Napoleonville Senator Troy Brown issued a statement saying he has no intention of leaving office amid calls for his resignation after two domestic abuse convictions. Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor hopes Brown won’t force the Senate to expel him from office…:
Cut 10 (09) “move on”
Brown says if the Senate chooses to remove him from house he intends to take legal action.

Acadiana lawmaker and alligator farmer Jack Montoucet will begin his duties as the new state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary on Monday. He says one of his plans while serving is to come up with ways to get more residents involved in outdoor activities…:
cut 4 (10) “being concerned”
Montoucet was appointed by Governor Edwards.

State legislators will likely be called into a special session next month to deal with a budget deficit. The Revenue Estimating Conference has determined the midyear shortfall is around 313-million dollars. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says legislative input will be needed to address a budget gap of that magnitude…:
Cut 3 (04) “as possible”
Some lawmakers have zero appetite for raising anymore revenue, but Governor Edwards says closing the gap will take a little bit of give and take.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says temperatures in Louisiana are running about 15 degrees above normal this weekend. He says records are being broken all over the place…:
CUT 25 (05) “across the state”
But he says there is still plenty of winter in front of us as historically February in Louisiana has seen some of the coldest temperatures on record.

LSU’s leading receiver this past season Malachi Dupre has decided to enter the NFL draft. He’s the fourth Tiger to turn pro early.