Gasoline prices continue to rise; up another nickel a gallon since just yesterday. Today’s statewide average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.36; up from $3.31 Monday, and up 26-cents from a week ago. Louisiana AAA’s Don Redman…:

CUT 06(05)      “…demand for gasoline.”

He advises you budget at least $3.50-a-gallon for fuel at least through the Holidays.

Louisiana’s made some progress in filling its shortage of classroom teachers, going from a deficit of 2500 to about 1200. Education Superintendent Cade Brumley says they’ve brought in some part-time help to reduce the backlog, but another major issue is that laws concerning teacher certification are complex…:

CUT 14(09)      “…applications a year.”

Brumley was speaking to the Senate Education Committee.

Tangipahoa Parish deputies arrest seven people in connection with the shooting death of 16-year-old Leonard “LJ” Williams last weekend. TPSO Chief Deputy Jimmy Travis says a fight over a girl led to two carloads of youths shooting at one another, with the victim getting caught in the crossfire.  Travis says it wasn’t just a shooting incident; it was a gun battle…:

CUT 10(06)      “…in front of the house.”

Most of those arrested are 18 or younger, except for one: 64-year-old Ella Bickham – charged with obstructing justice and evidence tampering. She allegedly withheld key evidence from deputies for over 16 hours. Travis says more arrests are likely.

The state Department of Insurance approves a 63-percent rate hike for customers of the state’s last-resort property insurer, Louisiana Citizens, so that it will be able to afford to pay claims should another disaster strike. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says it’s “extremely painful but required by law.” He’s working to attract new insurers to the state, so people can leave Citizens’ expensive coverage.

Tangipahoa Parish deputies arrest seven in connection with the fatal shooting a 16-year-old last weekend. More from Jeff Palermo…:

CUT 02 (30)      “…Palermo.”

More trouble at Louisiana schools, which have plagued with bomb and school violence threats in recent weeks. Today, Paul Breaux Middle School in Lafayette Parish received a bomb threat. Acadiana High was put on lockdown due to an active shooter threat. Both proved to be hoaxes and the all-clear has been given.

The state has made in-roads in filling a huge shortage of qualified school teachers. Speaking to the state Senate Education Committee, Education Superintendent Cade Brumley says new legislation has helped lower the number from over 2500 to about 1200. But Brumley says a backlog of teacher certification applications has grown past seven-thousand because there’s not enough state workers to process them…:

CUT 13 (09)      “…as an agency.”

Brumley says they’ve brought in some part-time help to reduce the backlog.

From teacher shortages to nursing shortages. LSU Health New Orleans says they’ll use a $3-million federal grant to help with that by teaching nurses how to teach nurses. LSU’s Leanne Fowler says the shortages are worst in the state’s rural areas…:

CUT 04 (07)      “…underserved areas.”

Nurses entering the program will get 40 hours of training before they start teaching.

Deputies in Tangipahoa Parish have arrested seven people in connection with the shooting death of 16-year-old Leonard “LJ” Williams last weekend. TPSO Chief Deputy Jimmy Travis says a teen party erupted into gunfire after a jealous boyfriend saw his girlfriend dancing at the party on Facebook Live…:

CUT 09  (09)        “body-slammed her.”

That led to an argument, which led to a gunfight between two groups of teens in two cars in front of the house. The victim was caught in a crossfire and killed. Travis says an autopsy will determine which gun fired the fatal shot, but for now all are charged with obstruction of justice, 2^nd-degree murder or both.

Three boaters have been rescued from the Gulf, after their boat capsized over the weekend. The men were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard Sunday evening; all with wounds to their arms and hands from fighting off sharks. They’re all expected to recover.

Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley told the Senate Education Committee the number of teacher vacancies in the classroom statewide has been cut in half in one year from 2500 to 1200. Brumley says legislation approved by lawmakers this year helped…:

CUT 12(15)      “…the classroom.”

But Brumley says a backlog of teacher certification applications has grown past seven-thousand because there’s not enough state workers to process them.

…and now today’s markets…

Holden Hoggatt, who’s running against incumbent Congressman Clay Higgins, picks up the endorsements of three former southwest Louisiana congressional leaders…:

CUT 02(33)      “…Thorington.”

The multi-state Mega Millions jackpot has grown to a whopping $455-million for tonight’s drawing. That’s would be a $226-million lump sum payout to a lone winner. If there is winner tonight, it will be the 12^th largest in the game’s history. Tickets will be on sale until 9 tonight.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded contracts to Dynamic Group and Lemoine Disaster Recovery to plug orphaned oil wells in north Louisiana. DNR spokesperson Patrick Courreges says the state currently plugs 120 to 200 wells per year. They hope to double that number with these federal dollars, but they are still in discussions with these two companies to see if that can be done…:

CUT 11(10)      “…obligated.”

There are about 4500 well across the state.

To address a statewide shortage of qualified nurses, LSU Health New Orleans will teach nurses how to teach nurses. LSU Health’s Leanne Fowler says the school has received a $3-million federal grant to create a new program to help ease the nursing shortage in four states, including Louisiana…:

CUT 03(08)      “…new nurses.”

She says the new nursing academy will focus on the recruitment, education, and retention of licensed nurses.

Over 100-thousand homeowners who are covered by the state’s insurer of last resort, Citizen Property Insurance, will see their rates rise by an average of 63-percent next year when they renew their policy after January first. Insurance Commissoner Jim Donelon says the rising cost of reinsurance is behind the huge rate increase.

A deadline to register to vote for the November 8th election hits today at 4:30 and we are two weeks away from early voting.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Whitney Thomas.”

Former U-S Senator John Breaux and ex-Congressmen Chris John and Charles Boustany have thrown their support behind Republican Holden Hoggatt, who is challenging GOP U-S Representative Clay Higgins in the third district Congressional race. Breaux on why he believes Hoggatt is the better choice to represent southwest Louisiana…
cut 9 (07) “….with everybody”
Meanwhile, Higgins has received the endorsement of Louisiana Congressman and House Republican Whip Steve Scalise.

A Legislative Auditor’s report says Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins failed to properly document three-thousand dollars worth of travel expenses. Assistant Legislative Auditor for Investigations, Roger Harris, says Perkins is not disputing the report…
cut 15 (11) “….the future”
Perkins says he’ll reimburse the city for all expenses that the audit shows may have violated travel and procurement policies and procedures.

We’re 4 weeks away from the November 8th elections and today is the final day to register to vote in person. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says over 3 million people are registered to vote, and stresses the importance of exercising this right…:
CUT 6 (13) “election day”
Early voting for November eighth begins October 25th.

As the race for Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District heats up, former Louisiana Congressmen Charles Boustany and Chris John, along with former Senator John Breaux have endorsed Republican Holden Hoggatt against incumbent Clay Higgins. Breaux believes Hoggatt will fight for what the district needs as a whole..:
Cut 8 (11) “or what have you”

The Louisiana Department of Insurance announced Monday its approved rates for the 100,000 plus homeowners who have home insurance policies with Louisiana Citizens to increase by 63%. The change takes effect January 1st, but the increase wouldn’t kick in until a policy holder renews. Citizens is the state’s insurer of last resort, and it made the request because the costs of reinsurance shot up, according to state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded contracts to Dynamic Group and Lemoine Disaster Recovery to plug abandoned oil and gas wells. D-N-R spokesperson Patrick Courreges (koo·rezh) says Louisiana’s well count is around 45-hundred sites, and plugging them isn’t easy…:
Cut 12 (09) “200-thousand-dollar job”
Courreges says the state currently plugs 120 to 200 wells per year, they hope to double that number with these federal dollars.

Today is the final day to register to vote in person in the November 8th elections. Early voting begins October 25th and runs to November 1st. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says even if you know you’re registered to vote…:
Cut 5 (09) “as possible”
He says if you miss today’s deadline you can still register online at GeauxVote.com by October 18th.

According to a recent state audit, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins spent more than $35,000 on travel between 2019 and 2021 without proper documentation. Roger Harris, Assistant Legislative Auditor for Investigations says Perkins is required to submit travel expenses within 30 days.
Cut 13 (09) “after travel”
Perkins responded to the report indicating that it was never his intention not to follow policies and he’d reimburse the city for all expenses.

Holden Hoggatt has picked up endorsements from 3 former southwest Louisiana Congressional leaders in his race against Congressman Clay Higgins…:
Cut 2 (33) “I’m Brooke Thorington”

Seven people are now in custody in connection with a deadly weekend shooting that left a Hammond High School student dead. Four teenagers, two aged 17 and one 16 and one 18-year-old are facing second degree murder charges in the death of a 16-year-old at a birthday party. The four teens are also facing obstruction of justice and other charges.

The deadline to register for elections hits today at 4:30 and we are just now two weeks away from early voting. Whitney Thomas has more…:
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Whitney Thomas”

AAA says rising demand and the higher cost of oil are starting to show at the pump. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular is $3.36 a gallon which is a 5-cent increase over the prior day, and over 25 cents higher than the same time last week.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded contracts to Dynamic Group and Lemoine Disaster Recovery to plug abandoned oil and gas wells, or orphan wells. D-N-R spokesperson Patrick Courreges (koo·rezh)…:
Cut 10 (10) “well populations”
He says they are targeting wells near disadvantaged communities.

The state’s chief auditor says Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins repeatedly failed to properly document many of his travel expenses that were paid for by the city during his term in office. Assistant Legislative Auditor for Investigations Roger Harris says Shreveport has strict policies elected officials must abide by..:
Cut 14 (08) “travel form”
The auditor also questioned Perkins’ actions early on in changing which insurance agents got the city’s lucrative property and workers compensation coverage.