House Republican lawmakers grilled state health officials about the growing Medicaid budget and whether the state is doing enough to prevent waste or misspending. Health Secretary Rebekah Gee says mistakes will be made with a large government program, but they are trying to control spending and pointed to the recent removal of 30-thousand people from Medicaid, because they made too much money…
Cut 4 (09) “…this program”

After failing for five months on recognizing additional revenues, the Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast that gives the state an additional 229 million dollars that it can spend between this fiscal year and next fiscal year. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne is glad the stalemate over revenue projections is over
Cut 9 (11) “…is gonna be”
The extra revenue can help fund teacher pay raises and the governor also wants to put more money towards colleges and public safety programs.

Democrat Charlie Greer of Natchitoches Parish is running for Agriculture Commissioner against incumbent Mike Strain, touting his 20 year career in the Ag Department, and time in law enforcement. Greer says if elected, he would push hard for the regulated production of industrial hemp, and hemp adjacent products to revitalize the state’s lagging Ag.
Cut 13 (10) “…in it.”
Greer also ran in 2015 and received 30 percent of the vote.

A 28-year-old Opelousas man is accused of stabbing his mother to death. St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says Cody James Arceneaux and his mother were involved in an argument when the mother grabbed a knife…
Cut 11 (10) “…could stab her.”
When deputies arrived they found Arceneaux curled up on the floor with a bloody towel in his hands.