For the first time since 1939, Louisiana has brand new whooping crane chicks. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has been working since 2011 to reintroduce the endangered birds to The Bayou State. LDWF biologist, Sara Zimorski, who leads the whooping crane project says its success hinges on whether or not these birds can reproduce in the wild…:
Cut 8 (08) “right direction”
The whooping crane was once abundant here, but the birds had disappeared in Louisiana by 1950.

A high school band director from Westgate High School in Iberia Parish is arrested following an investigation into why he was found hiding in the closet of a 16-year-old girl. The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office charged 30-year-old Jeremy Conner with indecent behavior with a juvenile. Authorities learned Conner had been communicating with the girl since last year and sending her inappropriate sexual text messages.

A 17-year-old student has been arrested after another social media bomb threat was made against Ponchatoula High School. Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards says Calvin Richardson is charged with two counts each of falsely stating a bomb is on school grounds and terrorizing, extremely serious felonies…:
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Richardson faces up to 70 years in prison.

Tax Season is coming to a close, as Tax Day is this Monday. That means there are just a few days left to file federal taxes. Baton Rouge tax preparer Letti Lowe-Ardoin, with the Louisiana CPA society, advises people not to rush, because simple mistakes can be made…:
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Federal income tax day is Monday and experts are urging citizens to remain vigilant in these final days and not rush to get your documents in order as you may miss an important detail. Letti Lowe-Ardoin, with the Louisiana CPA society, says itemized deductions are the most commonly overlooked…:
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Two whooping crane chicks have hatched in Louisiana for the first time since 1939…:
CUT 1 (25) “I’m Halen Doughty”

Family and friends will be saying their final goodbyes to Hokie Gajan today. The beloved Saints color analyst and prominent football player died from cancer this week at the age of 56. John Ed Bradley, sportswriter and former teammate of Gajan’s at LSU, says the running back was an amazing player and great person…:
CUT 4 (08) “everybody else”
Services will be held in Madisonville.

Also today Saints fans are invited to the visitation of former Black and Gold player Will Smith who was shot and killed last Saturday. It will be held at the team’s practice facility in Metairie.

A second man has been arrested in connection with a 4 vehicle crash in Livingston Parish that claimed the lives of a 4-year-old and 6-year-old. Authorities say two vehicles had stopped to remove a trash compactor out of the road, when 26-year-old Jerry Ervin III crashed through orange triangles into all of the occupants of the pulled over cars. The two children died on the scene. Ervin’s charges include two counts of vehicular homicide. The owner of the trash compactor, also suspected of being impaired, was arrested first on the same charges.

Don’t panic if you just realized today is April 15th, tax day is actually Monday this year. Baton Rouge tax preparer Letti Lowe-Ardoin, with the Louisiana CPA society, says filing federal taxes can be a challenge, but it’s not too late to get some assistance…:
Cut 15 (07) “help you out”
Victims of the recent flooding in the state are eligible for an extension.

Another whooping crane chick has joined the family of endangered birds in Louisiana, as two eggs hatch in Jefferson Davis Parish this week. LDWF biologist, Sara Zimorski, leads the whooping crane project — working to reestablish the birds in Louisiana. She says this is a historic hatching…:
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She says the two chicks have a long way to go, but biologists are monitoring them closely.

A Ponchatoula High School student has been arrested after posting a bomb threat against the school on social media. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Saints color analyst and former LSU and Saints player Hokie Gajan will be laid to rest today. Gajan died from a rare form of cancer at the age of 56. His former LSU teammate John Ed Bradley says Gajan was reliable on the field, and he never gave up…:
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The visitation begins at 10 at St. Anselm Catholic Church in Madisonville and the funeral mass begins at 3 p.m.

Tax Day is this Monday, and time is running out to file federal taxes. Jeff Palermo has more…:
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Governor John Bel Edwards will launch a monthly call-in radio show to air on the Louisiana Radio Network. The show will be broadcast statewide, and listeners will have the opportunity to call in and talk one on one with the governor. The show, called “Ask the Governor,” will air the third week of each month, starting with Tuesday, April 19th. It will be broadcast live online at louisianaradionetwork.com.

A 17-year-old student has been arrested after another bomb threat circulating on social media was made against Ponchatoula High School. Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards says the Internet Crimes against Children Division was mobilized to discover who was making the threats…:
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Richardson was charged with two counts each of felony terrorizing and sending false threats. He’s facing 70 years in prison for the prank.

A man who was hit by a train near the LSU campus overnight is fighting for his life, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department. They say emergency crews responded to the scene at Tigerland around 2:30am, and the victim was taken to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. No other information has been released at this time.

A bill to prevent the removal of confederate monuments did not get out of a House committee today.  Shreveport Representative Sam Jenkins opposes the bill because he says this proposal would not allow local governments to decide what they want to do with their own property.

Cut 11 (11) “for me”

The 7-7 vote was not enough for the bill to pass.

The forecast team at Colorado State University calls for the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season to be near-average. Research scientist Phil Klotzbach, says the El Nino is dissipating which is why they are predicting a more active season than in 2015, but northern Atlantic Ocean temperatures are still cooler than average…:

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The first test burn of explosives is successful at Camp Minden in Webster Parish. Emelie Gunn has more…

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Another baby whooping crane has joined the family of endangered birds in Louisiana, as two eggs have hatched in Jefferson Davis Parish this week. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist, Sara Zimorski, leads the whooping crane project that has been working since 2011 to reestablish the birds in Louisiana. Zimorski says this the first whooping crane hatching in Louisiana in 77 years.

A bill to prevent the removal of confederate monuments without a waiver from a statewide board did not get out of a House committee today. Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says Carmody says although Louisiana has a dark history, you cannot change what has already happened. He says the only way to have a brighter future is to learn from past mistakes.

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New Orleans Representative Joseph Bouie says it is currently left up to local municipalities to decide what they want to display, or not display, in their city. He says each city should be able to decide what kind of monuments they want to have.

cut 12 (08) “monuments”

A measure to increase the fine for not wearing a seatbelt from $25 to $50 was approved by the House, and now heads to the senate.

Governor John Bel Edwards proposed 183 million dollars’ worth of cuts to the TOPS scholarship program. Emelie Gunn has more on what this means…

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Governor John Bel Edwards will launch a monthly call-in radio show to air on the Louisiana Radio Network. The show will be broadcast statewide, and listeners will have the opportunity to call in and talk one on one with the governor. The show will air the third week of each month.

A House committee rejected a proposal to prevent the removal of confederate monuments without a waiver from a state board. Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says these monuments tell the stories of the state, and removing them would be an attempt to erase the past from public memory.

Cut 9 (06) “our story”

Carmody says the only way to have a brighter future is to learn from past mistakes.

A bill to increase the fines for not wearing a seatbelt has been approved by the House. New Orleans Representative Walt Leger says the current fine of $25 is one of the lowest in the country, and even with an increase to $50 for a first offense, the fine is still lower than many other states.

Cut 5 (08) “higher fine”

The measure passed on a 62-34 vote and now moves to the Senate.

The 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season should be near-average, according to the forecast team at Colorado State University. Research scientist Phil Klozbach says they predict there will be about 12 named storms.

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He says their next forecast will be out June 1, which is the day hurricane season begins.

At Camp Minden in Webster Parish, the Louisiana National Guard successfully conducted their first test burn of 88 pounds of M6 propellant. Colonel Pete Schneider says they’ll increase the amount over the next 30 days until they reach the full capacity of about 800 pounds. He thinks it will take a year to burn all the propellant that was improperly stored by Explo Systems.

Cut 6 (07) “M6 free”

The House approved a measure to double the fine for not wearing a seatbelt. The fines would go up to $50 for a first offense, then to $75 for additional offenses. New Orleans Representative Walt Leger says this increase will save both money and lives.

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The bill now heads to the Senate.

A proposal that would prevent the removal of confederate monuments dies in a House committee. Shreveport Representative Sam Jenkins opposed the bill because it would not allow local governments to decide what they want to do with their own property.

Cut 11 (11) “for me”

The 7-7 vote was not enough to get the bill out of committee.

The first test to burn M6 propellant has been successfully conducted by the Louisiana National Guard at Camp Minden in Webster Parish. Colonel Pete Schneider says they’re safely monitoring the system to ensure the 15 million pounds of explosives are safely burned. He says EPA standards must be met throughout the disposal process.

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Camp Minden took control of the M6 in 2012 after the propellant started randomly exploding because it was illegally stored.

According to the forecast team at Colorado State University, the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season should be near-average. Research scientist Phil Klotzbach says their next forecast will be out the day hurricane season begins on June 1st. He says the probability of a major hurricane, which is cat 3-5, hitting the Gulf Coast is about 30%…:

cut 15 (06) “of a major hurricane” 

The forecast team at Colorado State University predicts 12 named storms for the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season. Lead author of the report, Research scientist Phil Klotzbach, says the El Nino is dissipating which is why they are forecasting a more active season than in 2015, but northern Atlantic Ocean temperatures are still cooler than average…:
cut 14 (09) “average hurricane season”

Legislation to prevent the removal of confederate monuments died in a House committee today. The bill would create a statewide board to decide if a monument more than 30 years old should be removed. Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says even though the state has a dark history, the only way to have a brighter future is to learn from past mistakes.
cut 10 (07) “the truth”

Carmody’s bill failed on a 7-7 vote.

The Louisiana National Guard at Camp Minden in Webster Parish has successfully burned 88 pounds of M6 Propellant. Col. Pete Schneider says it’ll take about a year to burn all 15 million pounds of the propellant. He says it took 4-thousand engineering design hours to build the chamber, that will burn the explosives.
CUT 7 (10) “done safely”

Camp Minden took control of the M6 in 2012 after the propellant started randomly exploding because it was illegally stored.

Legislation to double the fine for not wearing a seatbelt has been approved by the House. The fines would increase to $50 for a first offense and then to $75 for additional offenses. New Orleans Representative Walt Leger says increasing the fine should drive up the number of motorists who wear a seatbelt.
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A proposal that would prevent local governments from removing confederate monuments without a waiver from a state board fails to get enough support from a House committee. Halen Doughty has more…:
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A measure that would allocate 7% of medical marijuana sales to the state ag department cleared it’s first hurdle out of committee today and heads to the House floor. The bill lists fees that would be charged to the state sanctioned medical marijuana grower. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says he needs new money otherwise he wouldn’t be able to pay for required inspections, lab testing and over site that is mandated in the medical marijuana law.

A bill to increase the fine for not wearing a seat belt has been approved by the House. The fines would go up to $50 for a first offense and then to $75 for additional offenses. New Orleans Representative Walt Leger says the current $25 fine is one of the lowest in the country. He says even with this increase, the penalty is still far lower than other states…:
CUT 5 (08) “higher fine”
The measure passed on a 62-34 vote and now moves to the Senate.

The forecast team at Colorado State University calls for the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season to be near-average. Research scientist Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the report, says they predict there will be 12 named storms…:
CUT 13 (09) “hurricane season”
He says the El Nino is dissipating, but northern Atlantic Ocean temperatures are cooler than average which can cause conditions unfavorable for the development of hurricanes.