FOURTH OF JULY
HAPPY 250TH
AMERICA ACADIANA
THE
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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S at u r d ay, J u ly 4, 2026
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La. high court halts AG indictment Move pauses criminal prosecution of Murrill in New Orleans BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
The Louisiana Supreme Court issued a stay early Friday on Attorney General Liz Murrill’s indictment by a New Orleans grand jury, pausing the criminal prosecution of Louisiana’s top lawyer and excoriating what one justice termed a “quagmire” of irregularities
surrounding the case. Murrill, a Republican, was charged Thursday with 16 felony counts of malfeasance in office and intimidation over letters she sent in May to several New Orleans officials, warning that they had put their positions in jeopardy by opposing a new state law consolidating the city’s criminal and district clerks of court.
Murrill filed an emergency motion Thursday evening asking the state Supreme Court to review the indictment, which was returned in a closed courtroom at New Orleans’ Criminal District Court earlier that afternoon. Her attorneys’ filing asked the state’s high court to either quash the indictment or stay the proceedings. In a remarkable move that one
AG Liz Murrill was charged Thursday with 16 felony counts.
dissenting justice and legal observers said would hardly ever befall a typical defendant, the Supreme Court issued its stay Friday morning after weighing what the order described as a laundry list of issues with the indictment. The three-page order points to alleged conflicts of interest in the
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE
ä See MURRILL, page 5A
BUSINESS IMPACT
Louisiana native behind U.S. Mint’s 250 commemoration Special coins flip the script on traditional pieces
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By COURTNEy PEDERSEN
Steamboat Bill’s has been located at 1004 Lakeshore Drive in Lake Charles for over 40 years. The beloved Lake Charles restaurant is expected to lose its location across from the lake as construction progresses on the new Calcasieu River Bridge for Interstate 10.
Beloved Lake Charles restaurant expected to lose land in Interstate 10 bridge roadwork BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN
The old fence company at 1112 N. Lakeshore Drive sits vacant on June 25.
Staff writer
A beloved Lake Charles restaurant, Steamboat Bill’s, is expected to lose its location across from the lake as construction progresses on the new Calcasieu River Bridge for Interstate 10. The state has started acquiring properties along a path slightly north of the current I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge as work begins on the new bridge. Several properties stand in the route for construction and state officials say those that will be impacted have been notified, though they have declined to publicly share a comprehensive list of affected properties. An attorney for Steamboat Bill’s, New Orleans-based Randy Smith with Smith & Fawer LLC, confirmed that the state plans to take the entirety of the Steamboat Bill’s property at 1004 Lakeshore Drive. He added, though, that he does not expect the state to take the land until 2027. The right of way process allows the government to take land to complete road projects.
WASHINGTON — While taxpayers are spending tens of millions of dollars on America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, such as a huge state fair on the National Mall and an epic fireworks show, a Mandeville native is raising millions for the government through the production and sale of coins that remember scenes from American history. “The Mint this year is making more coin design changes than you’ve ever seen in your entire life,” said Director of the U.S. Hollis Mint Paul Hollis, a former northshore state legislator and Board of Elementary & Secondary Education member. The nation’s semiquincentennial is providing not just an opportunity to tell America’s story on special editions of nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollar and dollar coins. The historic milestone also provides the Mint with a way to increase its revenue.
ä See COINS, page 4A
La. played small role in American Revolution Military under Galvez helped secure Gulf Coast
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Since the 1980s, Steamboat Bill’s has been a popular lunch and dinner restaurant, offering Cajun cooking, authentic seafood, gumbo, étouffée and red beans and rice. Third in an occasional series Calcasieu Bridge Partners about the Lake Charles I-10 bridge spokesperson Jonathan Hill said agencies determine which properThe potential of losing their prop- ties need to be acquired for projects erty has been traumatizing for after they plan them and meet govSteamboat Bill’s owner Katherine ernment requirements. Vidrine and her family, Smith said. “Property owners who are im“It’s her life’s work, and it’s a fam- pacted are contacted by a right of ily business,” Smith said. “They’re way agent,” Hill said. “The agent not happy about it, and they’re very ä See IMPACT, page 4A nervous about it.”
A BRIDGE TOO STEEP
Staff writer
Louisiana wasn’t one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from Britain. But people living in what is now Louisiana still played a role in the American Revolution. Well, sort of. Spanish Louisiana AMERICA fought the British during the war, but not as a formal ally of the American colonies. Instead, Spain entered the conflict in 1779 after aligning with France, which was supporting the American cause. “It gets complicated,” said Michael Martin, a history professor at the University of Louisiana
ä See REVOLUTION, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 91 LOW 76 PAGE 6A
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