The Louisiana Revenue Department is estimating that they’ll be ready to start collecting sales taxes on all items purchased online by the start of next year. A recent Supreme Court decision has paved the way for collection of sales taxes from stores without a physical presence in states they ship too. Many major online sellers, such as Amazon, already collect state sales tax for online purchases, but Secretary Kimberly Robinson says right now they’re not getting 100 percent compliance form many of the smaller online outlets.
An 81-year-old West Monroe man is in jail after an alleged dispute involving his nephew resulted in the accidental shooting death of the nephew’s dog. Police say Doyle Quimby shut off the power to his nephew’s camper that was on the property. After the power went out, that nephew allegedly tried to break in and turn it back on, leading to Quimby firing what he called “warning shots” that flew through a wall and hit the canine. Quimby has been charged with aggravated assault.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has appropriated one-point-four billion dollars to Louisiana for flood and hurricane protection projects. 343-million dollars of that money will go towards completing the long-delayed Comite River Diversion Canal in East Baton Rouge Parish, which can rapidly drain floodwaters. This funding also frees some slack for the ‘Comite Plus’ project which has nearly 2 billion dollars in federal funding which provides drainage improvements throughout the Comite, Amite, and Manchac River. Baton Rouge US Representative Garret Graves says the holistic upgrades should help bring parishes together.
Cut 9 (09) “…one area to another.”
A recent escape from Swanson Center for Youth marks at least the fifth of the year for the juvenile detention facility. While attention can be turned to staffing issues, Deputy Secretary for the Office of Juvenile Justice, Dr. James Bueche says budget constraints are leading to a staffing crisis that’s partially responsible for the break outs.