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U.S. 90 bridge work will require another seven months

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:28am

GEOFF STOUTE

The estimated completion time of work on the E.J. “Lionel” Grizzaffi U.S. 90 bridge has been pushed back to December, weather permitting.
The state Department of Transportation and Development made the announcement recently in a press release.
In May 2020, the state Department of Transportation and Development said the work was anticipated to be completed, weather permitting, by mid-2021. It involves cleaning, painting and bridge repairs.
No further information from the state Department of Transportation and Development on the reason for the delay or more specifics on the ongoing work was available Tuesday.
The closures affect the right eastbound and westbound lanes of the bridge as well as the bridge’s eastbound entrance ramp at La. 182 in Berwick and its westbound entrance ramp at Federal Avenue.
While the work is ongoing, motorists have been using the one lane of traffic open in each direction or the two-lane Long-Allen La. 182 bridge.
Seminole Equipment Inc. of Tarpon Springs, Florida, is doing the work. The contract for the project is approximately $12 million. Work began in September 2019.
The work is part of a bridge preservation program and is being funded through the state’s transportation trust fund.

Festival sponsorship drives, poster contest are on

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:25am

Staff Report

The Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival board is moving ahead with plans for the 86th festival this fall, and the festival poster contest and the membership and sponsorship drives are underway.
The festival, which was canceled last year because of COVID-19, will be held as scheduled on Labor Day Weekend, beginning on Thursday, Sept. 2, and continuing through Monday, Sept. 6.
With the opening of the membership and sponsorship drives, the festival hopes to recognize that one of the main reasons of the festival’s success is the support of our members and sponsors who give year after year.
Information regarding opportunities for your support is available at www.shrimpandpetroleum.org/membership and www.shrimpandpetroleum.org/sponsorship.
You can also contact the festival office for more information or with any questions.
The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival also announced its renewed poster contest.
The contest is open to artists throughout the state and the winning design will be used for the official 2021 poster.
A $500 cash award will be presented to the winning artist. Contest guidelines are available by calling 985-385-0703 or email info@shrimpandpetroleum.org.
The deadline for submission of design is June 28.
For several years the festival has been chosen as a “Top 20 Event” by the Southeast Tourism Society. A “Top 100 Event” in North America by the American Bus Association and as “The Most Outstanding Festival” in Division III (attendance of over 50,000) by the Louisiana Association of Fairs & Festivals.
This event features the historic Blessing of the Fleet, the Music Stage, the Cajun Culinary Classic and the spectacular Fireworks on the River.
The festival hosts many other family-oriented events during Labor Day Weekend and no admission is charged.
For more information contact Hailee Thomas, Executive Director at 985-385-0703 or www.shrimpandpetroleum.org/poster-contest.

Auditor: State may have paid $6.2M in jobless pay to inmates

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:24am

DAVID JACOBS, The Center Square

The Louisiana Workforce Commission may have paid $6.2 million in unemployment benefits to incarcerated people who were not eligible, according to the Louisiana legislative auditor.
The LWC blamed the problem on inaccurate information obtained through a vendor and said state officials are working to fight fraud amid unprecedented demand for benefits.
The legislative auditor looked at people who were incarcerated from January 2020 through November who are not eligible for unemployment benefits because they are unable to obtain employment. While 92 of the incarcerated people the LLA identified were cut off after a week, 1,103 individuals received unemployment benefits for more than one week, including some individuals who received payments but were incarcerated the entire period of March 2020 through November, according to the auditor’s report.
Most of the people the LLA identified were seeking benefits through a federal COVID-19 relief program for contractors and gig workers that also has been a target for fraud in other states. Contract and gig workers normally are not eligible for unemployment benefits and their income is not reported to LWC by employers since they are not classified as employees, the LLA said.
While domestic and international criminals are using stolen identities of prisoners to apply for benefits, in many cases the prisoners themselves or their co-conspirators are filing fraudulent unemployment claims, the LWC said. Officials said the Workforce Commission pays a vendor used by at least 15 other states to pull data from jails and prisons and is “working with our vendor to determine why there was in issue cross-matching process which helps identify if individuals are eligible for benefits.”
“We have zero-tolerance for criminals who exploit our systems at the expense of Louisianians,” LWC Secretary Ava Cates said in a prepared statement. “My team is committed to identifying and investigating those who take advantage of relief meant for people in need.”
The LWC has turned over more than 35,000 cases of suspected fraud to law enforcement agencies across the state, the commission’s statement said.

From the Editor: Louisiana and reefer madness

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:22am

BILL DECKER

bdecker@daily-review.com

The Louisiana Legislature is moving closer to easing up on marijuana smokers. A couple of major bills are making their way through the process this week, one on medical marijuana and one that has the potential to legalize weed altogether.
The jokes write themselves, don’t they?
“If the Legislature stays totally stoned for the whole session, will we be able to tell the difference?”
“I guess we finally found out what ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ are.”
“The papers on the governor’s desk today are the Advocate, the Shreveport Times and Strawberry EZ Widers.”
Even if those qualify as actual jokes, marijuana is a serious matter.
The arrest report in today’s paper is typical: four people were arrested by the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office on marijuana possession charges over the weekend.
That’s four more potential cases for drug court, four more people who have to hire lawyers, and who knows how many job applications that answer “yes” on questions about criminal convictions and drug use. Or lie.
Equally typical is the fact that one of the suspects’ list of charges includes motor vehicle offenses, indicating the drug arrest resulted from a traffic stop.
We see that a lot. Lots of people are driving around St. Mary Parish with drugs in the car.
Whatever the effects it might have, pro or con, and no matter what happens with the current bills, legalized marijuana is in our future.
The tax revenue is seductive, and we’ve already shown we’re willing to gamble.
The gamble
About five years ago, this column speculated that marijuana madness might sweep over Louisiana the way gambling spread through the state in the 1990s.
At the start of that decade, I moved to Louisiana from Alabama, where the only form of legal gambling was getting involved in an argument between Crimson Tide and Auburn fans around Thanksgiving.
It’s hard to believe now, but legal gambling in Louisiana in 1990 was all about horse racing and bingo. And you can hear stories about how hard the Affiliated Blind of Louisiana had to work to get legal bingo in order to finance its operations.
The leader of the nonprofit was tagged with a nickname: “Le Parrain,” French for the Godfather.
But in 1990, Louisiana was just coming out of the 1980s oil glut. Because state revenue relied so heavily on energy production and because oil prices fell so low, higher education and state law enforcement had taken major budget hits in the 1980s. The charity hospital system was in danger of losing certification for some of its medical residency programs.
Gambling was one of the remedies sought by the Legislature. Before the decade was half over, Louisiana had not just bingo and horse racing, but its own lotto game, scratch-off lottery cards, riverboats, a land-based casino in New Orleans and video poker. And that’s not counting Indian casinos, which resulted from agreements between each tribe and the feds.
Better bet
Until recently, if you wanted to bet on legalized marijuana in Louisiana, you were betting against long odds. We’re a conservative state becoming more conservative, and on the right, drug legalization seemed like a good idea only on the libertarian fringe.
We are, however, in another one of those pesky oil price troughs that hit St. Mary’s economy the way a stoner tears into a bag of Double-Stuff Oreos.
We’re doing OK for now. But sooner or later, Uncle Sam is going to turn off the COVID money spigot. And where will we be then?
Of the two high-profile marijuana bills now in Baton Rouge, one is more about humanity than money.
House Bill 391 by state Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, would allow doctors to suggest raw marijuana for smoking as the form that patients who meet the legal criteria for medicinal marijuana should get.
The doctors can’t actually prescribe the marijuana under federal law. But they can give a wink and a nod as they point the patient toward a legal source.
Magee’s bill passed easily in the House on Monday.
House Bill 699 by state Rep. Richard Nelson, R-Mandeville, has more to do with cash.
Nelson would like to see a statewide election Nov. 8, 2022, to ask voters whether they want to make it legal to smoke pot just because you want to. If your dream is to open a doobie boutique, you’d be able to get a license for $2,500. If you want to grow your own, you’d need a $100 permit.
Marijuana sale or production would be forbidden in parishes where the majority voted against legalization, but smoking or eating marijuana would still be legal there.
Nelson says he’s not in favor of using marijuana, per se, but people are smoking it anyway. So why not raise some cash? He estimates the state’s take would be $100 million to $200 million a year.
The bill was approved by the House Committee on Criminal Justice Administration by a 7-5 vote.
Attitudes
Views on marijuana have softened over the years.
Those of us old enough to have been the hippies and freaks of the Sixties and Seventies are now senior citizens. We’ve come to admire anything that can take away minor aches and pains. Maybe we’ve emerged from cranky middle age to be more inclined to live and let live, too.
Somewhere between 13 and 17 states have now legalized the recreational use of marijuana, depending on how you define “legalized.” Thirty-six states, including Louisiana, have legalized medical marijuana.
David Jacobs of The Center Square quotes pollster John Couvillon as saying that 67% of Louisiana people who responded to a recent poll are in favor of recreational legalization. It was 54% last year.
But even aging hippies have to admit that the days of peace, love and dope are long gone. Drug culture has taken a sinister turn, or at least the sinister part has become more visible.
The Sixties and Seventies had the Zig Zag Man and Cheech & Chong. Succeeding generations got Pablo Escobar and the oxy-flinging Sackler family.
We have been told for decades that marijuana isn’t addictive. But how many of us also know that one person who says things like, “I’ve smoked marijuana every day since Woodstock and I never got addicted!”
The organizations representing sheriffs and district attorneys have taken stands against legal marijuana. So has the Louisiana Family Forum.
A couple of things about politicians, though: They can read polls, and they can read budgets. That’s what makes legalized marijuana a sure bet, sooner or later.
Bill Decker is managing editor of The Daily Review.

House leaders roll out budget, plans for COVID aid

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:20am

By DAVID JACOBS
The Center Square
Louisiana House leaders unveiled their proposals Monday for the state’s more than $36 billion operating budget and spending $1.6 billion in federal aid.
The version of House Bill 1, the main state spending bill, the Republican-led Appropriations Committee advanced Monday is very similar to Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed budget, though the differences in how to handle federal American Rescue Plan money are wider.
Legislators are calling for an $800 raise for teachers and a $400 pay bump for school support staff, doubling Edwards’ request in both cases. The Senate Education Committee called for raises of $1,000 and $500, respectively.
House Appropriations Chair Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma, said he expects to enhance the requested raises if the Revenue Estimating Conference projects the money will be there. Edwards, likewise, has said he hopes to give bigger raises after the REC adopts a higher revenue projection. Legislative leaders scheduled last week a news conference for Monday afternoon to discuss their proposed budget and how they found money for teacher raises but canceled it Monday.
“Our teachers are the pillars of our education system, and it’s time we give them the pay raises they need,” House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said in a prepared statement.
The budget also enhances spending for foster families and higher education salaries and fully funds the state’s TOPS scholarship program.
Zeringue described the proposed budget as “relatively flat” compared with how much the current budget calls for spending. The executive budget proposes spending about $36.6 billion during the fiscal year that starts July 1, a net increase of about $186 million from the current year.
As for the federal ARP money, legislators are proposing spending $400 million to shore up the state’s unemployment trust fund and pay back money the state borrowed from the federal government to pay benefits. Another $300 million would go to water system upgrades, $90 million for broadband infrastructure, $10 million for the logging industry and $4.5 million for movie theater operators, while $800 million would be set aside until the full federal guidance governing precisely how the money can be spent is available.
Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, who is the governor’s point man on spending issues, questioned the wisdom of setting aside money for the two business sectors, arguing that spreading the money around too thin could “dilute the effectiveness" of the money.
Edwards has proposed putting $630 million of the ARP money toward the unemployment benefits fund and spending $400 million for transportation infrastructure, $300 million for water and sewer systems, $145 million for tourism promotion and $50 million for ports.

Around Town for May 4

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:19am

Happy birthday Tamara and Tia Whitehead from family, friends and Ira … Belated happy birthday Gwen Williams, love you and hope you had a great day, your son Don, grandkids and brother Earl … Belated happy birthday Jimmy Mayon from Paulette and the Netterville and Mayon families … Happy anniversary Ted and Theresa Waguespack from the Nettervilles and all your family and friends.

Wheel House for May 4

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:18am

SCHOLARSHIP
The Al Tregle Foundation offers an annual scholarship to one qualifying male senior from Morgan City, Berwick or Patterson high schools. Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to the foundation at: 324 West Main St., Thibodaux, LA 70301. For info, email altreglescholarship@yahoo.com or call 985-519-1182.

Ochsner hospitals get good grades for patient safety

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:14am

Thirteen Ochsner Health facilities, including Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City and includingfive partner facilities, earned an "A" Spring 2021 Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national distinction recognizing the health system’s achievements protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.
Ochsner hospitals and partner facilities earning this honor include:
—Ochsner Baptist – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center
—Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge
—Ochsner Medical Center – Hancock
—Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans
—Ochsner Medical Center – Northshore
—Ochsner St. Mary
—Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center
—Ochsner Lafayette General Orthopaedic Hospital
—Leonard A. Chabert Medical Center (Ochsner Partner)
—St. Tammany Health System (Ochsner Partner)
—Singing River Health System – Pascagoula Hospital (Ochsner Partner)
—Singing River Health System – Ocean Springs Hospital (Ochsner Partner)
—Singing River Health System – Gulfport (Ochsner Partner)
“That so many Ochsner Health and partner hospitals achieved an ‘A’ this spring is a testament to our team’s dedication to patient safety,” said Richard Guthrie, MD, chief quality officer, Ochsner Health. “Leapfrog’s commitment to creating transparency through data serves the community and helps inform and empower patients. Despite the challenges our teams faced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our people continued to deliver high quality care to the patients we serve.”
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to healthcare quality and safety.
The Safety Grade is a letter assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well hospitals prevent medical errors and other harms to patients. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospitals’ prevention of medical errors and other harms to patients.
“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that the communities you serve should feel good about,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but Ochsner hospitals and partner facilities show it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”
Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.
Ochsner’s patient safety goals of “Target Zero” focus on creating a hospital setting with zero patient harm. To learn more about Ochsner’s quality and safety efforts, please visit www.ochsner.org/quality. To make an appointment at Ochsner, please visit www.ochsner.org/info.

Louisiana State Mixed Doubles Horseshoe Pitching Championships

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:12am

Kemper Williams Park
Patterson
May 1
Class A
First place, Wanda Lantz of Marrero and Randy Giroir of Berwick, 5 wins-1 loss, 37.5 ringer percentage; second place, Tim Gilmore of Bayou Vista and Pat Pertuit of Marrero, 4-2, 47.8; and third place, Al Dodson and Linda Dodson, both of Morgan City, 2-3, 32.0
Lantz/Giroir defeated Gilmore/Pertuit in a 60-shoe playoff to claim tournament championship.
Class B
First, Larry Pertuit of Marrero and Edie Corso of Destrehan, 5-1, 30.0; second, Ricky Richard and Bobbie Richard, both of Church Point, 4-2, 23.6; and third, Rene’ White of Shreveport and Steve Rotach of Minden, 3-2, 12.7.
Pertuit/Corso defeated Richard/Richard in a 60-shoe playoff game to claim class championship.
Class C
First, Larry Nulty and Marilyn Nulty, both of Kenner, 5-0, 8.3; second, Brad Thomas and Nicole Thomas, both of St. Rose, 3-2, 5.0; and third, Hilton Rhodes of Bayou Vista and Amanda Lyon of Sterlington, 3-2, 13.7.

Deputies make arrests for resisting with force, battery, fighting

Tue, 05/04/2021 - 11:07am

Staff Report

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

St. Mary Parish deputies made two arrests over the weekend on charges of resisting arrest with force, one of them in the presence of a weapon, plus two juvenile arrests for fighting. An inmate was also booked on a count of battery of a corrections officer.

St. Mary
Sheriff Blaise Smith advised that over the last 72-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 128 complaints and made these arrests:
—Shane Da’vey Sophus, 42, Franklin, was arrested at 1:58 a.m. Saturday on charges of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, resisting an officer, resisting an officer with force or violence, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of domestic violence, and illegal carrying of a weapon.
No bail has been set.
—Joseph Romol Bienemy, 26, New Orleans, was arrested at 9:50 a.m. Friday on charges of introduction of contraband into a penal institution and resisting a police officer with force or violence. Bienemy continues to be incarcerated at the parish’s Law Enforcement Center.
—Whitney Joseph Billiot IV, 44, Morgan City, was arrested at 4:45 a.m. Saturday on a charge of battery of a correctional officer. Billiot continues to be incarcerated at the parish’s Law Enforcement Center.
—Tranika Jenisha Dauphine, 25, Jeanerette, was arrested at 11:47 p.m. Sunday on charges of driving on right side of road; stopping, standing, or parking prohibited in specific area; resisting an officer; and possession of stolen thing.
Bail has not been set.
—Juvenile male, 16, Centerville, was arrested at 10:33 a.m. Friday on a charge of disturbing the peace (fighting). The boy was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
—Juvenile male, 15, Centerville, was arrested at 10:33 a.m. Friday on a charge of disturbing the peace (fighting). The boy was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
—Alysha Maxine Carlton, 31, Morgan City, was arrested at 11:44 p.m. Friday on two warrants for failure to appear on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of Subutex and possession of drug paraphernalia.
No bail has been set.
—Da’Jonnae Murdock, 21, Franklin, was arrested at 11:49 p.m. Friday on charges of speeding, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Murdock was released on a summons to appear July 22.
—Peter Jaral Grogan, 24, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:05 p.m. Saturday on charges of speeding and open container. Grogan was released on a summons to appear Aug. 19.
—Ja’heim I Lightfoot, 18, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:05 p.m. Saturday on a charge of open container. Lightfoot was released on a summons to appear Aug. 19.
—Tradasha Brooks, 25, Morgan City, was arrested at 12:41 a.m. Sunday on charges of driving on roadway laned for traffic, driver must be licensed and driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $3,000.
—Charles Joseph Boudreaux, 56, Franklin, was arrested at 6:57 p.m. Sunday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charges of illegal possession of stolen things $1,000-$5,000 and criminal trespass. Bail has not been set.
—Jujuan Melvin Poindexter, 19, Houma, was arrested at 7:24 p.m. Sunday on charges of driving on roadway laned for traffic, no seat belt, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, illegal possession of stolen firearms and no driver’s license on person.
Bail has not been set.
—Kenneth Joseph Tillman Jr., 34, Jeanerette, was arrested at 11:47 p.m. Sunday on charges of possession of marijuana and open container. Tillman was released on a summons to appear Aug. 19.

Morgan City
Police Chief James F. Blair reported that over the last 72-hour period, the Morgan City Police Department responded to 110 calls of service and made this arrest:
—Randy Evan Darby, 42, South Receiving Station Road, Slidell, was arrested at 8:51 p.m. Sunday as a fugitive from the Slidell Police Department.

Assumption
Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon reported this arrest:
—Tyler Gauthier, 22, Creole Street, Belle Rose, was arrested Sunday on charges of unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling and criminal mischief (tampering with property).
The felony charges related to a Sunday incident near Belle Rose.
Deputies responded to a complaint early Sunday and made contact with the complainant. The caller advised that Gauthier could be seen on her doorbell camera attempting to get into her home.
The deputy was able to establish that the incident did occur. The deputy thought that Gauthier needed medical attention, and Acadian Ambulance was summoned. Gauthier was taken to a local hospital for evaluation but was released a short time later.
Deputies were called again and observed Gauthier on camera footage attempting to enter the home a second time.
Gauthier was arrested and booked into the Assumption Parish Detention pending a bond hearing and will undergo additional medical evaluation.

Franklin
Police Chief Morris Beverly said his department responded to 29 complaints over the past weekend and made this arrest:
—Jardyn McCoy, 19, Iberia Street, Franklin, was arrested at 1:20 p.m. Friday on a warrant dated April 28 for reckless operation, aggravated flight from an officer and off-road vehicle. McCoy was booked, processed and released on a $2,500 bond.

St. Martin
Sheriff Becket Breaux reported these arrests:
— Drake Batiste, 22, Hebert Avenue, Breaux Bridge, was arrested Sunday on charges of home invasion, aggravated criminal damage to property and operating a vehicle license is suspended.
—Jeffrey Grebinger, 24, Lawrence Street, Breaux Bridge, was arrested Sunday on a charge of possession of a firearm while committing or attempting a crime, unlawful use or possession of body armor, false impersonation of a police officer and possession of Schedule II drugs.
—Tedrick Sam, 26, Cantal Drive, Lafayette, was arrested Sunday on a charge of child endangerment/domestic abuse-aggravated.