Leslie Turk

A founding editor of both The Independent and ABiz and senior editor at The Times of Acadiana in the 1990s, Leslie Turk is an award-winning investigative reporter who has worked in the newspaper business in Lafayette for more than three decades. In 2007 and again in 2017 she received the Louisiana Press Association's highest honor, the Freedom of Information Award. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Acadiana Advocate, The Daily Advertiser, Baton Rouge Business Report, Louisiana Illuminator and Gambit. Contact her at (337) 207-4312 or [email protected].
News + Notes

Robideaux’s LUS, Fiber management shakeup was not prompted by Public Service Commission

The gist: Changes to LUS and LUS Fiber leadership, announced suddenly the night before October’s primary, were said by the Robideaux administration to be tied to an ongoing internal review of transactions between the systems that was requested by the Louisiana Public Service Commission. PSC representatives, however, contradict that assertion — saying no such internal […]

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News + Notes

In the hot seat, Republic Services shakes up local management

The gist: Republic Services’ local general manager is no longer running Lafayette operations, after the garbage contractor came under fire this summer for shoddy service and leaky trucks. For more than a decade, the Arizona-based company has been consolidated government’s trash collector, the beneficiary of a lucrative contract that’s been under intense scrutiny in recent […]

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News + Notes

Acadiana Mall’s new owners get Macy’s property tax bill slashed

The gist: Acadiana Mall’s new owners appealed the assessment of the Macy’s building and got a big reduction from the tax assessor, but New York-based Namdar Realty did not appeal the value placed on the mall itself — one that has remained exceptionally low over the past decade.  

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News + Notes

Republic Services yet to pay $75K fine from 2018

The gist: Republic Services, already in the hot seat over complaints of shoddy service, has yet to pay a $75,000 fine levied against the trash collector by Lafayette Consolidated Government more than a year ago.

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News + Notes

Ethics Board pays suspended marshal a visit in court Thursday

The Louisiana Board of Ethics has been trying to serve Brian Pope with formal notification of charges against him for about eight months now. On Thursday, the agency tracked him down in open court, apparently surprising the embattled city marshal who was appearing for a pre-trial hearing on 17 felony counts related to the ethics […]

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News + Notes

Lafayette architect Henry Boudreaux convicted of felony theft

The gist: Lafayette architect Henry Boudreaux pleaded no-contest to theft over $25,000 in connection with allegations he bilked a Vermilion Parish couple during a massive renovation project to their historic home. No-contest has the same effect as a guilty plea. 

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News + Notes

Republic Services put on notice

The gist: Councilwoman Liz Hebert gave trash contractor Republic Services three weeks to provide documentation about fleet size and routes, age and maintenance history on each of its vehicles and records of street damage and clean-ups from hydraulic fluid and “leaking trash juice.”

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News + Notes

Councilwoman wants city trash contract canceled

The gist: Councilwoman Liz Hebert wants representatives from Republic Services to answer publicly for what she views as widespread problems plaguing garbage collection throughout the city and unincorporated parts of the parish. She’s requested an update from the garbage contractor at Tuesday’s council meeting and is looking into whether the contract can be canceled.

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