AT LEAST 140 U.S. TROOPS HAVE BEEN INJURED IN IRAN WAR, PENTAGON SAYS 3A THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, M a r c h 11, 2026
$2.00X
LAFAYETTE PARISH
Board eyes closing Comeaux High Campus would be turned into district’s new Career Center
BY ASHLEY WHITE
at Thursday’s School Board meeting, could help the district with two issues: district spending and a The Lafayette Parish School 450-student waitlist for the Career Board will consider a proposal to Center. “Our kids need to be careerclose and rezone Comeaux High School students and turn the cam- ready when they get out of high pus into the district’s new Career school, and we are now respondCenter. ing to that,” he said. “When we put Superintendent Francis Touchet something like this on the market, Jr. told The Acadiana Advocate the doors are going to open up for our change, which will be considered kids, as well as kids in the LafayStaff writer
ette Parish area.” The proposal to close Comeaux High, rezone its nearly 700 students and convert the campus into the Ovey Comeaux Workforce Innovation Academy is being presented by School Board President Hannah Smith Mason and board member Kate Labue. This isn’t the first time in recent years that the board has proposed big changes to Comeaux, and each
has come with major pushback from the school’s supporters. Students, teachers and other stakeholders have argued the district hasn’t invested in the school, which contributed to facility issues and a decrease in morale. But the school has seen buy-in recently from outside groups and from its students and staff. The school received a school performance score of a B for the 2025
Lafayette gas prices spike
Average cost up 56 cents per gallon over the past week
school year and an A for the 2024 school year. The idea to close Comeaux and move the Career Center to the campus was first presented in fall 2024 as part of a district optimization plan, but it failed on a 5-4 vote. In May, the board voted to move the visual and performing arts academy from Comeaux to Lafayette High. The same board members will vote on the renewed proposal
ä See COMEAUX, page 6A
La. insurers required to give fortified roof discount Document lays out level that must be provided
BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Joshua Cochran, of Denham Springs, fills up his tank on Tuesday at the RaceTrac on the Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette.
Average gasoline prices in Louisiana
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
Per gallon of regular gas at the pump
Gas prices have spiked nationally since President Donald Trump first announced U.S. attacks on Iran less than two weeks ago. While Louisiana, rich in oil refineries, may be feeling less hurt than other states, that price shock has reached Lafayette, where gas and diesel prices have jumped nearly 19% over the last week, according to American Automobile Association data. As of Tuesday, the average gas price in Lafayette was $3.14 per gallon, a $0.56 increase from last week. Lafayette’s prices are slightly above the Louisiana average of $3.11. The price still sits below the national average of $3.54 a gallon as of Tuesday, up from $2.98 more than a week ago. Nathaniel Moore, who lives in Lafayette, told KATC he’s
ä See GAS, page 6A
$3.5
$3.04
$3.2 $2.9
$2.72
$2.70 $2.50
$2.6
Start of conflict with Iran
$2.3 $2.0
$3.11
Year ago
Feb. 28
Week ago
Source: AAA
Monday, Mar. 9
Tuesday, Mar. 10
Louisiana will soon push home insurers to give specific discounts in exchange for homeowners getting fortified roofs, after a yearslong debate over how to deliver savings to residents who face soaring insurance premiums. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple’s office quietly released a bulletin to insurers last Friday that lays out the level of discount they now must provide, which varies depending on the type of fortification and region of the state. If they don’t meet the threshold, they must provide actuarial math justifying the lower discount, similar to how Alabama operates. For south Louisiana homeowners with fortified roofs — the most common category — insurers will have to give a 29% discount on the hurricane portion of the premium. The hurricane portion is generally the largest contributor to the overall premium in parishes at risk from hurricanes. Homeowners with fortified “gold” homes, which must include reinforced windows, doors and other bracing against wind, will get a 49% discount unless insurers justify a lower amount. Temple said in an interview that his office ran data through two different catastrophe models to arrive at the discount figures, in partnership with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. “We didn’t just pull these numbers out of the air,” he said. “We collected homeowners’ data and ran it through the models.” “It should have a significant impact on premiums,” he added.
ä See ROOF, page 7A
Staff graphic
‘It was a dream that I never knew I had’
La. native gets chance to play Banana Ball BY ROD WALKER Staff writer
The FaceTime call came through just as Bryce Grizzaffi’s head hit the pillow, which is really when dreams are supposed to start anyway. The baseball draft that Grizzaffi had been highly anticipating was nearing the end.
WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 72 PAGE 8A
Rounds seven, eight and nine came and went and he had yet to hear his name. As the disappointment started to creep in more and more on that day in November, he decided to take a nap. But the nap plans were interrupted by that FaceTime call where one simple question was
asked by the guys on the other end. “Are you ready to be a Banana?” This was the call that Grizzaffi, a Morgan City native, had been waiting for. It was an opportunity to play with the Savannah Bananas, the oh-so popular baseball team that travels the country and mixes America’s pastime with a whole lot of showmanship and fan participation.
“It was a dream that I never knew I had that came true,” Grizzaffi said. That dream becomes even more euphoric Saturday and Sunday when the Savannah Bananas play games at Caesars Superdome, just 70 miles from where Grizzaffi was born and raised. The Dome, like it is to many folks in Louisiana, is near and
ä See DREAM, page 7A
Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................6A Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
Bryce Grizzaffi
PROVIDED PHOTO
101ST yEAR, NO. 254