BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer Vice President Kamala Harris and others slammed the U.S. Supreme Court’s move Thursday to end nearly a half-century of affirmative action in college admissions, calling the ruling a stumbling block for minorities. However, the effect of the court’s decision — which found that race-conscious admission policies at universities are unconstitutional — is minimal for Louisiana’s institutions, which are not as selective as the schools the court pondered, University of Louisiana System President Jim Henderson said. While some smaller downstream colleges may limit minority admissions, Louisiana’s public universities are more interested in enrolling as many students as possible, said Albert Samuels of Southern University in Baton Rouge. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves on Thursday announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' top military and civilian leadership recently committed to him to find a funding strategy that will cover a $476 million shortfall and keep work going without delay on the Comite River Diversion Canal. Corps officials had said about three months ago that construction on the Baton Rouge region's biggest flood control project would likely to run out money at the end of the year and grind to a halt. The 12-mile canal is designed to divert Amite River Basin floodwater to the Mississippi River. The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra made its official Thursday as Adam Johnson was introduced as the symphony's new music director and conductor. He comes to Baton Rouge from the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, where he has been resident conductor since 2019. Johnson was among a roster of guest conductors invited to lead the orchestra in the past three years. The symphony has been without a permanent conductor and music director since Timothy Muffitt announced his retirement in 2019. | 