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The Wire

Edited by Christiaan Mader and Leslie Turk / 8.24.20

Monday — Lafayette is no longer facing a dual threat from weather events, but it’s not out of the woods by any stretch. While Marco has fizzled, Laura is still forecast to be at least a Cat 2 as she travels through the Gulf of Mexico and makes landfall in southwestern Louisiana Wednesday night. And there’s another storm that’s been brewing since Friday. Amid growing calls for transparency and police reform, the city is on its third day of protests over the police killing of Trayford Pellerin at a Northside convenience store. With one eye on the storms and another on the protests, contributor Geoff Daily still finds time to break down some of LCG’s ongoing budget battles. — Leslie Turk

Did you get help? Local, state and federal authorities stood up several programs to help Americans get through the coronavirus over the last few months. Many got the help they needed, but others found it out of reach. Have you applied for relief funds like the Lafayette Business Recovery Program or the Louisiana Frontline Workers Covid-19 Hazard Pay? Tell us about it on this short questionnaire.

Take a breath and read on for the latest in Lafayette and coronavirus news.

Health Anywhere - Get a Virtual Checkup from Home

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Acadiana’s positivity falls, equals state average

▸ The gist: Region 4’s seven-day average testing per 10,000 residents is down to 26.12, the lowest it’s been since June 13 and lower than the state average of 28.62. Percent positive rates matched the state average at 8.79%, which is also the lowest rate since mid-June. The mask mandate appears to be having its intended effect.

Here’s the data, changes reported since Saturday, the beginning of the CDC week:

143,566 (+1,846) cases statewide; 4,623 (+77) deaths
21,221 (+169) cases in Acadiana (LDH Region 4); 500 (+17) deaths
8,168 (+65) cases in Lafayette Parish; 106 (+3) deaths
123 hospitalized in Acadiana, (-12) net change from Saturday

Marco and Laura won’t deter Lafayette protestors

▸ The gist: Activists with the local NAACP staged a sit-in at City Hall Monday, two days ahead of Tropical Storm Laura’s expected landfall as a hurricane. Jamal Taylor, 33, one of the NAACP organizers, has promised more action in days to come both on the ground and over Zoom, as part of an ongoing effort to demand answers about the shooting death of 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin at the hands of Lafayette police Friday.

▸ The mayor-president met with clergy Monday. A pair of hastily announced press briefings — one addressing the unrest and the other Tropical Storm Laura — were delayed for more than an hour Monday afternoon while Mayor-President Josh Guillory met with Black church leaders at Lafayette Police Department headquarters.

▸ Like all of Lafayette, protestors are prepping for the storm. At a discount grocery store, just a half-mile south of where Pellerin was killed, families packed up pallets of bottled water and other storm supplies. One of the only big-box grocers on Lafayette’s economically distressed Northside, and located on a potholed evacuation route, the store’s parking lot was full.

▸ Some may take to the streets again tonight. One activist says he is waiting out the storm for his next move, but others are itching for more action. Read more from Christiaan Mader

Advancial - Still Acadiana's Place For Lower Fees

In Brief

▸ All eyes on Laura. As Tropical Storm Marco continues to weaken — though it could still bring heavy rains and high winds to the state — Louisiana has turned its attention to Tropical Storm Laura, which forecasters say will strengthen before making landfall near the Louisiana-Texas border late Wednesday or early Thursday. Gov. John Bel Edwards warned residents to keep their guard up and not assume Laura, too, will be downgraded, saying Laura has always been the “greater threat.” During their 1 p.m. update, meteorologists kept the forecast cone of Laura over an area extending from Galveston Bay in the west to Lafayette in the east.

▸ Three days of protests — and counting. Area residents seeking justice in the Friday shooting death of 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin, a Black man, at the hands of Lafayette police officers staged a sit-in outside of City Hall Monday following two nights of protests. Among the group’s top demands was the resignation of Mayor-President Josh Guillory, who immediately defended the officers’ shooting as justified but waited days to express condolences to Pellerin’s family and a struggling community seeking answers. Demonstrators blocked city streets Saturday and Sunday, both nights ending after confrontations with law enforcement; police in riot gear used smoke canisters to disperse the crowd Saturday after protesters threw rocks into the Moss Street police station under construction and lit small fires in the median on NE Evangeline Thruway. Crowds cleared intersections near CVS at Camellia Boulevard and Kaliste Saloom after police threatened similar action Sunday night. Both nights led to the arrest of several protestors.

Resources and dates

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Hong Kong has first ‘proven’ case of COVID reinfection Yahoo! News

Tracking the ‘eye of the epidemic’ — how coronavirus has spread across the U.S. Time

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