12-3-2014
A Lafayette man who owns a Baton Rouge-based health care company is awaiting sentencing after admitting he failed to pay $2.5 million-plus in employee withholding taxes from 2008 to 2011. The Advocate reports 68-year-old Charles A. Lanphier pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to two counts of failing to truthfully account for and pay over taxes that were withheld from the paychecks of employees. U.S. Attorney Walt Green says Lanphier’s company, Regional Healthcare LLC, is headquartered in Baton Rouge but has operations throughout Louisiana and Florida. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick did not set sentencing for Lanphier, who faces up to 10 years in prison, fines and restitution.
The Iberia Parish sheriff says a 60-year-old man arrested in Missouri is the suspect in a 2008 murder of a 61-year-old woman strangled in her New Iberia home. A first-degree murder warrant has been issued for Keith Leleux in connection with the death of Judy Landry, found strangled on July 1, 2008. Sheriff Louis Ackal told The Daily Iberian that he’s pleased with the arrest. Leleux awaits extradition to Louisiana.
ENTERGY AND STATE FARM INSURANCE ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT THEY WERE EACH DONATING 500 THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE NATIONAL HURRICANE MUSEUM AND SCIENCE CENTER IN LAKE CHARLES. THE STATE ALSO PLEDGED 28 MILLION DOLLARS EARLIER THIS YEAR. SO FAR, THE MUSEUM HAS RAISED 38 MILLION DOLLARS. THEY ARE LOOKING TO BUILD THE MUSEUM ON THE LAKEFRONT IN LAKE CHARLES.
New licensing regulations are on the way for Louisiana’s child care centers and preschool programs. A majority of Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members backed the new rules Tuesday, with final passage expected Wednesday. The vote was 7-2 from a BESE committee, with nearly all board members present.
The changes add fingerprint-based criminal background checks for employees and volunteers, require centers to post their daily schedules and set minimum staffing ratios.
A TWO VEHICLE CRASH LAST NIGHT CLAIMED THE LIFE OF A MAURICE MAN. JULIE DARCE REPORTS.
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LAST NIGHT THE LAFAYETTE CITY PARISH COUNCIL APPROVED A PACKAGE OF ANTI-LITTERING ORDINANCES. IT’S PART OF A BEAUTIFICATION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED THIS YEAR CALLED PROJECT FRONT YARD. UNDER THE NEW ORDINANCES, LAFAYETTE POLICE OFFICERS WILL BE ABLE TO HAND OUT TICKETS TO LITTERERS WITH FINES OF 75 DOLLARS FOR A FIRST OFFENSE AND 500 DOLLARS FOR SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES. ALSO A NEW POSITION IN THE CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN CREATED FOR A PERSON WHO WILL OVERSEE LITTERING ENFORCEMENT, COORDINATE COMMUNITY CLEAN UP AND DO COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
LAKE CHARLES CITY OFFICIALS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCED PLANS YESTERDAY TO COMPLETE THE COVE LANE INTERCHANGE TO INTERSTATE 210. MAYOR RANDY ROACH SAYS, ONCE IT’S FINISHED, SOUTH LAKE CHARLES RESIDENTS WILL HAVE ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE TO GET TO INTERSTATE 210, ALLEVIATING THE HEAVY TRAFFIC AT NELSON AND PRIEN LAKE ROADS. TODD LANDRY WITH THE D-O-T-D SAYS THERE ARE MORE THAN THREE THOUSAND VEHICLES AT THAT INTERSECTION DURING PEAK TRAFFIC TIMES, WHICH IS A HIGH VOLUME FOR ONE AREA. THE COVE LANE INTERCHANGE IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE SPRING.
A legislative audit says Louisiana’s Medicaid spending rose about $950 million while the state privatized public hospitals and much of Medicaid. Ernie Summerville of the auditor’s office tells The Advocate he lacks enough information to say if the net cost of privatizing the programs is that high. The report says Medicaid annual spending stayed about $6.6 billion to $6.8 billion from 2010 through 2012 but hit $7.6 billion by June 30, when fiscal 2014 ended. Much of Medicaid was made private in 2012.
