News

Real sports betting sparks lawmaker squabble

The Senate on Tuesday approved a 15.5 percent tax on online fantasy sports betting along with an amendment that represented a last-ditch effort to keep the possibility of betting on real sports alive.

Insurance commissioner urges preparation for hurricane season

Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon is conducting an annual statewide public awareness campaign to encourage preparations for the upcoming hurricane season and remind citizens that now is the time to review their insurance policies and make plans to protect their family and property.

Transgender bathroom case nothing like school desegregation

I was recently watching a cartoon marathon of The Flintstones with some fourth graders, and when the last line of the theme song blared from the TV, a 10-year-old girl looked up at me and said, “Were the Flintstones gay?

America needs another baby boom

America’s declining birthrate has given me pause. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of babies born in the United States in 2018 was the lowest in 32 years, continuing what NBC News calls “a decades-long trend toward fewer and fewer babies being born each year.

2019 South Louisiana Giving Day raises $1.4M

A recording-breaking $1,454,769 was raised during the second annual South Louisiana Giving Day. In total, 104 nonprofit organizations, churches, and schools participated in the fundraising event. More than 2,000 donations from 34 states and two countries were received.

United Way of Acadiana’s Women United plans community-wide read

What would happen if 1,400 women in Acadiana read the ultimate playbook for developing brave leaders and courageous cultures? Brené Brown has spent 20 years studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. She recently completed a seven-year study on brave leadership.

2019 Leaders In Philanthropy Award honorees named

The 2019 Leaders In Philanthropy Awards will held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Cajundome Convention Center in Lafayette.

Legislation looks to tighten rules on hazing, juvenile vaping, texting while driving

Louisiana lawmakers are backing efforts to limit the sale of popular vaping pens to minors, tightening hazing laws on campuses, and expanding the state’s current texting while driving laws.

Police: Man took phone and smokes after ride refused

Eunice Police say an 18-year-old Mamou man asked a Eunice man for a ride, but ended up whacking the guy and taking his cigarettes and cell phone after being refused the transport.

Cajun Prairie flowers

Rain drops off a pair of Prairie Coneflowers at the Cajun Prairie site at Martin Luther King and East Magnolia in Eunice on Wednesday morning after a shower.