Staff report As LSU officials move forward on a proposal to build a $400 million new arena on campus, they plan to use a law passed by the Legislature last year to create a special taxing district surrounding the university — one with the power to give public dollars to private developers. But several members of the Baton Rouge Metro Council, which voted last month in favor of the LSU arena deal, have said in recent interviews that they are uncertain how the new taxing district would work. Read the latest on the plans to develop a replacement for the PMAC. In more LSU news, the university has reached a settlement with a group of 10 former students who sued the school in 2021 amid allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic violence by LSU football players that garnered national attention and thrust the university's leadership into turmoil. Several plaintiffs accused former LSU running back Derrius Guice of assault. Read more. After a week of wandering, Boot the tortoise has returned home. It turns out the 6-year-old Sulcata tortoise, which had ambled off from his home along Hooper Road, didn't make it far on his 9-day adventure: A neighbor found him tranquilly drinking from a dog's water bowl on Easter afternoon. Check out the story of his homecoming. | 