The newly elected president of Louisiana college officially begins April 7th, but Rick Brewer says he’s already started working. Michelle Southern reports…:
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A new poll on Louisiana’s governor’s race shows Republican US Senator David Vitter leading with 35% followed by Democratic Amite Representative John Bel Edwards at 33%. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Baton Rouge Representative Franklin Foil has filed a Constitutional Amendment for the 2015 session which would give colleges control of raising their own fees. Scott Carwile reports..:
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New Louisiana College president Rick Brewer is on the Pineville campus this week even though he doesn’t officially begin until April 7th. Brewer will meet with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools who placed the institution on academic probation. Brewer says he took the job, because he believes the private Baptist College has a great future…
Brewer says he plans to turn things around for LC and make it a place students, faculty and alumni can be proud of again. He says they are under utilizing a lot of classroom space and one of the main things he’ll work towards is boosting enrollment…:
Brewer says it’s time to change the dial at LC and that’s what he plans to do slowly, but surely…:
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A new poll on Louisiana’s governor’s race shows Republican US Senator David Vitter leading with 35% followed by Democratic Amite Representative John Bel Edwards at 33%. The survey by Triumph Campaigns shows Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne third with 15% and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle with 7%. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross…:
Cross says Dardenne needs to find a way to get at least another 18% in order to get past Edwards and make it into the runoff which may be tough. He says there may be one too many Republicans in this race but there are also one few too Democrats..:
11% of those polled remain undecided. Cross says Edwards numbers are fairly high and predicts the state lawmaker will probably top off with the Democratic support at about 40-42%. Angelle reportedly bought a $200,000 television ad schedule and Cross says even though he’s in the single digits, he’s come up from having nothing…:
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Baton Rouge Representative Franklin Foil has filed a Constitutional Amendment for the 2015 session which would give colleges control of raising their own fees. Currently the legislature has to approve a hike in education fees at public institutions. Foil says this would be an important step to managing the higher education budget crisis…:
Foil says currently our state constitution does not allow colleges the autonomy to raise their fees — it has to be approved by two-thirds vote of the members of each house. He says if this constitutional amendment passes, colleges would have the option to raise fees in certain areas as they see fit for the students…:
Foil says he hopes for favorable passage of this amendment in order to give our colleges more stability and control over their budgets. He says if tuition is raised then the state would have to raise the TOPS money to cover the tuition increases…:
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A republican lawmaker describes Governor Bobby Jindal’s budget proposal as “insane” in a letter to supporters. Monroe Representative Jay Morris says the Americans for Tax Reform has okayed the Jindal administration’s plan, but it’s not the best way to handle a one-point-six billion dollar shortfall next fiscal year
Morris says the Americans for Tax Reform, which is an anti-tax group, has said its okay to scale back the inventory tax credit, but they do not approve of capping the state’s film tax credits and that’s why Jindal’s budget proposal doesn’t address the benefits the entertainment industry gets
Morris says it’s hard to say what the final budget will look like. He suspects there will be a combination of cuts to state government and measures to raise revenue that are supported by the Americans for Tax Reform
Cut 15 (07) “another governor”
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The NFL free-agency period begins today. Teams will be able to sign free agents to their roster beginning at 3PM. NFL analyst Mike Detillier says the Saints will be looking to improve the team on both sides of the ball. He says they need to address a couple of issues going into the 2015 season…
Detillier says the Black & Gold need to find a veteran starting cornerback and improve their offensive line this off-season. He says the team needs to revamp their linebacking corps, as well. Although the Saints are dealing with salary cap issues, Detillier says that won’t stop the team from getting the players they need…
Cut 17 (08) “free agency process”
Detillier says you can expect more contract restructuring and personnel moves to create salary cap room to sign free agents. He says the Saints have always been a team to address obvious needs through veteran free agency…
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No one is playing better basketball than U-L Lafayette heading into this week’s Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans. The Ragin Cajuns have won six straight to raise their overall record to 19-and-12. Coach Bob Marlin says better play on the defensive end of the court has been the key…
U-L Lafayette will play either U-T Arlington or Texas State in the semi-finals on Friday at Lakefront Arena. The Cajuns won the Sun Belt Tourney and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament last year. Marlin likes how his team is playing