1-27-15
Iberia Parish firefighters battled an early morning blaze that destroyed an historic church. Fire District 1 Chief Guy Bonin tells The Advertiser firefighters answered a 2:53 a.m. Monday call to a fire at Little Zorah Baptist Church, outside the New Iberia city limits in the northeastern part of the parish, near Bayou Teche. Bonin says the small, wood-frame building, about 120 years old, was fully involved when firefighters arrived at 3:02 a.m. It took about 35 minutes to bring the fire under control, and more than 30 firefighters remained at the scene until about 6 a.m.
University Hospital & Clinics says its facilities will move to a completely tobacco-free campus on Feb. 1. KATC-TV reports all tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, pipes, chewing tobacco and cigars, will be prohibited on the hospital campus, which includes all buildings, sidewalks and parking lots.
UHC CEO Jared Stark says their job is to save lives and prevent disease. So, he says, becoming 100 percent tobacco free makes sense and is part of their obligation to the community.
JURY SELECTION BEGAN LATE YESTERDAY IN THE SECOND DEGREE MURDER TRIAL OF 26-YEAR-OLD JOSE MANUEL GARCIA GUEVERA. HE IS ACCUSED OF RAPING AND KILLING WANDA BURTON ALMOST SEVEN YEARS AGO IN HER MOBILE HOME, LOCATED OFF OF COUNTRY CLUB ROAD IN LAKE CHARLES. GARCIA FLED THE COUNTRY AFTER HE PLEADED NOT GUILTY TO THE CHARGES, BUT HE WAS LOCATED IN MEXICO LAST YEAR. MEXICAN OFFICIALS AGREED TO SEND HIM BACK TO LAKE CHARLES AFTER THE CALCASIEU PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE AGREED NOT TO SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY.
Senate Democrats have temporarily stalled progress on a bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the top priority of the Republican-controlled Congress.
The Senate voted 53-39 Monday to cut off debate on the bill, in a procedural vote. That’s short of the 60 votes needed. Some Democrats who had supported previous bills approving the pipeline, including one of the bill’s current sponsors, helped filibuster the move to limit debate.
AN ARMED ROBBERY SUSPECT FROM CROWLEY WAS FOUND DEAD IN A FIELD MONDAY MORNING. JULIE DARCE REPORTS.
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A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER IN THE LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM SAYS SHE HAS DECIDED TO NOT ALLOW HER TWO CHILDREN TO TAKE PART IN THE NEW PARCC STANDARDIZED TESTS IN JANUARY. ERIN MAY TELLS THE DAILY ADVERTISER THAT THE STUDENTS ARE OVERTESTED, AND, WHEN SHE SAW SOME OF THE SAMPLE QUESTIONS, SHE DECIDED TO PUT HER FOOT DOWN. THE DISTRICT’S ACCOUNTABILITY DIRECTOR, TOM SPENCER, SAYS HE EXPECTS A FLOOD OF REFUSALS FROM PARENTS IN THE COMING WEEKS. SPENCER SAYS ANY STUDENTS WHO DON’T TAKE THE TESTS WILL BE RECORDED AS A ZERO, AND IF THERE ARE ENOUGH STUDENTS WHO OPT OUT, IT COULD RESULT IN LOWER SCORES FOR THE SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, AND DISTRICTS.
THE SECOND DEGREE MURDER TRIAL OF A JENNINGS WOMAN BEGAN YESTERDAY MORNING WITH JURY SELECTION. 27-YEAR-OLD ROSALYN FAITH BREAUX IS ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AND KILLING JEREMY ARDOIN LAST JUNE AND WOUNDING ANOTHER MAN. SHE WILL BE TRIED ON CHARGES OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SECOND DEGREE MURDER. HER ATTORNEY SAYS SHE WASN’T THE AGGRESSOR IN THE INCIDENT AND HE MAY BASE HER DEFENSE ON THE STAND YOUR GROUND LAW.
Louisiana has a more than $103 million deficit to close in its $25 billion budget because of the continuing fall in oil prices. And next year’s budget shortfall now reaches $1.6 billion. The state’s budget troubles deepened Monday with the adjustments of the state’s income forecasting panel, called the Revenue Estimating Conference. The four-member conference dropped income expectations to account for the steep drop in oil prices.
