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W e d n e s d ay, a p r i l 22, 2026
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Downtown plan dispute escalates City Council urged to override mayor’s veto of $1M project BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
The Downtown Development Authority is requesting Lafayette City Council members override Mayor-President Monique Boulet’s recent veto of a $1 million downtown redevelopment plan. The request, sent Monday to all council members and the administration, pushed back on several points Boulet cited in her reason-
ing for vetoing the council’s April 7 approval of the Downtown Urban Core Redevelopment Plan, according to a letter obtained by The Acadiana Advocate. Boulet, in her veto letter last Friday, cited concerns about a lack of “thorough and competent” legal review and about what she saw as the expansion of the authority and boundaries of DDA. Boulet declined to respond to the DDA request.
The veto is the latest clash between the DDA and the Boulet administration. The DDA and Lafayette Consolidated Government are Boulet currently entangled in a lawsuit related to the zoning board’s approval of a controversial Jefferson Street condo project last year.
A two-thirds vote is required to override the mayor’s veto or four out of five council members. The mayor has used her veto power Blanchard only once since taking office, when she blocked a proposed gas station along University Avenue in 2024. The council did not override her decision.
RAPTOR REHAB
The City Council on April 7 voted 4-1 to approve funding the redevelopment plan with $500,000 from reserve and capital budget funds. Council member Elroy Broussard stood in opposition. The remainder of the funds are expected to come from the downtown taxing district and $50,000 from the DDA. The DDA’s letter to council members said discussions with the mayor regarding the redevelopment plan began in late 2024, when CEO Kevin Blanchard began
ä See DOWNTOWN, page 3A
2026 LEGISLATURE
Concerns raised over college search bill Sponsor says he plans to amend it in committee to address questions about transparency
BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON
A red-tailed hawk named Harry looks at second-year veterinary student Holly Casper at the raptor rehab on April 12 at LSU.
LSU vet team returns injured birds of prey to the wild
the hawk named Harry was precise. Still, Harry’s hunting skills wouldn’t be up to par in the wild, competing with other raptors for food. His permanent home is with LSU Raptor Rehabilitation, an extension of the Wildlife Hospital off Skip Bertman Drive that BY HALEY MILLER prepares injured carnivorous birds to Staff writer return to their natural habitats. “He could not be released with one The red-tailed hawk that was missing an eye screeched in its enclosure eye being removed, because hawks rely on sight,” said Abigail Gunby, a as it waited for its prey to appear. The prey came flying through the second-year veterinary student at LSU air, a rigid, dead mouse that barely had and one of Harry’s caretakers. “It’s time to hit the gravel before the hawk theorized that they can see a blade of snatched it up and swallowed it whole. ä See RAPTOR, page 3A Even with limited depth perception,
Dexter, an eastern screech owl, is one of the program’s educational birds due to injuries that make him unable to fly.
A Louisiana state lawmaker says he plans to amend his bill that would have kept records secret about who is applying to college executive positions, proposing a change that would instead require universities to disclose some finalists amid concerns over transparency in hiring top officials. Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, drafted the bill, House Bill 289, to keep the identities of applicants to top college positions secret, and it had drawn concerns from groups that push for academic freedom and college transparency. He said it’s hard to lure candidates to apply Abraham for top jobs without the promise of secrecy. The bill also gives wide leeway over which positions it would affect, saying it’s “including but not limited to” university presidents, chancellors, senior vice chancellors and athletic coaches. After an interview with The Times-Picayune | The Advocate this week, Abraham acknowledged the transparency concerns and said he plans to amend the bill during a Thursday committee hearing, with changes to require universities
ä See SEARCH, page 4A
‘Undecided’ leads crowded field in race to fill Letlow’s seat BY TYLER BRIDGES
Baton Rouge to Monroe. ELECTION 2026 “Undecided” enjoys a wide lead CONGRESS with less than a month before the Only one thing is clear in the May 16 primary. State Sen. Blake Miguez has loan) and a small lead in at least race where four major Republican candidates are campaigning to win President Donald Trump’s en- one independent poll. a conservative-oriented congres- dorsement, the most money in But Miguez remains unknown to sional district that stretches from the bank (thanks to a big personal most of the district, along with the Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 79 LOW 65 PAGE 8A
other three main Republican candidates: state Sen. Rick Edmonds of Baton Rouge, state Rep. Michael Echols of Monroe and Misti Cordell, chair of the Board of Regents, who lives in Monroe. Miguez is under attack from the three others because he lives in
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New Iberia, about 70 miles outside of the district’s nearest boundary. “You have to have someone who lives in our district and has a proven record of fighting for our district,” Edmonds said in a
ä See RACE, page 7A
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