News

House veteran says session was one of the wildest in his 35 years

Not much about the Louisiana legislature has changed since House Sergeant of Arms Clarence “Smoke” Russ began working at the Capitol in 1982, but the end of the last regular session was one to remember.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill grants fund critical coastal research

Enhancing sediment retention of diversions and improving flood-risk assessment are among the 13 studies recently funded through the first round of Louisiana’s RESTORE Act Center of Excellence grant process. LSU faculty lead eight of the 13 funded projects.

Morgan City man guility in massive theft scheme

A judge found Armond Duhon guilty of 221 counts of theft, two counts of money laundering and one count of racketeering for his role in helping to steal nearly $2 million from a Morgan City company.

America’s greatest threat — crony capitalism

As we celebrate another Independence Day with all our liberties and inalienable rights, it would also be prudent to consider the warnings that our Founding Fathers gave us. In 1787 Benjamin Franklin was asked if the new Constitution gave the country a monarchy or a republic?

The double murder of Otto Warmbier

We may never know what brutal torture and malign neglect American student Otto Warmbier suffered at the hands of North Korea’s dictatorship before losing his life this week at the age of 22. But it wasn’t the first time the free-spirited Ohio native died.

From cliches to abuse of journalistic style

I can’t stop myself from keeping a mental list of words and phrases that have been bastardized beyond repair by journalists. They range from the trite, such as “Breaking News,” to the abused, such as “anonymous sources.” For TV journalists they include crutch phrases such as “at the end of the day.

When storms and rigs tangle

Nowadays there is a mass exodus out of the Gulf when tropical weather threatens, but that wasn’t always so. It took a little while, and a few bad experiences, for oilmen to begin to figure out how to handle hurricanes. They’re still working at it.

Church Point man accused of turning a rifle buy into an armed robbery

An 18-year-old Church Point man is accused of turning his purchase of a rifle into an armed robbery, according to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz. Arrested is Jason Keith Alexander, of the 100 block of Leon Lane, Church Point.

Tri-Parish job numbers improve

Unemployment rates in the Tri-Parish area showed improvement in May, according to information from the Bureau of Labor & Statistics and release by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. St. Landry Parish’s unemployment rate in May was 7.2 percent, down from 7.9 percent in April 2016 and from 7.

Eunice awash in youth crime

Eunice Police continue to battle shootings, vehicle burglaries and thefts, and believe juveniles and drugs are involved.