There are reports that some families are opting out from having their child take standardized tests that are part of Common Core because they feel those tests will be harmful to their children. Chairman of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Chas Roemer, says the new standardized tests are more rigorous than previous ones, but it will help determine a student’s strength and weakness…

cut 8 (09) “their student”

Roemer is encouraging parents to have their child take the test in March.

Many are waiting to see if democratic New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will get in the governor’s race. Jeremy Alford, publisher of la-politics-dot-com, says Landrieu only has about 40-thousand dollars in campaign money in the bank, so if he’s getting in, he’ll need to make a decision soon…

cut 13 (06) “wanted too”

Alford says some Democratic operatives say Landrieu will pass on the governor’s race.

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center plans to provide doctors in Louisiana with proven strategies which would reduce and treat childhood obesity. Project lead, Dr. Amanda Staiano, says they have fantastic national recommendations on how to treat obesity and screen for it in clinics, but they find many physicians aren’t using them…

cut 5 (12) “and families”

Staiano says they have over 2,000 hard copies of the toolkit they plan to distribute throughout the state.

If you are interested in health reports for local restaurants, there’s now an app for that. It’s called “What the Health” and co-creator Jake Van Dyke of Modern Appsolutions says the app is very user friendly…

cut 10 (08) “recent inspection”

Louisiana is one of just eight states, along with Washington DC, serviced by the app. The app is free and available for both Android and iPhones.

The New England Patriots overcame a 10 point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 last night in Super Bowl 49. Former LSU wide receiver Brandon Lafell caught four passes, including one for a touchdown, as he earned his first Super Bowl ring. Louisiana Tech alum, punter Ryan Allen, who averaged 49 yards a punt in the game, also picked up his first ring. This is New England’s fourth NFL championship in franchise history.

Anthony Davis could be back in the Pelicans’ starting linup tonight as they face the red-hot Atlanta Hawks. Davis sat out Friday night’s 108-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers with a groin strain. The Pels could use Davis tonight as the Hawks have won a franchise record 19 straight and have not tasted defeat since December 26th. Tipoff in the Smoothie King Center is scheduled for 7PM.

In college hoops over the weekend. Mississippi State dropped LSU 73-67. The Tigers fall to 5-3 in SEC play.

In the Sun Belt, ULM got past South Alabama 67-61 and UL-Lafayette defeated Texas State 72-63. ULM remains in a tie for second in the league, a half-game behind Georgia Southern.

In the Southland, Incarnate Word beat Nicholls State 69-58, McNeese State got past UNO 68-61, and Northwestern State blew past Southeastern Lousiana 88-73.

In Conference USA, Louisiana Tech improves to 8-1 in league play after their 81-57 win over the Thundering Heard of Marshall. The Bulldogs remain tied with Western Kentucky atop the conference standings.

And in the American Conference, Temple trounced Tulane 55-37.

Amid reports that some families are opting out from having their child take standardized tests that are part of Common Core, the chairman of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Chas Roemer, is encouraging parents to have their child take the test in March…

CUT 7 (12) “weaknesses”

Governor Bobby Jindal has issued an executive order that calls on BESE to have an alternate test for those students who opt-out of the Common Core exam.

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center launches an initiative to provide doctors in Louisiana with proven strategies which would reduce and treat obesity in children. The project is lead by Dr. Amanda Staiano (stye-an-no) who says the Child Obesity Treatment Toolkit helps primary care physicians determine who’s at risk for obesity…:

cut 4 (05) “in clinic settings”

Staiano says childhood obesity is a very serious issue in Louisiana with half of our kids being overweight or obese.

There is a new, free app for your smart phone that puts the health reports for local restaurants at your fingertips. The app is called “What the Health” and is the brain-child of Chris Peoples and Jake Van Dyke of Modern Appsolutions. Van Dyke says the app will show you a letter and number grade for each restaurant along with any actual violations they received during their last inspection…

cut 11 (09) “the salad stuff”

“What the Health” will give you a list of the 100 restaurants nearest to you. The app is available for both iPhone and Android phones.