News

Check your trees; summer storms, hurricanes coming

Violent thunderstorms can occur around the state during summer, and in south Louisiana high winds from hurricanes are a real concern. Now is an excellent time to take a look at trees in your landscape.

10,000-inmate release tied to state revenue

The head of the state Corrections Department said his agency would have to release 10,000 inmates starting July 1 if the Legislature does not raise more revenue by then.

Weather changes affecting rice crop

Weeks of dry weather transitioned to widespread rainfall, and now rice farmers will have to be wary of the potential for disease in their crop, an LSU AgCenter plant pathologist advised at the Vermilion Parish rice field day on June 5. “This has changed everything,” said Don Groth.

Crash kills Carencro man

A two vehicle crash on La. 83 south of Sidney Leblanc Road in Iberia Parish shortly after 7 a.m. on June 7 claimed the life of 36-year-old Evans Cloteaux of Carencro, according to a news release from Louisiana State Police Troop I.

No pardon for partisan hypocrisy

Quick, grab the smelling salts and clear the fainting couches. President Trump’s pardon of conservative author Dinesh D’Souza last week violently triggered Beltway media elites.

Why tax dollars for the Saints?

The Times Picayune reported that the New Orleans Saints may ask the state to pay for a $350 million upgrade to the Superdome before the 2024 Super bowl.

Opelousas man’s body recovered

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents are investigating a single vessel fatality in St. Martin Parish on June 7. Agents recovered the body of Robert L. Julien Jr., 46, of Opelousas, from the water near the Butte La Rose boat launch near Interstate 10 about 5:30 p.m.

‘Dead Zone’ forecast to exceed the size of Connecticut

Scientists have predicted the dead zone, or area with little to no oxygen in the northern Gulf of Mexico, will become larger than the state of Connecticut by the end of July. The dead zone will cover about 6,620 square miles of the bottom of the continental shelf off Louisiana and Texas.

Did you know? St. Landry Parish has an Elderly Abuse Section

June 15 is World Elderly Abuse Awareness Day; our senior citizens should not live a life of abuse. Just like our Special Needs Section, the Elderly Abuse Section is dear to my heart.

Edwards still pitching for half-penny tax

Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday outlined cuts to higher education, criminal justice and assistance to needy families in a budget passed by the Legislature and made a pitch for renewing a half-penny of sales taxes to avert most of them.