Louisiana news briefs

Terrebonne’s new emergency center takes form
GRAY (AP) — Terrebonne Parish government is forging ahead on a new $3.5 million emergency operations center.
It will sit on the new the 30-acre parish complex off La. 24 north of the U.S. 90 overpass in Gray. That plot will also house a new animal shelter and juvenile detention center.
Engineering and final design of the emergency building are under way. Officials hope to break ground by October and finish the building about a year later.
During an emergency, the center will serve as a hub of operations for officials directing evacuation and recovery operations.

Lawmakers end salary approval for higher ed chief
BATON ROUGE (AP) — State lawmakers will no longer approve the salary for Louisiana’s higher education commissioner.
The House gave final passage Monday to a bill by Republican Sen. Conrad Appel, of Metairie, that repeals the law requiring approval of the commissioner’s pay by the Legislature’s joint budget committee.
Appel and higher education officials say the requirement is an obstruction to recruiting people for the vacant job.
But the commissioner still will need to be confirmed by the Senate.
House members sought to strip Senate confirmation from the law as well, but senators refused to agree.
Lawmakers passed the requirements in 2010, after Sally Clausen resigned amid sharp criticism for quietly retiring from her job and then being rehired without telling her governing board.

Judge: No new trial
in burned body conviction
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge Monday rejected a request for a new trial for a former New Orleans police officer convicted of burning the body of a man killed by another officer after Hurricane Katrina.
Defense attorney Michael Fawer said he cannot appeal the decision until after resentencing for Gregory McRae, who is serving a 17-year sentence imposed in 2010. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned one of the four counts on which he was convicted but upheld the other three, ordering U.S. District Judge Lance Africk to resentence McRae.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled June 19, but Fawer said it may be put off until July.
McRae is now the only officer convicted in connection with the death of Henry Glover, who was shot in the back as he left a strip mall on Sept. 2, 2005, three days after Katrina hit, and the burning of his body and the car in which a good Samaritan brought Glover to a school where police had set up a post-flood substation.

Man accused of attacking woman, her baby daughter
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans police have arrested a man accused of attacking a woman and biting her 5-month-old daughter.
In custody is 23-year-old Reginald Pye, who was booked May 30 on a charge of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and aggravated battery.
A woman told police she was attacked and beaten by Pye inside his apartment on May 19, before he began biting the little girl.
According to an arrest warrant, Pye had quarreled with his boyfriend and the woman decided to spend the night at his home to console him. She tells investigators, in the middle of the night she heard Pye “asking God to help him.”
That’s when he began breaking items and allegedly assaulted her with them, and then pulled her by the hair while biting and beating her. When she broke free and ran outside to scream for help, she said he began biting her daughter.
Police said the woman suffered multiple injuries, including a 3-inch cut to her forearm requiring stitches. The infant had bite marks on her cheek, neck and shoulder, authorities said.
Pye’s bond was set at $50,000. A judge also ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation.

Auditor raises concerns
over LSU scholarships
BATON ROUGE (AP) — LSU says it is in the process of developing criteria for how its Board of Supervisors hands out scholarships. The move follows the release of a legislative auditor’s report that found inconsistencies and other lapses.
Just a year ago, the Louisiana Legislature passed a law that requires annual reporting of who receives college scholarships from members of LSU’s governing board.
LSU’s 15 governor-appointed and one student-elected board members can award up to 20 scholarships each. The audit found that there still are no specific criteria regarding academic excellence, special talent or financial need, nor did the university keep records of such qualities of recipients.
LSU supervisors gave out 226 scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year, up nine from the year before.

Oil leak cleanup begins in Delta Wildlife Refuge
VENICE (AP) — Federal and state officials will burn an area of the Delta National Wildlife Refuge that was contaminated by a 2,100 gallon crude oil leak discovered last week.
The source of the spill was a breach in a bulk oil line buried underneath the marsh.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Texas Petroleum Investment Co. was identified as the responsible party.
The breach has been repaired, and the line will not be used for future production.
About 10 acres of freshwater marsh in the Delta National Wildlife Refuge, located southeast of Venice in Plaquemines Parish, was impacted by the oil.
During the burn, Octave Pass will be closed to mariners on today and will be reopened when the burn is complete.

Lafourche offers
warrant amnesty
THIBODAUX (AP) — People with outstanding warrants in Lafourche can take advantage of an amnesty program that began Monday.
Through June, offenders will be able to pay the fines, fees and costs associated with the warrants to avoid arrest. The bench warrant fee of $150 will be waived.
Most misdemeanor warrants through the District Court will be eligible, but not Municipal Court warrants. A list of people with about 10,000 outstanding warrants is posted on the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office website.
On July 1, deputies will begin seeking those who still have outstanding warrants.
From The Associated Press.

Lafayette General controls Crowley hospital
CROWLEY (AP) — The former American Legion Hospital has unveiled its new sign, bearing the name Acadia General Hospital.
The hospital is now under the management of the Lafayette General Health System.
Acadia Post 15 of the America Legion took over the hospital in 1929. The organization owned the hospital for more than eight decades.
Lafayette General Health began negotiating a deal to take over managing the hospital about six months ago. Heather Harper, who is the current chief operating officer for South Tennessee Medical and Emerald Hodgson Hospital, was hired as Acadia General Hospital’s CEO. She’ll start the new job June 16.
The new acquisition will include a $3.3 million renovation.