The 2017 Louisiana Survey finds opinion is divided on religious freedom laws and the use of public bathrooms by transgender individuals. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, Dr. Katara Williams says distracted driving is an epidemic in the Bayou State. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Authorities are still not sure why a Vermillion Parish man set fire to a home killing an 89-year-old Ponchatoula woman who lived there. Tangipahoa Sheriff Daniel Edwards says 26-year-old Timothy Rouchon of Abbeville is currently being held in Livingston Parish on an unrelated charge. He says they don’t know of a motive, but the suspect did know Dorothy Poche.
The state Fire Marshal’s Office found the presence of accelerant used to fuel the fire. Edwards says Rouchon is charged with second degree murder, obstruction of justice, and theft of a vehicle for stealing the woman’s car, and an aggravated arson charge is pending.
Poche’s vehicle was also missing from the property when deputies arrived on scene. Edwards says Poche was a very sweet lady who was well-known in the community. He says she was even close with some of his deputies.
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Louisiana residents are evenly split when it comes to religious freedom laws allowing businesses to refuse service to same sex couples based on their religion. That’s according to results from the 2017 Louisiana Survey. Director of the LSU Public Policy Research Lab Dr. Michael Henderson says this follows the nationwide trend.
Henderson says he’s surprised only 47-percent of residents support refusal of services because Louisiana is such a conservative state. But he says the Bayou State does show its socially conservative colors as the survey finds 56-percent think transgender people should use the restroom of their birth gender.
Henderson says another shocking finding is three-fourths of Louisianans support the legal protection from discrimination at work based on sexual orientation. He says while more Democrats are supportive of this, so are many Republicans.
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The state has selected the same contractor it had originally denied to handle the federal flood aid program. The details still need to be hammered out, according to the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Julie Baxter Payer, but it looks like IEM will be the lead on helping homeowners rebuild…:
IEM was the same firm originally chosen to do the work, but the state scrapped the contract because it was too costly. Payer says re-opening the bidding process ended up saving the state money…:
IEM is a global company that has expertise in emergency management, and employees people who live in Louisiana. Payer says since the homeowner survey opened on Monday, more than 11,000 people have signed up to apply for aid. She says they hope to have construction beginning mid-May…:
Cut 11 (08) “next couple of weeks”
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Distracted driving is an epidemic in Louisiana. That’s according to Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, Dr. Katara Williams, who says last year there were over 2,500 crashes linked to this risky habit. She says drivers engage in a lot of distracting behaviors.
But the most common practice for Louisiana drivers is using a cell phone while driving. A study from EverQuote ranked the Bayou State dead last in the nation for the percentage of drivers using their phones, with 92 percent admitting to doing it in the past 30 days. Williams says not only is it dangerous, it can be deadly.
Williams says the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission has educational campaigns aimed at teaching motorists about the dangers of distracted driving. She says it’s also important for parents to teach their children about these risks and to set good examples for them.
Cut 14 (10) “that they’re seeing”
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One person is dead and another seriously injured following a fiery crash between a fuel truck and a dump truck on Interstate 310 south in St. Charles Parish. Authorities say two other vehicles were also involved in the wreck. Trooper Melissa Matey says the deadly crash occurred this morning near Luling.
Cut 15 (08) “crash that happened”
Matey says the fire that broke out after the crash has been extinguished. She says I-310 remains closed in that area. She says they will reopen the highway when LSP finishes its investigation.
The tanker involved in the crash belongs to Gaubert Oil Company in Thibodaux.
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