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No prison for a nursing home owner who sent 800 residents to ride out a hurricane in squalor
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana businessman who sent more than 800 elderly residents from his seven nursing homes to ride out Hurricane Ida in a crowded, ill-equipped warehouse pleaded no contest to 15 criminal counts Monday and was sentenced to three years of probation. Bob Dean Jr. also must pay more than $358,000 in restitution to the state health department and more than $1 million as a monetary penalty, but state Attorney General Liz Murrill expressed frustration in a news release that Dean didn’t get any prison time. “We asked specifically that he be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years in prison, and not be given only probation. I respect our judicial system and that the judge has the ultimate discretion over the appropriate sentence, but I remain of the opinion that Dean should be serving prison time,” her statement said. Dean, 70, owned seven nursing homes in New Orleans and southeast Louisiana. As Ida approached, Dean moved hundreds of residents into a building in the town of Independence, roughly 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans.
Lafayette police officer who killed rapper in 2023 cleared of wrongdoing
A Lafayette police officer who fatally shot a rapper outside La Bamba nightclub on Johnston Street in 2023 was cleared of wrongdoing and is back on the job. Clayton Green was working off-duty security at the club in April 2023 when a fight broke out in the parking lot. According to police reports, Deiondre Solomon, 28, was involved in the fight when he allegedly retrieved a gun and shot a man in the lower abdomen.
SOUTHEASTERN TO HOST LOUISIANA GIRLS STATE PROGRAM
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University will host the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Louisiana Girls State program June 8-14, 2025. Louisiana Girls State is a summer leadership and citizenship program sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary for high school students who have completed their junior year. “We are honored to...
Lafayette grocery offering Indian, Pakistani, Arabic goods to close by end of month
When Bismillah Grocery opened in Lafayette over seven years ago, it filled a growing demand for Indian and Arabic groceries in a community with an expanding population from the Indian subcontinent and surrounding region. The owners announced last week on Facebook that this would be their last month in operation,...
Low pay is driving away Louisiana's early childhood education teachers, survey says
While Louisiana has made progress in expanding early childhood education for thousands of children, most workers still don't earn a living wage, according to a recent survey. New Orleans, however, is tackling some of the problem through local taxpayer money — a major source of funding for early education that's helped standardize the minimum wage for teachers.
Farmer wins Newspaper of Year honors for 5th straight year
For the fifth consecutive year, the St. Tammany Farmer was named Newspaper of the Year among the state’s weekly publications by the Louisiana Press Association. Results of the organization’s Better Newspaper Contest were announced during the LPA’s annual meetings held July 19 at the City Club in Baton Rouge.
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