The Metropolitan Crime Commission asks the state Attorney General’s office to investigate the sentence of the Destrehan High School teacher who had sex with one of her students. Michelle Southern reporting…:
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As motorists begin hitting the road for the Memorial Day weekend, Gasbuddy-dot-com says they’ll like the price they see at the pump. Scott Carwile has more…
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The Louisiana House has approved a 24-billion dollar budget that includes language about Governor Jindal’s out-of-state campaign travels. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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In the first of a series of questions to the four major gubernatorial candidates, Louisiana Radio Network asks about the state’s budget problems. We asked each candidate if they were Governor today, how would they handle the $1.6 billion dollar deficit. Republican Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle says he’d cut every dime of wasteful spending…:
Republican Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne says he’d curtail tax exemptions and refundable credits, cap the film tax credit program and raise the cigarette tax. But Dardenne says if he were Governor there wouldn’t be this giant deficit…:
Democratic Representative John Bel Edwards says he would reduce or eliminate tax giveaways that cost too much or produce too little return on investment. He says he would also accept federal tax dollars back into Louisiana to help us meet obligations for the people of Louisiana…:
Cut 6 (11) “money that we can use”
(Affiliates: The full responses are in the audio folder of our website in the sub folder: “Governor Q&A answers” — They are each about 90 seconds long.) Republican US Senator David Vitter says if he is elected, he would immediately call a special legislative session on spending and tax reform…:
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The Metropolitan Crime Commission has asked the state Attorney General’s office to investigate the sentence of the Destrehan High School teacher who had sex with one of her students. Shelley Dufresene admitted to the act in exchange for no jail time and not having to register as a sex offender. Legal analyst Tim Meche says the MCC President should know better than to call for this investigation….:
Cut 8 (10) “local district attorney”
Dufresne was originally charged with felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile but pleaded down to a misdemeanor obscenity charge as part of the deal. The MCC wants the AG’s office to look into whether St. Charles Parish DA Joel Chaisson committed any criminal violations with regards to the plea. Meche says if the MCC believes a criminal act occurred they should report it to federal authorities…:
Dufresne is the daughter of a sitting judge in the 29th District and the entire bench recused themselves in the matter but Chaisson did not. There are many people who say Dufresne got off easy and if the teacher would have been male and the student female then the outcome would have been much different. Meche says people are entitled to their opinion but this move is a classic case of political grandstanding…:
Cut 10 (11) “such an investigation”
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As motorists begin hitting the road for the Memorial Day weekend, Gasbuddy-dot-com says they’ll see the lowest gas prices since 2009. Senior Petroleum Analyst Gregg Laskoski says the current average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Louisiana is $2.45 a gallon.
Laskoski says many are considering an additional road trip this summer because of the price at the pump. He says while gas prices have gone up about 21-cents a gallon in the past month, prices are still almost a dollar less than we paid a year ago. Laskoski says the price hike is not totally unexpected…
Laskoski says the price jump can be attributed to a rise in crude oil prices and the approaching summer driving season. But, he doesn’t think there will be a huge increase in gas prices this summer. Laskoski says there is still a really significant inventory of gasoline and that’s good news for motorists…
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On a 65-37 vote, the state House approved a 24-billion dollar budget for next fiscal year, sending the spending plan to the senate. House Appropriations Chairman Jim Fannin says the budget process started with a one-point-six billion dollar shortfall, but they covered much of that gap, by passing revenue generating bills, recognizing additional dollars thanks to an improved revenue forecast and other financing…
As it stands now, the budget reduces funding for LSU’s medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport and the state’s public-private hospital partnerships are also underfunded. Fannin says some agencies will also face cuts…
Cut 15 (08) “highest priority”
A politically charged amendment was added to the budget during the debate. The measure would require the governor’s office and not State Police to pay for troopers, when Jindal makes out-of-state campaign trips. Monroe Representative Katrina Jackson is in full support…
(The amendment passed on a 55-35 vote, but could be removed by the Senate or Jindal can use his line-item veto power on the legislation. )