11-5-19
Memphis-based First Horizon and Lafayette-based IberiaBank are combining in a deal worth $3.9 billion. The regional banking companies announced what they are calling a “merger of equals” in a statement Monday. The combined company will have its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, and a regional banking center in New Orleans. The new company will have $75 billion in assets and market capitalization of $9 billion after the all-stock deal closes next year.
A LAKE CHARLES MAN WAS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH A HOMOCIDE IN THE CITY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE VICTIM IS 27-YEAR-OLD QUENTIN COLEMAN, WHO WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN THE 27-HUNDRED BLOCK OF CHURCH STREET. WITNESSES IDENTIFIED 27-YEAR-OLD DONTA ROBINSON AS THE SHOOTER. HE WAS ARRESTED A SHORT TIME LATER ON A CHARGE OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER AND HIS BOND WAS SET AT ONE MILLION DOLLARS.
CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL IN EUNICE WAS PLACED ON LOCKDOWN YESTERDAY AFTER A SHOOTING NEAR THERE THAT LEFT ONE MAN DEAD. POLICE SAY 21-YEAR-OLD DE’OMAANTE “D GOTTI” FRANK OF EUNICE WAS RIDING A BIKE ON EAST MAPLE AVENUE WHEN A VEHICLE PULLED UP BESIDE HIM AND SEVEN TO TEN SHOTS WERE FIRED AT HIM. HE SUFFERED A GUNSHOT WOUND TO HIS SIDE AND WAS TAKEN TO THE ACADIAN MECIAL CENTER IN EUNICE, WHERE HE LATER DIED. POLICE SAY THE SHOOTING APPEARED TO BE RETALIATORY AND THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED HAD HISTORIES OF PRIOR SHOOTINGS IN EUNICE.
Louisiana’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone says a radio ad linking him and President Donald Trump to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke is “disgusting.” Rispone blames Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards for the advertising by the New Orleans-based Black Organization for Leadership Development, or BOLD. There’s no evidence Edwards is connected to the effort, and Edwards spokesman Eric Holl says the campaign isn’t responsible for the ad.
Early voting continues in the Nov. 16 election.
IAN HOWARD, THE ACCUSED KILLER OF A LAFAYETTE POLICE OFFICER, WAS IN COURT YESTERDAY. MEGAN KELLY TELLS US WHAT HAPPENED.
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THE CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS SEARCHING FOR A WHITE TRUCK THAT HIT A PARKED CAR IN A SCHOOL PARKING LOT IN STARKS. THE DRIVER OF THE TRUCK BACKED INTO A CAR AT AROUND FOUR SATURDAY AFTERNOON, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE CAR. PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW THE TRUCK TO BE A FORD F150 FOUR BY FOUR WITH A DECORATIVE LICENSE PLATE ON THE FRONT. ANYONE WHO RECOGNIZES THE VEHICLE IS ASKED TO CONTACT THE CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE.
VOTERS IN BREAUX BRIDGE WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO INCREASE THEIR SALES TAX BY ONE CENT ON NOVEMBER 16TH. CITY COUNCILMAN SAM MELANCON PROPOSED THE ONE CENT SALES TAX WITH THE FULL BACKING OF THE MAYOR AND THE REST OF THE CITY COUNCIL. MAYOR RICKY CALAIS SAYS CITIZENS WANT IMPROVEMENTS AND UPDATES BUT, WITHOUT THE EXTRA REVENUE, THEY WOULD HAVE TO WAIT YEARS TO ACCUMULATE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THOSE PROJECTS, AND, IN MANY CASES, THEY CAN’T WAIT. THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST SALES TAX INCREASE IN BREAUX BRIDGE SINCE 1971 IF VOTERS APPROVE IT.
Doctors and clinics say some patients are finding the cost for therapeutic cannabis too high to treat their medical conditions three months after medical marijuana became available in Louisiana. Nine pharmacies dispense medicinal-grade pot around Louisiana and set their individual prices. Those dispensary owners say their charges reflect an industry with start-up charges, small patient numbers and lengthy regulatory hurdles. Medical marijuana backers spent years focused simply on getting a product to pharmacy shelves.
