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Plants get pass on pollution rules 2 Louisiana power sites are coal-fired
BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
FILE PHOTO By LEE BALL
Ajarn Duangdee, the monk at left, is today’s head monk. The man wearing a sash is Tha Xanamane. In the 1980s, before Lanexang Village and the temple of Wat Thammarattanaram were built in Coteau, Buddhist monks led services in a small house at 211 Armand St. in New Iberia. Money was collected to help purchase land along Melancon Road in Coteau and the subdivision and temple were constructed.
A POWERFUL REMINDER OF COMMUNITY AND TRADITIONS Photo exhibit reflects on Vietnam War refugees in Louisiana — showing their experiences 50 years later
PHOTO By LEE BALL
The annual Lao New year is celebrated in April at the Lao community of Lanexang Village in Broussard. A Thak Baht ceremony was held at the Lao temple of Wat Thammarattanarm. Nang Sang Khan, or the Queen’s Parade, rolled through the village.
BY JOANNA BROWN | Staff writer When photographer Lee Ball arrived in Louisiana from Washington, D.C., in 1981, he found himself shooting assignments that were a far cry from the political news he had been used to covering in the nation’s capital — or so he thought. The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, when North Vietnamese troops took Saigon, South Vietnam’s capital city. The reverberations were felt all over the world, even in the rural communities that Ball was documenting in Iberia Parish and across south Louisiana. In places like Abbeville and New Iberia, war refugees from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and other southeast Asian nations began settling by the hundreds, largely thanks to sponsorship via the Catholic Church and other organizations. These communities expanded and put down roots, and now form an important part of the cultural fabric of south Louisiana and the New Orleans area, particularly in the seafood industry. In the 1980s, these migrants were still making their way in a new land, supporting each other in purchasing property, starting businesses and establishing their own religious communities. Ball was able to capture the humble beginnings of New Iberia’s Laotian Buddhist community as they met for services and cultural events in local homes. “I would see these monks in saffron robes going out shopping in New Iberia,” said Ball. “They came here with nothing but the clothes on their back, but brought all this kindness and generosity. They stuck together and persevered through a lot of things to achieve what they have today.” The photographs taken by Ball and others serve now — 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War — as a visual history for future generations of Vietnamese families and others in south Louisiana.
ä See EXHIBIT, page 4A
President Donald Trump has granted two Louisiana coal-fired power plants two-year exemptions to new air pollution limits, delays that could signal more to come for other industries as his administration seeks to boost energy production. ä Report Environmentalists and says La. others say the coal plant air quality exemptions allow the worsening. continued release of pollutants that cause illness PAGE 1B and death — and could be part of broader plan to eliminate the new environmental rules permanently. A unit at Entergy Corp.’s Roy S. Nelson plant in Westlake and another at Brame Energy Center west of Alexandria, run and partially owned by Cleco, are among 68 U.S. plants granted exemptions to limits on fine particulates
ä See COAL, page 5A
Landry pushes for car insurance bill Legislation would give commissioner right to reject rate increases
BY TYLER BRIDGES | Staff writer The biggest vote of the 3-week-old legislative session came Wednesday when the House had to decide whether to side with Gov. Jeff Landry or Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and powerful business interests on a bill that would affect car insurance rates. Political insiders beforehand said the vote on House Bill 148 could Landry go either way. The bill sought by Landry would give Temple the right to reject excessive rate increases without backing up his decision with hard data — an authority he doesn’t now have and doesn’t want. Temple Landry said the insurance commissioner needs more tools to hold down rates, adding it would be the commissioner’s fault if that didn’t happen after getting those powers.
ä See BILL, page 5A
WEATHER HIGH 83 LOW 56 PAGE 10C
Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Opinion ........................2B Commentary ................3B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
100TH yEAR, NO. 309