A University of New Orleans Survey Research Center poll of nearly 600 registered Louisiana voters shows that a majority of respondents feel the state is moving in the wrong direction. 52-percent disapproved when asked about the current direction of the state. UNO political science professor Ed Chervenak says people are unhappy regardless of race, gender, or party affiliation…

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Respondents say the biggest problem facing the state is education.

Third through eighth grade students in public schools will take Common Core exams next spring on paper, instead of on a computer as originally planned. State Education Superintendent John White says this decision was made so that teachers can concentrate on making sure students are prepared for the more rigorous tests…

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About 300-thousand students will take the Common Core tests in March and there’s a second session in May.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission is asking motorists to be more alert now that Daylight Savings Time is over and it will get dark much earlier. Spokesperson Elaine Rougeau says the chance of an accident increases as darkness falls earlier…

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Rougeau says there are no hard statistics that show there’s an increase in accidents in the days following a time change, but highway safety officials do see more accidents at night.

Louisiana State Police report a Sunday morning single vehicle accident in Livingston Parish has taken the life of an Independence woman. Authorities say 42-year-old Stephanie Prattini, for unknown reasons, ran off the road, then over-corrected and ran off the other side of the road where her vehicle entered a ditch, struck a culvert, and overturned.