A Tulane researcher behind a controversial study that called for planning a gradual relocation from Louisiana's vulnerable coastal areas is defending the work after weeks of criticism from local leaders.

Why it matters: The study argued that long-term sea level rise will eventually make permanent reliance on levees unsustainable, sparking a fierce debate over what the state should do next.

The big picture: Tulane coastal geologist Torbjörn Törnqvist told the Baton Rouge Press Club this week that people missed the point of the paper, writes David J. Mitchell with The Times-Picayune.

• Louisiana could become the global leader in responding to sea level rise, Mitchell writes of Törnqvist's comments.
• The study sparked a "long-overdue, community-wide conversation," Törnqvist wrote in a follow-up letter, but does not call for a government-led relocation.

Catch up quick: The researchers identified what they say was the Gulf's ancient shoreline near present-day Ponchatoula, arguing it offers a glimpse of how far inland the coast could eventually move.

• Now is the time to start planning for amulti-generational relocation from coastal areas, the researchers say.

The other side: Local leaders blasted the study.

• Mayor Helena Moreno, in a NOLA.com opinion piece, said researchers underestimate human innovation and questioned why "New Orleans was uniquely singled out for abandonment," and not Miami or New York.
• GNO Inc. president and CEO Michael Hecht, in a letter in The Guardian, criticized the study, saying it was "rife with flaws" and "abandonment is simply not realistic."
• Törnqvist pushed back Monday, Mitchell writes, saying Moreno appeared not to have read the study and accused Hecht of making "disgusting" comments about the authors.

Zoom in: The migration is already happening informally, LSU coastal scientist Sam Bentley tells the Louisiana Illuminator.

• Cameron Parish, which has been battered repeatedly by storms and coastal flooding, has lost 52% of its population since 2000, he says.
• New Orleans has lost 25% in that same period, with the largest loss after Hurricane Katrina. Go deeper.

What's next: Louisiana needs to focus on "aggressive, science-informed" coastal restoration efforts to buy time while beginning difficult conversations about climate migration, Törnqvist writes in a letter to NOLA.com.

• "We are not giving up on anything or anyone," he writes.

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Almost one in five U.S. homes — worth around $8 trillion — are at severe or extreme risk from hurricane wind damage, according to a Realtor.com analysis.

• The analysis also found that roughly 6.1% of homes are at severe or extreme risk of flood damage and 5.6% from fire.

Why it matters: Climate change is intensifying extreme weather — hiking home insurance premiums in especially storm-prone areas.

Zoom in: Fully 100% of homes in 14 major metros in Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida and Texas carry severe or extreme hurricane wind risk, per the report.

• Nationwide, that share is around 18.3%.

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🚜 Mayor Helena Mayor and Councilmember Freddie King announced new plans to demolish DeGaulle Manor, a long-blighted Algiers apartment complex still standing after multiple attempts to raze the property. The city will use $3 million in short-term rental funds for its removal, which will run through May 2027. (WWL)

🔨 Tulane is taking over efforts to redevelop Charity Hospital. The deal isn't final, but the university would turn it into an education and residential hub. (Rendering)

⚖️ The Supreme Court barred a Louisiana man from suing for monetary damages after guards cut off his dreadlocks while he was imprisoned. The former inmate said the hairstyle was an expression of his Rastafarian religious beliefs. (AP)

🥛 The Louisiana Department of Health is investigating after 11 people reported getting sick from drinking raw milk. The milk came from three different producers, LDH says, and is unregulated for human consumption in the state. (Press release and what to watch for)

The Shrine on Airline is about to get a nearly $30 million glow-up as local and state officials launch a yearlong renovation for the Jefferson Parish facility today.

Why it matters: Local leaders hope the investment can entice a new tenant for the stadium, which sits on about 38 acres off Airline Highway.

Catch up quick: The property has been without a major tenant since the NOLA Gold rugby team hung up its cleats last August, leaving behind an economic and entertainment gap in Jefferson Parish.

Zoom in: The project will convert the stadium into a multi-use venue for high school football, soccer and rugby, and add a permanent stage space for concerts and festivals, Jefferson Parish Councilmember Deano Bonano tells us.

What's next: The current renovation "is just Phase 1," Bonano says. "We're already starting the process to look at what's in scope of Phase 2."

Who's paying for it

On this day in 1973, someone lit a fire at a French Quarter gay bar called the Up Stairs Lounge, killing 32 people and injuring 15.

• Nearly a third of the victims were military veterans, according to the National WWII Museum.
• It remains New Orleans' deadliest fire and one of the country's deadliest attacks against the LGBTQ+ community.

Zoom in: In 2003, the city embedded a memorial in the sidewalk at 604 Iberville St.

• It was stolen in 2024 and replaced last year.

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