The Revenue Estimating Conference meets today and will determine the budget shortfall the state is facing this fiscal year and next. Michelle Southern reports…:
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It appears that state Treasurer John Kennedy is testing the waters for a few races in this year’s upcoming elections. Eric Gill reports…
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The trial for a man accused of tying up and abandoning a baby pit-bull in October 2013 begins in Caddo District Court today, and there are plenty of angry citizens expected to be in attendance. Michelle Southern reports.
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The Revenue Estimating Conference meets today to determine the budget shortfall the state faces this fiscal year and next. Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin says it’s likely mid-year cuts will be needed to offset the deficit. He says a big reason for the shortfall, lower than expected oil prices…:
Erwin says it’s hard to predict how much will be cut this fiscal year. He says we already had a projected shortfall of $1.4 billion for next fiscal year but more than likely that will grow as oil prices keep plummeting…:
Cut 5 (10) “major part of those cuts”
Erwin says the falling oil prices aren’t the only reason we’re in this situation but the structure of the budget has never really been repaired since 2008-2009. He says we’ve just been borrowing money from ourselves over and over and then that ran out…:
Cut 6 (07) “for state government”
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It appears state Treasurer John Kennedy is testing the waters for a few races in this year’s upcoming election. It’s reported Kennedy has hired Virginia-based North Star Opinion Research to poll the races for governor, attorney general, and if there was a special US Senate election in 2016. Kennedy says, at this time, he’s keeping his options open…
The survey shows the Treasurer topping a possible attorney general’s race and the leading Republican in a US Senate race should David Vitter become governor. Kennedy says he’s had a number of different groups talk to him about serving in a different capacity…
The poll shows Kennedy coming in third in the governor’s race behind Vitter and Democrat John Bel Edwards. He says he enjoys being state Treasurer and this doesn’t mean he will not run for re-election. Kennedy says he’s trying to weigh the advice he’s been given and think things through. He says he’ll make a decision about his political future soon…
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The trial for a man accused of tying up and abandoning a baby pit-bull in October 2013 begins in Caddo District Court today, and there are plenty of angry citizens expected to be in attendance. The dog is now known as Braveheart and he is owned by Bo Spataro who says 32-year-old Gabriel Lee, charged with cruelty to an animal, has shown zero remorse…:
According to authorities, when he was 4 months old, Braveheart was found chained inside a storage unit in Shreveport and it was believed he’d been there for several days as he was barely alive. Spataro says they are hoping Lee gets the maximum sentence allowed…:
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office issued a release reminding those who plan to come to the trial no public demonstrations are allowed in or near the Courthouse. They say signs, buttons or t-shirts addressing the case are prohibited. Spataro says nothing like that is planned and they are asking that anyone who attend be a silent voice for Braveheart in court:
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Senate President John Alario plans to meet with Governor Jindal this week to discuss ways to reduce a potential budget cut of up to $380 million dollars to Louisiana’s public colleges. He says that kind of cut would completely devastate higher education not only to the universities but to the children who are seeking it…:
Alario says he’s also heard that LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is in danger if this type of cut comes down. He says they need to put their heads together and try to figure out how to fix this problem..:
Alario says one of the items of discussion that’s on the table is trying to increase revenue…:
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LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri says sophomore left-hander Jared Poche will start opening day on February 13th against Kansas, but he’s not sure on what the rest of his starting rotation will look like. Mainieri says he has several freshmen to choose from and the situation will play itself out during the non-conference portion of the schedule
LSU is expected to be young on mound this season, but Mainieri has confidence he’ll strong staff by the end of the season, because of pitching coach Alan Dunn…
Poche was a weekend starter last season and a Freshman All-American. The former Lutcher standout is one of eight returning pitchers and he likes what he sees from the young arms that have joined the team