 BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer As Superintendent Sito Narcisse and the East Baton Rouge Parish school system prepare to send an uncertain number of administrators packing to cut costs, four are already out the door. Three of that group — Milton Batiste III, Ben Necaise and C. Michael Robinson — recently landed jobs to run their own school districts. The School Board plans to meet at 5 p.m. Thursday to consider the budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which began Saturday. A final vote is not expected until July 24.
A Baton Rouge man accused of masterminding the slaying of his estranged wife will stand trial Aug. 7 after years of delays, a judge has decided. Hamid Ghassemi is charged with first-degree murder, accused of hiring three men to abduct and kill his wife, Tahereh, and their son in April 2015, weeks after the couple's marriage ended. Prosecutors allege Hamid Ghassemi provided the co-conspirators with guns and a syringe to carry out the homicides.
In the midst of a heat wave, Entergy Corp. told customers that their power bills are not likely to be a repeat of last summer's shockers. The reason: Natural gas prices are way down from last year, and likely to remain so in the months ahead. While the lower fuel charge this summer is good news, other looming factors will add to customers' bills, officials warned. | 
