3-29-19
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY THE WALMART ON THE EVANGELINE THRUWAY IN LAFAYETTE WILL BE OPEN. THE CLOSURE WAS ANNOUNCED EARLIER THIS MONTH. THE STORE HAD LONG LINES AFTER THEY ANNOUNCED A FIFTY PERCENT OFF SALE. MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED PEOPLE WERE EMPLOYED AT THE STORE.
EASTBOUND TRAFFIC IN THE LAKE CHARLES AREA IS BEING DIVERTED TO I-210 BECAUSE OF AN ACCIDENT AT MILE MARKER 27 NEAR WESTLAKE. STATE POLICE SAY AN 18 WHEELER FLIPPED OVER THREE LANES AND ANOTHER 18 WHEELER HIT THE TRAILER. A NONHAZARDOUS FLUID IS LEAKING FROM ONE OF THE 18-WHEELERS. IT’S ESTIMATED IT WILL TAKE A FEW HOURS TO CLEAN UP THE AREA AND SAND IT, WHICH IS WHY EASTBOUND INTERSTATE TEN WAS SHUT DOWN THERE.
A SHOOTING INVESTIGATION HAS NOW TURNED INTO A MURDER INVESTIGATION IN CROWLEY. JEFF HORCHAK HAS MORE.
VOICER H :19
Republican candidates for governor say Louisiana needs a friendlier approach to business, suggesting Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards’ spending and tax policies have stifled job creation. U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone spoke Thursday at an event hosted by the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank. Abraham says Louisiana’s tax climate is “toxic” to business and pledged to lower taxes if elected. Rispone touted his background as the founder of an industrial contracting company, saying he knows how to work with “job creators.”
LAFAYETTE LAWYER AND FORMER U-S ATTORNEY DONALD WASHINGTON WILL BE SWORN IN TODAY AS DONALD TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE U-S MARSHAL’S SERVICE. THE SWEARING IN CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE IN SHREVEPORT AND THEN HE AND HIS FAMILY WILL MOVE TO WASHINGTON, D-C. WASHINGTON HAD PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH’S SELECTION AS THE U-S ATTORNEY FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA, WHICH INCLUDES LAFAYETTE AND LAKE CHARLES. HE’LL NOW LEAD THE NATION’S OLDEST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, WHICH PRIMARILY HANDLES SECURITY AT FEDERAL COURTHOUSES, TRANSPORTS PRISONERS AND SEEKS TO RECAPTURE FUGITIVES.
SOME RESIDENTS OF LAKE CHARLES ARE CONCERNED ABOUT A GROWING TRASH PROBLEM IN THE CONTRABAND BAYOU. ONE RESIDENT WHO LIVES ALONG THE BAYOU, DARRELL WALKER, TELLS KPLC TV THAT THEY HELD A TRASH CLEAN UP DAY FOR THE BAYOU ONE YEAR AGO, BUT THE TRASH IS BACK AND GETTING WORSE. MAYOR NIC HUNTER ADMITS THAT THERE IS A LITTER PROBLEM IN LAKE CHARLES BUT IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SOLVED OVERNIGHT. HE SAYS SOME OF THE TRASH PROBLEM COMES FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS BUT FILTERS INTO THE CITY DURING HEAVY RAIN EVENTS.
THREE ABBEVILLE WOMEN WERE ARRESTED WEDNESDAY FOR ALLEGEDLY STAGING A VEHICLE ACCIDENT IN MAY OF 2017. 59-YEAR-OLD TEENA BROUSSARD, 33-YEAR-OLD DESTINY BROUSSARD AND 36-YEAR-OLD TIFFANY BOUTTE ALL HAVE BEEN BOOKED ON INSURANCE FRAUD CHARGES. TROOPERS SAY THE ACCIDENT WAS STAGED IN ORDER TO MAKE FRAUDULENT CLAIMS ON THEIR INSURANCE. THE POTENTIAL LOSS TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE THAN FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
A judge says if Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry wants to continue a dispute over the governor’s appointments to a water commission, he must name Gov. John Bel Edwards as defendant in the lawsuit. Judge Lala Sylvester says Landry has 45 days to amend the lawsuit if he wants to proceed. The Republican attorney general claims the Democratic governor improperly appointed two members to the Red River Waterway Commission instead of another appointee nominated by local officials. The governor’s office says the appointments followed the law.
