4-18-22
AT AROUND NINE-THIRTY EASTER SUNDAY MORNING, A MAN WAS SHOT AT A STORE AT SOUTH HOPKINS AND FIELD STREETS IN NEW IBERIA. SERGEANT DAESHA HUGHES SAYS THE MALE VICTIM WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD AND IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION. EVANGELIST AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST DONOVAN DAVIS TELLS KLFY TV THAT HE KNOWS THE MAN, WHO IS THE OWNER OF THE STORE. DAVIS SUGGESTED FORMING A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT CAN BUILD RESOURCES AND FUNDS TO HELP STOP GUN VIOLENCE IN THE CITY.
LAFAYETTE POLICE SAY TWO SHOOTINGS THURSDAY, THAT RESULTED IN THREE GIRLS BEING WOUNDED, MAY HAVE INVOLVED THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE. THE FIRST SHOOTING WAS THURSDAY JUST AFTER FIVE WHEN A SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL GOT CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE BETWEEN PEOPLE IN OTHER VEHICLES AS THEY STARTED SHOOTING AT EACH OTHER. A FEW HOURS LATER, TWO GIRLS, AGES SEVENTEEN AND EIGHTEEN, SUFFERED NON-LIFE-THREATENING GUNSHOT WOUNDS AT MOORE PARK. INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE THE LARGE GATHERING AT MOORE PARK WAS RELATED TO A SENIOR SKIP DAY. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ON THESE TWO SHOOTING IS ASKED TO CALL TWO-THREE-TWO-TIPS.
The Interior Department is moving forward with the first onshore sale of public oil and gas drilling leases under President Joe Biden but will sharply increase royalty rates for companies that extract oil. The royalty rate for new leases will increase to 18.75% from 12.5%. That’s a 50% jump and marks the first increase since the 1920s. Republicans want Biden to expand U.S. crude production, but he faces calls from within his own party to do more to curb fossil fuel emissions that are allegedly heating the planet.
Registration has begun for a new program to help low- and moderate-income Lake Charles residents fix 2020 hurricane damage to their homes, and Mayor Nic Hunter says he expects the $11.3 million program to fill up fast. The American Press reports that registration runs through 5 p.m. May 25. The program uses federal, state and city money to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Laura. The city director of community development estimates that the program will assist at least 150 homeowners.
AN EVANGELINE PARISH INMATE, WHO ESCAPED WHILE WORKING ON A CLEANUP DETAIL, IS BACK IN CUSTODY. CAROLINE MARCELLO HAS MORE.
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A NEW STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF A NEW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, TO REPLACE THE HEYMANN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, WAS RELEASED BY THE LAFAYETTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER THURSDAY EVENING. OCHSNER LAFAYETTE GENERAL HOSPITAL HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN PURCHASING THE HEYMANN, BUT MAYOR PRESIDENT JOSH GUILLORY SAYS THE CITY WON’T SELL UNLESS ANOTHER IS BUILT TO REPLACE IT. THE NEW STUDY, CONDUCTED BY CONVENTION, SPORTS AND LEISURE INTERNATIONAL, DETERMINED THE NEW CENTER WOULD COST BETWEEN ONE HUNDRED AND ONE HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS. THEY DETERMINED THE BEST LOCATION IS AT THE CORNER OF WEST CONGRESS STREET AND CAJUNDOME BOULEVARD, AND IT SHOULD BE OPERATED BY A THIRD-PARTY.
Louisiana says its weekends-only red snapper season for anglers will start May 27 in state and federal waters. The season will run Fridays through Sundays except for three holiday weekends. The opening Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July, and Labor Day weekends will run through Monday. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says each angler may take up to three red snapper a day, with a minimum length limit of 16 inches.
A LAW FIRM HAS POSTED AN AD IN THE TECHE NEWS SAYING THEY ARE INVESTIGATING ALLEGATIONS OF FEDERAL WAGE VIOLATIONS AFTER BEING CONTACTED BY SAINT MARTINVILLE CITY EMPLOYEES. THEY ARE ASKING FOR ANY OTHER AFFECTED EMPLOYEES TO COME FORWARD. THE WHITEHEAD LAW FIRM SAYS THE ALLEGATIONS INCLUDE FAILURE TO PAY OVERTIME WAGES, FAILURE TO PAY FOR CERTAIN WORK DONE OUTSIDE OF REGULAR HOURS, AND FAILURE TO PAY EMPLOYEES MANDATED TO TWENTY-FOUR HOUR DUTY BECAUSE OF HURRICANE IDA. ATTORNEY JACK K. WHITEHEAD ALLEGES THERE IS ALSO A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT, PARTICULARLY AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
