Louisiana news briefs

Bomb hoax shuts
down ULL campus
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The bomb threat that shut down one of Louisiana’s largest universities for a day was a hoax, Louisiana State Police said Wednesday, after disposing of a suspicious device and evacuating the campus.
Although teams were continuing to search the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus, investigators found no explosives in a device uncovered after a man called in threats to a television station, Master Trooper Brooks David said Wednesday.
“It was a hoax device,” he said.
David said university or campus police thought they might have found a second device in a nearby campus parking garage, but it turned out not to be anything suspicious.

Duson’s police chief fired
DUSON (AP) — Duson Police Chief Frank Andrew has been fired.
Mayor Johnny Thibodeaux said the city council went into executive session Tuesday to discuss Andrew’s “status.” Thibodeaux would not disclose what was said only that the council decided to terminate Andrew.
Andrew worked for the department for 15 years. He was appointed in 2009 after former Chief Joseph Johnfore was removed during investigation into missing funds. The charges were dropped after a grand jury refused to indict him in 2010.
Thibodeaux said Officer Joe Caillet will serve as interim police chief until the council appoints someone to the post, possibly when the council meets in August.
In February, Andrew took a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons. He was present, with his attorney, during Tuesday’s council meeting.

State: work begins on final segment of I-49 North
BOSSIER CITY (AP) — State highway officials say work on the final segment of Interstate 49 North is underway.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said Wednesday that construction has been divided into two phases for Segment K — a one-mile stretch from Interstate 220 to Martin Luther King Boulevard in Caddo Parish.
Phase one began in May and included clearing land, utility relocation, roadway improvements along Martin Luther King Boulevard, and construction of service roads and bridges. The $31.5 million project was awarded to Best Yet Builders.
The second phase will begin this fall. Construction activities will include the I-49/I-220 interchange structures and the other roadways that will tie into the first phase. The $137.7 million project was awarded to PCL Construction.
The entire $670 million I-49 North Corridor project covers a 36-mile stretch from the Arkansas state line to I-220 in Shreveport.
The department anticipates the completion by 2016 or 2017.

St. James cuts asking
price for detention center
VACHERIE (AP) — For a second time in less than two months, the St. James Parish Council cut the asking price for its shuttered juvenile detention center near Donaldsonville.
The council agreed Wednesday, 5-0, to reduce the price to 65 percent of the $2.5 million appraised value, or $1.625 million, and re-advertise for bids.
The council received no bids for the complex last month after an earlier price cut to $1.87 million.
Known as the St. James Youth Center, the complex off La. 70, once served as a multi-parish juvenile detention facility operated by the parish. The center closed June 30, 2013, because new state regulations drove up the maintenance and operating costs.

Judge to hear former council member’s sentencing appeal
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former Gretna City Council member serving 17 years for extorting cash from his constituents has persuaded a federal judge to hear his arguments that he was offered a plea deal with a lesser prison sentence.
U.S. District Judge Lance Africk has set an Aug. 14 evidentiary hearing in a case involving Jonathan Bolar.
Prosecutors said Bolar used his political office to shake down constituents in exchange for his support of their zoning variances. He also twice sold property he didn’t own.
He was convicted on 13 counts, including extortion, wire fraud, failing to file income tax returns and other crimes. Incarcerated at the Oakdale Federal Detention Center, Bolar is scheduled for release in January 2025.

Law change boosts pension for state police leader
BATON ROUGE (AP) — The state police retirement system decided Wednesday to investigate a pension law change made in the final hours of the legislative session that gave Louisiana’s state police superintendent a hefty retirement boost.
The system’s governing board asked its attorney to look into the details of who sought the last-minute add-on, whether it was properly handled and what it will cost the pension system.
Treasurer John Kennedy, a member of the board, urged the review. He said the bond rating agencies that set state credit ratings raised concerns about special carve-outs that can raise the state’s multibillion-dollar retirement debt.
“We need to get to the bottom of this,” he said. “This is important to the retirees. You’ve got to treat everyone the same.”
Irwin Felps, executive director of the system, said the provision — which was adopted by lawmakers with no discussion of its implications — affects two people who work for the Louisiana State Police: the superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson and a 32-year trooper who works in Houma.
A legislative actuary estimated the law change will cost $300,000.
Edmonson, an appointee of Gov. Bobby Jindal, said he didn’t personally ask for the change in the way his retirement benefits will be calculated, but said his staff sought it with his blessing. He said he’ll abide by the advice of the retirement system board.
“If they come back and say this is improper, it’s not fair and equitable, I will not be a part of it and I will not accept it,” he said.
The retirement language was added into a bill by Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, behind the scenes in a six-member legislative committee, then approved by the House and Senate on the final day of the regular session. The implications were first reported by a local blog called Louisiana Voice.
The bill would put Edmonson and the Houma-based trooper in line with how benefits are calculated for other current state police employees. Edmonson said he and the trooper were the final people impacted by a now-obsolete retirement plan.
Morrell said he doesn’t know who sought the add-on to his bill, which initially dealt with the rights of law enforcement officers under investigation. He said he was told by legislative staff that the new language was a “retirement fix for law enforcement officers.”
“The way it was explained to me, it seemed innocuous like it was fixing a minor problem. Obviously, that’s not what it did,” he said.
The law change will let Edmonson retire as a full colonel instead of as a captain, so his pension payment will be calculated off the higher $134,000-per-year salary. He said he’s been paying into the retirement system as a colonel for seven years even though he wasn’t eligible for the higher benefit.
Edmonson said his staff approached him with the idea of changing the law and he agreed.
While he acknowledged the timing “looks bad,” he said the retirement benefit change was fair. “It’s just unfortunate that it came out in the last point of the session like that,” he said.