State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the two vehicles involved in a fatal hit and run that killed a skateboarder in Hammond. Halen Doughty has more…
CUT 1 (29) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Legislation to allow sex surveys to be given to public school students fails in a Senate committee. Emelie Gunn has more…
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State police are looking for two vehicles involved in a fatal hit and run that took the life of a skateboarder in Hammond. Trooper Dustin Dwight says 26-year-old Erin Gerhard was skateboarding down the right side of University Avenue near S-L-U’s campus around 10pm last night when he was hit by two different vehicles.
Dwight says troopers believe the vehicles involved are a pickup truck and a dark colored sedan. He says they are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the motorists responsible for Gerhard’s death.
Dwight says Gerhard was severely injured and pronounced dead at the scene. He says the investigation in ongoing.
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Legislation to allow victims of domestic violence with a protective order to carry a concealed handgun for 45 days without training will be heard in the Senate after getting approval from the House. Denham Springs Rep. Valarie Hodges, says her bill provides an expedited process for a victim to seek concealed carry training. She says victims often times feel like they’re in imminent danger from their abusers.
Hodges says the proposal will be called the Brandi Trahan Act, in honor of a Carlyss woman who was murdered by her estranged husband. Baton Rouge Rep. Patricia Smith expressed her concerns about how the victim’s children could get their hands on the weapon because their parent hasn’t had proper training.
Hodges says domestic abuse victims in this situation will know the responsibility of having a gun, even though they may not have gone through the training.
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State lawmakers did not receive any good news today in terms of higher than expected revenues to help reduce the budget deficit. The Revenue Estimating Conference met this morning and did not change next fiscal year’s revenue forecast. Economist Manfred Dix says low tax collections impacted the estimates.
The REC determined that unemployment has been rising in Louisiana since September, the price of oil has not gone up as much as they’d hoped, and tax collections were lower than anticipated. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says lawmakers did not see the overall growth that they wanted to see. He says they will have to stick with the revenue estimate they have.
Senate President John Alario says legislators may need to take another look at raising revenues when they meet for a second special session next month, which means another revenue estimating conference could be called.
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The Senate Education Committee votes against a bill that would allow public schools to survey high school students about sexual health. Shreveport Rep. Robert Carmody told the panel, the survey can help determine which schools are most effectively getting the message across about sex education and allow other schools to follow their example.
West Monroe Sen. Mike Walsworth opposes the legislation and says schools aren’t doing enough with sexual education but this isn’t the way to go about it.
St. Tammany Parish resident Sarah Woods says this survey will not do anything to stop the sex and drugs by students. She says we’re now reaping what we sowed when God was removed from schools.
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Author of the legislation, Baton Rouge Rep. Patricia Smith, says we need to do something about teenage pregnancies and high rates of sexual diseases among teens.