Early voting kicked off today for Louisiana’s March 5th Presidential Preference Primary. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says Democrats must choose a Democrat and Republicans choose a Republican, but everyone should vote in local elections. He says early voting runs through next Saturday…:
CUT 1 (07) “early voting”
He says the polls will be closed on Sunday.

Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. LSU professor Jessica Lacher Feldman was the Director of Special Collections at the University of Alabama, where Lee would speak to students once a year. She says Lee’s novel resonated deeply with many people…:
CUT 6 (10) “the world”

The last member of the Angola three was released from prison Friday. Albert Woodfox plead no contest to the manslaughter and aggravated burglary charges he’s facing in the death of a 1972 prison guard. Woodfox has spent most of his prison life in solitary confinement. Attorney General Jeff Landry says they will NOT seek to try Woodfox for a third time.

The LSU baseball Tigers came back on two occasions late in the game to beat Cincinnati 6-5 in 12 innings. Baton Rouge native Jordan Romero had the game winning hit in his first game in an LSU uniform. Chris Blair had the call on the LSU Sports Radio Network….
CUT 2 (11) “Tigers win”
The Ragin Cajuns celebrated a walk-off win in Lafayette. Northwestern State won in 11 innings over Alabama State 1-0.

Dozens of students marched to the state capitol in efforts to protest the proposed cuts to higher education to offset the massive budget deficit. A graduate of Nicholls State University and LSU, Peter Jenkins, attended the Save our Schools rally to make legislators pay attention and stop these drastic measures…:
cut 12 (08) “focusing on”
Students chanted in efforts to oppose future cuts to higher education…:
cut 15 (11) “no future”

One of the men suspected of killing an Angola prison guard decades ago pleaded no contest to lesser charges Friday and was ordered to be released from prison. 69-year-old Albert Woodfox is the last of the Angola Three still incarcerated.

The ACLU of Louisiana responds to the latest rather aggressive Crime Stoppers viral video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins looking for wanted Gremlins Gang members. Emelie Gunn reports..:
CUT 1 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

A new poll from Invest in a Healthy Louisiana and Public Opinion Strategies finds increasing the tobacco tax is favored by seven out of 10 voters. Pollster Glen Bolger says the survey polled 500 likely Louisiana voters and many people are opposed to hikes in the state’s income, sales or property taxes, but favor an increase to the state’s tobacco tax..:
CUT 9 (07) “strongly favor”

The last of Angola three has been released from prison. 69-year-old Albert Woodfox walked out of the East Feliciana Parish Jail as a free man for the first time in more than 42 years. Woodfox was an inmate back in 1972 when he and two others were accused of stabbing a prison guard to death. They became known as the Angola 3. Woodfox withdrew his previous “not guilty” pleas and pleaded “no contest” to manslaughter & aggravated burglary. The judge allowed his immediate release due to time served.

Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. Halen Doughty reports…:
CUT 2 (20) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The ACLU of Louisiana has responded to the latest Crime Stoppers video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins that now has over 15 million views.
Higgins is looking for wanted members of the Gremlins Gang and says they each have a $2500 bounty on their head. ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie Esman…:
CUT 3 (06) “summary execution”
Esman feels like all this does is exacerbate the problem of a public who feels cops are the bad guys.

In another blow to Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson, his estranged daughter has taken over their family’s estate in Texas. This was under a settlement agreement approved by a judge. Benson cut his heirs out of his will when the feud began, and a settlement on the lawsuit over the ownership of the sports franchises in New Orleans is scheduled for a hearing next week. Renee Benson argues that her father is not competent to handle his affairs.

Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. Head of Special Collections at LSU Jessica Lacher Feldman says Lee’s death is the end of an era. There has been speculation as to whether Lee wrote any more books that were not published. Feldman says her death may bring more writings to light.

CUT 8 (08) “she’s written”

A new poll from Invest in a Healthy Louisiana and Public Opinion Strategies finds increasing the tobacco tax is favored by seven out of 10 voters. The Invest in a Healthy Louisiana Coaltion is advocating a $1.25 per pack increase in the tobacco tax. So far, only a 22-cent increase has been discussed by the legislature. Pollster Glen Bolger says the poll asked people about three different tax levels and found no statistical difference between the options.

cut 10 (09)  “73 percent”

The ACLU of Louisiana responds to the latest rather aggressive Crime Stoppers viral video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins looking for wanted Gremlins Gang members. Emelie Gunn reports..:

CUT 1 (28)  “I’m Emelie Gunn”

The last member of the Angola three was released from prison today. Albert Woodfox plead no contest to the manslaughter and aggravated burglary charges he’s facing in the death of a 1972 prison guard. Woodfox has spent most of his prison life in solitary confinement. Attorney General Jeff Landry says they will NOT seek to try Woodfox for a third time.

We are closing in on the first week of the special legislative session and we are still waiting for our first significant piece of legislation to make it out of the House Ways and Means Committee. The panel has heard testimony all week on various proposals to increase taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, personal income, businesses and there’s a bill to raise the state sales tax by a penny.

There’s still a divide between Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards and republican lawmakers. Edwards is seeking to raise taxes as way to fill a budget deficit that’s anywhere between 850-to-950 million dollars. But republicans are pushing for more cuts to the current budget, before they look at raising taxes.

The budget must be balanced by June 30th and the special session is set to end by March 9th. The House is expected to keep working over the weekend. Governor John Bel Edwards is attending the National Governors Assocation meeting in Washington DC and he’ll return to Baton Rouge on Monday.

cut 15 (11) “…no future”

Dozens of students were on the steps of the state capitol today protesting proposed cuts to higher education. Peter Jenkns, who graduated from LSU and Nicholls, says it’s important that the students’ voices are heard….

cut 14 (10) “…..come out”

Higher Ed Commissioner Joseph Rallo says under the best case scenario, public colleges would receive a 70-million dollar cut this fiscal year.

Invest in a Healthy Lousiaina releases a poll today that shows strong support among Louisiana voters for an increase in the state’s cigarette tax  to address the state’s huge budget shortfall. Pollster Glen Bolger says the poll asked people about three different tax levels and there’s strong support all the way around…

cut 10 (09) “….73-percent”

At this point, lawmakers have only talked about raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 22-cents.

Dozens of students marched to the state capitol in efforts to protest the proposed cuts to higher education to offset the massive budget deficit. A graduate of Nicholls State University and LSU, Peter Jenkins, attended the Save our Schools rally to make legislators pay attention and stop these drastic measures. He says students are calling for three different things…

cut 13 (10)  “budget cuts”

Students chanted at the steps of the Capitol in efforts to prevent future cuts to higher education.

A new poll from Invest in a Healthy Louisiana and Public Opinion Strategies finds increasing the tobacco tax is favored by seven out of 10 voters. Pollster Glen Bolger says the survey polled 500 likely Louisiana voters and many people are opposed to hikes in the state’s income, sales or property taxes, but favor an increase to the state’s tobacco tax…

CUT 9 (07)  “strongly favor”

The Invest in a Healthy Louisiana Coaltion is advocating a $1.25 per pack increase in the tobacco tax. So far, only a 22-cent increase has been discussed by the legislature.

Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. Head of Special Collections at LSU Jessica Lacher Feldman says Lee’s death is the end of an era. Feldman says Lee’s first novel was influential because Lee wrote about race and gender issues in a very real, but idealized, way.

CUT 7 (07) “the century”

There has been speculation as to whether Lee wrote any more books that were not published. Feldman says her death may bring more writings to light.

The ACLU of Louisiana has responded to the latest Crime Stoppers video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins that’s gone ridiculously viral. Higgins is looking for wanted members of the Gremlins Gang and says they each have a $2500 bounty on their head. ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie Esman feels like all this does is exacerbate the problem of a public who feels cops are the bad guys….:

CUT 4 (09)  “what police officers do”

The ACLU of Louisiana has responded to the latest Crime Stoppers viral video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins. Higgins is looking for wanted members of the Gremlins Gang. He says they each have a $2500 bounty on their head. ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie Esman has a problem with that…:

CUT 3 (06)  “summary execution”
Higgins video had nearly 14 million views in just two days

Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. Head of Special Collections at LSU Jessica Lacher Feldman says Lee’s death is the end of an era. Feldman worked at the University of Alabama, where Lee spoke to students once a year. Feldman was Lee’s handler when she visited and says Lee’s novel resonated deeply with many people.

CUT 6 (10) “the world”

Funeral services for Lee have not been announced.

A new poll from Invest in a Healthy Louisiana and Public Opinion Strategies finds increasing the tobacco tax is favored by seven out of 10 voters. The Invest in a Healthy Louisiana Coalition is advocating a $1.25 per pack increase in the tobacco tax. So far, only a 22-cent increase has been discussed by the legislature. Pollster Glen Bolger says the increase is popular across party lines…

Cut 11 (11) “percent support”

Increasing the cigarette tax by $1.25 would raise more than $200 million a year for Louisiana.

Dozens of students marched to the state capitol in efforts to protest the proposed cuts to higher education to offset the massive budget deficit. A graduate of Nicholls State University and LSU, Peter Jenkins, attended the Save our Schools rally to make legislators pay attention and stop these drastic measures…

cut 12 (08) “focusing on”

Jenkins says they want the legislators to do what they need to do to save higher education.