A bill to increase the state’s tax on cigarettes by $1.18 is expected to be debated today in the House Ways and Means Committee. Jeff Palermo has a preview…

cut 2 (29) “reporting”

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are in effect for several parishes as another round of severe weather sweeps through Louisiana. The National Weather Service has also issued a Tornado Watch for a large portion of central and south Louisiana until 1PM today, while a Flash Flood Watch will remain in effect until as late as tomorrow afternoon. NWS says thunderstorms today through tomorrow morning could drop two to three inches of rain with localized amounts up to five inches possible.

Funeral services are scheduled today for Caddo Parish District Attorney Charles Scott who died suddenly last week in a Baton Rouge hotel while on business at the Capitol. Executive Director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, Pete Adams says Scott was the kind of person who was kind to everyone and didn’t have a mean bone in his body…

cut 8 (09) “worked very hard”

Caddo District Court proceedings are suspended today in honor of Scott’s funeral at the Broadmoor Baptist Church.

$22.9 million in renovations to the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria begins today after numerous delays. Rapides Police Jury President Richard Billings says renovations will take place both outside and inside the building. He says renovations, so to speak, won’t stop with the building itself…

cut 6 (11) “many, many years”

The renovations are expected to take 20 to 22 months to complete.