KAJN Jesus FM 102.9


8-15-22

A Lafayette police officer is in critical condition after police say a suspect ran over him with a vehicle and dragged him 100 feet during an attempted traffic stop. Sgt. Robin Green says officers had tried to stop a car that was driving recklessly downtown around 1:30 a.m. Green said the driver sped away but ran into a roadblock before reversing and striking the officer. An officer shot at the car, but no one was struck. The driver was arrested.

 

The Saint Martin Parish school district has won the right to re-open a school that was closed under a federal judge’s order in a long-running desegregation case. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the judge that the St. Martin Parish School System cannot yet be declared desegregated enough to end the case, but, the appeals court said closing Catahoula Elementary was unnecessary. The appeals court said there are workable alternatives to closing the school. And the opinion noted testimony that more Black families are moving into Catahoula Elementary’s attendance zone, which would aid desegregation efforts.

 

STATE POLICE SAY AN OAKDALE MAN DIED IN A CRASH ON U-S HIGHWAY ONE SIXTY-FIVE IN ALLEN PARISH.  SYLVIA MASTERS REPORTS.

 

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Louisiana’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by plaintiffs in the ongoing legal battle over the state’s abortion ban. The rejection Friday means the state’s near-total abortion ban is still in effect as legal challenges to the law proceed. The ruling marked a major blow to abortion-rights advocates and providers, who had hoped the ban would be blocked for a third time, allowing the three clinics in the state to begin performing procedures again. Louisiana’s ban was designed to take effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing nationwide abortion rights.

 

The mayor president of Lafayette is back after a 21-day stint from an in-person rehab program where he was getting treatment for alcohol addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. The Lafayette City Council and Parish Council were notified Friday morning via email from City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan that Mayor-President Josh Guillory was back in town. The Advocate reports Friday’s announcement comes 18 days after the initial statement about his plan to seek treatment was issued. Guillory’s deputy chief of staff, Jamie Angelle, said Guillory is to return to office today.

 

RESIDENTS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IN CROWLEY ARE PROTESTING PROPOSALS TO PUT A TRANSITIONAL HOME THERE.  A GROUP IS LOOKING TO PUT THE TRANSITIONAL HOME IN THE OLD CHRISTIAN VILLA NURSING HOME.  RESIDENTS HAD PREVIOUSLY FOUGHT EFFORTS TO PUT A HOMELESS SHELTER IN THE SAME BUILDING.  A MEETING WAS HELD LAST TUESDAY FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS TO THE ADVOCATES OF THE TRANSITIONAL HOME.

 

THE DRIVER OF AN EIGHTEEN-WHEELER DIED SATURDAY IN A SINGLE VEHICLE CRASH IN JEFF DAVIS PARISH.  STATE POLICE SAY SEVENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD ANTONIO WILLIAMS VEGA OF MIDLAND, TEXAS, FAILED TO NEGOTIATE A CURVE ON AN EXIT RAMP AND ROLLED THE VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES.  VEGA WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE.  STATE POLICE SUSPECT SPEED WAS A FACTOR IN THE CRASH.

 

There’s no dispute that Louisiana needs to replace its voting machines. They’re outdated, having been deployed in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina struck, and they don’t produce paper ballots that are critical to ensuring election results are accurate. What to do about them is another story. The long-running drama includes allegations of bid-rigging, voting machine companies claiming favoritism and a secretary of state who’s noncommittal about having a new system in place for the 2024 presidential election.