1/4/19
GROUPS WANTING TO RESERVE MEETING ROOMS AT THE LAFAYETTE PUBLIC LIBRARY WILL NO LONGER BE REQUIRED TO SIGN A PLEDGE THAT THE ROOM WILL NOT BE USED FOR A DRAG QUEEN STORY TIME. THE PLEDGE HAD BEEN REQUIRED BECAUSE OF A FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST THE LIBRARY OVER A DRAG QUEEN STORY TIME SCHEDULED LAST YEAR THAT WAS LATER CANCELED. HOWEVER, LIBRARY OFFICIALS DECIDED TO STOP REQUIRING THE PLEDGE AFTER MEETING WITH ACLU LAWYERS ABOUT CONCERNS THAT IT VIOLATED THE FIRST AMENDMENT. A DECISION ON THE FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST THE LIBRARY COULD COME AS SOON AS NEXT WEEK, ACCORDING TO U-S DISTRICT JUDGE PATRICK HANNA.
WARD THREE RECREATION IN LAKE CHARLES HAS OPENED A NEW INDOOR SWIMMING POOL. WARD THREE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KIP TEXADA SAYS IT COST FIVE MILLION DOLLARS AND TOOK FOUR YEARS OF WORK TO GET IT OPEN. HE SAYS THEY LOOK FORWARD TO THE COMMUNITY BEING ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE POOL. HE TELLS KPLC TV THAT THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN USE THE POOL AT A VERY MINIMAL COST.
KAPLAN CITY CREWS WERE BUSY INSTALLING A SECOND SEWER PUMP THIS WEEK. JEFF HORCHAK HAS MORE.
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Attorney General Jeff Landry is arguing in an open records dispute that Louisiana’s public records law doesn’t apply to out-of-state residents. The Republican attorney general says he can’t be penalized for his slow response in releasing documents to an Indiana woman who has sued him. Landry is asking a state judge to dismiss the lawsuit. In addition to records, Scarlett Martin of Indianapolis wants financial penalties against Landry for the lengthy time his office took to provide the documents, but Landry says Martin doesn’t have the right to sue under Louisiana public records statutes.
ONE PERSON IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER BEING SHOT AT A HOTEL IN LAFAYETTE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. POLICE RESPONDED AT ABOUT 2:15 YESTERDAY AND DISOVERED THE VICTIM, WHO HAD SUFFERED AT LEAST ONE GUNSHOT WOUND. IT HAPPENED AT THE SUPER SEVEN HOTEL ON NORTHWEST EVANGELINE THRUWAY. POLICE DO NOT HAVE A SUSPECT YET AND HAVE NOT RELEASED ANY OTHER DETAILS.
THE SABINE BASIN IS EXPECTED TO GET TO A MAJOR FLOOD STAGE THIS WEEK. IT’S EXPECTED TO CREST AT 37 FEET ON SUNDAY, WHICH WOULD PUT IT IN THE TOP TEN HIGHEST LEVELS ON RECORD. THAT STILL IS WELL BELOW THE LEVEL FROM MARCH OF TWO YEARS AGO WHEN IT CRESTED AT 44 FEET. THE BEAUREGARD PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE WILL BE KEEPING THE PUBLIC AWARE OF ROAD CLOSURES AND WILL BE HANDING OUT SANDBAGS IN DERIDDER, MERRYVILLE, LONGVILLE, RAGLEY AND AT SUGARTOWN AND DRY CREEK.
A SUNSET WOMAN, WHO WAS A PASSENGER IN A SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT IN ACADIA PARISH ON DECEMBER 23RD, DIED WEDNESDAY FROM HER INJURIES. THE DRIVER IN THE CRASH, 18-YEAR-OLD BRANDON ROMERO OF DUSON, WAS ARRESTED AND BOOKED INTO THE ACADIA PARISH JAIL ON A CHARGE OF NEGLIGENT HOMOCIDE. ROMERO LOST CONTROL WHILE TAKING A CURVE ON RICELAND ROAD, CAUSING HIS VEHICLE TO OVERTURN. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS THEY ARE STILL AWAITING RESULTS OF BLOOD SAMPLES TAKEN FROM ROMERO AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
Officials in Louisiana hope to reduce the number of inmates who return to prison after additional crimes. The Advocate reports that prison officials hope a renewed federal grant on recidivism will allow them to build on the success from the last decade when former inmates returned to prison at decreasing rates. State officials plan to bring back a program that focuses on inmates with both mental illness and substance abuse problems as they completed their sentences. The state’s recidivism rate among high-risk and high-need inmates who returned to prison within three years dropped 12 percent between 2004 and 2014, according to a national justice organization.
