Mentally ill inmates at the David Wade Correctional Center in Homer claim they were forced to bark like dogs for food. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Louisiana’s unemployment rate is at a three-year-low, 5-point-five percent. Don Molino has more on the latest jobs report…
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Investigators are trying to get to the bottom of claims that some Louisiana inmates are being forced to bark like dogs for food. A lawsuit on behalf of the Advocacy Center alleges the organization has a right to investigate this kind of claim. Attorney Katie Schwartzmann with the McArthur Justice Center says they are concerned about conditions at the David Wade Correctional Center in Homer based on letters they received from inmates.
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Schwartzmann says they filed the suit to get access to the prisoners. She says it’s the Advocacy Center’s job to go in and conduct an investigation when they hear claims of abuse, and unfortunately they’ve received a lot of complaints from inmates at this prison.
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Schwartzmann says one of those allegations is that prison staff has forced inmates to bark like dogs to get their food. If these allegations prove true, another suit could be filed to address the issue. She says this suit is only about getting access to the inmates.
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The Department of Corrections has not issued a comment on the suit.
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Louisiana will be able to export rice to China for the first time ever under a landmark trade agreement involving the U.S. and the Asian country. Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain says this is a huge achievement for the rice industry.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts China will import 5 million tons of rice in 2017 and 2018. Strain says it took so long for the trade agreement to be finalized because of safety protocols.
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Louisiana produces the most rice in the U.S. just behind Arkansas and California. Strain says China also imports rice from other countries in south Asia but now Louisiana is in the hunt.
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Twenty-one-hundred soldiers from Fort Polk will deploy to Iraq this fall for antiterrorism operations. Base spokesperson Kim Reischling says members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team have trained for the last year.
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Reischling says they are committed to providing support to the families of deployed soldiers from the Vernon Parish military base. She says Fort Polk provides many services to the spouses and children to help them with any services needed when their loved ones are in Iraq.
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Reischling says 60-percent of the unit will be deployed to Iraq. She says less than 2-thousand men and women of the combat team will remain in Fort Polk…
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The Old Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge will be closed this weekend as crews work to repair the railroad track there. Rodney Mallet with the state department of transportation says US 190 will be closed there from 8 p.m. today until 5 a.m. Monday. So drivers will have to use an alternate route.
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Motorists can get back on the highway using either LA 1 or LA 415. Mallet says Kansas City Southern railroad got a permit from DOTD to replace the tracks. He says drivers should expect some delays, but DOTD is doing what they can to make people aware of the closure.
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For up to date travel information, visit 511la.org.
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New data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows Louisiana’s unemployment rate is at a three-year low at five-point-five percent. The June employment report shows nonfarm jobs increased by nearly 21-thousand over the last 12 months. Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Ava Dejoie says three industry sectors reached all-time highs in employment.
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Dejoie credits the film tax credit program for helping to boost the leisure and hospitality sector. She says they are also seeing positive signs with the oil and gas industry. She says the Houma area has gained 600 jobs from May and Lafayette has added jobs in four out of the six months…
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Construction is the industry that saw the largest one-month gain, an additional four-thousand workers. Dejoie says Lake Charles continues to be the fastest growing market with an increase 55-hundred jobs over the last year…
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