BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore is receiving a surge of vocal support from local officials for a tax proposal on the May 3 ballot that would provide about $24 million annually for the DA's Office, significantly boosting his budget and resulting in more money to fund the city-parish. The tax is estimated to cost the average property owner $5 each month, which Mayor-President Sid Edwards compared to the cost of coffee for a month. Read more about the proposal here. As some Republican state lawmakers and officials across the country hitch their wagons to the Make America Healthy Again movement, bills to ban fluoride in the state's public water systems and make ivermectin available over-the-counter have advanced swiftly through the Louisiana Legislature. Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham lobbied for both bills before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, saying the measures address “patient freedom” issues. “Putting a chemical in the water without the patient’s consent is problematic for me as a physician,” he said of proposed water fluoridation ban. Read more about the bills here. Addis teen John Foster has reached the top 10 on "American Idol," part of a growing history between the show and Louisiana, including Livingston's Laine Hardy who in 2019 became the first contestant from the state to win. Read more about performers from the Pelican State who shined on the show. | 