The Department of Education announces beginning July 1 all new applicants for the state’s Childcare Assistance Program will be placed on a wait list. Michelle Southern has more…

Cut 1 (31) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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Heavy rainfall is expected across Louisiana, as Tropical Storm Cindy moves towards the southwestern Louisiana coast. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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As demand for state childcare assistance rises, the Department of Education announces beginning July 1, new applicants will be placed on a waiting list. Assistant superintendent of early childhood development Jenna Conway says the federally funded Childcare Assistance Program offers subsidies for working families to choose a childcare provider.

Cut 3 (11) “afford childcare”

Conway says 18-thousand Louisiana children ages birth to five participate in the program. The program grew exponentially when DOE lowered the work threshold for families to qualify, from 30 to 20 hours a week. She adds as more people go to work, they will need consistent childcare.

Cut 4  (10) “dramatically increased”

Conway says unfortunately, the program is underfunded to sustain this kind of growth, which is why the date-based waitlist is necessary. She says applications will be processed until June 30 and encourages families to apply now.

Cut 5  (10)  “immediately”

For more information on the program, visit LouisianaBelieves.com.

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Tropical Storm Cindy could drop a foot of rain in southeast Louisiana. State climatologist Barry Keim says the system is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm near the Texas-Louisiana border late Wednesday or early Thursday morning, but the largest rain totals will occur to the east of the storm’s center.

Cut 6 (08) “15 inches”

Flash flood watches are in effect across south Louisiana through Thursday evening. Keim says storm surge could be an issue in coastal areas, and it’s possible a tornado could form. But he says rain and potential flash flooding will be the biggest problems.

Cut 7 (09)  “rain volumes”

Keim says the heaviest rains are expected in southeast Louisiana, but the entire coast is vulnerable. He says that’s because the major rainfall associated with this system is far removed from the center of circulation.

Cut 8 (09) “heavy rainfall”

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Lafourche Parish is gearing up for Tropical Storm Cindy that is set to hammer southeast Louisiana with rain. Brennan Matherne with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office says the parish is continuing to pump down drainage canals and sandbags are available at all parish field office locations.

Cut 9 (09)  “your own”

Matherne says Port Fourchon Harbor Police will be monitoring LA-1 throughout the system checking for storm surge. He urges residents who flood during heavy rain events to take precautions.

Cut 10 (11) “changes”

St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister is also getting her residents prepared for the heavy rain event. Brister says the parish does not have many drainage pumps and heavily relies on gravity drainage, so they are taking precautions.

Cut 11 (08) “the parish”

Brister says the National Weather Service has told her office St. Tammany could receive 10 inches of rain over the next couple of days. She says river flooding and street flooding are their two biggest concerns.

Cut 12 (08) “anything else”

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Public schools will no longer be permitted to physically punish children with developmental disabilities after a measure was signed into law by Governor Edwards. Senate Education Chairman Blade Morrish says there weren’t any school districts that pushed back against this legislation.

Cut 13 (06) “those students”

38 of the 69 public school districts in Louisiana permit corporal punishment, like paddling or spanking. Morrish says this allows the administration to take a step back and realize certain students are not allowed to receive corporal punishments.

Cut 14 (09) “the policy”

There was also a push during the legislative session to ban corporal punishment in public schools for all students. Morrish says that bill never made it to his committee but he’s interested in hearing more about it.

Cut 15 (08) “weigh in”

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Thanks to the state legislature and Governor Edwards, Louisiana is the first state to prohibit public colleges from asking about criminal history on a prospective student’s application. Emelie Gunn has more…

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The Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off gets underway in Lafayette today. Halen Doughty has more…

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Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the state later today and state officials are gearing up for potential flooding. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 3 (31) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Louisiana is the first state in the country to ban the box on college admissions asking if a prospective student has a criminal record. Governor John Bel Edwards signed the measure into law. Annie Freitas, the program director with the Louisiana Prison Education Coalition, says this is a step in the right direction for prison reform.

Cut 4  (10) “criminal conviction”

Research finds two out of three people with convictions stop filling out their college application after seeing this box. Freitas says the recidivism rate drops by at least 40-percent when a convicted felon is able to access any kind of higher education.

Cut 5  (05)  “public safety”

Freitas says it was great to see this measure signed into law with bi-partisan support. She says many Republican lawmakers changed their mind about the bill after hearing first hand testimony.

Cut 6 (o9) “people’s lives” 

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The 10^th annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off gets underway today at the CajunDome in Lafayette. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says this is a great way to showcase the fresh seafood of the Bayou State. He says a dozen Louisiana chefs will compete in the cook-off.

Cut 7 (09)  “next year”

This is the first year the event will be held in Acadiana, as it usually takes place in New Orleans. Nungesser says this is a way to help bolster the Lafayette economy amid a struggling oil and gas industry.

Cut 8 (11) “to do”

Nungesser hopes cook-off attendees will spend a couple days in Acadiana to see how beautiful the Lafayette community is. He says this can have a huge economic impact as people stay in area hotels and shop local establishments.

Cut 9 (10)  “for Lafayette”

Blake Phillips of Sage Restaurant in Monroe was last year’s winner.

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Louisiana’s craft beer industry is growing rapidly. That’s according to Executive Director of the Louisiana Craft Brewers Guild, Cary Koch, who says we’re on track for more growth if the state fosters a good business environment. He says 6 new breweries opened last year, and even more are in the planning stage.

Cut 10 (08) “out of state”

Koch says lawmakers have already targeted the industry. A proposal in this year’s legislative session would have ended trademarked university beers, like the ones at UL-Lafayette and LSU. He says they didn’t like some of the comments made during testimony on the bill.

Cut 11 (08) “in any way”

Koch says this bill also would have caused two local breweries to lose out on sales. He hopes the state will create more incentive programs for craft breweries, which have huge economic impacts on their communities. He says one specific change they’d like is the option for self-distribution.

Cut 12 (10) “the distributors”

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Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the state late today. Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele says heavy rains and flash flooding are the biggest threat. The National Weather Service is calling for four to eight inches of rain across southeast Louisiana, with isolated amounts of 10 inches.

Cut 13 (12) “red flag”

Steele encourages the public to prepare for the coming storm now. He says many parishes are already handing out sandbags in preparation for this rain event, which is expected to peak Wednesday and Thursday.

Cut 14 (12) “another issue”

Steele says if the storm stalls along the coast and we have continued rain, more problems could develop. But he says one of the biggest problems from flash flooding is not in homes, it’s on the roadways.

Cut 15 (10) “still applies”

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LSU’s 17-game winning streak came to a screeching halt as the Oregon State Beavers devoured the Tigers 13-1 in a winner’s bracket contest in the College World Series last night. Coach Paul Mainieri says it was not a pretty game for the Bayou Bengals…

Cut 16 (16)  “excellent ball club”

LSU used eight pitchers on the night. Starter Eric Walker left the game in the third inning with forearm soreness in his throwing arm. Mainieri says that was the turning point of the game…

Cut 17 (12) “very frequently”

LSU’s offense managed just four hits as Oregon State pitcher Bryce Fehmel pitched eight strong innings. Tigers center fielder Zach Watson says Fehmel kept them off balanced…

Cut 18 (09) “struggled to hit him” 

LSU faces an elimination game on Wednesday against Florida State. Mainieri says with the loss to the Beavers, the road to a national championship got a lot more difficult…

Cut 19 (24) “win a game”