Jeff Landry’s proposed state tax code rewrite — like permanent teacher raises paid for with local funds — are coming into clearer relief. Landry’s tax czar and tax reform evangelist, Louisiana Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson, on Tuesday continued his campaign to convince lawmakers of the merits of proposed tax legislation that would be the centerpiece of a possible special legislative session in November. Here's what Nelson said. Corruption probe: Months before allegations of corruption involving a Louisiana Office of Conservation employee came to light, high-ranking officials raised concerns that the company at the heart of that investigation had violated its state contract to plug abandoned oil wells. Johnny Adams, an assistant conservation commissioner, is accused of receiving $780,000 to buy a house from the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, or LORA, a private company with a state contract investigators say he oversaw. Read the latest. | 