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A hearing will be held on Dec. 7 on whether to grant Pat Cooper a new trial challenging his ouster as Lafayette Parish school superintendent. The Advocate reports state District Judge Patrick Michot will hear Cooper’s request. The hearing comes after Michot’s ruling last month upholding Cooper’s firing, though based on only one of the four charges the School Board accepted as grounds for termination in November 2014. Cooper filed the motion for a new trial earlier this month.
A COMMITTEE IS BEING FORMED TO COME UP WITH IDEAS FOR REVITALIZING THE NELLIE LUTCHER CULTURAL DISTRICT IN LAKE CHARLES. THE DISTRICT, WHICH COVERS AN AREA BETWEEN RAILROAD AVENUE AND ENTERPRISE BOULEVARD, HAS AN AVERAGE POPULATION IN THEIR FIFTIES WITH AN ANNUAL AVERAGE INCOME OF AROUND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. ERIC CORMIER OF THE SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE TELLS KPLC TV THAT UNLESS A YOUNGER GENERATION MOVES INTO THE AREA, IT WILL CONTINUE TO DWINDLE. THE COMMITTEE, ONCE FORMED, WILL HAVE SIX MONTHS TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR THE DISTRICT.
A BREAUX BRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IS IN CUSTODY FOR ALLEGEDLY MAKING A THREAT ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA SITE, SNAPCHAT. JULIE DARCE REPORTS.
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Federal court records in New Orleans show all five Gulf of Mexico states have reached a settlement with the owner of the offshore drilling rig involved in the 2010 BP oil spill. Alabama’s governor had announced that state’s settlement with rig owner Transocean last week. A filing dated Tuesday by Transocean and attorneys for Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas says that all of the states have entered a settlement agreement. Louisiana released documents Wednesday indicating it will get $4 million.
FRANK’S INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT AND C-E-O GARY LUQUETTE WARNED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES NOT TO CUT TOO MUCH DURING THE CURRENT INDUSTRY STRUGGLES. LUQUETTE SAYS HE EXPECTS THE INDUSTRY TO REBOUND SOMETIME LATE NEXT YEAR, AND IF THEY CUT TOO MUCH, THEY WON’T BE READY CASH IN. LUQUETTE WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THE LOUISIANA OIL AND GAS EXPOSITION, WHICH WRAPS UP TODAY AT THE CAJUNDOME CONVENTION CENTER. LUQUETTE SAYS FRANK’S INTERNATIONAL IS STILL RECRUITING NEW TALENT, INCLUDING FROM U-L LAFAYETTE, AND THEY ARE CONSIDERING POSSIBLE GROWTH IN MEXICO.
LAKE CHARLES CITY ADMINISTRATOR JOHN CARDONE SAYS HE BELIEVES THE CITY’S TIMEKEEPING SYSTEM FOR EMPLOYEES IS NOT FLAWED. QUESTIONS AROSE ABOUT THE SYSTEM DURING TESTIMONY IN A CIVIL SERVICE HEARING DEALING WITH AN EMPLOYEE, WHO IS CHARGED WITH PAYROLL FRAUD. CARDONE TELLS KPLC TV THAT SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE TO CATCH ANY POTENTIAL FRAUD. HE SAYS HE’S ASKED THE FINANCE AND H-R DEPARTMENTS TO EVALUATE THE SYSTEM TO SEE IF THERE ANY IMPROVEMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE.
A NEW IBERIA MAN WAS ARRESTED YESTERDAY FOR POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. 57-YEAR-OLD SCOTT MOWRY WAS BOOKED INTO THE IBERIA PARISH JAIL ON 35 COUNTS OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY INVOLVING JUVENILES. EACH COUNT CARRIES A MAXIMUM TWENTY YEAR PRISON SENTENCE, IF HE’S CONVICTED. AS OF YESTERDAY EVENING, BOND HAD NOT YET BEEN SET FOR MOWRY.
Louisiana’s top higher education board is asking to nearly double public colleges’ state financing in next year’s budget. The Board of Regents acknowledged Wednesday that it was a long-shot request for more money when state lawmakers and a new governor will be grappling with deep budget woes. But board members and staff said the nearly $636 million boost is what would be needed to meet the state’s workforce expectations, while coping with colleges’ increased costs. The Regents board is asking for $1.4 billion in the budget year that begins July 1.
