BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer A bill pushed through the state House on Monday that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government is drawing fire from members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus. “This bill is about race, that’s all,” said Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria. The measure's author, Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, teared up briefly as she defended it, saying, “My desire is that we come together, and we not divide.” But Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, echoing the views of other Democrats, said Chenevert’s bill would undermine efforts to overcome laws that have held back Black people and women. Read more about the measure's goals. Ryan Joseph Sharpe, who has already been convicted of murdering one man, will now stand trial in the shooting death of 66-year-old Carroll Breeden Sr. in 2017. A judge on Tuesday declared Sharpe mentally fit to face a trial, which will begin in November. Breeden was gunned down while he doing yard work outside his rural Port Hudson-Pride Road home in September 2017. Read more about Tuesday's competency hearing for Sharpe. After a pair of stunning home losses to Southeastern during last weekend's NCAA softball regional, longtime LSU coach Beth Torina is already looking ahead to next season. "We’re going to make adjustments to make sure that doesn’t happen again, said Torina, the school's all-time winningest coach with a 578-253 record in 14 seasons. Read about what she says must improve for the team to contend. | 