Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy is the favorite in the race for the Senate seat that will be vacated by David Vitter, according to a new poll by Southern Media and Opinion Research. Halen Doughty reports…:
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

Louisiana Tech University announces plans to demolish Wyly Tower and Prescott Memorial Library due to infrastructure issues. But LA Tech spokesperson Dave Guerin says this demolition will not happen any time soon:
CUT 6 (08) “24 months”
He says the tower has a host of issues with elevators, stairwells, fire alarms, windows, and mechanical control systems.

Metairie Senator Conrad Appel has written a letter to Higher Education Commissioner Joseph Rallo calling on the Board of Regents to construct a plan for organization reform. Appel says it’s clear we have grossly underfunded higher education but there is no prospect of that changing in years to come. He says additional money isn’t going to fall from the sky..:
CUT 9 (09) “the future”
He says this doesn’t mean closing campuses but all options are on the table.

The state Senate is kind-of hanging out right now as tax measures get discussed in the lower chamber where they must originate. Louisiana’s Senators did vote to tap $128 from the state rainy day fund and redirect $200 million dollars in Gulf Oil spill money to the operating budget.