Its sponsor, Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, brushed off concerns from colleagues who question the Legislature’s ability to proceed with their ongoing lawmaking session and simultaneously handle constitutional revisions. “I would argue that the timing is perfect and the timing is absolute if we’re going to make bold changes in Louisiana,” Beaullieu told the committee. Source: LA Illuminator View on thecurrentla.com ..read more

The first time Patricia Cravins stepped onto Paul Breaux’s campus was in 1955, for her brother’s high school graduation. Over the next 43 years, its halls would become a fixture in her life. As a student, she would watch the high school close. As a teacher, she was there when it reopened as a middle school. For Cravins, the school’s legacy speaks for itself. Paul Breaux educated generations of Black students, like the man whose name it bears. It was one of the few places they could get an education in Lafayette.  When word got out that the Lafayette Parish School Board might close Paul ..read more

The Boulet administration still can’t say the Guillory administration’s signature drainage project will protect a single home from flooding, but with millions in unreimbursed expenses on the line, it is moving ahead to complete it.  The state is continuing to withhold nearly $28 million from Lafayette Consolidated Government for the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project, the multi-site flood protection project for which LCG has already shelled out $76 million. That figure includes $54 million in state capital outlay reimbursements, but the state began withholding payments in mid-2022, ci ..read more

The Lafayette Police Department has suspended its recently launched initiative to send specially trained officers to mental health-related calls.  Police officials cited a lack of staff to man regular patrol while several officers are out on administrative leave following officer-involved shootings. “We, like many other agencies, are always trying to work through staffing challenges,” LPD Chief Judith Estorge said via email. “The CARES program is a great initiative, but me and my command staff have to constantly assess the needs of the community, and devote our resources to where th ..read more

 Johnathon Palacios wanted to build a bond with his teenage son, something he felt he missed as a young father. He wasn’t around much when 15-year-old Joh’von was a child, and he tried to make up for lost time. But when Joh’von got in trouble for vaping in the bathroom before a high school basketball game, Palacios realized that their relationship still needed work — and he had trouble guiding his son onto the right path. “I couldn’t get through to him,” Palacios said. Then, a few months later, he got a call from the Multi-Agency Resource Center, asking him and his son to come in for a m ..read more

For modern audiophiles, vinyl records are the pinnacle of the listening experience. In 2023, vinyl records outsold CDs for the first time since 1987. But making vinyl records can be incredibly time consuming, with production times ranging anywhere from six weeks to six months. Now, Citronel Sounds, a new Lafayette company, is empowering artists to embrace the DIY spirit through the humble cassette tape. Citronel operates not only as cassette producers, but also as an accessible record label working to record and promote new artists. Longtime music enthusiasts Alaric and Sidney Bloss start ..read more

“Some people want Lafayette to be a big Abbeville. Others want it to be the next Austin.”  That’s what lobbyist and local political guru Tyron Picard said to me years ago, explaining why it can be difficult to get everyone on the same page over what we want our city to look like in the future.  His take struck a chord with me. I’ve been frustrated at times both by Lafayette’s small town mentality and by what can feel like delusions of grandeur. In that moment, I realized I didn’t want Lafayette to be a jumbo Abbeville or a pocket-sized Austin. I want Lafayette to be Lafayette — one ..read more

Editor’s Note: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Students and faculty members gathered on the University of Louisiana’s Lafayette campus on Monday to protest the university’s handling of the public death of Basil Brown, a UL students who died by suicide on campus on April 7. In the week since Brown’s death, his friends, fellow students and some faculty members have criticized the university’s handling of the situation, argui ..read more

For five years, skaters in Lafayette had nowhere to go. After the Dust Bowl (a small concrete skate park near UL’s campus) was built over to create more university housing, Lafayette skaters were left in the dust without a community home. Ooti Billeaud wanted to change that. With the help of crowdfunding, he opened Magnolia LA, an indoor skate park and bike shop designed to be accessible for all ages and skill-levels.  Opening Magnolia kicked off a new era for skating in Lafayette. And in May, Lafayette is expected to open a new public skate park near Thomas Park.  Billeaud, a skat ..read more

Here is a selection of items on the agendas for this week’s meetings of the City and Parish councils. To see the full agendas, check out the links below: Parish Agenda City Agenda (Public Comment Time!) Lafayette 101 Development Grants Lafayette Consolidated Government administers millions to local community organizations each year through the federal government’s Community Development Block Grant program. Those funds go to groups pursing essential community needs, like housing and social services. Parish Council Final Adoption No items. Introduction No significant items. City Council Rep ..read more