A Common Core lawsuit brought against BESE and the Department of Education will be heard in court today. Matthew Doyle spoke to Legal Analyst Tim Meche…
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Starting today, cops across the state ramp up patrols to keep drunk drivers off the road. Scott Carwile has more…
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The Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announce that they’ve issued nearly 900 citations to Louisiana establishments for selling alcohol and tobacco to minors as a result of their 2014 Summer Crackdown operation. Eric Gill has more…
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A lawsuit filed by 17 lawmakers who claim the department of education and BESE did not follow the state’s laws when it adopted Common Core will be heard in a Baton Rouge courtroom today. This is one of two Common Core-related suits that are moving through the legal system. Legal analyst Tim Meche says people are trying to bring their politics into the courtroom.
Judges have a range of options at their disposal to deal with feuding political factions, including arbitration. Meche says with a case as controversial as Common Core, an authoritative magistrate is needed…
There’s also a pro Common Core lawsuit against Governor Jindal for his actions against the education standards. It will have a full hearing on Monday. Meche says until there’s a resolution legal fees will rise and schools will be kept in limbo.
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Today begins the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign across the country, with hundreds of law enforcement agencies participating here in Louisiana. With alcohol being a factor in as many as 40 percent of all fatal vehicular crashes, cops are keen to get out and lock up drunk drivers. Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Lt. Col. John Leblanc says drunk driving has become too prevalent on state roads.
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Senator Mary Landrieu is facing accusations that she used Senate money to pay for chartered flights to attend campaign events. Her two Republican opponents in the upcoming Senate race have criticized Landrieu on this issue in recent days. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan doesn’t see this as a big campaign issue…
The Landrieu campaign office says her Senate office was incorrectly billed for one of the the flights. The campaign says they will reimburse the Senate for both flights that have been questioned. Hogan says Landrieu’s opponents are playing a potentially dangerous game bringing up this issue…
The conservative group Keep Louisiana Working has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the Senator over this issue. Hogan says, in a situation like this, it’s not unusual for outside groups to get involved…
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The Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announce that they’ve issued nearly 900 citations to Louisiana establishments for selling alcohol and tobacco to minors as a result of their 2014 Summer Crackdown operation. ATC says, during the summer months, statistics show an increase in teen drinking. Commissioner Troy Hebert says this is the second year in a row that his office has performed a summer operation…
ATC says they performed over 6,500 compliance checks during the operation. Hebert says about 14 percent of businesses were cited. He says in most cases it’s the clerk, not the business owner, illegally selling to minors. Hebert says it’s really easy to tell if someone is a minor in Louisiana since their driver’s licenses are printed vertically…
Cut 14 (10) “certainly unacceptable”
Hebert says fines start at $500 and he’s fined businesses as much as $25,000 for repeat offenses. He says there was no particular region of the state that had a significantly higher percentage of citations than any other…
Cut 15 (08) “this from happening”
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The Saints return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome tonight to take on the Tennessee Titans in NFL preseason action. Saints color commentator Hokie Gajan says he’s keeping his eye on the running game and the defense. Gajan hopes the running game has another strong showing like they had last week against the Rams…
Quarterback Drew Brees is not expected to play in tonight’s game, as he continues to nurse an oblique injury. That means we’ll see more of both Luke McCown and Ryan Griffin. After last week’s game, there has been some talk as to which will be Brees’ backup for the season. Gajan has an opinion on that…
Gajan says during these preseason games, coaches are looking to find the best 53 players to make the team. He says you want to see those guys on the bubble continue to improve…