The Governor has signed the Louisiana Family Caregiver Act into law, which supporters say will provide critical help for families across the state. Advocacy Director for AARP Louisiana, Andrew Muhl says this will assist the more than 660-thousand family members who help out an aging relative…:
CUT 6 (08) “more independently”
Muhl says this measure requires hospitals to offer caregivers instruction and demonstrations of medical tasks.

The special session to address the $600 million dollar budget shortfall begins today at 6:30. LSU economist Jim Richardson also serves as the chairman of the task force for long term budget reform. He says changes to income taxes will likely need to be made which would impact everyone…:
CUT 5 (08) “notice it”
The regular session must end today by 6pm.

A trooper was injured in a fatal St. Charles Parish crash that involved two suspected drunk drivers and a man who stopped on the Bonne Carre spillway to urinate into Lake Ponchartrain. State Police trooper Melissa Matey says Louis Hernandez pulled his truck over to pee, and at that time a man suspected of being impaired, 42-year-old Joel Ybarra, crashed into the stopped vehicle
CUT 12 (06) “not belted”
Ybarra is charged with vehicular homicide. Another drunk driver who hit the respnoding trooper is also charged in this incident.

Citizens in Franklin Parish continue to mourn the death of a Winnsboro Police Department officer who died in a car crash while he was on-duty over the weekend, according to officials. They say Sergeant Derrick Mingo, who is also a former employee of the Franklin Parish Sheriff’s Office, was on his way to help another officer dealing with a drunk driver, when he left a roadway and crashed into a tree. State Police say he was not wearing a seat belt.