Louisiana news briefs

Former Jindal adviser tapped for high level DEQ post
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Former Gov. Bobby Jindal policy adviser Chance McNeely will be taking the helm as assistant secretary of the state Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Compliance.
The 2010 LSU graduate has been one of the governor’s policy advisers since March 2014 and as part of that has been a liaison between DEQ and the Governor’s Office,
DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch said the Office of Environmental Compliance includes inspections to make sure facilities are following the terms of their permits, response to complaints, evaluation of air and water conditions around the state, underground storage tank regulations and issues and enforcement duties within DEQ.
McNeely will fill a vacancy left when Cheryl Nolan resigned to go back to a former job as an air permit administrator with DEQ.

Man adjusts pants, causing gun to discharge, killing friend
BATON ROUGE (AP) — As 19-year-old Jawan Lloyd Billy awoke in a Baton Rouge home, police say he adjusted his pants — causing a gun tucked into his waistband to discharge, killing a man who also was waking up just feet away.
Billy has been booked with negligent homicide.
Police say Billy and the victim, 20-year-old Demarcus Rheams were sleeping on the same couch in a garage apartment when the two began to wake up about 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Police say as Billy “attempted to adjust” his clothing, the gun discharged, striking Rheams once in the side of his chest. Rheams was sitting next to Billy on the couch when the shooting occurred.

Crime lab serving Acadiana area faces drastic cuts
NEW IBERIA (AP) — Facing drastic cuts, Acadiana Crime Lab pins hope on state study.
The lab, located in New Iberia, serves an eight-parish region including Lafayette. The lab has tapped out its savings after years of deficits and is avoiding cuts this year only with the help of a special $800,000 appropriation from the state Legislature.
Crime lab Director Kevin Ardoin began sounding the alarm over the budget issue in late 2013, and the Legislature formed a task force last year to study the issue.
The task force, which is expected to make its formal recommendations later this month to the Legislature, also has discussed raising some court costs and working with judges throughout the Acadiana region to ensure court costs are being collected.

Alexandria launching riverfront development plan
ALEXANDRIA (AP) — The city of Alexandria is launching an initiative to make the downtown area along the Red River more user-friendly and more attractive to private investment.
The Riverfront Improvement Venture and Essential Recreation Act is part of the city’s Downtown Alexandria Now! program. The new initiative calls for using about $8 million in city funds over the next several years to generate $32 million worth of investment from other sources, primarily the private sector.
City officials envision the plan leading to riverside housing, more businesses such as restaurants and retail stores, and more recreational opportunities in the levee area. The target area runs from the riverside park near Rapides Regional Medical Center to a small park south of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.

State merges 2 northeast wildlife management areas
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana has one fewer wildlife management area after action by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, but hunters haven’t lost access to any acreage.
On a recommendation for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the commission voted Thursday to roll Ouachita WMA into Russell Sage WMA. The combined tract now spans 35,000 acres.
The enlarged area will be managed out of the department’s Monroe office.

Finalists for Orleans schools chief interview this week
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The two finalists for Orleans Parish school superintendent will have a last round of interviews and meet with the public on Wednesday at the Alice M. Harte Charter school.
Debbra Lindo, a former superintendent in northern California, and Henderson Lewis Jr., superintendent in East Feliciana Parish and a member of the St. Bernard Parish School Board, will also make short presentations.
Interim Superintendent Stan Smith has been in place for almost 2½ years, with the board unable to reach consensus on a replacement in the past. Last month, the board voted unanimously to bring back Lindo and Lewis from a list of three candidates.

UL-Lafayette’s new student union set to open this week
LAFAYETTE (AP) — As students make their way back to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette after the winter break, they’ll find a new Student Union where they can eat, drink and socialize.
After two years of construction, the university’s new hub for student activity is set to open with the start of the spring 2015 semester this week.
Garland Rodriguez, assistant director of building services, the new union will have a soft launch on Wednesday as a few featured components of the building are not complete.
The new 178,000-square-foot union dwarfs its 125,000-square-foot predecessor with amenities like an art museum and multiple food stations.

Plans for major hurricane protection lock advance
HOUMA (AP) — The Terrebonne Parish Levee Board has awarded a contract to a design team for a long-anticipated lock on the Houma Navigation Canal that aims to protect Houma and much of the parish from storm flooding.
The levee board hired CB&I as the lead firm in the design process.
The lock complex is part of the Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane-protection system, a collection of levees, locks and floodgates that, if built to federal standards, will cost an estimated $10.8 billion.
The lock’s design phase is expected to take two years, while construction could total five, officials say.
The purpose of the lock is to stop storm surges from reaching Houma and potentially as far as Lafourche Parish by way of the canal and the connecting Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.