A report from the state inspector general and legislative auditor finds former Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David LaCerte mismanaged his department. Eric Gill reports…
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In a bit of a strange twist, Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards is scheduled to attend a Republican legislative retreat today in Lafayette. Eric Gill reports…
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A report from the state inspector general and legislative auditor finds former Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David LaCerte mismanaged his department. LaCerte resigned unexpectedly in October during the investigation by Inspector General Stephen Street and Legislative Auditor Darryl Purpera. Street says they found improprieties at several Veterans homes across the state…
The report also claims LaCerte used over $27,000 in federal funds, earmarked for a veterans cemetery, to purchase an SUV for department use. Purpera says LaCerte paid $44,000 to some law school classmates for professional services without documentation of what they did…
LaCerte’s attorney says these allegations are false and part of a character assassination. Street counters by saying current Veterans Affairs Secretary Joey Strickland and former interim Secretary Thomas Enright concur with the findings of this investigation…
CUT 5 (07) “for itself, there”
The audit also found problems with hiring practices, and reporting of potential crimes under the previous administration. Lacerte’s attorney, Jarrett Ambeau, says this is nothing more than a political attack by Purpera and Street because his client was pushing an agenda in favor of veterans:
Investigators say LaCerte’s military service record doesn’t match claims in his department biography. Ambeau says it’s easy to find facts that prove his client was not misrepresenting his service…:
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In a bit of a strange twist, Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards is scheduled to attend a Republican legislative retreat today in Lafayette. GOP lawmakers are gathering to discuss plans to deal with the state’s budget crisis. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross finds this very interesting, but not surprising…
He feels Republicans will be very wary of Edwards’ proposals to deal with the budget deficit, particularly those involving raising taxes. Cross says, since the state legislature is Republican-controlled, the governor has no choice but to seek support from GOP members…
He says some of the revenue committees are heavily stacked with Republican lawmakers, which will make Governor Edwards’ job much harder getting the legislation he wants passed. Cross says we’ll have to wait and see if Republicans are willing to work with the governor…
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A woman who was rescued by Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies, after police say she jumped off the Huey P Long Bridge over the Mississippi River, is undergoing psychiatric care today. Colonel John Fortunato says they got a 911 call around 1pm Sunday from someone saying they’d seen a female park and abandon her car on the bridge…:
Cut 11 (04) “Mississippi River”
Fortunato says the deputies who responded, Jordan Burst and David Lowe, found the woman stuck headfirst into a hole in a support beam. He says Burst climbed over the railing to comfort the woman, while Lowe retrieved a toe strap from his unit…:
Fortunato says the woman sustained minor injuries and was transported to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. He says this was an extremely heroic effort on the parts of Deputies Burst and Lowe…:
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The US Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to close the remaining open bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway today. The spillway was opened earlier this month to divert rising Mississippi River floodwaters from New Orleans. Spokesman Ricky Boyett says about 30 bays remained opened this morning…
The Bonnet Carre has been operational for 22 days during this flood event. Boyette says the Corps began opening bays on January 10…
Boyette says about 290 of the 350 bays of the Bonnet Carre were opened at the height of the operation. This is the 11th time the spillway has been in operation since its completion in 1931. Boyette says when they built the Bonnet Carre, they built it right…