Free Republic

On Wednesday morning, Cleco held a news conference announcing their new S.T.A.R.T program. They called it a $130 million customer service "upgrade." The project will create 221 new jobs and generate $1.5 million in state and local tax revenues. "It will allow our employees to work more efficiently," said Andre Guillory with Cleco. Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy explained how projects like S.T.A.R.T. will pay for events such as the Alexandria Riverfete and Winterfete. "This is about localism," Roy said. "A very symbolic moment for Cleco and Alexandria." "Let's not forget Cleco exists here in our community," added Pineville Mayor Clarence...

(BOSSIER PARISH, LA) - The head of Bossier Parish schools is speaking out on the controversial issue of National Anthem decorum. In light of the national dialogue taking place, Superintendent Scott Smith has released the following statement as a statement as it relates to the district's stance: Freedom is not free. Each day the men and women at Barksdale Air Force Base and in other branches of the military in Bossier Parish and throughout the nation don a uniform and put their lives at risk as they proudly serve and protect us with honor. The least Bossier Schools can do...

Lafayette beer company says it's pulling NFL, Saints branded items over anthem protests Advocate staff report Sep 27, 2017 - 9:56 am (0) Another Louisiana company has said it will no longer promote the NFL or New Orleans Saints brand after league-wide protests during the national anthem last week. Schilling Distributing Company, based in Lafayette, said it plans to pull all of its Bud Light "point of sale" material featuring the league and team's logo. "With all the negative attention the NFL is receiving right now due to these protests, we do not feel it is appropriate to associate our...

A Slidell-based Carnival krewe has uninvited a pair of New Orleans Saints players to serve as grand marshals for the krewe's 2018 parade after the players participated in a protest during the national anthem prior to Sunday's (Sept. 24) game, WVUE-Fox 8 reports. The Krewe of Poseidon took back invites to players Kenny Vaccaro and Alex Okafor, who had already agreed to serve as grand marshals, after they sat during the anthem in Charlotte, according to the news station. Vaccaro and Okafor were among 10 Saints and 150 professional football players around the National Football League who refused to stand...

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser says he is boycotting the New Orleans Saints after several players refused to stand during the national anthem on Sunday as part of a coordinated protest against social injustice and criticism from President Donald Trump about NFL activism. Nungesser, a Republican who is the state's chief tourism promoter, said that he views the protests as "un-American" and offensive to the military. "To know what that national anthem means to the veterans and their families ... If it hurts one of those families, it's not worth it," Nungesser said Tuesday by phone. He's currently in Germany promoting...

A Slidell-based Carnival krewe has uninvited a pair of New Orleans Saints players to serve as grand marshals for the krewe's 2018 parade after the players participated in a protest during the national anthem prior to Sunday's (Sept. 24) game, WVUE-Fox 8 reports. The Krewe of Poseidon took back invites to players Kenny Vaccaro and Alex Okafor, who had already agreed to serve as grand marshals, after they sat during the anthem in Charlotte, according to the news station. Vaccaro and Okafor were among 10 Saints and 150 professional football players around the National Football League who refused to stand...

Offended by New Orleans Saints players who protested by sitting during the national anthem Sunday (Sept. 24), state House Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, called for Louisiana's government to pull state funding, tax breaks and other support from the professional football franchise. "Disrespecting our national anthem and flag in the name of social injustice is the highest form of hypocrisy," Havard said in a written statement Monday. State Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, has also requested the Saints' state benefits be reviewed by the Legislature's Senate and House budget committees as a result of the players' protest. Hodges is a member...

People in New Orleans, Louisiana, have been voicing their discontent about the intrusion of the Interstate 10, or I-10, Freeway in their lives ever since it was completed in 1990. After years of debating and studying, they are ready to repair the damage it has caused with what they are calling a Cultural Innovation District. The community will not remove the Interstate since the city cannot afford it, and in the end, the cost of removing it wouldn’t measure up to its value, according to studies conducted. As a result, the city and designers decided to meet halfway and resurrect...

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - With the president landing at Chennault International Airport earlier Saturday, some took the opportunity to experience things up close. Many planes have landed at Chennault International Airport, but none quite like this. Air Force One made its arrival Saturday afternoon, bringing in its most precious cargo - the President of the United States. After speaking to evacuees in Houston, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania stepped off the plane and made their way through the city of Lake Charles. And outside the airport people were already waiting. “I was right here at the corner,...

SHREVEPORT, LA (KTAL) – A woman in Louisiana is putting a whole new meaning to “holding your liquor” after video shows her shoplifting multiple bottles of alcohol. In a video released by the Shreveport Police Department, the woman can be seen grabbing several bottles of alcohol while walking down the aisles. Initially she places the bottles into her bag, but then is later emboldened to stuff a couple down her pants, and more into her shirt. The woman then approaches the counter where she places a random bottle on the counter before calmly exiting the store. Police say the incident...

Edwin Edwards likes to tell the story about after graduating from Law School at LSU when he had to decide where to set up his practice. As a native of Avoyelles Parish, the town of Marksville would have been a natural choice. However, when visiting a sister in Crowley he looked through the phone book and was surprised at the scarcity of lawyers there, far fewer than Marksville. So, he made his move to Crowley where he discovered there were more lawyers than he thought. It turned out that some pages had been ripped out of the phone book he...

SCOTT, La. - An Acadiana High School student is facing charges and disciplinary action after he allegedly struck a school safety officer during an incident at Acadiana High School. Lafayette Parish School Board officials say the incident began after the student was found to be in violation of the dress code and taken to the office to wait for a parent. When lunchtime came, school officials say they allowed the student to go to lunch. They say they later found the student in the parking lot and asked the officer to bring the student back to the office. The student...

A prisoner abducted and killed an assistant warden's teenage stepdaughter after he escaped from a Louisiana prison, authorities said Friday. The inmate was later found dead after a standoff with police. Deltra Henderson, 39, walked away from his prison assignment at David Wade Correctional Center on Thursday afternoon, stole a car and kidnapped Amanda Carney, the Claiborne Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The 18-year-old's body was found in a wooded area near the prison where Henderson crashed the car.

CAMERON PARISH, LA (KPLC) - The face of Cameron Parish will soon be changing. A massive, 500-acre port will be built over the next four years on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, creating close to 4,000 permanent jobs - doubling the employment in the parish. Peterson Offshore Group, a Dutch international energy logistics management company, signed a letter of intent Wednesday with Port Cameron to lease 1.2 million square feet in Part Cameron's Logistics Center. Peterson will co-manage the port. For Ted Falgout, executive director of Port Cameron, Cameron Parish is the perfect location for this project. "I think seeing these...

Since Dejuan Guillory died in an officer-involved shooting, questions have swirled about his criminal record. In August 2015, he was arrested and accused of using a backhoe to steal an ATM from a bank, and of shooting at a police officer who came to investigate. In December 2016, he pleaded no contest to simple criminal damage to property and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Half of that sentence was suspended, leaving a five-year sentence to serve, followed by five years of probation. Evangeline Parish court records show that the five-year sentence was actually deferred.

The Louisiana State Police released new details Monday of a fatal officer-involved shooting last week that has sparked controversy in Evangeline Parish, saying the deputy who opened fire on an ATV driver had been attacked during a 4 a.m. traffic stop. The Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office deputy, who has not been identified, "was dazed and saw stars" before fatally shooting the ATV driver, 27-year-old Dejuan Guillory, according to a State Police report.

Former "Sons of Guns" reality TV star William Hayden was sentenced in a Livingston Parish court on Wednesday (July 12) to a third life sentence for rape, WAFB reports. About two months ago, a Baton Rouge judge ordered Hayden to serve two life prison terms after a jury there convicted him in a different rape case. Hayden, whose A&E reality TV show about a Baton Rouge gun store was canceled after his arrest in 2014, pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges of first-degree rape and aggravated incest, the TV station reports. He has the option of withdrawing the plea if...

UPDATED July 6, 5:43 p.m.: A Louisiana State Police spokesman said a woman has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after an officer-involved shooting that took the life of a burglary suspect Thursday morning. ,P. Investigators with Louisiana State Police have arrested Dequince E. Brown, 21, of Church Point. According to LSP press release, Brown was with Dejuan Guillory when an Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy approached him Thursday morning as the deputy investigated a possible burglary in progress. According to previous LSP reports, there was an altercation that left the deputy injured and Guillory fatally shot. ... ORIGINAL STORY:...

Louisiana’s public school classrooms will be required to teach cursive writing to students starting with the new school year. That mandate, approved by lawmakers in 2016 but delayed a year so schools could prepare, is among more than two dozen new laws

Louisiana's public school classrooms will be required to teach cursive writing to students starting with the new school year. That mandate, approved by lawmakers in 2016 but delayed a year so schools could prepare, is among more than two dozen new laws that take effect Saturday (July 1).