Two special sessions later, Louisiana’s budget is still not in good shape. Barry Erwin with the Council for a Better Louisiana says he’s optimistic that in the 2017 fiscal session lawmakers can start looking at long term budget reform. He says otherwise they will still be dealing with midyear cuts…:
Cut 13 (11) “fiscal cliff”
He says with next year’s fiscal session, lawmakers will have more time to get the job done.

State Police say a 1-year-old child who was not properly restrained, died in a St. Landry Parish crash. They say 24-year-old Bendel Williams of Carencro ran off the right side of the roadway around 6:30am Sunday, struck an embankment and overturned. Investigators determined 1-year-old Jamaika Johnson was only buckled in with a shoulder/lap belt and suffered fatal injuries. Officials say charges against Williams, who is in the hospital, are pending.

Sea levels are expected to rise higher than previously thought in Louisiana, which is changing the plan when it comes to rebuilding the coast. Director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Restoration Program David Muth is optimistic they can reduce the amount of land Louisiana loses every year and that’s through sediment diversions…:
Cut 9 (10) “way out”
Muth says he’s not surprised that the prediction of reversing coastal land loss in a few decades isn’t possible anymore.

Residents in the Monroe area are wondering when the state will build a new bridge over the Ouachita River the way they are the Red River in Shreveport. West Monroe Senator Mike Walsworth says the money isn’t there right now and
Monroe-West Monroe already has three bridges essentially within two miles of each other…:
Cut 6 (10) “thousand”