State Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says there’s a greater possibility Governor Jindal will veto the budget, if a tax credit for higher education is NOT approved by the legislature. Barfield says the SAVE tax credit is needed to offset the revenue generating tax bills already approved by the House. He says without the legislation, cuts to higher ed may be needed to balance the budget…

cut 7 (09) “from here”

The measure failed on a 10-9 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee, but was revived, when it was added to three different bills approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

The State Department of Agriculture and Forestry says the national egg shortage has caused the price to nearly double over the past couple of months. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says an avian flu virus came into America from Asian migratory birds and we’ve lost about 44 million birds so far…

cut 4 (08) “hens that lay eggs”

Strain says many suppliers have had to go up on their egg prices, but officials are taking steps to get the situation under control.

State Police say a deputy with the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office is under arrest after being found with a large amount of marijuana in his vehicle. Sgt. James Anderson says, on I-10 in Sulphur, troopers stopped a truck driven by 28-year-old Derek Nothnagel of Lake Charles for a traffic violation…

cut 14 (10) “inside the vehicle”

Anderson says investigators searched the truck and ended up finding about 18 pounds of marijuana in a duffle bag. He says Nothnagel faces several charges and has been fired from his job as a deputy.