Louisiana’s budget deficit has called into question the future of the TOPS scholarship program…
CUT 1 (28) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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A former department of children and family services case worker faces charges for claiming to check on foster care children while employed by the state, but didn’t. Emelie Gunn has more…
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President Obama is expected to nominate a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but Louisiana’s Republican Senators think we should wait. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Parents may not be able to count on the TOPS scholarship in the future, according to certified financial planner Anne Osestriecher. The state funded scholarship program has run into funding troubles as part of the state’s budget crisis. Osestriecher, who works out of Alexandria, says parents who have students that could be eligible for TOPS need to prepare for tuition costs…
Osestriecher says it could make more financial sense for parents to have their children live at home, while attending college. She says that will cut down on costly room and board expenses. She says applying for other scholarships is also an option.
She says many scholarships go unclaimed every year because students simply do not apply for them. Osestriecher says community college and part-time jobs for students are things parents should think about as well. She says students may also need to consider what they can do to help finance their education.
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An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Department of Children and Family Services case worker, who allegedly falsified records regarding foster home visits when she worked for the state. 49-year-old Kimberly Lee of Calhoun is facing several criminal counts, including malfeasance in office. Inspector General Stephen Street says Lee is expected to surrender herself this week….
Street says over a period of a year, between July of 2013 and August of 2014, Lee falsified documents on 20 separate occasions. He says after being interviewed by investigators, she admitted to falsifying the reports.
In a statement, DCFS says they have zero tolerance for any employee who puts children at risk or purposefully deceives the Department by falsifying documents. Street says child welfare has to be our first priority. He says the stakes are just too high to let incidents like this happen.
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President Barack Obama is expected to nominate a successor to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but Louisiana’s Republican US senators say the next President should select Scalia’s replacement. Senator David Vitter, who is a member of the judiciary committee, says the next Justice debate should be part of the presidential election…
Vitter says any nomination made by the President goes through the Judiciary Committee. He says the committee holds a hearing and then votes on the President’s choice, then it goes to the full Senate for a vote.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy agrees with Vitter. He says let the next President nominate a new Supreme Court Justice.
Cassidy says the Supreme Court is fairly centrist right now but President Obama would like to shift it to the left. He says if the President nominates a replacement for Scalia, he doesn’t expect it to pass.
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The Republican Party is raising money to promote an ad that shows Governor John Bel Edwards saying on several occasions he would not raise taxes. The comments were taken when Edwards was running for governor. Louisiana Republican Party Executive Director Jason Dore says Governor Edwards campaigned on a platform of not raising taxes.
Dore says the governor promised to balance the budget by having fiscal responsibility and growing the economy, not by increasing taxes. With oil prices falling and the state entering into a recession, Dore says now is not the time to raise taxes for Louisiana residents.
The 30 second ad, titled “Don’t Raise Taxes,” was released on Sunday. The Republican Party’s goal is to raise enough funds so they can air it on TV and radio stations.
Louisiana Democratic Party executive director Stephen Handwerk is disappointed by the the GOP’s tactics….
Handwerk says that there are no good answers, and the GOP wants to make cuts that just are not possible.
Handwerk says “there is no more fat to cut” in many programs, especially not fast enough to resolve the huge budget shortfall.