The House Ways and Means Committee approves three different bills that would cap the state’s film tax credit program anywhere from 150 to 223 million dollars a year. Alexandria Representative Lance Harris, who authors one of the bills, says with state facing big budget cuts to higher ed and health care, it’s time to put restraints on a program that costs the state 256 million dollars this year…:
CUT 6 (06) “do it now”
The measures now head to the House floor.

In the latest campaign finance numbers for Louisiana’s governor’s race, US Senator David Vitter has $4.2 million cash on hand, more than the other three candidates combined. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says the other candidates have a long way to go.
CUT 12 (08) “to bring in”

Entergy crews are working to restore power to customers after yesterday’s violent storms that ripped through south Louisiana. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

Entergy says about 90 percent of Louisiana customers should have power restored by tonight. The National Weather Service reported its survey crew did confirm that one tornado hit near Pierre Part and another near Napoleonville in Assumption Parish.

The American Red Cross says Monday’s bad storms should remind us to be prepared for anything and they have a brand new app that does just that. They say the free Red Cross Emergency App provides instant access to weather and emergency alerts and life saving information.

Still without power? Entergy spokesman Will Johnson says after yesterday’s terrible storms in south Louisiana, they are optimistic with the current weather conditions that crews can get even more customers back…:
CUT 4 (08) “as we can (2x)”
He says at least 176,000 customers lost power yesterday but they are now at just under 70,000 still in the dark.

Authorities in St. Tammany Parish say the woman who was shot in the head allegedly by her ex-boyfriend then drove herself to the hospital is going to survive. Sheriff Jack Strain says they believe 56-year-old Ronald Brown of Pearl River broke into victim’s home and waited for her to arrive…:
CUT 13 (12) “in the head”
The woman is going to survive. Brown faces many charges including attempted first degree murder.

In Louisiana’s governor’s race, US Senator David Vitter has $4.2 million cash on hand, more than the other three candidates combined. Jeff Palermo has more…:
CUT 2 (28) “reporting”

Gas prices keep creeping up. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular is now $2.31 which is up nearly 10 cents from this time last month.

Entergy crews are working to restore power to customers after yesterday’s violent storms rocked south Louisiana. Spokesman Will Johnson says the severe weather caused major damage to the company’s power grid. He says crews have been making progress since the weather calmed down…:
CUT 3 (09) “yesterday’s storm”
He says additional crews are coming in to help with restoration efforts.

A lengthy debate is underway at the Capitol regarding a bill that would eventually do away with the state’s film tax credits. The author of the legislation is Alexandria Representative Lance Harris who says the movie subsidy has gotten way out of control…:
CUT 8 (10) “million dollars”
Opponents say the bill would destory Louisiana’s movie industry.

In the latest campaign finance numbers in Louisiana’s governor’s race, US Senator David Vitter has $4.2 million dollars cash on hand, more than the other three candidates combined. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says this has to be disappointing to Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle and Representative John Bel Edwards…:
CUT 10 (10) “dose of reality”
Dardenne announced $1.8 million, while Angelle has $1.2 million and Edwards $894,000.

State Wildlife officials say they are looking for a missing boater in Bayou Manchac who disappeared Monday when his boat sank. They say 24-year-old Allen Fitzgerald of Prairieville was with a friend who was able to swim away when the vessel started taking in water but there was no sign of Fitzgerald. Authorities in Ascension Parish resumed the search at daylight.

The US Supreme court hears arguments today over whether same sex couples have the right to get married. Attorney Kyle Duncan has been hired by the state AG’s office to make Louisiana’s case in the social debate. He says this huge political issue should not be handled in the courts as it would be a huge change to Louisiana’s family law…:
CUT 7 (09) “marriage”
But Equality Louisiana calls this a no-brainer case of people who aren’t being treated fairly under the law.

Entergy says they are still feverishly working to quickly restore power following the violent storm that hit south Louisiana Monday. They say there is severe damage to their grid and there are still about 81,000 people without power down from the high of 176,000 customers in the dark yesterday. They are urging people to download Entergy’s mobile app to access outage maps and other importation information.

After all of the recent bad storms we’ve been dealing with in Louisiana, The American Red Cross wants you to know about a new app which helps you to prepare for severe weather. Scott Carwile reports…:
CUT 3 (27) “reporting”

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office says a woman who was shot in the head by her boyfriend was able to drive herself to the hospital Monday evening. The man is identified as 56-year-old Ronald Anthony Brown and he’s charged with attempted murder. Hospital staff say the woman’s injuries do not appear to be life threatening.

A bill that would eventually phase out the state’s film tax credit program will be heard today in the House Ways and Means Committee. Michelle Southern reports…:

cut 2 (30) “reporting”

Cleanup continues across south Louisiana after yesterday’s round of severe weather. The storms left downed trees and power lines all across the region and thousands are without power. Entergy estimates that over 80,000 customers statewide remain without power this morning. They say crews are working to restore power and additional crews are arriving to assist. The company says outages could last up to 72 hours for customers in the hardest hit areas.

The US Supreme court hears arguments today over whether same sex couples have the right to get married. Matthew Patterson with Equality Louisiana says this is not just a matter of recognition and social standing but it’s a concrete case of people who are not being treated fairly under the law. He says he is ecstatic that this case is finally being heard…

cut 5 (11) “law of the land”

Attorney Kyle Duncan, who has been hired to represent the state AG’s office in this case, says this is a huge political issue that should not be handled in the courts.

The Baton Rouge Police Department says they still have no suspects in the case of the pregnant woman who was found shot dead in her apartment. Corporal Don Copolla says they believe 29 year old Brittney Mills opened her door to someone she likely knew…

cut 15 (06) “she was shot”

Copolla says Mills, who was about 8 months pregnant, died at the scene. Doctors were able to deliver the baby who is expected to survive.

The US Supreme court hears arguments today over whether same sex couples have the right to get married. Michelle Southern reports…

cut 1 (30) “reporting”

The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested an Alexandria man accused of smothering a baby. They say the mother alleges she saw her boyfriend, Kentel Myles, holding a pillow over the toddler’s face when she returned to the room with a bottle for the baby. The woman grabbed the child, ran away, and called 9-1-1. Myles was arrested and charged with one count of attempted first degree murder. The baby was uninjured in the incident.

Louisiana’s film tax credit program will be discussed by lawmakers today as legislation that would essentially phase out the motion picture benefits is set to be taken up in the House Ways and Means committee. House Bill 276 is by Alexandria Representative Lance Harris who says this program is costing taxpayers way too much money…

cut 9 (09) “on its own”

Opponents to the measure say this will do nothing to fix the 2015-16 budget since tax credits are already in the pipeline.

The American Red Cross wants you to know about a new app which helps you to prepare for severe weather. Spokeswoman Nancy Malone says the Red Cross Emergency App covers 14 types of disasters including tornado, flood and severe thunderstorms and also lets you customize more than 35 emergency alerts for yourself and where loved ones live…

cut 14 (08) “allows you to do”

The app is free and available for Android and iPhone devices.

Legislation that would essentially phase out Louisiana’s film tax credit program will be talked about by lawmakers today in the House Ways and Means committee. Alexandria Representative Lance Harris’s proposal would put a $50 million dollar cap on the program next fiscal year then completely stop issuing credits in 2019. Celtic Studios Executive Director Patrick Mulhearn says this is not the answer to fixing the budget…

cut 10 (09) “squeezing blood from a turnip”

Harris says the movie subsidy has gotten way out of control.

The Baton Rouge Police Department says they still have no suspects in the case of 29-year-old Brittney Mills, who was found shot dead in her apartment. Corporal Don Copolla says Mills, who was about 8 months pregnant, was shot several times and died on the scene. He says they raced the victim to the hospital…

cut 16 (06) “to survive”

He says Mills opened her door to someone she likely knew when she was shot.

Arguments over whether same sex couples have the right to get married will be heard in the US Supreme Court today. Attorney Kyle Duncan, who has been hired to represent the state AG’s office in this case, doesn’t think the state’s judiciary should be the ones to decide such a massive issue…

cut 6 (09) “or not”

Those who support same-sex marriage say this is a concrete case of people who are not being treated fairly under the law.

In light of the recent bad storms we’ve dealt with in Louisiana, The American Red Cross wants you to know about a new app which helps you to prepare for severe weather. Spokeswoman Nancy Malone says the free Red Cross Emergency App provides instant access to weather and emergency alerts, life saving information and also lets you connect with family and friends…

cut 13 (08) “their direction”

The app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.

The number one ranked LSU Tigers are back on the baseball diamond tonight to host Alcorn State. The Bayou Bengals have had a lot of success against schools from the SWAC over the years. But Coach Paul Mainieri says LSU needed extra innings to beat Southern earlier this year and had trouble beating Alcorn last year…

cut 17 (17) “baseball”

LSU is coming off an emotional series in which they won two of three from second ranked Texas A-and-M.

It’s reported that the Pelicans are offering star forward Anthony Davis a max deal which would be a five-year, 140-million dollar contract. Davis still has one year remaining on his rookie contract that will pay him $7 million next season. Head coach Monty Williams is scheduled to meet with the media this morning.

The Ragin Cajuns are one of the hottest baseball teams in Louisiana. UL Lafayette is on a six game winning streak. The Cajuns are now just a half game back of Georgia State for first place in the Sun Belt Conference. U-L-L looks to make it seven in a row when they face Nicholls State this evening.

Southeastern Louisiana’s Jacob Seward has been named Southland Hitter of the Week. Seward was 11-for-16 at the plate last week, including a five-for-five performance against Houston Baptist. He has a 22-game hitting streak, which ties a school record. The Lions remain in first place in the Southland Conference and will take on Tulane today.

Also UNO is at Jackson State, Grambling is at Mississippi Valley State, and Stephen F. Austin is at Louisiana Tech.

In college football…Louisiana Tech released its post-spring depth chart and it lists Jeff Driskel or Ryan Higgins as the number one quarterback for the Bulldogs.