Claire Taylor

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Claire Taylor

If it seems like the Lafayette area has received more rain than usual lately, it has. Rainfall in Lafayette Parish so far this year has exceeded the average by more than 16 inches. On average 27.1 inches should have fallen, Brian Smith, drainage director for Lafayette Consolidated Government, said recently. Instead, as of about June 13, more than 43 inches have fallen. Some of those showers fell heavy and hard in a short period of time, leading to flash flooding.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Ashley White |Claire Taylor

The Lafayette Parish School System said it has turned over an investigation to the Lafayette Police Department into whether two drainage project bids were forged. The August 2024 project ultimately went to Bosco Oilfield Services for $74,500. While investigating a complaint against Bosco, the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors spoke with two companies who said they did not submit bids for the contract, despite bids being submitted.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Claire Taylor

A single-family home at the intersection of Congress Street and Myrtle Place will be rezoned and permitted for use as a restaurant with restrictions on the time it can open. The owners of Five Mile Eatery in Lafayette want to buy the house on the edge of the historic single-family neighborhood and busy Congress Street to replace the restaurant currently operating in the Oil Center.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Claire Taylor

By the end of 2026, South Louisiana's favorite buck-toothed rodent -- the orange-toothed nutria -- could be displaced by its buck-toothed Texas cousin, the ever popular roadside mascot, the Buc-ee's beaver. Construction is underway at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Louisiana Avenue in north Lafayette on a new Buc-ee's travel store. Another is under construction in Ruston.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Claire Taylor

Two Lafayette property owners filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging a city ordinance that prohibits short-term rentals such as Airbnbs in areas zoned for single-family residences and seeking an injunction prohibiting the city from enforcing the ordinance against their properties.