Louisiana

Louisiana sees shells as more than just dinner waste

Published

1 year ago

August 5, 2024

Louisiana sees shells as more than just dinner waste

Visitors to Louisiana spent some $16.2 billion last year, up nearly 4% from 2022. New Orleans cuisine is a big draw, including oysters.

That’s a lot of shells. But Louisiana restaurants are doing more than just feeding tourists and locals — they’re helping in an effort to stem land-loss on the coast.

Oysters are a bedrock delicacy in Louisiana. That famous oysters Rockefeller dish? It was invented in 1889 at Antoine’s in New Orleans.

Now, those shellfish — and their shells — are benefiting the area in another way.

“Louisiana is experiencing a land-loss crisis. Over the last 100 years or so we’ve lost over 2000 square miles of land,” Michael Biros, the restoration program director with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, told The Associated Press.

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana says that since 2014, more than 13 million pounds of shells have been used to build reefs at more than a dozen coastal locations.

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Many of the shells come from those famous New Orleans restaurants. The state gives tax credits of one dollar for every 50 pounds recycled.

“We’re sort of unlocking people from this doom-and-gloom cycle and showing that there is a way that we can grow, that we can have a future in this landscape,” says Biros.

The Coalition says levees in the Mississippi River have interrupted sediment which supports solid ground. Also blamed for Louisiana’s land loss are rising sea levels, as well as large swaths of wetlands being wiped out by hurricanes.

Much of the work building shell reefs is done by volunteers. Some started getting involved after Hurricane Katrina, working with AmeriCorps.

“When the volunteers in the communities that we’ve partner with see tangible fruits of our efforts — in this case an entire oyster reef that’s going to protect a culturally significant site for hopefully generations to come — like that’s a really big win. And it’s important for people to be able to see that because it gives them hope that there’s more that we can do,” said Morgan Randall, a former AmeriCorps volunteer who’s now a senior coordinator of communications with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

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One bonus for Louisiana, which produces about a third of the nation’s oysters: The new reefs are creating breeding ground for even more oysters.

“New oysters will grow on old oyster shells. So over time the reef will grow and it can keep up with sea level rise. It can expand. It really is one of the most effective strategies we have for shoreline stabilization,” said Biros.

Oysters also help keep the water clean, each filtering up to 50 gallons of water per day.

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Louisiana

Third inmate who escaped from southern Louisiana jail captured, officials say

Published

4 hours ago

December 20, 2025

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Third inmate who escaped from southern Louisiana jail captured, officials say

December 19, 2025 / 11:28 PM EST
/ CBS/AP

The last of two inmates who had been on the run since escaping from a jail in the southern Louisiana city of Opelousas earlier this month has been caught, officials said Friday. A third inmate who was also part of the escape died by suicide after being caught by police, authorities previously said.

Keith Anthony Eli II, 24, was taken into custody in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said in a news release. Opelousas is located about 25 miles north of Lafayette.

Guidroz said Eli was captured by narcotics detectives and a SWAT team thanks to a tip.

At the time of his escape, Eli was held on an attempted second-degree murder charge.

The three men had escaped the St. Landry Parish Jail on Dec. 3 by removing concrete blocks from an upper wall area, Guidroz said at the time.

Authorities said the inmates then used sheets and other materials to scale the exterior wall, climb onto a first-floor roof and lower themselves to the ground, Guidroz said.

Escapee Jonathan Joseph, 24, was captured on Dec. 5. He is in custody on multiple charges, including first-degree rape.

Joseph Harrington, 26, faced several felony charges, including home invasion. On Dec. 4, one day after the escape, he was recognized by a tipster while pushing a black e-bike. Police found the e-bike at a neighboring home and heard a gunshot while trying to coax him to leave the building. He had shot himself with a hunting rifle, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux said by telephone to The Associated Press.

The escape came more than seven months after 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail. All ten of since been captured.

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Louisiana

MS Goon Squad victim arrested on drug, gun charges in Louisiana. Bond set

Published

16 hours ago

December 19, 2025

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MS Goon Squad victim arrested on drug, gun charges in Louisiana. Bond set

Eddie Terrell Parker, a victim in the “Goon Squad” case, was arrested in Louisiana on multiple charges.
Parker was stopped for traffic violations and allegedly found with several narcotics and at least one firearm.
The charges include possession with intent to distribute several drugs and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Parker and another man previously settled a $400 million lawsuit against Rankin County after being tortured by former officers.

Eddie Terrell Parker, one of two men who settled a civil lawsuit against Rankin County and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department in the “Goon Squad” case, was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 17, and is being held in a northeast Louisiana jail on multiple charges.

Louisiana State Police Senior Trooper Ryan Davis confirmed details of the incident to the Clarion Ledger via phone call on Friday, Dec. 19.

Davis said Parker was traveling east on Interstate 20 in Madison Parish, Louisiana, when a trooper observed Parker committing “multiple traffic violations.” Davis said the trooper conducted a traffic stop, identified themselves and explained the reason for the stop.

Parker was allegedly found in possession of multiple narcotics, along with at least one firearm.

Parker was booked around 8 p.m. Wednesday into the Madison Parish Detention Center in Tallulah, Louisiana, on the following charges, as stated by Davis:

Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute
Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled substance
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Details about the quantity of narcotics found in Parker’s possession were not immediately available.

Davis told the Clarion Ledger that Parker received a $205,250 bond after appearing before a judge.

Parker, along with another man named Michael Jenkins, was tortured and abused on Jan. 24, 2023, at a home in Braxton, at the hands of six former law enforcement officers who called themselves “The Goon Squad.” Parker and Jenkins filed a lawsuit in June 2023 against Rankin County and Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey.

Each of the six former Mississippi law enforcement officers involved in the incident are serving prison time for state and federal charges. Those officers were identified as former Rankin County deputies Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield.

Court documents show U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III issued an order on April 30 dismissing a $400 million lawsuit brought by Jenkins and Parker, saying that the two men had reached a settlement with the county and Bailey. Jenkins and Parker sought compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest and other costs.

According to court records, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. However, the order stated that if any party fails to comply with settlement terms, any aggrieved party may reopen the matter for enforcement of the settlement.

Jason Dare, legal counsel for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, stated the settlement agreement totaled to $2.5 million. According to Dare, the settlement was not an admission of guilt on the county’s or the sheriff’s department’s part.

Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.

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Louisiana

Port of South Louisiana welcomes new leadership

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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Port of South Louisiana welcomes new leadership

Julia Fisher-Cormier. (Courtesy)

The Port of South Louisiana on Thursday announced that Julia Fisher-Cormier has been selected as its new executive director.

The announcement follows a national search and a unanimous vote of a…