6-13-16
A class-action lawsuit is seeking what could be more than $400 million in refunds for thousands of current and former customers of LUS. The Advocate reports that the suit filed this week in state court centers on annual payments that the Lafayette Utilities System makes to the city to support city services. The system’s most recent payment was about $22 million. The lawsuit claims that the payments amount to an unconstitutional, excessive fee on customers’ bills.
Investigators suspect excessive speed was a factor in a car crash that killed four people in Vernon Parish. A State Police statement says an unidentified driver lost control of a pickup truck early Saturday before the vehicle veered off Highway 10, struck several trees and burst into flames. The statement says all four occupants of the vehicle were trapped inside and died at the scene of the crash. The crash occurred around 4:15 a.m. on a stretch of the highway between Oakdale and Pitkin.
OIL PRICES ARE ABOVE FIFTY DOLLARS PER BARREL, ALMOST DOUBLE THE PRICE IT WAS JUST FIVE MONTHS AGO. HOWEVER, ECONOMIC EXPERTS ARE SAYING THE OIL INDUSTRY WOES ARE NOT NECESSARILY OVER JUST YET. FRANK FINK, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR FOR ST. MARY PARISH, TELLS THE ADVOCATE HE EXPECTS OIL PRICES TO COME BACK DOWN TO BETWEEN FORTY AND FIFTY DOLLARS A BARREL AND HE’S HOPING IT WILL HOLD IN THAT AREA. ST. MARY PARISH HAS BEEN HARD HIT BY THE OIL CRUNCH, WITH AMONG THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN THE STATE AT NINE PERCENT, THREE POINTS HIGHER THAN THE STATE AVERAGE.
FIFTY PEOPLE WERE KILLED AT A NIGHTCLUB IN ORLANDO EARLY SUNDAY AND DOZENS MORE CRITICALLY INJURED BY A MUSLIM GUNMAN, WHO MADE ALLUSIONS TO THE ISLAMIC STATE BEFORE HE WAS KILLED BY POLICE. LOUISIANA GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS THE STATE IS READY TO SUPPORT FLORIDA IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration is trying to revive its stalled tax proposals in the House, hoping to flip votes by focusing on the cuts proposed for next year’s budget. Administration leaders Friday emphasized the threat of slashing to health, education and public safety programs. They say deep reductions will be required if lawmakers only agree to the $220 million in tax bills supported by the House, rather than the $600 million sought by the governor for the financial year that begins July 1. The Ways and Means Committee has bottled up several tax measures sought by the Democratic governor.
Going into its fourth year, Lafayette’s Steampunk and Makers Fair has won an accolade from the Southeast Tourism Society. The group named it a Top 20 Event for the Southeast in November, meaning national publicitiy. The Advertiser reports that the fair is part costume play, part science and part county fair. Cofounder Jim Phillips calls it a marriage between art and science that showcases local innovation and local art. It will be held Nov. 5-6 at Parc International.
TONIGHT THE SULPHUR CITY COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO SUSPEND THE BAND ORDINANCE FOR THE QUAKER STEAK AND LUBE RESTAURANT. NEARBY RESIDENTS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE NOISE FROM LIVE BAND CONCERTS HELD IN THE RESTAURANT’S PARKING LOT ON SATURDAY NIGHT. COUNCILMAN STUART MOSS, WHO SPONSORED THE RESOLUTION, SAYS SOME NEARBY HOMES ARE RATTLED BY THE BASS AND THE WORDS FROM THE MUSIC CAN BE CLEARLY HEARD. ABOUT THIRTY RESIDENTS FROM THE SUMMERWOOD SUBDIVISION HAVE SIGNED A PEITION COMPLAINING ABOUT THE NOISE.
DOZENS OF PEOPLE MARCHED IN BREAUX BRIDGE AT AN EVENT HELD TO BRING ATTENTION TO MISSING PERSONS CASES. JEANNE SAVOY, THE AUNT OF CRYSTAL DUPUIS GREBINGER OF BREAUX BRIDGE, WHO HAS BEEN MISSING SINCE FEBRUARY OF 2013, ORGANIZED THE MARCH. SHE TELLS THE ADVOCATE THAT THE GOAL WAS TO BRING TOGETHER THE FAMILIES OF MISSING PERSONS, THE COMMUNITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TO TRUST EACH OTHER AND SPEAK UP. TERESA WILSON OF THE FACES FORENSIC LAB, WHICH WAS AT THE EVENT, SAYS THERE ARE 245 ACTIVE LONG TERM MISSING PERSONS CASES IN LOUISIANA.
