Alena Maschke

No other state gives as much of its power to fund opioid abatement directly to local law enforcement. Louisiana is also the only state with no state-level program, apart from operating costs for the nonprofit and task force, while directing 20% of the funds to local sheriffs.

This year, The Current uncovered potential fraud in the public school system, interrogated Lafayette’s sprawl, and looked at the local effects of new Trump policies.

Under a new agreement with Immigration and Customs enforcement, Lafayette sheriff’s deputies are empowered to enforce federal immigration laws.

UL Lafayette faculty and staff could lose access to basic office supplies through the end of the fiscal year, as part of sweeping spending restrictions that included cutting monthly credit card limits for approved expenses in half.

Lafayette City Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux says there’s currently no ordinance proposed that would make it illegal to camp or squat on public property.

For someone experiencing a mental health crisis, there are few options available in Lafayette that don't involve a visit to the emergency room or the parish jail.

Two former Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy employees, Shameka Bazile and Marva Williams, were arrested late Monday on charges of public payroll fraud, theft and forgery in connection with the alleged misuse of tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds, The Current reports.

Sheriffs receive 20% of Louisiana’s opioid settlement money. Records reveal how 43 are spending their cut.

Beginning in 2021, a series of landmark settlements with the manufacturers, marketers and distributors of opioids set off a wave of more than $50 billion in payments to local and state governments across the country in response to the opioid epidemic.

Sheriffs receive 20 percent of the state's opioid settlement money, but they aren't required to report their spending — leaving millions of dollars largely outside public view.