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T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 26, 2026
Lafayette City Council rejects daiquiri bar
2026 LEGISLATURE
‘WE WANT THE TRUTH’
Lounge was proposed for vacant space downtown BY FAITH SCHOLL Contributing writer
The Lafayette City Council said no to a daiquiri bar proposed for a vacant space downtown. Council members voted 3-2 during their Tuesday meeting to deny a conditional use permit that would have allowed applicants to open the Downtown Daiquiri Lounge at 522 Jefferson St. Andy Naquin, Liz Hebert and Thomas Hooks voted to deny the permit. Kenneth Boudreaux and Elroi Broussed voted in favor. The denial came after the applicants behind the project, Marlon Haynes “We definitely and Jeremy Figaro, had need fairness. won approval for the perBecause I hear mit from the city zoning last month. the points about, commission They had signage posted you know, without outside the building for consistent weeks and had promoted enforcement, you the business on social mehave inconsistent dia for months. The business came under records. So you’re scrutiny by the Lafayette basing things off Police Department and the reputation.” Downtown Development Association before the THOMAS HOOKS, vote. LPD said the business Lafayette City Council would lead to increased member crowds in that block of Jefferson Street. DDA officials cited the complaints from Rooftop 116, which Haynes owns. “We definitely need fairness,” Hooks said. “Because I hear the points about, you know, without consistent enforcement, you have inconsistent records. So you’re basing things off reputation.” The vote followed a lengthy public discussion regarding the business. DDA CEO Kevin Blanchard spoke of the importance of the permitting process that came out of a previous moratorium on bars in 2018.
ä See DAIQUIRI, page 7A
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Lawmakers upset with price of prescription drugs push bill to force companies to disclose cost BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Some Louisiana lawmakers think prescription drugs cost too much, and they want to create a new Prescription Drug Affordability Board to investigate why — and force pharmaceutical companies to disclose pricing information. “We want the truth,” state Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, said Wednesday while presenting a proposal that would require drug companies to reveal to the board how
much it costs them to make certain prescription drugs and the prices they charge. Under Talbot’s legislation, Senate Bill 401, it would be illegal for pharmaceutical companies not to report the price information to the board. “Costs of prescription drugs have been increasing dramatically without any attributed reason,” the legislation says. “Transparency is typically the first step toward cost containment.” Drug manufacturers are expected to push back strongly against the
bill, however. Talbot introduced the measure at a public hearing Wednesday, but he temporarily set it aside to give interest groups more time to travel to Baton Rouge and provide comment on the bill next week. PhRMA, a national trade group representing the pharmaceutical industry, said Wednesday in a statement that “lawmakers should focus on solutions that protect patient access and hold middlemen
ä See TRUTH, page 7A
Legislation targets noncitizen voting Some fear measure could purge citizens from the rolls
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer STAFF PHOTO By ADAM DAIGLE
The owners of the proposed Downtown Daiquiri Lounge have had signage installed at the location for weeks despite not having approval from the Lafayette City Council.
Months after the state announced the results of an investigation that found noncitizens rarely vote in Louisiana elections, legislators are weighing a law that would require future state officials to conduct such
investigations every year. Cast by Republicans as a way to safeguard election integrity, the proposal sparked resistance at the State Capitol Tuesday from Democrats and advocacy groups, who worried such probes could inadvertently kick actual U.S. citizens off the rolls because they would rely on a Department of Homeland Security tool that has been criticized for producing inaccurate results. House Bill 691 by state Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, would require Louisiana to annually check
voters’ citizenship using the System Alien Verification for Entitlements program, known as SAVE. That process would flag people who could be noncitizens and therefore ineligible to vote. The Secretary of State’s office would be required to investigate those results, with the goal of removing from the rolls voters whose citizenship could not be verified. HB691 cleared the House & Governmental Affairs Committee
ä See VOTING, page 7A
Instagram, YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial BY KAITLYN HUAMANI and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technology writers
LOS ANGELES — Meta and YouTube must pay millions in damages to a 20-year-old woman after a jury decided the social media giant and video streamer designed their platforms to hook young users without concern for their well being. The California jury’s decision Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind
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lawsuit could influence the outcome of thousands of similar lawsuits accusing social media companies of deliberately causing harm. The plaintiff, known by her initials KGM, testified at trial that she became addicted to social media as a child and that this addiction exacerbated her mental health struggles. After 40 hours of deliberations, a majority of jurors agreed and awarded her $3 million in damages.
Jurors later recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages after deciding the companies acted with malice, oppression or fraud in harming children with their platform. The judge has final say over the damages. It’s the second verdict against Meta this week, after a jury in New Mexico determined the company harms children’s mental health and safety, in violation of state law. Meta and Google-owned You-
Tube issued statements disagreeing with the verdict and vowed to explore their legal options, which includes appeals. Google spokesperson Jose Castañeda said the verdict misrepresents YouTube “which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.” The jury determined that Meta and YouTube knew the design or operation of their platforms was dangerous or was likely to be dan-
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gerous when used by a minor. They also agreed that the platforms failed to adequately warn of that danger, further contributing to the plaintiff’s harm. Only nine of the 12 jurors had to agree on each claim against each defendant. Two jurors consistently disagreed with the other 10 on whether the companies should be held liable.
ä See TRIAL, page 7A
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