If you were thinking back in May and June that Louisiana’s lawmakers were up to no good, getting very little accomplished in their 2008 regular session, today’s roll-out of 467 new laws should get your attention, although not exactly change your mind.
The hundreds of changes promise to impact citizens from every walk of life – even pot smokers. For instance, Act 150 by Rep. Erich E. Ponti, a Baton Rouge Republican, allows certain employers in the refining and chemical industry to lower the initial cut-off level for marijuana testing. Under previous law (meaning yesterday) drugs tests seeking to pick up ganja couldn’t be set lower than 50 nanograms per milliliter.
Greg Bowser of the Louisiana Chemical Association labels it as a safety precaution, since the proposed guidelines would catch drug-users that are dodging today’s screenings. “You’re allowing employees to be more stringent on their drug testing policies on marijuana than they currently can,” he told lawmakers during the session.
Also, don’t go calling La. Hwy. 385 in Lake Charles La Hwy. 385 anymore. That’s because Act 180 by GOP Sen. Dan "Blade" Morrish of Jennings renames the strip the "Wilson Anthony 'Boozoo' Chavis Memorial Highway" in honor of the zydeco legend.
If you plan on bribing a public official any time soon, then you might want to be careful about what you use for payoffs. If you offer up a home or any other property to a public official to gain access or influence, that property can be seized by the government starting today, thanks to Act 269 by Rep. Jonathan W. Perry, an Abbeville Republican. As usual, cash is king.
Any lingering questions about how Louisiana laws should be applied to prostitution violations are being cleared up today as well. In fact, Rep. Lowell C. Hazel, a freshman Republican from Pineville, delved into more detail regarding illegal activities between a hooker and a john with his Act 138 than possibly any other politico before him. As of yesterday, state law generally referred to “sexual intercourse” using only brief illustrations. Hazel’s new law clarifies that "sexual intercourse includes oral, anal or vaginal intercourse.” So now you know.
If you just have to learn more about our new laws, go to www.legis.state.la.us and click on “2008 Regular Session Information.” Once on the next page, scroll down and click on “Effective Dates of Acts.”
David Calhoun and Elizabeth “EB” Brooks are the first two employees of Lafayette Central Park Inc., the nonprofit charged with turning Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 100-acre Johnston Street Horse Farm property into a passive public park. Calhoun was named executive director, and Brooks is director of planning and design.
At Thursday's State of the Economy luncheon, LEDA President and CEO Gregg Gothreaux said PXP has already quietly hired 180 people for its Broussard expansion.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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