Louisiana Tech officially joins the Sun Belt tomorrow, and Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker says the city is just as excited as the Bulldogs. Kace Kieschnick has more.
Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”
____________________________________________
A former LSU running back is arrested on vehicular homicide charges for allegedly causing a crash that killed two people earlier this month. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
____________________________________________
Motorists driving uninsured out-of-state vehicles in Louisiana risk getting them impounded. This is thanks to a new law signed by Governor Landry that went into effect earlier this month. Pollock Representative Gabe Firment authored Act 861, which holds out-of-state vehicles to the same standard as those registered in Louisiana.
Cut 3 (12) “…out-of-state drivers.”
Firment says the issue of uninsured vehicles continues to be a problem in Louisiana, and it’s not just vehicles registered to in-state drivers.
Cut 4 (13) “…their states require.”
Firment says this law is also intended to lower auto insurance rates.
Cut 5 (13) “…for Louisiana drivers.”
________________________________________
Politicos are concerned about the low turnout in Saturday’s closed party primary runoffs in the U-S Senate race. Voter turnout was just 17-percent. Political consultant Roy Fletcher, who worked on John Fleming’s campaign, suspects the toxic environment surrounding national politics is a factor…
More than 512-thousand people voted in the Republican and Democratic Senate Primaries runoff elections on Saturday. Political consultant and pollster Greg Rigamer says historically Louisiana will have at least one-million people vote in the mid-term elections and it will be interesting to see if the state can achieve that number in November with all of the bickering between the two national parties…
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat has been around Louisiana politics for decades and the low voter turnout number on Saturday is concerning…
Cut 8 (08) “…pathetically low.”
_____________________________________________________________
Louisiana Tech officially joins the Sun Belt Conference tomorrow after 13 years in Conference USA. Many of the Bulldogs’ conference football games the past three seasons have been on Tuesday and Thursday nights as part of the Weekday CUSA TV deal. Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker says the city is thrilled to welcome fans for six Saturday home football games.
13 of the 16 schools in C-USA when Tech joined in 2013 have already departed, including three the Bulldogs now join in the Sun Belt. The LA Tech football team traveled nearly 8,000 miles last season, but Walker says that, with the Sun Belt’s regionality, those days are over.
Tech joins the Sun Belt West division with historic rivals ULM, UL Lafayette and Southern Miss. LA Tech Athletic Director Ryan Ivey said the school has already seen a 150-thousand-dollar increase in season ticket sales year-to-date, and Walker expects the city to feel a similar effect.
______________________________________________________
A former LSU running back is arrested for allegedly causing a crash that killed two people. Baton Rouge Police Corporal Sondra Watts says 39-year-old Richard Murphy was driving recklessly back on June 14th when he ran a red light and killed 94-year-old Robert Tarver and his daughter-in-law, 69-year-old Carla Tarver.
Cut 12 (10) “…miles per hour.”
Corporal Watts says while it’s unknown exactly why Murphy was driving so fast on that downtown street, evidence shows that he was not sober at the time.
Cut 13 (10) “…driving while intoxicated.”
Watts says Murphy, who played in five games at running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012 following his career at LSU, is facing several charges, including driving with a suspended license (and also driving while intoxicated, two counts of vehicular homicide and reckless operation of a vehicle).
Cut 14 (08) “…degree vehicular injuring.”
The Rayville native played at LSU from 2007 until 2010. His best season with LSU was his first season, during which he gained 304 all-purpose yards — 230 rushing and 74 receiving — and scored two rushing touchdowns in helping the Tigers win the national championship.