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Train derailment prompts evacuation in Lafayette

by The Associated Press

Saturday May 17, 2008, 12:27 PM

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Six rail cars have derailed in southern Louisiana, with two cars leaking hydrochloric acid and forcing police to evacuate thousands of residents within a 1-mile radius of the accident.

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Bonds arrested in Thibodaux

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 11:01 PM

David Bonds, 19, who was acquitted last month in the shooting death of drummer Dinerral Shavers and later wanted for a shooting two weeks ago on Canal Street, was arrested Friday by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office.

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Cop arrested in theft, battery previously suspended for abandoning post

by Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 8:28 PM

A New Orleans police officer charged this week with theft and aggravated battery previously served a lengthy suspension for abandoning his post in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

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Teen booked in Reserve home invasion case

by Littice Bacon-Blood, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 8:25 PM

A Reserve teenager is in jail after St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff's investigators say he was involved in a home invasion that left him with two gunshot wounds in his abdomen.

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Algiers charter schools show slight test improvement

by Jenny Hurwitz, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 8:22 PM

In its second year of high-stakes testing, the Algiers Charter Schools Association experienced a modest bump in scores among elementary school pupils, while high school scores remained stagnant, according to data released by the state Department of Education.

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Water damage forces Covington City Hall to move

by Charlie Chapple, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 8:18 PM

Photo by Chuck Cook / The Times-PicayuneCovington Mayor Candace Watkins packs boxes in her office Friday at the Greater Covington Center. City administrative offices were moved to the center after a fire in 2006, but water damage from Wednesdays rain is moving some city offices back to the old City Hall.

Because of recent water damage to the Greater Covington Center, city administrative offices will relocate to a temporary, and familiar, location: the old City Hall at Kirkland and Columbia streets.

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Cocaine found in 6-year-old Mandeville boy's school backpack

by Kia Hall Hayes, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 8:15 PM

Most parents with young children are accustomed to the unexpected.

But a Mandeville woman got a real shock Thursday when she discovered a vial of cocaine among her 6-year-old son's school books and papers, police said.

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Senator's co-defendant asked to wear wire in money laundering case

by Meghan Gordon, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 4:45 PM

Federal investigators asked a convicted bond broker to wear a surveillance wire last year as they built their case against state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, who knew he was a target of the probe as early as September, according to statements made during a preliminary court hearing Friday.

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Two more suspects sought in Metairie bank robbery

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 4:15 PM

Authorities are searching for two men who waited outside of a Metairie Capital One branch in a get-away vehicle Thursday afternoon while a pair of teenagers held-up the bank at gunpoint.

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Librarians returning to five Jefferson schools

by Barri Bronston, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 4:12 PM

John McCusker/The Times-PicayuneKindergarten student Skyler Raines, 6, looks over a book under the watchful eye of Kimberly Hauer at Greenlawn Terrace Elementary School in Kenner.

The Jefferson Parish School Board is following through on its promise to restore librarians to more elementary schools.

Saying it can no longer take the position lightly, the board has decided to spend more than a half million dollars on five librarians and five resource collections beginning in the 2008-09 school year. It committed to that process last fall.

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East St. John graduation postponed

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 1:23 PM

The East St. John High School graduation scheduled for tonight has been postponed due to rain.

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Authorities investigating possible West Jeff bank robbery

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 12:17 PM

A bank robbery this morning near Gretna is being investigated by the FBI, but details about the incident are currently scarce.

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St. Bernard cops: Thieves steal $40,000 in copper, sell it for $5,000

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 10:05 AM

Two St. Bernard Parish men have been booked with stealing $40,000 worth of copper, one of the largest such cases in a parish hammered by post-Hurricane Katrina metal thefts.

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NOPD officers may return to 12-hour shifts

by Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 9:15 AM

The New Orleans Police Department might return to mandatory 12-hour shifts for its patrol officers this summer.

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Nagin: Bus tickets for homeless just a joke

by The Associated Press

Friday May 16, 2008, 9:12 AM

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told an audience that helping the city's growing homeless population is one of his top priorities. Then he offered what he later said was a "tongue-in-cheek" solution to the problem: One-way bus tickets out of town.

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Rain moving out of area by afternoon

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 6:29 AM

Most of the nasty weather wreaking havoc for residents of southeastern Louisiana should be out of the area by the afternoon, just in time for the weekend.

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Though slick, the coast is clear on the Causeway

by The Times-Picayune

Friday May 16, 2008, 6:21 AM

The coast is clear on the Causeway this morning, but commuters should be cautious, as roads will be slick.

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Another steel firm considers St. James site

by Jen DeGregorio and Jaquetta White, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:15 PM

ThyssenKrupp AG last year passed on the chance to build a $3.7 billion steel plant in St. James Parish, but in a case of economic dejà vu, a domestic steel maker is now eyeing the same swath of land for a similar investment.

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Storm rips across north shore

by Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:10 PM

As the second wave of a fierce 18-hour storm system assaulted St. Tammany Parish at midmorning Thursday, Christiane Mummelthey, 68, huddled with her three cats in the middle of her Folsom home.

One moment, the wind picked up. The next moment, she heard "the rumbling of metal ... and then saw sunlight."

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Road Home smooths way to appeals

by David Hammer

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:01 PM

The state Friday will unveil a new way to appeal Road Home grants, promising to lift thousands of disgruntled applicants out of a "black hole" of languishing complaints about lowball grants while putting the brakes on plans to collect overpayments.

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NOPD officer arrested, charged with beating and stealing from citizen

by Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 8:46 PM

A New Orleans police officer was arrested Thursday morning on charges he beat two people and stole a wallet while on duty.

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St. Tammany bank customers warned of 'phishing' scam

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 7:38 PM

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office is warning Statewide Bank customers and some individuals not affiliated with the bank about a recent spate of "phishing" text messages being sent to cellular phones on the North Shore and seeking personal account information.

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$30 billion state budget gets House OK

by Jan Moller, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 6:26 PM

The House has passed Gov. Bobby Jindal's $30 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year after adding new money for school support workers and cutting the pay of the state's top business recruiter. The vote was 102-0.

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Trees and fences will be removed from 17th Street Canal

by Bob Ross

Thursday May 15, 2008, 5:52 PM

After more than 4 hours of testimony, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East has granted the Army Corps of Engineers the right of entry to remove trees and fences from property near the 17th Street Canal.

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Two Meraux men booked with rape

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 5:47 PM

Two Meraux men have been booked with forcible rape, authorities said.

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Authorities probing Metairie bank robbery

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 3:56 PM

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's OfficeSurveillance camera photo shows suspect in robbery of Capital One Bank in Metairie pointing a gun at a bank employee.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's OfficeSheriff's deputies are searching for two suspects in the Thursday afternoon bank robbery at Capital One Bank in Metairie

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is looking for two men who held up a Metairie bank Thursday afternoon.

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Priest resigns following criticism of spending

by Bruce Nolan, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 3:18 PM

A Catholic priest whose spending angered his parishioners has resigned his West Bank assignment, the Archdiocese of New Orleans said Thursday.

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PHOTOS: Jesse Jackson speaks to Sarah T. Reed High School

by Danny Bourque, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 3:17 PM

DANNY BOURQUE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEJesse Jackson visits Sarah T. Reed High School to talk to students about what it takes to succeed and the importance of voting on Thursday, May 15 2008. He urged eighteen-year-old students to vote for Barack Obama and supplied voter registration paperwork for students after the rally. (for more photos, see the extended entry.)

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Five indicted in two Jefferson Parish murders

by Paul Purpura, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 1:12 PM

A Jefferson Parish grand jury this morning indicted five people in two unrelated homicides, both of which happened in Marrero in recent months.

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N.O. City Council votes to investigate Nagin's technology office

by Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 11:44 AM

Still lacking some of the contractural and budget information it has requested about two poorly performing City Hall programs, a united New Orleans City Council agreed Thursday to launch a formal investigation of Mayor Ray Nagin's office of technology.

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Worst weather has moved out of the area

by Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 11:40 AM

David Grunfeld / The Times-PicayuneKeith and Marlice Sanders, owners of the ranch style home at 815 Pine Ridge Road in Bogalusa took a large pine tree through the front of the house and roof during a severe storm that rolled through the area Thursday morning. The Sanders were not at home at the time. He was teaching math at Bogalusa High School and Marlice who is three months pregnant with her first child was at work at Capital One in Slidell.

A squall line that brought intense thunderstorms, possible tornados and heavy rains across the New Orleans area and St. Tammany Parish this morning has almost moved out of the area, with only a few trailing thunderstorms expected through the afternoon, a National Weather Service forecaster said.

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Thousands still without power after St. Tammany pounded by rain, wind

by St. Tammany bureau, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 11:10 AM

ELLIS LUCIA / THE TIMES-PICAYUNETim Gallington, an employee of Guy Huffine's Roofing Enterprises near Folsom, pulls sheets of galvanized metal from nearby woods after fierce wind destroyed a shed and part of a fabrication building about 9 a.m. Thursday

Thousands of homes and businesses remain without power this afternoon after thunderstorms packing blinding rain and fierce winds pounded St. Tammany Parish on Wednesday night and early today.

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Fire damages vacant apartment building in eastern New Orleans

by Valerie Faciane, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 10:15 AM

An early morning four-alarm fire heavily damaged four units of an unoccupied apartment building in eastern New Orleans, according to a spokesman for the New Orleans Fire Department.

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SLU remains open

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 10:02 AM

Southeastern Louisiana University remains in session today for students' exams, the university reported.

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Storms leave 21,000 without power in Jefferson

by Allen Powell, The Times Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:58 AM

Severe weather this morning has caused siginificant power outages throughout Jefferson Parish, and it is not known when Entergy will have power restored.

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Downed pole blocks Causeway traffic

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:27 AM

Amid stiff wind and intermittent rain, a street-light pole has fallen across Causeway Boulevard in Metairie, blocking the southbound lanes at 45th Street. Traffic is being diverted onto Causeway's parallel service road near West Metairie Avenue, a witness said.

DONALD STOUT / THE TIMES PICAYUNEA street light was blown down on Causeway and 45th Street this morning, closing the southbound lanes until it could be cleared.

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Steel maker considers St. James for $2 billion plant

by Robert Travis Scott, The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:16 AM

BATON ROUGE -- A year after losing a competition to Alabama for a major steel plant, Louisiana is again a finalist in a competition for a $2 billion steel manufacturing facility that would employ 500 people in its first phase.

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I-10 reopened, school bus accident cleared

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 9:13 AM

DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEA school bus partially dangles over the guardrail in the eastbound lane of I-10 at the Dwyer Street overpass.

Traffic is moving freely again on I-10 eastbound now that a school bus accident has been cleared.

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State income tax deadline is midnight tonight

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday May 15, 2008, 8:09 AM

Louisiana taxpayers have until midnight tonight to file their state income taxes.

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