LSU President F. King Alexander went before the House Education Committee to talk about how budget cuts are impacting enrollment, faculty and research. Alexander says research funding originally for LSU is now going to universities in other states because Louisiana doesn’t invest in higher education…:
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He says the university has been receiving more money from the federal government than they have from the state.

But higher ed got more bad news today. The Revenue Estimating Conference said there is now a $70 million dollar hole in the current financial year budget which means more cuts to colleges and healthcare. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says they are on a time crunch, but over the next several days they will sit down and decide how to make the cuts in the best possible way to minimize the damage…:
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Next fiscal year’s projected shortfall is now $750 million.

Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson will undergo up to five hours of questioning during a deposition in his lawsuit to oust his daughter and her grandchildren inheriting the franchises, a federal magistrate decided today. Benson’s lawyers successfully argued any longer would be too taxing on the 87-year-old’s health. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Wilkinson also scheduled the deposition to start March 24 and to last two days.

The National Weather Service is concerned about continued flooding in north Louisiana. Meteorologist CS Ross says the Red River crest which has devastated south Bossier is moving through the Coushatta area today. He says it will rout toward the Grand Ecore area tomorrow, and into central Louisiana later this week and into the weekend…:
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23 parishes are now declared federal disaster areas, but the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness expects more will be added once damage assessments are complete.