5-3-21
ONE MAN IS DEAD AND TWO OTHERS INJURED AFTER THREE SEPARATE SHOOTINGS SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN LAFAYETTE. CAROLINE MARCELLO REPORTS.
VOICER Q :33
A volunteer group is suspending its role in the search for seven men missing since an offshore oil industry vessel capsized off Louisiana’s coast on April 13. The United Cajun Navy made the announcement on its Facebook page Sunday. The organization had stayed involved in the search for the men from the Seacor Power after the Coast Guard suspended search and rescue efforts on April 19. Six men were rescued, six bodies were recovered but seven remain missing and are presumed dead.
The White House said Saturday that President Joe Biden plans two stops in Louisiana this week to rally support for his proposed infrastructure plan. According to the statement, Biden is scheduled to visit Lake Charles and New Orleans on Thursday as part of the Getting America Back on Track Tour. Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted Saturday that he is excited to welcome the president back to Louisiana to discuss improving infrastructure, hurricane recovery and the COVID crisis. The president’s plan proposes rebuilding roads and bridges, bolstering public education, creating more than a million new jobs and would be funded by higher corporate taxes.
Louisiana homeowners, renters and business owners have fewer than two weeks left to apply for federal disaster aid for property damages and losses caused by the severe winter storms that struck the state in February. The deadline to register for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and to apply for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration is May 10. FEMA grants are available for losses not covered by insurance, including money for home repairs, temporary rental aid and replacement of damaged items. More information is available at DisasterAssistance.gov.
THE LAFAYETTE CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT IS LOOKING AT HIRING A PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING GROUP TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE HEYMANN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. A CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE HAS RECOMMENDED HIRING THE DESORMEAUX GROUP TO HELP SECURE DONATIONS FOR THE HEYMANN CENTER, WHICH COULD INCLUDE SELLING THE NAMING RIGHTS, ACCORDING TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR HOLLIS CONWAY. HE TELLS THE ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER THAT THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER HAD A DEFICIT OF SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND AT THE END OF THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, WHICH ENDED OCTOBER THIRTY-FIRST. THE CENTER HAS BEEN USED FOR VACCINE DISTRIBUTIONS AND LOCAL DANCE REVIEWS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.
A SUSPECT IN A HOMOCIDE IN SAINT MARY PARISH HAS BEEN ARRESTED AND BOOKED INTO THE IBERIA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE ON A ONE MILLION DOLLAR BOND. ON SATURDAY MORNING, TWENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD BRIAN GIBSON JUNIOR OF BALDWIN WAS FOUND WITH MULTIPLE GUNSHOT WOUNDS ON MAIN STREET IN BALDWIN AND HE LATER DIED AT THE HOSPITAL. AN INVESTIGATION BY THE SAINT MARY PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE LED THEM TO BELIEVE ANTHONY HILLS WAS THE SHOOTER. HE SURRENDERED TO THE JEANERETTE MARSHAL’S OFFICE YESTERDAY.
Louisiana’s transportation department has finished removing storm debris from state roadways eight months after Hurricane Laura devastated the southwestern part of the state. The Department of Transportation and Development said it wrapped up removal of 1.4 million cubic yards of debris Tuesday in Calcasieu Parish. That was one of the hardest hit areas from Laura in August and the follow-up blow of Hurricane Delta in October. The cleanup of debris on state roadways in other parishes already had been completed.
THE GOVERNOR AND THE STATE LEGISLATURE ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A FIERCE DEBATE OVER HOW TO SPEND THREE-POINT-TWO BILLION DOLLARS IN FEDERAL AID, WHICH COMES FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN PASSED BY CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS IN MARCH. ON THURSDAY, GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS PUT OUT A PLAN ON SPENDING ONE-POINT-6 BILLION DOLLARS, INCLUDING SPENDING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS TO WIDEN INTERSTATES, HELPING THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, AND REPLENISHING THE STATE’S UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TRUST FUND. EDWARDS AND TOP LEGISLATIVE LEADERS SAYS THEY WANT TO AVOID AUTOMATIC TAX INCREASES ON EMPLOYERS THAT ARE TRIGGERED BY THE DEPLETION OF THE FUND. EDWARDS SAYS IT’S NEVER GOOD TO HAVE A TAX INCREASE WHEN YOUR TRYING TO GROW THE ECONOMY OUT OF A PANDEMIC.
