WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 -- The U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations issued the following directive: By Jeffrey Hamlin, NAVFAC Public Affairs Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $210.2 million firm-fixed-price construction contract, September 12, to B.L. Harbert International, LLC, of Birmingham, Alabama. The project will encompass the construction of a weapons generation facility aboard Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Bossier Parish, Louisiana. This Naval F  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 26 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-New Orleans District issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District is working to delay upriver progression of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico by augmenting the sill initially constructed in July 2023. Construction is underway to increase the existing underwater sill from a depth of -55 feet to a depth of -30 feet. A 620-foot-wide navigation lane will be kept to a depth of -55 fee  more

FORT JOHNSON, Louisiana, Sept. 28 -- The U.S. Army Medicine issued the following news: Readiness is priority at the Joint Readiness Center but that doesn't stop with rotational units. Soldiers stationed here remain ready with birth month Soldier readiness processing, otherwise known as SRP. This one stop shop for medical and personal readiness is a win for units and commanders at Fort Johnson, Louisiana. Lt. Col. Patrick Murphy, special projects officer, JRTC and Fort Johnson operations, said   more

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, Sept. 27 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release on Sept. 25, 2023: * * * Company Fired Longtime Employee to Avoid Health Care Costs, Federal Agency Charges * * * Gregg Orr Auto Collection, Inc., a company that provides administrative and operations services for a group of related automobile dealerships across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida, violated federal law when it fired a longtime senior manager in its Texarkana, Tex  more

DALLAS, Texas, Sept. 27 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release on Sept. 26, 2023: * * * Nazareth Living Care Center Harassed and Retaliated Against Two Housekeeping Employees, Federal Agency Charges * * * Paramount Healthcare Consultants, LLC, which operates facilities across Texas and Louisiana, and MPD Operators Nazareth Hall, LLC, doing business as Nazareth Living Care Center in El Paso, Texas, violated federal law when they allowed an administrat  more

DALLAS, Texas, Sept. 29 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news release on Sept. 28, 2023: * * * FHLB Dallas' Partnership Grant Program Provides 3:1 Match of Members' Donations * * * Louisiana community-based organizations received $160,250 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and 14 member institutions. A total of $557,250 was awarded to community organizations through its annual Partnership   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Sept. 26 -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued the following remarks at a Louisiana housing conference entitled "Building Pathways, Partnership, and Possibilities for Affordable Housing": * * * On Tuesday, September 26th, Marcia L. Fudge, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), traveled to Baton Rouge, LA, to attend the Louisiana Housing Conference: Building Pathways, Partnership, and Possibilities for Affordable   more

SHREVEPORT, Louisiana, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Brandon B. Brown, issued the following news release on Sept. 28, 2023: United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Demetrius Demontrae Richmond, 26, of Bossier City, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote. Richmond was sentenced to 51 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent t  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 27 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release on Sept. 26, 2023: On August 18, 2023, BLAIR TAYLOR, a/k/a "Blood" a New Orleans resident, was charged in a recently unsealed two-count indictment. Both Counts 1 and 2, charged TAYLOR with causing a death through the use of a firearm, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(j)(1), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. TAYLOR was arrested   more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Sept. 26 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, Ronald C. Gathe Jr., issued the following news release: U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance has awarded $4,202,037 collectively to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Baton Rouge Police Department, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, and Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office. The Louisiana Comm  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 28 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release on Sept. 27, 2023: U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that TRACY DAVIS, age 51, of Kentwood, LA, pled guilty on September 26, 2023 to one (1) count of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841, one (1) count of Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug   more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release: RYAN FREMIN, age 39, a resident of Lutcher, Louisiana, pled guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute, five hundred (500) grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A) an  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release: ANA GABRIELA FLORES-GONZALEZ ("FLORES"), age 32, a Mexican National, pleaded guilty on September 28, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 841(b)(1)(B), and 846, ann  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 28 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release on Sept. 27, 2023: U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that on September 26, 2023, FERMIN DANIEL PUENTE-MONTOYA, age 32, pleaded guilty to a three-count bill of information charging him with violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act and Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien. According to court documents, PUENTE-MONTOYA and two others, consp  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release: CHARLES ROY, age 34, of New Orleans, pled guilty to a three-count indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute forty (40) grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B), felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans, issued the following news release: MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, QUINDELE ADDISON, SHEENA RUDOLPH, and CORIS ADDISON, all of New Orleans, Louisiana, were charged in an eleven-count superseding indictment by a federal grand jury on September 22, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Duane Evans. According to the superseding indictment, DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, QUINDELE AD  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 26 -- The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve issued the following news release: By Lance Cpl. Sarah Pysher, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve A sea of green gather for the start of a ceremony in the large foyer illuminated by the sun shining through the large glass doors leading in. Small chatter booms and echoes through the hall while Marines stand waiting to see this historic event take place. As the audience shuffles into their places, a hush falls over Marine Cor  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -- The White House issued the following news release on Sept. 27, 2023: Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the seawater intrusion beginning on September 20, 2023, and continuing. The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FE  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: ALEXANDRIA, La., Sept. 28, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the opening of a pilot Nutrition Hub under the Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) initiative. The Nutrition Hub is being launched in partnership with Southern University, a historically black 1890 Land-grant University in Louisiana, and h  more