YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER LAROSE, LA thelafourchegazette.com
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Des Allemands man charged with vehicle burglaries in Central Laf. area
A Des Allemands man has been arrested and charged in connection with vehicle Whitney W burglaries Curole IV in the Central Lafourche area. Whitney Curole IV, 21, faces three counts of simple burglary among other charges. On Wednesday, May 1, deputies responded to three reported vehicle burglaries in the Central Lafourche area. Two burglaries were reported in the 300 block of Twin Oaks Drive in Raceland, and another was reported at a nearby business on LA 1. A purse, cash, and other valuable items were stolen from unlocked vehicles. While investigating one of the burglaries, deputies See Burglaries Page 3-A
SERVING: MATHEWS • GHEENS • LOCKPORT • VALENTINE • LAROSE CUT OFF • GALLIANO • GOLDEN MEADOW • LEEVILLE • GRAND ISLE
Trump easing offshore drilling safety rules
Officials picked Louisiana’s Port Fourchon, a hub for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, to announce the changes. Port PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) — The Trump workers in hard hats and readministration moved Thursday to give oil flective safety vests applauded and gas companies more flexibility in speakers’ calls for easing regumeeting safety requirements imposed lations. after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon ex“We’re more open to invenplosion, which killed nearly a dozen peotion,” Scott Angelle, a safety ple and was the worst offshore oil disaster t regulator at the Interior Departin U.S. history. ment, told the crowd. “We tell The revised rules, which govern safety them what• toLOCKPORT do,” he said. “How• VALENTINE • LAROSE V S MATHEWS • the GHEENS standards at offshore wells, come as do it is up to them.” they C • GALLIANO • GOLDEN MEADOW • LEEVILLE and • parts GRAND of the ISLE Atlantic be opened to oil pushes to expand drilling administration Officials estimate the Trump admin- and gas development. off the U.S. coast, although court chalistration revisions will save the oil indusEleven people died in April 2010 when lenges and opposition from many coastal try over $1.5 billion over the next 10 the Deepwater Horizon exploded, ultistates have slowed its efforts. years. mately releasing more than 3 million barThe new safety changes were sought Governors and lawmakers from both rels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. by the industry but fiercely challenged by Republican- and Democratic-led states Crews finally capped the well in July environmentalists. have fought the Trump administration’s 2010, three months after it began gushing Interior Secretary David Bernhardt plans for expanded offshore drilling. And oil from the bottom of the sea in a spectasaid in a statement the administration a federal judge ruled last month that Pres- cle captured live on video. was acting to eliminate “unnecessary regident Donald Trump had exceeded his auulatory burdens while maintaining safety thority when he ordered that the Arctic See Drilling Page 3-A and environmental protection offshore.” By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press
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Why travel matters in Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou, Lafourche Parish Kellie Walters LA Cajun Bayou
MEETINGS MONDAY, MAY 6 TOWN OF GOLDEN MEADOW 7:00 p.m. 107 Jervis Dr. - G.M.
PORT COMMISSION Committee Meetings 6:00 p.m. 16829 E. Main - Galliano TUESDAY, MAY 7
LADY OF THE SEA GENERAL HOSPITAL Board of Commissioners 12-Noon 200 W. 134th Place Cut Off WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 ANIMAL SHELTER ADVISORY BOARD 6:00 p.m. Polk Hall, Room 113 Nicholls State Campus
FIRE DISTRICT #9 6:30 p.m. Gheens Community Ctr. 1783 Hwy. 654 - Gheens
AMERICAN LEGION POST #315 7:00 p.m. 210 Legion Ave.- Galliano PORT COMMISSION Board Meetings 10:30 a.m. 16829 E. Main - Galliano
INSIDE
VOLUME 30 NUMBER 36
Pending bill would give $150M for La. 1 elevation By Julia Arenstam Daily Comet Staff Writer
The Louisiana Legislature is considering a bill that would dedicate $25 million in BP oil spill economic damage money to the La. 1 elevation project for six years. House Bill 578 is sponsored by Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, and co-sponsored by a number of other representatives including Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, Rep. Truck Gisclair, D-Larose, Rep. Dee Richard, IThibodaux, Rep. Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma, and Sen. Norby Chabert, R-Houma. The bill would split the $53.33 million annual payments from the BP oil spill litigation between the La. 1 elevation project, the La. 415 con-
nector to La. 1 in west Baton Rouge and a construction trust fund from 2021 to 2026. “The BP oil spill happened off the coast of Terrebonne and Lafourche. Last year we lost 2,500 jobs, that’s 2018,” Magee said. “Clearly that’s economic damages, and it makes sense this money should begin with Terrebonne Parish and Lafourche parishes as we move forward.” The House Appropriations Committee voted in favor of the bill Tuesday, advancing it to the full House. If approved, the bill will split annual BP settlement payments of roughly $53.33 million between the two projects, at $25 million each, and reserve the remaining $3.33 million for the construction trust fund. See LA 1 Page 3-A
When we think about tourist sites often times thoughts turn to big cities like our neighbor, New Orleans. But do you ever wonder about tourism in our own backyard? Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou and our local attractions; fishing, swamp tours, museums, restaurants, and authentic Cajun culture are the backbone of Lafourche Parish. These places and experiences define our community, provide our families with jobs and have given us - and thousands of visitors - a lifetime of memories. Travel matters, and it improves Lafourche Parish in ways that have a wide-reaching impact on our community. It is critical to our economy and jobs. In the last year, travelers spent $71.8 million dollars at our businesses creating $2.75 million in local tax revenue. Tourism supports 1,010 jobs within the parish and it also has an impact that we do not always see: travel can strengthen families, foster hometown pride, and build bridges that connect us with one another. Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou Tourism, the destination marketing organization for Lafourche Parish, spends over $180,000 each year promoting our area to potential visitors all over the world. The goal of these promotion efforts is to showcase our unapologetic Cajun culture, food, and outdoors that appeals to many looking for authentic, unmanufactured experiences. Journalists are noticing and interest is gaining momentum as travel writers and bloggers are coming to explore and in turn writing about why visitors need to come.
SPRING SHRIMP SEASON OPENING SET
Arrests........................5-A Calendar of Events....2-A
Classifieds.................4-A Horoscopes................5-A Lottery........................2-A
News In Brief..............2-A Obituaries...................5-A
Worship Directory.......6-A
ATTENTION HOME SELLERS
See Tourism Page 3-A
The opening dates for the Louisiana spring inshore shrimp season have been set. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission set the opening dates at a meeting in Baton Rouge Thursday. ‒ Zone 1, which spans waters west of the Mississippi-Louisiana line to the eastern shore of South Pass, will open on May 27 at 6 a.m. ‒ Zone 2, which spans waters west of the eastern shore of South Pass to the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal, will open on May 20 at 6 a.m. ‒ Zone 3, which spans waters west of the Freshwater Bayou Canal to the LouisianaTexas line, will open on May 27 at 6 a.m. A portion of the Zone 2 between the Atchafalaya River and Freshwater Bayou will remain closed to shrimping as biologists continue to monitor that area.
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