Legislation to soften the penalties for those convicted multiple times for marijuana possession continue to make progress in the legislature…
cut 2 (30) “…reporting”

Former US Senator Mary Landrieu has landed a new job; joining a Washington DC lobbying firm called Van Ness Feldman. Landrieu will be that firm’s senior policy advisor on energy, natural resources and infrastructure issues. Landrieu was beat out by Bill Cassidy in last year’s Senate race.
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A bill by a Houma lawmaker that would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference, has stalled in a Senate Judiciary Committee. Committee Chair New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says he couldn’t support the legislation by Representative Lenar White without evidence it’s a problem…
CUT 14 (09) Q: “timing of it”

With the severe weather rolling in the state earlier today, weather experts are pointing to El Nino as a major cause for the above average rainfall. State Cimatologest Barry Keim says the state has averaged about six inches of rain over the last month, but some isolated areas have gotten more…
CUT 10 (10) Q :’above normal’

A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The proposal by Representative Lenar Whitney would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference of the baby. The Houma lawmaker has argued that this is a problem in Asian communities where there is a preference for boys…:
CUT 12 (10) “you should vote no”
New Orleans Senator Karen Carter Peterson says she did not like the way Whitney worded that statement. The vote was 2-2 so the House approved measure will not go to the Senate floor for now.

New Orleans Senator JP Morrell’s bill to reduce prison time for repeat pot offenders was approved by the full Senate Monday. He says the legislation is not an attempt to legalize marijuana for recreational use…:
CUT 8 (07) “through the system”
There is a similar bill moving through the House.

There are still thousands residents without power throughout the state after a strong line of storms moved through last night. The majority of the outages are in southeast Louisiana which caught the brunt of the heavy rain, wind and lightning. Forecasters say the atmosphere is not stable and unfortunately more severe weather could be coming this week.

Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. Eric Gill as more…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

Another round of severe weather rolled through Louisiana earlier today and State Climatologist Barry Keim says more rain is coming. He says rainfall is in the forecast for the next several days. Keim says there is at least a 50-percent chance of rain each day for the rest of the week…:
CUT 9 (09) “kind of patterns”
Keim says the Tangipahoa Parish town of Tickfaw has received 10.8 inches of rain over the last month, five inches above normal.

A week into shrimp season local prices at the dock are plummeting. Clint Guidry, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association says some shrimpers are having trouble paying for expenses much less making a profit because of a massive increase in imported shrimp. He says there is one specific way consumers can help Louisiana shrimp…:
CUT 5 (06) “working fisherman”

A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The vote on the legislation by Houma Representative Lenar Whitney was 2-2.

Governor Bobby Jindal could be kept out of the first Republican debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. Fox News will host the debate in August and the network requires contenders to be in the top 10 in an average of five national polls leading up to the event. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says with Jindal in jeopardy of making the cut, he’ll try to get the attention of party activists…:
CUT 1 (10) “legislation”

Legislation to soften the penalties for those convicted multiple times for marijuana possession continues to make progress in the legislature. Jeff Palermo has more…:
CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

Power is slowly being restored throughout the state after thousands of residents woke up in the dark this morning on the heels of a strong line of storms that moved through Louisiana overnight. The storms produced frequent lightning, gusty winds and heavy rain and meteorologists say there could be more wet weather on the way especially this afternoon.

It’s being reported that former US Senator Mary Landrieu is joining a lobbying firm in Washington advising on public policy and regulatory issues dealing mostly with energy, natural resources and infrastructure.

Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. One shrimper says he’s getting 55-cents per pound for his catch, compared to $2 a year ago. Clint Guidry, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, on the major contributing to the drop in price…:
CUT 3 (05) “over 50-percent”
The dramatic drop in the price of shrimp is making it difficult for fishermen to pay expenses, much less make a profit.

For a fourth straight season, LSU is a national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which will get underway when the Tigers host Lehigh University on Friday. The other two teams in the Baton Rouge regional are UNC-Wilmington and Tulane. UL Lafayette has made it to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season. The Ragin Cajuns received an automatic bid after winning the Sun Belt Tournament and the play Rice on Friday.

Louisiana has some of the harshest marijuana possession penalties in the country, but two bills are moving through the legislature that seek to reduce prison times for repeat offenders. Similar efforts to reduce possession penalties failed in the past, but New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says this year, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association and the Louisiana District Attorney Association do not oppose the legislation:
CUT 6 (10) “moving forward”
The House has also approved a bill that reduces pot penalties.

The Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s office says two men from Lafayette died while swimming in Lake Arthur park Monday afternoon. They say 23-year-old DeKeithan Dugas and 24-year-old Keylon Lambert were racing each other the water when they went under. Authorities recovered the bodies after a near 4 hour search. The incident is under investigation.

There are thousands of power outages throughout the state after a strong line of thunderstorms moved through overnight. Most Louisianians slept right through it but the National Weather Service did confirm a tornado touched down in Kenner. Strong winds downed multiple trees and power lines — there are no reported injuries at this time.

The state Department of Transportation continues to gather feedback from motorists on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 3 (30) “reporting”

New graduates are hitting the workforce and Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says their outlook for landing a job is good. Jeff Palermo reports…

cut 1 (30) “reporting”

Authorities say the body of a teenager who went missing while swimming at Grand Isle State Park has been recovered. They say 16-year-old Travon William Robertson’s body was discovered Monday afternoon. Robertson’s mother says he was pulled beneath the waves by the undertow while swimming with friends. Robertson was a freshman football player at Ponchatoula High School last year.

Because of low poll numbers, Governor Bobby Jindal could be kept out of the first Republican debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. Fox News will host the debate and is limiting participation to the top 10 candidates based on polling data. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says if the field of candidates gets smaller, Jindal may have a chance to move up in the polls…

cut 9 (11) “in the party”

The debate is scheduled for August 6th.

The state Department of Transportation’s online survey to gather feedback from motorists on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved continues through the end of the month. Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says DOTD believes there needs to be public backing and input to address this issue…

cut 12 (10) “would be happy”

The survey’s available at i10br-dot-com.

It appears Governor Bobby Jindal has some work to do, if he wants to be included the first 2016 Republican presidential debate. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 2 (30) “reporting”

The governor’s Commissioner of Administration, Kristy Nichols, told members of the Senate Finance Committee that the budget approved by the House is $155 million short when it comes to funding needs, mostly in public health care services. Over the next couple of weeks, the Senate will have the opportunity to determine how they may want to deal with the shortfall. Any changes to the budget will go back to the House, where it’s likely a conference committee will sort out any differences.

As new graduates hit the workforce, Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says the job market in Louisiana looks as good as it’s looked in 20 years. He adds that success in the job market will vary from person to person depending on what their degree is in. Eysink also has a bit of advice for those who are still in school…

cut 6 (11) “they get out”

Eysink says the job market in Louisiana is projected to stay strong through 2022.

The state Department of Transportation encourages people to take an online survey on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says the survey is just one part of gathering people’s input on what should be done to the I-10 corridor…

cut 11 (10) “community-wide input”

You can take the survey at i10br-dot-com through the end of the month.

Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says the job market in Louisiana looks as good as it’s looked in 20 years as new graduates hit the workforce. He says the job market in business and computer related fields are particularly strong, right now. Eysink says those exiting community colleges are also in demand…

cut 5 (06) “hot right now”

He adds that success in the job market will vary from person to person depending on what their degree is in.

Governor Bobby Jindal could be left out of the first Republican debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. In recent presidential polls, Jindal has finished near the bottom, and getting about one-percent in most of the surveys. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says despite numbers, it will be difficult for Fox to leave someone like Jindal out of their debate…

cut 8 (04) “typically like”

Fox News will host the debate in August and the network requires contenders to be in the top 10 in an average of five national polls leading up to the event.

The state Department of Transportation continues to gather feedback from motorists on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says more than 6,000 people have taken the survey thus far, but would like to see those numbers climb…

cut 10 (08) “more input”

People can go online to i10br-dot-com and take the survey through the end of the month.

The Baton Rouge Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament gets underway Friday. Host LSU will face Lehigh University, then Tulane takes on UNC-Wilmington. If the Green Wave and LSU win on Friday, they’ll face each other Saturday night. LSU Shortstop Alex Bregman would love to see that match-up…

cut 15 (13) “cool deal”

LSU comes into the regional as the number two national seed.