Not much progress has been made solving the state’s budget woes as there are only two weeks left in the legislative session. Emelie Gunn has more…
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The chairman of the Senate Education Committee wants a comprehensive study done on TOPS as a way to help legislators ensure the program has a long lasting future. Jeff Palermo has more…
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A south Louisiana man is behind bars after police say he stalked, beat up his ex-girlfriend and secretly stayed in her attic. Halen Doughty has the disturbing story…
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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With only two weeks left in the legislative session, lawmakers are not close to agreeing on a budget for next fiscal year and addressing the loss of over a billion dollars in temporary taxes that are set to expire in July 2018. That’s according to Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com…
Alford says the majority in the House despise creating new taxes to solve a looming budget deficit, while the majority in the Senate and the governor believe that is the solution. He says there is no clear path for where this session will end.
Alford says while action on the budget is stagnant, the legislature is moving ahead with criminal justice reform. He says the package that lawmakers will agree on is not as ambitious as what the governor originally proposed.
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The Senate Education Committee will discuss today whether a task force should be formed to study how to ensure the TOPS scholarship program long-term liability. Senate Education Chairman Blade Morrish says the taxpayer funded program has not been examined since it was created over 20 years ago.
Morrish says the higher education landscape has changed since TOPS was put into place. He says there are now admission standards and a large community college system. He says it’s time to take a comprehensive look at TOPS.
Morrish says the task force’s findings will provide good information for lawmakers when they consider proposed changes to the scholarship program in the future.
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More people may have been affected by the Great Flood of 2016 than we thought, according to a recent LSU survey. Dr. Michael Henderson with the LSU Public Policy Research Lab says 18 percent of residents took on water during the March and August floods. He says 30 percent of workers were also impacted.
Henderson says 14 percent of respondents say they housed a flood victim during the aftermath of the storms. He says while the impact could be felt in almost all corners of the state, some areas were more affected by the rising waters.
The survey also finds the share of low income residents affected by the flood was nearly twice the rate of higher income households who were impacted. Henderson says respondents did not give favorable ratings to FEMA or the state government for their response to the floods.
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The search is over for a south Louisiana man accused of living in his ex-girlfriend’s attic, as 21-year-old Taylor Broussard is behind bars. Brennan Matherne with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office says the investigation began in Larose after a woman reported her ex had stolen her vehicle after brandishing a knife. He says state troopers located the suspect Wednesday.
Matherne says Broussard faces one charge in Baton Rouge for being in the stolen vehicle, but he has 9 charges in Lafourche Parish. He says on May 3, the victim called police after escaping her home, where Broussard was attacking her.
Matherne says when Broussard fled the scene, he stole the woman’s purse, phone, and SUV. He says the victim fled to a neighbor’s house to contact police. When deputies arrived to investigate further, they made a disturbing discovery in the victim’s attic.
Cut 15 (10) “bottles of urine”
Broussard is charged in Lafourche Parish with stalking, domestic abuse battery, domestic abuse aggravated assault, vehicle theft, and home invasion, among other charges.