3-4-20
LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL CHAIR PAT LEWIS HAS CONFIRMED A COURT HEARING HAS BEEN SET FOR A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY’S FIVE NEW TAX DISTRICTS. CAROLINE MARCELLO HAS MORE.
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A Cecilia junior high school student faces charges after allegedly bringing a stun gun to campus. The St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded yesterday to a report at Cecilia Jr. High School of a 15-year-old boy allegedly in possession of a stun gun. News outlets report the student faces one count of illegal possession of a dangerous weapon on a school campus by a student or non-student. There were no reports of any injuries.
A Louisiana woman is in custody, accused of setting on fire the house she was renting with her three children inside. The State Fire Marshal’s Office, in a news release, said agents arrested Mandy Rochelle, 31, on one count of aggravated arson. The Jennings Fire Department responded to a call about a residential fire just after 9 p.m. on Monday in Jennings. The fire marshal’s office says after the fire was extinguished, investigators said there were multiple areas of origin and that the fires were intentionally set.
The Supreme Court is taking up the first major abortion case of the Trump era, an election-year look at a Louisiana dispute that could reveal how the more conservative court will deal with abortion. The outcome could have huge consequences at a time when several states have passed restrictions, including a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks. Today the justices are examining a Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
APPLICATIONS FOR LAFAYETTE PARISH SUPERINTENDENT WERE CLOSED FRIDAY. NEXT TUESDAY, SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT BRITT LATIOLAIS AND VICE PRESIDENT MARY MORRISON WILL DELIVER THE APPLICATIONS TO THE CENTRAL OFFICE AND THEN REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUTSIDE THE DISTRICT WILL REVIEW THE PACKET AND CONFIRM THE APPLICANT’S QUALIFICATIONS. ON EITHER MARCH ELEVENTH OR THE 31ST, THE BOARD WILL THEN VOTE ON THE FINALISTS WHO WILL BE INTERVIEWED. IRMA TROSCLAIR, WHO HAS BEEN SERVING AS THE INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT SINCE APRIL, HAS CONFIRMED THAT SHE WOULD APPLY FOR THE FULL TIME JOB.
THE ACADIA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS BEEN RECEIVING COMPLAINTS OF STOLEN FOUR-WHEELERS ESPECIALLY IN THE IOTA, BRANCH AND CROWLEY AREAS. SHERIFF K-P GIBSON SAYS THERE IS A MARKET FOR FOUR WHEELERS, MAKING THEM A TARGET OF VANDALS. THE MOST RECENT THEFTS WERE OF A 2007 HONDA O-R-V, A 2013 CAN-AM, BOTH CAMO IN COLOR, AND A RED HONDA FIVE HUNDRED FOREMAN RUBICON WITH A SNORKEL ON THE FRONT. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ON THE THEFTS IS ASKED TO CONTACT THE TIPS LINE AT 789-TIPS.
ATTORNEY RICK BRYANT HAS ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT HE WILL RUN FOR CALCASIEU PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY. BRYANT WAS A SUCCESSFUL CAREER PROSECUTOR WITH SOME TIME AS AN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY BEFORE GOING INTO PRIVATE PRACTICE. BRYANT SAYS HE’S ONLY LOST ONE CASE IN HIS THIRTY PLUS YEARS OF PROSECUTION AND THAT CAME EARLY ON. BRYANT WILL BE RUNNING AGAINST THE CURRENT DISTRICT ATTORNEY JOHN DEROSIER, WITH THE ELECTION HAPPENING ON NOVEMBER THIRD.
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ plan to give nearly $1 million in pay raises to top-level political appointees is running into questions from state lawmakers. New Orleans Democratic Rep. Gary Carter says he’s concerned about giving raises while also seeing a proposed $500,000 reduction in state funding for senior citizen centers. Edwards administration official Desireé Honoré Thomas told Carter the governor proposed the raises because he has staff who haven’t seen a salary increase since they started working for him four years ago. Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee scrutinized the raises yesterday as the panel started digging into the budget proposal for the year that starts July 1.
