The Vermilion Parish School Board is under scrutiny after a teacher was removed and arrested from a meeting. Jeff Palermo has more.
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Talks are heating up among Republicans hoping to reclaim the governor’s seat for their party in 2019. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Vermilion Parish School Board President Anthony Fontana does not regret the arrest of an English teacher at a school board meeting this week. Deyshia Hargrave was taken away in handcuffs after voicing her opposition about the superintendent receiving a pay raise. Fontana says Hargrave’s comments were not germane….
The Abbeville City Attorney has said he will not press charges against Hargrave, while the board is facing criticism from the ACLU and the Louisiana Association of Educators over the arrest. Board member Laura LeBeouf says what happened Monday night is typical and has seen it before…
She was one of three board members that voted against the raise, which she says hasn’t been discussed much. She feels Hargrave’s rights were infringed upon when Fontana tried to quiet her…
There is some question as to the status of the Marshal that handcuffed Hargrave. Fontana says he remains in good standing with the school board…
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A pit bull fatally wounded a woman at a West Monroe area pet boarding house last night. Ouachita Parish Sheriffs spokesperson Glen Springfield says deputies arrived at the Happy Hounds Hotel and found the victim had been severely injured…
Springfield says first responders tried to stabilize the woman, but the wounds were fatal…
No further details have been released about the incident, and Springfield says the pit bull is being held by Ouchita Parish Animal Control.
Media reports identified the woman as Laura Ray.
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US Senator John Kennedy says he’s considering a run for governor in 2019, as the GOP in Louisiana hopes to keep Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards from the post for a second term. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says this is a very conservative state, so you can expect plenty of Republican candidates to line up for next year’s election…:
Other Republican names that have been mentioned include US Congressman Ralph Abraham, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Attorney General Jeff Landry. Recent polling numbers on Edwards show that the majority of voters approve of the job he is doing, so Stockley says Republicans will have the task of convincing people that the governor isn’t as conservative as he maintains:
Stockley says Edwards is also going to have national support as people outside of Louisiana will back a Democrat in a conservative state. He says any way you slice it, Edwards is going to be a tough candidate to beat.:
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The U-S Supreme Court is set to rule this year on New Jersey’s challenge to the prohibition against sports betting in all but four states. If the ban is overturned, a report says that Louisiana could be one of 18 states to file legislation to regulate sports betting. Managing Director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Chris Grove says his firm analyzed the different gaming players in Louisiana…
Louisiana’s legislative session begins in March, but there has not been any indications that a lawmaker is planning on filing a bill to legalize a bill in the state. Grove says placeholder legislation could be filed, while they wait for one of the three possible outcomes from the Supreme Court hearing…
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Sports gambling is a 225 million dollar taxable industry in Nevada, and Eilers and Krejick estimates that two point five to three billion dollars in illegal bets are placed every year. Grove says legalizing betting in Louisiana would be a budgetary and consumer safety boon.