Gus Mijalis, a Shreveport businessman and noted close friend of former Gov. Edwin Edwards, has died. Jim Shannon talked to Edwards about his longtime friend.
______________________________________
Frustrations are high and time is short for lawmakers trying to solve the fiscal cliff. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”.
_________________________________________________
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement agents are offering a 55-hundred-dollar reward for information about who killed two black bears in St. Mary Parish in the Atchafalaya Basin. It is believed they were killed between February 2nd and 4th. LDWF spokesman Adam Einck says both bears were discovered in a fairly remote area…
The Humane Society of the United States, the Acadiana Chapter of Safari Club International and The Safari Club International Foundation are assisting in offering the reward. After an initial investigation, Einck says they believe they are looking for the same suspects in both killings…
Einck says the Louisiana black bear is protected after nearing extinction and was considered a “threatened species” between 1992 and 2016. Einck says sadly the bears were shot and killed and there’s no evidence as to why…
Cut 5 (05) “under investigation.”
Anyone with information can call 800-442-2511 or the Tip 411 app on smartphones.
_________________________________________________________
Gus Mijalis, a Shreveport businessman and noted close friend of former Gov. Edwin Edwards, has died. Mijalis family owned the Farmers Seafood Company which opened in 1918. Former Governor Edwin Edwards remembers Mijalis in an adversarial position when they first met. But things quickly changed.
Edwards says he never shied away from Mijalis even when Gus was in trouble.
Edwards says during his four terms as Louisiana’s governor he met plenty of friends. But few like Mijalis.
Cut 8 (10) “we were very close”
A memorial service is scheduled for Monday and he says he will attend.
_________________________________________________________
A state Department of Children and Family Services report finds there has been a 77-percent increase in the amount of juvenile human trafficking victims aged 12 or less. Juveniles account for over 52-percent of the 681 identified victims in 2017. Author of the report Walter Fahr says part of the increase has to do with better identification methods…
The report found that 72 of human trafficking victims identified in 2017 are 12 and younger, an astounding 260-percent increase over 2016. Fahr says they are vulnerable and easily coerced back to the trafficking lifestyle…
Once a victim is identified, Fahr says they need more organizations to provide services that will help them get these youth away from their trafficker…
For juveniles, Caddo and Orleans Parishes were the most identified as the parishes of origin, while East Baton Rouge Parish was the most mentioned for adult victims.
_________________________________________________________
The special session is on the verge of collapsing without a tax plan that addresses a looming one billion dollar shortfall. The House has failed to get behind a proposal to raise revenues to replace expiring sales taxes. Republican Barry Ivey of Baton Rouge says GOP legislators are not willing to work with a Democratic governor…
Chairman of the House Republican Legislative Caucus, Lance Harris, blames the governor for poor negotiating tactics….
A sales tax bill that would have generated 300-million dollars annually was overwhelmingly defeated. After the vote, the governor issued a statement that said he was in disbelief the speaker abandoned the plan that he put on the table and ended the day in such a chaotic fashion. Edwards says some lawmakers are unwilling to negotiate…
Tax negotiations continue today. The special session must end Wednesday.
_________________________________________________________