Louisiana news briefs

45% of Orleans voters say schools improving
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Forty-five percent of New Orleans voters surveyed in May said public schools in the city are getting better — while only 18 percent believe they are getting worse, according to figures released Thursday by a Tulane University think tank.
However, while 45 percent of the 602 respondents said they would recommend that friends or family send their children to a New Orleans public school, 44 percent said they would not.
“Advocates argue the reforms are a complete success; others claim complete failure. This poll suggests New Orleans voters have a nuanced view,” the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives said in its report on the poll results.
The survey comes as the Recovery School District, the state agency that took over most New Orleans schools after Hurricane Katrina, prepares for a new school year in which all of those schools, now totaling 59, will be run by independent charter organizations.
In the complicated patchwork system of school governance that developed after Hurricane Katrina, the state Recovery School District continues to oversee most schools. The Orleans Parish School System, which had developed a reputation for corruption and ineffectiveness before Katrina hit in 2005, was left with relatively few schools. It now oversees 20, running five directly and chartering the rest. A few schools are chartered by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Royal Caribbean to leave Port of New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Miami-based Royal Caribbean International will end cruise ship service from the Port of New Orleans next year.
The company made the announcement on Tuesday.
The announcement comes despite an increase in cruise passenger traffic to the port in recent years.
Janet Diaz, a spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean, said in a state that the company does not have any ships planned for New Orleans in the winter 2015-16 season once Serenade of the Seas departs in April 2015.

Lafayette General to partner with Kaplan hospital
LAFAYETTE (AP) — Lafayette General Health may add Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital to the list of Acadiana-area hospitals it is managing.
Lafayette General Health and Abrom Kaplan have signed a letter of intent to explore a long-term lease agreement under which the Lafayette-based health system would take over all management and operations at the Kaplan hospital.
The two hospital groups partnered in 2002 with Lafayette General providing administrative and financial analysis support, as well as group purchasing assistance. A long-term lease agreement would expand the partnership to include Lafayette General Health leasing the facility and taking over operations.
A formal contract isn’t expected until the end of the year.

State approves SLCC registered nursing program
LAFAYETTE (AP) — South Louisiana Community College can start enrolling students into its new registered nursing program, with classes beginning this fall.
The Louisiana State Board of Nursing gave its approval Wednesday for the college to start accepting students.
Only 40 students will be admitted in the program, though Laurie Fontenot, dean of Nursing, Allied Health and Safety, has said the goal is to expand the program to 60 students.

Former Brusly police chief arrested again
BRUSLY (AP) — The former Brusly police chief, already sentenced to 18 months’ supervised probation, has been arrested again accused for the second time of malfeasance and theft.
Jamie Whaley now faces two counts of forgery stemming from a probe conducted by the state Inspector General’s Office and the FBI.
Whaley, 37, was arrested around 10 a.m. Wednesday and released from the West Baton Rouge Parish Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Whaley was indicted April 10 on theft and malfeasance for using a town-issued credit card to purchase gasoline for his personal truck and boat. A state judge sentenced him to 18 months’ supervised probation and imposed a $500 fine in a plea deal.
The new investigation alleges Whaley misappropriated seven firearms owned by the town.

Ex-prison guard pleads guilty to smuggling
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former Orleans Parish Prison guard has pleaded guilty to smuggling cellphones and marijuana into the jail six years ago.
Tyrell Sutherland, 28, entered his plea Wednesday.
Sutherland faces up to five years in prison after being convicted of felony conspiracy to provide contraband into a prison.
Federal prosecutors say he brought the illicit items to prisoners three times for $200 or $300 per delivery.