The Senate Finance committee rejected a proposal today to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.50 by 2019. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter says raising the minimum wage will benefit the entire state….
cut 9 (10) “….the community”
The measure was killed on a party line vote of 7 to 3. Republican Senator Sharon Hewitt of Slidell voted against it, because she believes government should not mandate what an employee makes….
cut 12 (09) “….and wages”
Governor Edwards says it’s unacceptable legislators on this committee did not see fit to give hardworking Louisianans a modest pay increase.

Vice President Mike Pence visited the Baton Rouge area today, first meeting with flood victims in Denham Springs and then holding a listening session with business leaders. Pence spoke to a crowd in Port Allen and said President Trump is fighting every day to make America an energy independent country….
cut 15 (10) “….offshore drilling”
Pence also talked about the need to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

A deadly virus is threatening Louisiana crawfish. Aquaculture specialist Mark Shirley with the LSU AgCenter says the white spot syndrome originated in shrimp ponds in Thailand and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s…:
Cut 7 (09) “that white spot”
Shirley says this virus can greatly affect a crawfish farmer’s income by killing off the harvest. But he says it’s not a threat to humans.