Lafayette’s food economy turns to hustles old and new to stay afloat during the pandemic
Coronavirus has caused a major gap in the food economy that some local farmers and restaurateurs are hustling to fill.
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Louisiana
Lafayette residents aren’t facing evictions, but what happens when the bills and rent come due after coronavirus goes away?
Compassionate policies will keep the lights on and people in their homes. Community advocates worry about the other foot dropping when the pandemic is over.
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Slow, limited testing makes Lafayette’s coronavirus data murky
On Monday, Lafayette reported an 800% increase in confirmed cases from a week ago. But that jump doesn’t necessarily tell us very much.
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JBE Thursday update: strike team incoming
The gist: Once again, Gov. John Bel Edwards made an impassioned plea to the people of Louisiana, asking them to stay home and help #flattenthecurve. The current trajectory for the state hasn’t bent to promising numbers quite yet, with 510 more cases and 18 new deaths since yesterday. A 28% increase in case numbers.
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JBE Wednesday update: Trump signs declaration, resources on the way
The gist: Late last night, President Donald Trump approved the major disaster declaration requested by Gov. John Bel Edwards. With the declaration signed, Louisiana has greater access to funds and resources that we desperately need to combat COVID-19.
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What does ‘essential’ mean, anyway?
Most essential jobs are what you would expect. Healthcare and first responders, pharmacists, law enforcement, air traffic controllers and grocery store employees probably come to mind.
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JBE Monday update: Remember the 2016 Flood? COVID-19 is like that
Mitigation was the talk of the evening. State officials compared Louisiana’s current situation to the 2016 floods.
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JBE Sunday update: ‘stay at home’ ordered
The gist: In an emergency press conference called today, John Bel Edwards pulled the trigger on the awaited, “Stay at Home” order that several other states enacted. According to the order, which will begin at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 23, all non-essential businesses will close to the public.
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JBE Wednesday update: surge is coming
The gist: Gov. John Bel Edwards held his daily COVID-19 news conference to update the state on the viral situation we’re facing. Joined by Jeff Landry, Attorney General for Louisiana and a known political opponent of the governor, and Coach Orgeron of LSU Edwards laid out the ongoing plan for protection in the state.
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Oil falls, coronavirus arrives, economic turmoil for Lafayette ahead
On Monday, the price of oil had its greatest one-day plunge ever, and coronavirus officially arrived in Louisiana. These developments pose threats the Lafayette economy is particularly vulnerable to.
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The Buchanan garage problem redux: Now what?
What happens next with the Buchanan garage is unclear, but the options are limited.
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Two key LUS, Fiber employees back on the job as uncertainty lingers
Two familiar faces, Jeff Stewart and Teles Fremin, returned to work this week at LUS and LUS Fiber, respectively, after being cleared of wrongdoing in connection with the Guillory administration’s allegations of a criminal coverup at the entities. Questions remain about the status of any criminal investigation and the agencies’ leadership.
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