It’s day number one for early voting in the state, and many folks were already in line when the doors opened at 8:30 this morning. Besides the big Senate race, Secretary of State Tom Schedler says there are over 24 hundred positions on the ballots and over 44 hundred candidates. As for how people are voting, one woman we talked with said…

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Early voting continues until next Tuesday, except Sunday.

Louisiana is adding jobs, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released today. From September 2013 to 2014, the Bayou State seasonal employment grew by over 33 thousand and in the private sector; almost 39 thousand new jobs, making that growth rate 2.4 percent.

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The Department of Education has announced the state public schools’ report card, with an increase of “A’s” from 187 last year to 241 this year. Superintendent of Education John White says it’s good news, since the department is about to raise the performance bar…

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This year, there were no school districts receiving an F.

A ULM freshman basketball player has been suspended indefintely from the team, after an alleged rape of a female student Sunday night. University spokesperson Donna Bernard says police interviewed the alleged victim the next day…

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That player charged is 18 year-old Roderick Taylor.

Early voting has begun and many Louisianians were in line at the 8:30am opening.
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The honor roll for schools is growing. There are now 241 schools earning a state performance grade of “A;” and that’s up from 187 from last year. State Superintendent John White says he’s impressed with the high school results…

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There’s been an arrest of a ULM freshman basketball player for allegedly raping a female student he had arranged to meet online…

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That’s University spokesperson Donna Bernard, who says the alleged incident occurred Sunday night.

A third man involved in the 2010 murder of Rayville Police Sergeant Thomas Alexander has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the case. Anthony Oatis was sentence to 21 years in prison for his involvement…

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That’s District Attorney Mack Lancaster. The other two men-Richard Long and Robert Walker- are both serving life sentences. Long for first degree murder; Walker for second degree murder.

The number of Louisiana Public Schools earning a state performance grade of an A has gone up from 187 to 241 this year, according to the Department of Education. Eric Gill reports…:
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The woman killed in the French Quarter Sunday morning after a drunk driver crashed into a pole that fell on her, has been identified as 21-year-old Taylor McGonigle from the East Baton Rouge Parish town of Baker. The driver, 37-year-old Tevest Vance has been charged with vehicular homicide. McGonigle would have turned 22 on Monday.

A freshman ULM basketball player is under arrest for allegedly raping a female student he’d arranged to meet online. University spokeswoman Donna Bernard says the alleged incident occurred Sunday night after they were told 18-year-old Roderick Taylor talked to the female student on a social media site…:
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Taylor is charged with forcible rape and has been suspended from the basketball team indefinitely.

Many Louisianians have already cast their ballot for the November 4th election as early voting kicked off today. These voters we spoke with say the big one for them is the US-Senate race…:
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Early voting runs through next Tuesday but polls are closed Sunday.

The number of Louisiana Public Schools earning a state performance grade of an A has gone up from 187 to 241 this year, according to the Department of Education. Education officials released the reports earlier today. Superintendent John White says numbers are up because schools are responding to what they have been asked to achieve…:
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This year’s school report card also shows 10 Louisiana school districts earning an A and no school districts in the state receiving an F grade.

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s office says an arrest has been made in the October 11th hit and run that left a 6 month old child injured after a truck rammed into a house. They say 28-year-old Dustin Wayne Lasseter was the owner of a vehicle spotted Monday with damage that matched evidence collected at the scene. The man was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center for hit and run and reckless operation.

Former President Bill Clinton tells a crowd of Mary Landrieu supporters in Louisiana yesterday he doesn’t see how the senior senator is not a clear favorite in the state’s US Senate race over her republican challengers. Clinton says Landrieu has a history of getting things done…:
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Early voting began this morning for the November 4th election and members of both parties are working hard to get out the vote for this massive Louisiana ballot with important races and issues. Polls are open through October 28th, excluding Sunday, and are open from 8:30am-6pm.

Early voting is underway as of today and people started lining up at the 8:30am opening to cast their ballot for the November 4th election. The Secretary of State’s Office is calling this the biggest election Louisiana has had in decades and these voters we spoke with today told us why they prefer to early vote…:
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To find out where you can early vote download the Geaux Vote app.

ULM Athletic Director Brian Wickstrom says the freshman basketball player who is charged with the forcible rape of a female student is suspended indefinitely from the team. Officials with the university say 18-year-old Roderick Taylor allegedly arranged on social media to meet the victim in a parking lot on campus where she reported the incident took place. Taylor is booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center.

Officials say a third man involved in the 2010 murder of Rayville Police Sergeant Thomas Alexander has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the case. Alexander was killed while responding to a burglary at a home in Richland Parish. District Attorney Mack Lancaster says they are glad to have a third plea in this case…:
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Previously, Richard Long pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Robert Walker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Both are serving life sentences.

State Education Officials have released the performance grades for Louisiana public schools and while there are no longer anymore F districts according to the report, there are 104 F schools. The DOE says the good news is that schools earning an A or B has gone up from 575 a year ago to 607 this year.

You can cast your ballots early for the November 4th election now and through October 28th. The hours are 8:30am to 6pm, excluding Sunday. The Secretary of State’s office says this is the biggest election Louisiana has had in decades and you can bring a set sample ballot with you to the polls with the app GeauxVote (geaux spelled the cajun way.)

There was a big rally for US Senator Mary Landrieu Monday staring former President Bill Clinton…:
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The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s office says a 20-year-old sprinter on LSU’s track team was arrested for allegedly raping a woman at an off-campus party over the weekend. They say Nathaneel Joseph Mitchell-Black was booked into prison and remained in jail Monday afternoon on a $100,000 bail after a woman reported the alleged incident to cops. The suspect denies the allegation.

The Louisiana Heroin Summit hosted by State Police is underway today with the purpose of addressing the recent rise in heroin use and overdose deaths from the drug here. Trooper Jared Sandifer says they encourage the public to attend the all day event at BREC Independence Park in Baton Rouge as heroin is a huge problem and it’s important to sit down and address it…:
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He says in Louisiana last year there were at least 310 heroin-related arrests which is significantly higher than the year prior.

The early voting period for the November 4th election kicks off today and runs through October 28th. Michelle Southern reports…

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A University of Louisiana at Monroe freshman basketball player has been arrested on a charge of forcible rape. Authorities say 18-year-old Roderick Taylor, Jr. was taken into custody after allegedly raping a victim on campus who he arranged to meet with online. Taylor has been suspended indefinitely from the basketball team.

Louisiana State Police and several other agencies will host a “Heroin Summit” today to educate the public about the increase of heroin use in Louisiana. Trooper Jared Sandifer says last year there were at least 310 heroin-related arrests made by LSP and law enforcement agencies across the state…

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The event is being held at the BREC Independence Park Theatre and the public is urged to participate.

Two St. John the Baptist Parish utilities workers have been indicted for falsifying records that lead to the discovery of a deadly amoeba in the parish’s drinking water supply in August. Kurt Wall with the state Attorney General’s office says the parish government is fully cooperating and taking corrective steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen again…

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Kevin Branch of LaPlace and Danielle Roussel of Pauline were each charged with one count of malfeasance in office and one count of filing and/or maintaining false public records.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke at a campaign rally for Senator Mary Landrieu in Baton Rouge Monday. During a nearly 30-minute speech, Clinton spoke about Landrieu’s efforts to help college students afford their education, her support for a higher minimum wage and chairmanship of the Senate Energy Committee…

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Election day is November fourth, but early voting begins today. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says for sample ballots and early voting locations, you can go online to geauxvote-dot-com. Schedler says he expects a voter turnout between 45 and 50-percent for this US Senate election…

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Early voting will take place through October 28th from 8:30AM to 6PM, excluding Sunday.

Louisiana State Police and several other agencies will host a “Heroin Summit” today to educate the public about heroin use and address the recent rise in heroin deaths. Michelle Southern reports…

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The woman killed in the French Quarter Sunday morning after a drunk driver crashed into a pole that fell on her, has been identified. The victim has been identified as 21-year-old Taylor McGonigle of Baker. The driver, 37-year-old Tevest Vance has been charged with vehicular homicide. McGonigle would have turned 22 on Monday.