The city of Jeanerette is mourning the loss of 22-year-old police officer Juandre Gilliam. Eric Gill reports…
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House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Karen St. Germain of Pierre Part files a bill that would increase Louisiana’s gasoline tax by 4 cents a gallon. Michelle Southern reports…:
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The leader of LABI, Stephen Waguespack, doesn’t want to see businesses harmed as the state deals with a one-point-six billion dollar shortfall. Scott Carwile…
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The city of Jeanerette is mourning the loss of 22-year-old police officer Juandre Gilliam. Gilliam was killed in the line of duty Tuesday night following a car crash during a high-speed chase. Jeanerette Police Chief Marvin Grogan says Gilliam was an asset to the force…
cut 4 (07) “with the community”
Two people, 21-year old Antre Joseph of New Iberia and an unnamed 16-year-old juvenile, have been arrested in connection with the chase. Gilliam was a native of Jeanerette and was a quarterback for Jeanerette High School. Grogan says Gilliam was relatively new to the police force…
Grogan says it was Gilliam’s childhood dream to become a police officer. He says the loss of Gilliam has hit his department hard but they will pull through…
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House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Karen St. Germain of Pierre Part files a bill that would increase Louisiana’s gasoline tax by 4 cents a gallon. The funds, about $120 million per year, would be dedicated to the state’s roads and bridges on a local level. President of Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association Ken Perret says the funding is badly needed…:
CUT 7 (10) “to increase funding”
The measure was also submitted by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Robert Adley of Benton. Dollars raised by the increased tax would go to the Parish Transportation Fund which finances local projects. Perret says this would also take some of the burden off of the statewide Transportation Trust fund…:
Cut 8 (10) “as well as local needs”
There are over $12 billion dollars in backlogged road and bridge needs in the state. Perret says good roads lead to good jobs and this isn’t about just fixing potholes but about developing a first class transportation system…:
Cut 9 (05) “for all our citizens”
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With just a few days left before the start of the legislative session, the head of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is concerned about a proposal to eliminate refunds businesses receive for paying an inventory tax to local governments. LABI president Stephen Waguespack says you’ll see companies leaving the state if it happens
As a way to soften cuts to higher ed and health care, the Jindal administration has proposed scaling back inventory tax refunds. But Waguespack believes there’s other solutions, including eliminating the inventory tax all together, which actually saves the state money…
One of LABI’s priorities this session is workforce development, but public colleges are facing an almost 600-million dollar cut in state funding. Waguespack says its’ time to give universities more autonomy to raise tuition and fees…
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There is a bill filed for the upcoming legislative session that would essentially make playing fantasy football online for money legal. Right now in Louisiana, “play-for-cash” computer fantasy football would violate state gambling laws. The measure is by Metairie Representative Joe Lopinto who says there are numerous states which create gambling exceptions for fantasy:
Lopinto says the bill specifies that no winning outcome would be based on scores, point spreads or on any single performance of a certain athlete. He says under the measure, Louisiana residents wouldn’t be restricted from collecting money online if they win at fantasy…:
Cut 14 (08) “state of Louisiana”
Lopinto says the measure recognizes that winning outcomes of fantasy reflect relative knowledge and skill of those participating — and that it shouldn’t be considered gambling. He says many people have been clamoring for legislation like this to be filed…:
Cut 15 (08) “obviously do this”
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