A ton of rain has already fallen in western Louisiana. Northwest and Northeast regions of the state are already dealing with flood stricken areas that have forced road closures and some evacuations. Jeff Palermo reports on the weather system moving in…:
CUT 2 (20) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

With less than 10 hours left in the special session, Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says one of the ways lawmakers look to close the budget gap is not only to add a penny to the state sales tax, but remove several exemptions from the existing four cents…:
CUT 14 (07) “those pennies”
The session must end at 6.

Cleco is asking the Public Service Commission for an immediate rehearing on the on a bid by Macquarie Investors to purchase the Pineville-based utility company. The PSC voted on February 24th against the sale, but lawyers for Cleco assert that the decision was procedurally flawed and wrongly decided on the merits of the transaction.

Small business optimism has fallen to a 2-year low, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. State Director of the NFIB, Dawn Starns, says state specific data is not available, but Louisiana small businesses also lack optimism, especially with all of the money problems the state is facing.:
Cut 10 (06) “the economy”
The report also shows that sales trends have declined and small business owners do not plan to increase hiring or spending as expectations for future business conditions remained negative.