4-8-19
A Lafayette man is suing the Consolidated Government over an ordinance to fix the planned split between the city and parish governments, which mistakenly excluded some residents. The Advertiser reports the lawsuit by Keith Kishbaugh asks for an injunction to stop the ordinance, saying voters should decide how to fix the issue. Voters in December elected to amend Lafayette’s charter and create separate city and parish councils. Days later, people noticed that the amendment’s maps and descriptions omitted parts of precincts, leaving hundreds of Lafayette residents out of the new city government.
TODAY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT WILL BEGIN MAKING MODIFICATIONS TO MOST TRAFFIC SIGNALS ON STATE ROUTES IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. THE MODIFICATION INCLUDES REPLACING A SOLID GREEN LIGHT FOR LEFT TURNS TO A FLASHING YELLOW LIGHT. STUDIES HAVE DETERMINED THE FLASHING YELLOW LIGHT INCREASES SAFETY AND REDUCES TRAFFIC DELAYS. THE WORK WILL BEGIN ON HIGHWAY 171, L-A 14, L-A 378 AND I-210 IN CALCASIEU PARISH. THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED SOMETIME NEXT YEAR.
SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES WERE HELD YESTERDAY FOR THE THREE CHURCHES THAT WERE ENGULFED IN FLAMES OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS. JEFF HORCHAK HAS MORE.
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Louisiana’s sales tax collections from internet purchases are growing, even though the system involves out-of-state retailers voluntarily remitting taxes for online product sales. The revenue department told a legislative commission that Louisiana received $740,000 in sales tax collections from large out-of-state companies for online sales from July to September. Department assistant secretary Luke Morris says that doubled to $1.4 million from October to December.
Morris says 592 companies who don’t have a store in Louisiana have registered as “remote sellers” and are collecting sales taxes for online purchases.
A man accused of shooting and wounding a police officer in Abbeville is in custody. Louisiana State Police spokesman Trooper Thomas Gossen says 29-year-old Nahshon Brooks, of Abbeville, was arrested late Thursday. The Advocate reports Brooks was accused of shooting a female police officer with the Abbeville force following a traffic stop. The officer was hit in the shoulder and is listed in stable condition at a hospital.
THE OAKDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS TRYING TO FIND THE SUSPECT OR SUSPECTS WHO BROKE INTO THE CONCESSION STAND AT THE GIRL’S SOFTBALL COMPLEX. IT HAPPENED SOMETIME LATE FRIDAY OR EARLY SATURDAY. A NUMBER OF DRINKS AND SNACKS WERE STOLEN. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS ASKED TO CALL THE OAKDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
A woman was shot to death by her estranged husband. Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson identified the victim of Friday morning’s fatal shooting near Mire as 40-year-old Amy Bernard Bourque. The Advocate reports around 7 a.m. Friday, Bourque’s estranged husband, Paul Dale Bourque, Sr. of Scott went to the home where she was staying and shot her. Deputies and officers with the Scott Police Department located 54-year-old Paul Bourque and arrested him on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated burglary.
The brokering of a hard-fought tax deal to stabilize the budget hasn’t ended Louisiana’s financial feuds as lawmakers return for their annual regular legislative session. The session starts today with new fights simmering between Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and House Republican leaders over spending. They disagree about how much money the state has to spend. But a $1,000 teacher pay raise sought by the governor seems to have found widespread support among lawmakers.
