An alarming number of Louisiana households are struggling badly to make ends meet. According to a groundbreaking report from the Louisiana Association of United Ways, more than 695,000 homes in the state or 40%, nicknamed ALICE, work low-paying jobs and have little or no savings. United Way of Louisiana President Sarah Berthelot says the scale of the struggle is alarming…:
CUT 7 (10) “potential crisis”
You can view the full report at launitedway.org.

Raising taxes isn’t popular, but Governor John Bel Edwards says the $750 million dollar immediate and acute shortfalls could be addressed by the proposed one cent increase to the state’s sales tax…:
CUT 10 (08) “shared prosperity”
A special session begins February 14th.

Former Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham is going to direct Louisiana’s state parks and historic sites. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says funding for state parks has been reduced by 50-percent in the past seven years. Barham says this makes his new job challenging, but he’ll work to maximize the funding he gets…:
CUT 4 (10) “we have”
Barham will officially start his new job Monday.

A Monroe man convicted of two counts of attempted first degree murder on Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents was sentenced to life in prison today, in Ouachita Parish. 29-year-old Luke Jarrod Hust was found guilty December 3rd for shooting LDWF Sgt. Scott Bullitt and shooting at another agent. LDWF officials say they are thankful Hust got the stiffest penalty of life behind bars so he won’t have the change to commit another violent crime.