Today, the House Appropriations Committee is expected to approve a proposed budget for next fiscal year that will fully fund TOPS. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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The tiny Tensas Parish town of St. Joseph may finally get their water problems resolved, as members of the governor’s staff are there today to discuss fixing the brown tap water. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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The U.S. Senate election is six months away and so far it’s been a slow race. Emelie Gunn has more…
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A bill that would prohibit open burning of explosives and munitions could be withdrawn from the regular session. There’s opposition from a company called Clean Harbors, which has a location near Colfax that open burns. Minden Rep. Gene Reynolds says he’s talked with Clean Harbors and the state department of environmental quality….
Reynolds says if lawmakers and Clean Harbors are able to come up with a reliable solution, the bill will no longer be necessary.
Reynolds says in the bill’s place would be a House resolution which would call for local input before Clean Harbors can receive a new permit next year.
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Key members of the Governor’s staff are in St. Joseph today, where brown water is flowing from faucets in the Tensas Parish town. The governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Julie Baxter Payer, says they are there to inform St. Joseph residents about what’s being done to improve the drinking water…
Baxter Payer says there is $7.8 million available to repair the town’s water system, but unfortunately St. Joseph cannot receive the money, because it has yet to complete a 2015 financial audit. She says they are waiting on a court to approve a financial manager that will be assigned to improve the town’s financial records…
Residents of St. Joseph say the tap water has been pale yellow to murky brown for over 8 years. Baxter Payer hopes everyone will come out to their 5pm meeting to discuss the water.
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We’re six months away from Louisiana’s U.S. Senate election and it’s been a slow race so far. That’s the opinion of ULM Political Science Professor, Dr. Joshua Stockley, who says we haven’t seen or heard much from the nine declared candidates. He says this election is very similar to last year’s governor’s election.
Stockley says we’ll see an uptick in attention to the race after the major party conventions in the summer. He says right now, many voters are focused on the state’s budget problems and the legislative session.
Stockley says the presidential election will likely play a role in who wins this Senate seat. He says right now, the favorites are any of the major Republican candidates.
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The House Appropriations Committee will vote today on a proposed budget for next fiscal year that’s expected to fully fund the TOPS scholarship program. Governor John Bel Edwards proposed spending plan only allocated a third of the approximately 300-million dollars needed to fully cover tuition costs for eligible students. Chairman of the committee, Cameron Henry of Metairie, says that’s not enough….
If legislators fully fund TOPS that means 183-million dollars will be moved from other areas of the budget. Edwards says it would be great if the state can cover 100-percent of the costs for TOPS, but that will mean less state funding for hospitals, public education and state prisons…
But Henry says TOPS is a priority for a majority of House members and if state agencies receive less funding next fiscal year than they currently receive, they’ll have to make do…
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After couple of wild victories on Friday and Saturday night, LSU had a normal win on Saturday as they defeated Arkansas 7-1 on Mother’s Day. After giving up nine runs on Saturday, the Tigers had a much better pitching performance on Sunday. Freshman Caleb Gilbert made his first start and pitched five scoreless innings. Coach Paul Mainieri was proud of Gilbert’s performance…
LSU catcher Jordan Romero put the game out of reach with a three-run homer in the 5th inning. Romero’s team-leading 8th home run came on a 3-0 pitch…
LSU’s Kramer Robertson played on Sunday despite a huge fat lip, after getting hit by a ball on Saturday night on a throw from the outfield. Robertson had one hit in Sunday’s win and Mainieri admires the toughness of his starting shortstop…