Officials with the “Hollywood South” movie industry are apprehensive about changes made by the Senate Finance Committee to a bill that reforms the film tax credit program. The committee lowered the cap for film tax credits from $200 million to $180 million. Louisiana film industry consultant, Sherri McConnell, says this causes concern about projects already in the pipeline, as well as the future growth of the industry…:
CUT 9 (09) “increased production”
She says this is not promising legislation for the film industry on many levels.

State Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says there’s a greater possibility Governor Jindal will veto the budget, if a tax credit for higher education is NOT approved by the legislature. Barfield says the SAVE tax credit is needed to offset the revenue generating tax bills already approved by the House. The measure failed on a 10-9 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee, but was revived, when it was added to three different bills approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

Legislation that would put spending restrictions on the TOPS scholarship program is headed to Governor Bobby Jindal’s desk. The Governor’s office is not saying whether or not the measure will get the veto pen although they have expressed objection to major changes to the TOPS scholarship program in the past.

The Louisiana National Guard says pilot error was the cause of the fatal Black Hawk helicopter crash off the Florida coast in March. Col Pete Schneider with LANG says the pilots got spatial disorientation which was due to them failing to transition from visual flight procedures to instrument flight as a thick sea of fog rolled into the training area…:
CUT 4 (07) “of the accident”
Four Louisiana National Guardsmen and seven Marines were killed in the crash.

The Louisiana National Guard says an investigation has determined the cause of the Black Hawk Helicopter crash which claimed the lives of four local guardsman and 7 Marines in March was pilot error. Col Pete Schneider with LANG says spatial disorientation of both pilots caused them to lose control of the aircraft…:
CUT 3 (10) “off of instruments”
He says an important part of this investigation is to share what happened so that tragic accidents like this can be prevented in the future.

Grambling State University has narrowed its Presidential search down to two candidates. It will either be Gilbert Rochon, who serves on the President’s Council at UNO, or Willie Larkin, who works as chief of staff for the President of Morgan State University. The final interviews are taking place at this hour and a new president of GSU will be announced this afternoon.

The rising waters of the Red River are causing some Caddo and Bossier Parish residents to be driven from their homes. Floodwaters are approaching some neighborhoods and those residents are being encouraged to evacuate. Marty Mayeaux, with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, says the river is continuing to swell…:
CUT 6 (07) “Saturday evening”
NWS says this is the first time the river has reached flood stage in Shreveport in 25 years.

A deputy with the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office is under arrest after being found with a large amount of marijuana in his vehicle. State Police Sgt. James Anderson says investigators searched the truck of 28-year-old Derek Nothnagel of Lake Charles and ended up finding about 18 pounds of marijuana in a duffle bag. He says Nothnagel faces numerous charges…
cut 15 (08) “inspection decal”
Nothnagel was fired from his job as a deputy.

A House committee votes against a key piece of legislation, called the SAVE tax credit. Scott Carwile explains why its so important to the budget negotiations…:
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The Louisiana National Guard has determined the cause of the Black Hawk Helicopter crash which claimed the lives of four guardsman and 7 Marines in March was pilot error. The report stated the investigation by the LANG and US Special Operations Command determined “spatial disorientation of both pilots caused them to lose control of the aircraft.

The state Department of Ag and Forestry says an avian bird flu brought in from Asia has claimed the lives of millions and millions of birds including hens which has caused an egg shortage. Commissioner Mike Strain says the price of shell eggs at the grocery store has nearly doubled since April. He believes these higher prices will stick around for about the next 6 months, but we’re not going to run out of eggs…:
CUT 6 (09) “they’re serving breakfast”
He says officials are working on a vaccine for this type of influenza.

The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office says four people are under arrest and two babies are now safe after a meth lab was discovered at a home in Abbeville near a school. Investigators arrived on the scene and noticed a strong smell clearly of meth production. A 2 year old and 1 year old were removed from the residence. The four face drug charges and more are pending.

The Louisiana National Guard says pilot error was the cause of the fatal Black Hawk helicopter crash off the Florida coast in March. They say the investigation determined that spatial disorientation of both pilots due to failing to effectively transition from visual to instrument flight procedures as thick fog rolled into the training area was the direct cause of the crash. Four Louisiana National Guardsmen and seven Marines were killed in the crash.

State Police say a Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy is under arrest after being found with about 18 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle. Sgt. James Anderson says 28-year-old Derek Nothnagel of Lake Charles was booked into the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center and bond was set at $27,300. He says this case is extremely disappointing…

cut 16 (07) “or not”

Nothnagel has been fired from his job as a deputy.

Legislation that would put spending restrictions on the TOPS scholarship program is now headed to Governor Jindal’s desk. Mandeville Senator Jack Donahue’s bill received final legislative approval on a 28-6 vote by the Senate Wednesday. Although Jindal opposes any major changes to TOPS, his office has not stated whether the governor will veto the measure.

The State Department of Agriculture and Forestry says the national egg shortage has caused the price to nearly double over the past couple of months. Michelle Southern reports..

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Legislation that would ease pot possession penalties in Louisiana is just a step away from Governor Bobby Jindal’s desk for his signature. Michelle Southern reports…

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Vermilion Parish narcotics agents arrested four people and rescued two babies after discovering a meth lab at an Abbeville home. When arriving at the home of Jody and Kimberly Wooten, authorities noticed a smell they immediately related to methamphetamine production. Agents discovered a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old inside the home and removed them. The Wootens and two others, Sondra Evans and Brittney Adkins, were arrested on drug charges.

State Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield believes there’s a greater chance Governor Jindal will veto the budget if a tax credit for higher education is NOT approved by lawmakers. The SAVE tax credit failed on a 10-9 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee. Barfield says this is an important piece of the puzzle to be able to get to a budget the governor would sign…

cut 9 (08) “out there”

However, last night the legislation was resurrected after being added to three different bills approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested nine people they believe are involved in a very complex residential burglary case targeting firearms and electronics. Lt. Tommy Carnline says the suspects were all connected in a stolen item for drugs scheme…

cut 12 (09) “narcotics”

He says most of the firearms stolen in this case have been recovered.

If a tax credit for higher education is NOT approved by the legislature, State Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says there’s a greater possibility Governor Jindal will veto the budget. The SAVE tax credit failed on a 10-9 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee. Chairman Joel Robideaux explained why some lawmakers are uncomfortable with the tax credit…

cut 8 (09) “that he signed”

Last night the measure was revived when it was added to three different bills approved by Senate Finance committee.

A deputy with the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office is under arrest after being found with a large amount of marijuana in his vehicle. State Police Sgt. James Anderson says investigators searched the truck of 28-year-old Derek Nothnagel of Lake Charles and ended up finding about 18 pounds of marijuana in a duffle bag. He says Nothnagel faces numerous charges…

cut 15 (08) “inspection decal”

Nothnagel was fired from his job as a deputy.

The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s office says they’ve made nine arrests of people they believe are involved in a very complex residential burglary case targeting firearms and electronics. Lt. Tommy Carnline says they’ve been investigating several daytime residential burglaries since mid April. He says it all came together this week and they were able to make the nine arrests on various ranging charges…

cut 11 (10) “of this case”

He says they were able to recover almost all of the stolen firearms in this case.

The national egg shortage due to an avian flu virus has caused the price to nearly double over the past couple of months according to the State Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says hey are trying to develop a vaccine for this type of influenza…

cut 5 (11) “commercial flocks”

He believes these higher prices will stick around for about the next 6 months.

State Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says there’s a greater possibility Governor Jindal will veto the budget, if a tax credit for higher education is NOT approved by the legislature. Barfield says the SAVE tax credit is needed to offset the revenue generating tax bills already approved by the House. He says without the legislation, cuts to higher ed may be needed to balance the budget…

cut 7 (09) “from here”

The measure failed on a 10-9 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee, but was revived, when it was added to three different bills approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

The State Department of Agriculture and Forestry says the national egg shortage has caused the price to nearly double over the past couple of months. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says an avian flu virus came into America from Asian migratory birds and we’ve lost about 44 million birds so far…

cut 4 (08) “hens that lay eggs”

Strain says many suppliers have had to go up on their egg prices, but officials are taking steps to get the situation under control.

State Police say a deputy with the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office is under arrest after being found with a large amount of marijuana in his vehicle. Sgt. James Anderson says, on I-10 in Sulphur, troopers stopped a truck driven by 28-year-old Derek Nothnagel of Lake Charles for a traffic violation…

cut 14 (10) “inside the vehicle”

Anderson says investigators searched the truck and ended up finding about 18 pounds of marijuana in a duffle bag. He says Nothnagel faces several charges and has been fired from his job as a deputy.