News

Lafayette man arrested again on stiffer counts in fatal April crash

BY KATIE GAGLIANO | Staff writer
8 hrs ago

A Lafayette man was rebooked Tuesday in connection with a fatal April crash on Mills Street.

Acadian Ambulance honors top EMTs, medics of the year in Lafayette. See winners.

by Adam Daigle | Acadiana business editor
8 hrs ago

Acadian Ambulance honored its EMT of the Year and Paramedic of the Year during its annual luncheon Tuesday.

Residents unhappy with Louisiana insurance crisis under Jeff Landry, Tim Temple, poll shows

BY SAM KARLIN | Staff writer
Updated 14 hrs ago

Louisiana voters, unhappy with a property insurance crisis that has caused intense rate hikes, are broadly dissatisfied with Gov. Jeff Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple’s handling o…

Lafayette mayor works to untangle three controversial drainage projects she inherited

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR | Staff writer
20 hrs ago

Four months into her term as Lafayette Mayor-President, Monique Boulet and her team are working with state and federal agencies to resolve problems with three controversial drainage projects i…

Women Who Mean Business: Fumy Rita, LAGCOE director, finds much value in making connections

by KATHERINE FRAZER | Contributing Writer
20 hrs ago

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series on the six chosen as part of the annual Women Who Mean Business awards by the United Way of Acadiana. For tickets, visit bit.ly/womenwhomeanbusiness2024.

Free fiber service, missing PlayStation among 2022-23 Lafayette audit findings

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

Some Lafayette Utilities System fiber customers improperly received free or reduced service. A PlayStation 5 and amplifier assigned to Lafayette Consolidated Government's communications divisi…

Louisiana's Brian Hernandez Jr. is latest in line of successful horse jockeys from Acadiana

BY MEGAN WYATT | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

Brian Hernandez Jr. is the latest horse jockey from Acadiana to make history on the racetrack.

Pushback on Title IX changes, superintendent contract on Lafayette school board agenda

BY ASHLEY WHITE | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

The Lafayette Parish School Board’s May agenda includes finalizing a balanced budget, a possible four-year extension of the superintendent’s contract and whether to support some Louisiana lead…

This coffee shop on Ambassador Caffery to close later this month

by Adam Daigle | Acadiana business editor
May 6, 2024

The Maurice-based Coffee Dash will close its Lafayette location later this month.

Better outcomes, lower costs: Arizona-based nonprofit moves to address social determinants of health in LA

BY ALENA MASCHKE | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

Social determinants of health, such as housing and food security, access to education and transportation, are receiving increasing attention as a way to improve patient outcomes and lower heal…

Southwest Louisiana lacks mental health professionals — a new program hopes to change that

BY ALENA MASCHKE | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

When Wasilat Adeoluwa, a 30-year-old international student in the graduate counseling program at McNeese State University, arrived in Lake Charles, the city was still in shambles after five fe…

Acadia Parish school board join AG's lawsuit against federal Title IX requirements

By STEPHEN MARCANTEL | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

The Acadia Parish school board voted last Tuesday to join Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education's revised Title IX rules that add protection…

Does Lafayette need an ordinance targeting underage drinking? DDA head thinks so.

by Adam Daigle | Acadiana business editor
May 6, 2024

Downtown Lafayette is still trying to shake off the perception that the nightlife in out of control.

Lafayette domestic disturbance leads to police shooting, car chase, wreck on Kaliste Saloom

BY KATIE GAGLIANO | Staff writer
Updated May 6, 2024

An armed domestic disturbance call on Sunday led to a police shooting, a chase and two crashes on Kaliste Saloom Road, one of which overturned a vehicle, the Lafayette Police Department said.

Meet the Argentine man behind The Empanada Guy and his Lafayette wife who beat cancer

by Adam Daigle | Acadiana business editor
May 6, 2024

Two years removed from a leukemia diagnosis, Laura Trahan still describes it as a punch in the face.

It's in the early stages, but a new primate research center could be coming to Louisiana

BY ASHLEY WHITE | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

Acadiana could see another non-human primate research center in the future.

Small insurers are growing in Louisiana. Will more go insolvent after the next big storm?

BY SAM KARLIN | Staff writer
Updated May 6, 2024

The dozen insurers that failed after two busy hurricane seasons left hundreds of thousands of Louisiana homeowners scrambling for new insurance policies at a time when premiums were soaring.

Women Who Mean Business: Phebe Hayes making sure African American stories from decades ago get told

By STEPHEN MARCANTEL | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series on the six chosen as part of the annual Women Who Mean Business awards by the United Way of Acadiana. For tickets, visit bit.ly/womenwhomeanbusiness2024.

Nominate your favorite people and places in new Acadiana's Choice awards

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON | Staff writer
May 6, 2024

A new readers choice awards is coming to Acadiana, launched by the local team at The Acadiana Advocate. We live and work here and we love celebrating the people and places — especially local b…

‘You never really adapt’: Families of Louisiana couple shot, burned in 2016 remember them

BY KATIE GAGLIANO | Staff writer
May 4, 2024

Eight years after their deaths, the families of a young Lafayette couple shot and burned remembered their loved ones as the murder trial of their accused killer concluded.

Iberia Parish tax renewal fails. What does this mean for the future of its library system?

By STEPHEN MARCANTEL | Staff writer
May 4, 2024

A tax renewal for public libraries in Iberia Parish failed over the weekend. While some view it as a symptom of the cultural battle over libraries others view the current system as bloated and…

GoFundMe page raises more than $40,000 for Chris Stafford funeral expenses, endowment

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON | Staff writer
Updated May 4, 2024

A GoFundMe account that was set up to cover the funeral expenses for local musician Chris Stafford, who died Thursday in a car crash on Pinhook Road, has already raised more than $40,000.

Acadia Parish man accused of hitting a family member with his car

By STEPHEN MARCANTEL | Staff writer
May 3, 2024

A man has been arrested after he reportedly struck a family member with a car during a dispute, the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office reports.

'Sleeping little secret:' Abbeville's first woman mayor has big ideas for city's master plan

By STEPHEN MARCANTEL | Staff writer
May 3, 2024

The city of Abbeville looks like no other place in south Louisiana. The small city on one hand looks like the quintessential all-American-made-for-Hallmark sleepy town with redbrick storefront…

Three Lafayette Parish elementary schools get new principals

BY ASHLEY WHITE | Staff writer
May 3, 2024

Three Lafayette Parish elementary schools — Carencro "Bob" Lilly, Broadmoor and Prairie — will receive new principals.

Maurice man killed in crash on Ambassador Caffery

BY KATIE GAGLIANO | Staff writer
May 3, 2024

A Maurice man was killed Thursday when his motorcycle collided with a truck on Ambassador Caffery Parkway, the Lafayette Police Department said.

Remember the life of Chris Stafford through photos of Feufollet, Viatones over the years

May 3, 2024

Chris Stafford, 36, was killed in a vehicle crash just after 10 a.m. Thursday.

$7.1M for storage project on Ambassador Caffery Parkway: See what else is under construction

Staff report
May 3, 2024

Here's what's under construction in Lafayette Parish.