A task force’s recommendations to alter the TOPS scholarship is taking fire from advocates for lower income students. One proposal would force students to take a minimum 15 credit hours a semester to keep their scholarship, three more than required now. Taylor Foundation Executive Director Dr. James Caillier says this targets poor students who have families with bills that rich people don’t…:
Cut 15 (10) “can not”
Another proposal would cap payments to lower performing high school students.

Alabama seems to have thrown some shade on Mardi Gras in New Orleans over the origin of the celebration. Billboards have sprung up throughout The Big Easy, Slidell and elsewhere that read “You are 114 miles from America’s original Mardi Gras.” The Alabama Department of Tourism paid for them saying that Mobile celebrated Mardi Gras before New Orleans. City officials say they don’t consider the Alabama campaign a threat to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Monroe-based CenturyLink is being relied upon to keep the lights on, and the broadcast rolling for this year’s Super Bowl. U.S. Bank Stadium is new and built from the ground up with CenturyLink’s state-of-the-art technology. Director of Smart Solutions Jesse Sullivan says high quality Wi-Fi is available throughout the stadium…:
Cut 5 (10) “same experience”
Tech giant CenturyLink employs 2,700 Louisianans.

The St. Landry Parish Crime Stoppers program has been awarded the 2017 Best “Crime of the Week” segment in the nation for cities up to 250-thousand people. Major Eddie Thibodeaux says they couldn’t do it without the public:
Cut 8 (12) “the cases”
The program is responsible for assisting in 60 arrests in 50 different cases in 2017.