TOPS recipients are preparing to pay nearly 60-percent of their tuition for the spring semester, and state leaders say they are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen again next year. Jeff Palermo has more…
______________________________________
Good news for IT workers in northwest Louisiana, as CRSA just opened their new integrated technology center in Bossier City. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
______________________________________
Some lawmakers don’t agree with the Office of Motor Vehicles new policy of “no cash” as a form of payment. Emelie Gunn has more…
______________________________________
Louisiana will experience some rollercoaster temperatures this week. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’ll see high temperatures in the 80s across the state over the next two days but a significant cold front will come in on Friday.
Keim says Saturday will be relatively cool and breezy, with temperatures in the 50s in the morning and reaching the mid 60s in the afternoon. He says we see a lot of dramatic swings in temperatures during this time of year.
Several high school football games have been pushed up to Thursday, because of the potential of severe weather, but Keim says rain chances are fairly low.
____________________________________________
TOPS students will pay nearly 60-percent of their tuition for the spring semester. So what about future years, will the state direct more dollars to the taxpayer funded scholarship program, so TOPS recipients pay less? House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says if the governor makes TOPS more of a priority in the next session, it will be funded at a higher level.
Henry says in the last session, Edwards made a big push to hospitals, who provide care for the uninsured and poor. He says some legislators saw the funding of private-public hospitals as more important than TOPS, because not all taxpayers have children in college. He says there could be more money for TOPS, if fewer dollars were appropriated for health care.
Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statement saying he hopes the state can restore funding to TOPS because too many students depend on the program. But Henry says he will not support raising more taxes to fund TOPS.
___________________________________________
CSRA has opened a new integrated technology center in Bossier City, which is good news for economic development in northwest Louisiana. LED Secretary Don Pierson says CSRA isn’t a household name like IBM and CenturyLink, but it’s still a major information technology company.
Cut 10 (10) “homeland security”
Pierson says now employs 400 people in Shreveport-Bossier but will expand to 800 by June 2018. He says Louisiana is funding a 10-year $14 million higher education initiative with colleges in northwest Louisiana to help the company expand its workforce.
The 96-hundred square foot facility anchors the 3-thousand acre National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City. Pierson hopes this new high tech center will attract more cyber companies to Louisiana.
______________________________________________________
Some lawmakers are not happy with the Office of Motor Vehicles decision to stop accepting cash as a form of payment. OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain announced the new policy as a way to save money and prevent theft by state workers. Jonesboro Senator Jim Fannin says many senior citizens do not have credit cards. He says it’s unfair citizens can’t use cash, because employees might steal the cash.
Fannin says the “no cash” policy should have been presented to lawmakers first and now his office is receiving multiple complaints. St. Germain says accepting cash has become a burden for OMV workers, because they are on the hook if they come up short. Fannin says this is not a valid reason for why the change was made.
St. Germain says a major reason why the OMV will not longer accept cash as a method of payment is that it saves the state 500-thousand dollars, because it costs money to handle the cash and security is needed for transporting the cash…
_____________________________________________
It’s likely LSU running back Leonard Fournette’s final game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday. The junior from New Orleans is expected to be a Top Five pick in next spring’s NFL draft, but he admits it will be hard to leave college early…
Fournette says the juniors on the team will meet with Coach Ed Orgeron after the season to determine whether they should return for their senior season. The All-American running back has battled an ankle sprain all season long and says he’ll be ready for the Gators…
Fournette’s injury gave sophomore running back Derrius Guice more opportunities and the Baton Rouge product has taken advantage. Guice leads the team in rushing and has nine touchdowns. Fournette was impressed with Guice’s school-record 96 yard rushing touchdown last week…
________________________________________________________
ULM takes a two-game winning streak to Appalachian State this Saturday. The Warhawks are coming off a 37-23 win over Georgia State on the road. Coach Matt Viator likes how his team is overcoming adversity and the players’ confidence is also increasing…
Cut 19 (15) “defensive football”
Another win for ULM on Saturday and they can improve their Sun Belt record to 4-3 and their overall mark to 5-6. But the Moutaineers are 7-3 and have the top defense in the league. Viator says App State’s defense doesn’t give up many big plays…