Author Archives: Jeff Palermo

05.26.15
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11:40 LRN Sportscast May 26

For a fourth straight season, LSU is a national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which will get underway when the Tigers host Lehigh University on Friday afternoon. The Tigers received the number two national seed, despite being ranked number one by most of the polls for the entire season. Coach Paul Maineri admits some disappointment in not getting the number one overall seed…
cut 13 (16) “…beginning on Friday”
The other two teams in the Baton Rouge regional are UNC-Wilmington and Tulane. If the Green Wave and LSU win on Friday, they’ll face each other on Saturday night.

The LSU softball team left for Oklahoma City today where they’ll play Auburn on Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the Women’s College World Series.

The UL Lafayette baseball team is in the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season, The Cajuns will face Rice on Friday afternoon. Houston and Southland Tournament champion Houston Baptist are the other two teams in the regional. Cajuns Coach Tony Robichaux says his team will compete in another tough regional…
cut 17 (16) “…be successful’
UL Lafayette and Rice will meet for the 24th time on Friday. The Owls lead the overall series 17-to-6.

There are 59 former LHSAA players that are in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Seven from Barbe High School in Lake Charles. Kennon Fontentot, Gunner Leger and Nick Zaunbrecher play for the Cajuns, Jared Foster, Beau and Bryce Jordan are on LSU’s roster and Sam Smith is a pitcher for Ole Miss.

05.25.15
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LRN AM Newscall for Tuesday May 26

New graduates are hitting the workforce and Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says their outlook for landing a job is good. Jeff Palermo reports…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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It looks like Governor Bobby Jindal has some work to do, if he wants to be included the first 2016 Republican presidential debate. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “reporting”

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The state Department of Transportation continues to gather feedback from motorists on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved. Eric Gill reports…

Cut 3 (30) “reporting”

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New graduates are hitting the workforce and Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says the job market in Louisiana looks as good as it’s looked in 20 years. He says while the market, as a whole, is strong, some college degrees are more sought after than others…

cut 4  (10)  “long, long, time”

Eysink says the job market in business and computer related fields are particularly strong, right now. He says grads can go to laworks-dot-net to see a list of jobs in the state in their field. He says those exiting community colleges are also in demand…

Cut 5  (06)  “hot right now”

Eysink says the job market in Louisiana is projected to stay strong through 2022. He adds that success in the job market will vary from person to person depending on what their degree is in. Eysink also has a bit of advice for those who are still in school…

Cut 6 (11)  “they get out”

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Governor Bobby Jindal could be kept out of the first Republican debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. Fox News will host the debate in August and the network requires contenders to be in the top 10 in an average of five national polls leading up to the event. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says with Jindal in jeopardy of making the cut, he’ll try to get the attention of party activists…

CUT 7 (10)  “legislation”

In recent presidential polls, Jindal has finished near the bottom, and getting about one-percent in most of the surveys. Hogan says despite numbers, it will be difficult for Fox to leave someone like Jindal out of their debate…

Cut 8  (04)  “typically like” 

Jindal is expected to officially announce he’s running for President after the legislative session ends on June 11th. There’s already an ad running in Iowa supporting his candidacy in Iowa. Hogan says if the field of candidates gets smaller, Jindal may have a chance to move up in the polls…

Cut 9 (11)  “in the party”

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The state Department of Transportation continues to gather feedback from motorists on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved. People can go online to i10br-dot-com and take a 21 question survey through the end of the month. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says more than 6,000 people have taken the survey thus far, but would like to see those numbers climb…

Cut 10 (08) “more input”

Mallet says the results of the survey will be revealed in August. He says the survey is just one part of gathering people’s input on what should be done to the I-10 corridor…

cut 11 (10) “community-wide input”

Mallet says a public meetings about proposed changes to the corridor will happen sometime in August. He says DOTD believes there needs to be public backing and input to address this issue…

cut 12 (10)   “would be happy”

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For a fourth straight season, LSU is a national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which will get underway when the Tigers host Lehigh University on Friday. The Tigers received the number two national seed, despite being ranked number one by most of the polls for the entire season. Coach Paul Maineri admits some disappointment in not getting the number one overall seed…

Cut 13 (16)  “beginning on Friday”

If LSU wins the Baton Rouge regional, they’ll face the winner of the Houston Regional during the first weekend of June. Houston beat the Tigers in the Baton Rouge Regional last year, but Mainieri says his team can’t look ahead to a possible rematch…

Cut 14 (16) “in this business”

The other two teams in the Baton Rouge regional are UNC-Wilmington and Tulane. If the Green Wave and LSU win on Friday, they’ll face each other on Saturday night. Shortstop Alex Bregman would love to see that match-up…

Cut 15  (13)  “cool deal”

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U-L Lafayette has made it to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season. The Ragin Cajuns received an automatic bid after winning the Sun Belt Tournament and they’ll battle Rice on Friday afternoon in the Houston Regional. Cajuns Coach Tony Robichaux says getting into the tournament again is quite a feat considering how much talent they lost from last year’s super regional team…

Cut 16  (14)  “what they accomplished”

Houston and Houston Baptist are the other two teams in the regional with UL Lafayette and Rice. Robichaux says its another tough regional facing his team….

Cut 17 (16)  “be successful”

The Ragin Cajuns  won the Sun Belt Touranemtn after losing its first game of the tourney to Texas State. Robichaux says battling back from the loser’s bracket should help his young team…

Cut 18 (17) “will not be easy”‘

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05.25.15
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16:45 LRN Sportscast

LSU was named a number two national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament today and they’ll host Lehigh this Friday in the Baton Rouge regional. The other two teams in the B-R Regional are UNC-Wilmington and Tulane. If the Tigers are able to advance out of the Baton Rouge Regional, they could face the Houston Cougars in the super regionals. Houston beat LSU in the regionals last year.

Freshman pitcher Alex Lange says it would be great if they had another chance at Houston…
cut 20 (13) “…in the supers”
LSU’s first opponent in the NCAA Baseball Tournanment is Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks were 25-and-29 overall and they beat Navy in a best out of three series to win the Patriot League Tournament. First pitch for that game is set for 3 PM on the SEC Network.

The Ragin Cajuns are in the NCAA Baseball Tournament for a third straight season. UL Lafayette received an automatic bid after winning the Sun Belt Tournament and they’ll head to Houston, where they’ll play second-seeded Rice. Houston is the top seed in that regional, and Houston Baptist, who won the Southland Tournament, is the four seed. Coach Tony Robichaux says pitching will be the key for the Ragin Cajuns this weekend…
cut 21 (27) “…host team’s crowd”
UL Lafayette will play Rice at 2:30 at Cougar Field.

Disappointing day for Southeastern Louisiana. Despite a 42-17 record, the Lions failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

05.25.15
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14:30 LRN Newscast May 25

Many people are spending Memorial Day in front of the grill cooking up steaks and hamburgers. According to data from the federal government, the average price for a pound of ground beef in March was $4.20, up almost 14-percent from 2014. LSU AgCenter Economist Ross Pruitt says it all comes down to how much beef is available…
Cut 3 (08) “going higher”
Beef production has been down over the past several years because of a drought in some of the leading beef-producing states.

For the fourth straight season, LSU is a national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Tigers will take on Lehigh Friday afternoon as the host team of the Baton Rouge Regional, which also has Tulane as a 3-seed. UNC-Wilmington is the two-seed. The Ragin Cajuns are in the NCAA Tournament for a three-straight year and they’ll face second-seeded Rice in the Houston Regional.
Eleven-thousand American flags have been placed along Huey Long’s grave and the state capitol steps. Each flag represents a Louisiana solider who died in combat. The Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana, which is an organiziation of mothers who have children that served in the armed forces, are the ones who put the flags there. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, David LeCerte, says it’s a great way to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice…
cut 11 (06) “…in the world”

This is also Hurricane Preparedness Week. Chris Guilbeaux, with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says now is the time to stock up on a three to five day supply of water and food that won’t spoil. He says this Saturday and Sunday, there’s a sales tax holiday for hurricane preparation items…
cut 13 (07) “may arise”
Forecasters are calling for a quiet hurricane season but Guilbeaux says we can’t let our guard down.

05.25.15
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13:30 Newscast May 25

Several Memorial Day events have taken place around the state today. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David LeCerte, says if you were not able to attend one, there are other ways you can commemorate the day…
cut 10 (10) “..those sacrifices”
LeCerte says several hundred Louisiana troops have been lost in the post 9-11 war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

LSU, U-L Lafayette and Tulane are the three teams from Louisiana that are in the 64-team NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Fighting Tigers are a number two national seed and will host Lehigh at 3 PM on Friday. Tulane is a three-seed in the Baton Rouge Regional and will take on UNC Wilmington on Friday night. UL Lafayette is in the Houston Regional and they’ll face Rice on Friday afternoon.

Many are firing up the grill this Memorial Day and LSU AgCenter economist Ross Pruitt says beef prices remain high. Scott Carwile has more…
cut 1 (28) “…reporting”

Swimming in outdoor pools, lakes and rivers is a big part of Memorial Day and summertime activities across Louisiana. Assistant Secretary for Public Health, JT Lane, is urging the public to take the proper precautions…
cut 8 (03) “…swimming ”
Some of those precautions include not diving into the water unless you are 100-percent sure its deep enough and clear of debris.

05.22.15
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LRN Newscast 17:30 May 22

A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agent has been been moved to a hospital in Shreveport after he was shot while in the line of duty. L-D-W-F spokesperson Adam Einck says the man who allegedly shot 32-year-old Sergeant Scott Bullitt of Jonesboro has been identified as 29-year-old Luke Jarrod Hust. Einck says Hust has been in and out of jail over the last 10 years and decided to shoot Bullitt during a traffic stop…
cut 8 (07) “lower back”
Hust has been charged with two counts of attempted 1st-degree murder.

Houma Police say a 36-year-old woman accused of dumping a pot of boiling grease on her sleeping ex-boyfriend turned herself into authorities. Police chief Todd Duplantis says investigators originally thought it was just boiling water that burned the 33-year-old victim
cut 15 (09) “the bed”
Duplantis says Lynette Joseph faces a charge of aggravated second-degree battery.

Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi says DNA tests show that a 30-year-old Plaquemine teacher arrested earlier this week, is the father of the child that one of his 15-year-old victims gave birth too. Keavin Keith is accused of having a sexual relationship with three of his former students and Stassi says there’s still only three victims in this case…
cut 14 (08) “…no sir”
Keith was released from jail on a 100-thousand dollar bond.

Congressman John Fleming’s office says the EPA has decided to move forward with plans to dispose 15-million pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden in Webster Parish, despite the agency’s concerns about an additional eight million dollars in oversight costs. Fleming says that’s good to hear, because these dangerous materials need to be removed…
cut 11 (10) “….stuff done”

05.22.15
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LRN Sportscast 16:45 May 22nd

The LSU baseball team will play either Florida or Arkansas tomorrow afternoon in the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament. Freshman Alex Lange will be the starting pitcher. Coach Paul Mainieri is hoping to get some innings out of him. LSU has won two games in the SEC Tournament, but in both contests, the Tigers starting pitcher failed to get past the second inning.

Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana were both eliminated from the Southland Tournament today. The Demons lost to Central Arkansas 5-4 as the Bears scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch. And the top-seeded Lions lost to Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi 6-5 in 10 innings. S-L-U led 4-0 in the 4th inning and will now wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

UL Lafayette looks to avoid elimination as they face UT Arlington tonight in Troy, Alabama. The Cajuns swept the Mavericks in a three-game series during the regular season.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr has confirmed that his assistant, Alvin Gentry, has interviewed with the Pelicans about their head coaching vacancy. Gentry has been a head coach before, most recently in Phoenix, where he went 158-144 in five seasons.

In softball, Game one of the super regional series between UL Lafayette and Auburn is in extra innings. The Cajuns had a five run lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but Auburn was able to tie it, even though they had just one hit. But there were a bunch of walks in the inning. UL Lafayette starting pitcher Jordan Wallace walked 13 for the game.

LSU begins its super regional series tomorrow against Arizona. First pitch is at 2 PM. Game two is set for 4 PM on Sunday and then game three if necessary will be at 7 PM.

At Louisiana College in Pineville tonight and tomorrow it’s the Louisiana High School Coaches Association Softball All Star games. Tonight’s game is at 7 PM and then tomorrow’s contest is at 1 PM.

05.22.15
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LRN PM Newscall May 22nd

For the 6th Memorial Day weekend, Bayou Country Superfest brings it’s huge stage to Tiger Stadium. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agent was shot while on patrol in Ouachita Parish. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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Memorial Day Weekend in Baton Rouge will see Tiger Stadium hosting Bayou Country Superfest for the 6th year with huge stars including Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, all on the heels of tonight’s Taylor Swift show. Producer Quint Davis says one of the greatest things about this festival is that it’s held on the LSU campus…

CUT 3 (09)  “inside the stadium”

Davis reminds concert goers that Saturday and Sunday from noon to four, a huge free fan fest takes place outside the stadium…

CUT 4 (06)  “sign their shirts”

Davis says the stage is built, the field is covered and the chairs are down. He says Bayou Country Superfest in “Death Valley” is a gathering like no other…

CUT 5 (09)  “Blake and Miranda”

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A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agent is hospitalized after he was shot while in the line of duty. L-D-W-F spokesperson Adam Einck says 32-year-old Sergeant Scott Bullitt of Jonesboro was shot in the back while performing a traffic stop on the Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area in Ouachita Parish…

CUT 6 (10)  “recoverable from”

Einck says Sergeant Bullitt has been an LDWF agent for over five years and he’s married with no kids…

CUT 7 (10) “and waterways”

The man who allegedly shot Sergeant Bullitt has been identified as 29-year-old Luke Jarrod Hust. He fled into the woods after the shooting, but was arrested by authorities several hours later. Einck says Hust has been in and out of jail over the last 10 years and decided to shoot Bullitt during the traffic stop…

(Hust has been charged with two counts of attempted 1st-degree murder.)

CUT 8 (07)  “lower back”

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Fourth district Congressman John Fleming is upset the Environmental Protection Agency has delayed the disposal of 15-million pounds of M6 propellant stored at Camp Minden in Webster Parish. Fleming says a contract has yet to be signed to begin the disposal, because the EPA wants an additional eight million dollars from Louisiana to cover oversight costs…

CUT 9 (09)  “level of expense”

Tthe EPA says additional dollars are needed because of updated cost estimates. But Fleming says the EPA has not provided any documentation on why

cut 10 (06) “that’s it”

Fleming calls the EPA’s last minute demand extortion from an agency whose budget is eight-billion dollars. The congressman from northwest Louisiana says he’ll work to get contractors on the ground soon to begin the work of removing these dangerous materials

cut 11 (10)  “stuff done”

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Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi says DNA has confirmed that a 30-year-old teacher in Plaquemine fathered a 15-year-old student’s child. Keavin Keith was arrested earlier this week, after he was accused of having a sexual relationship with three students. Stassi says no new additional charges will occur as a result of this latest development…

cut 12 (09)  “this time”

Stassi says they ordered DNA tests after one of the alleged victims told detectives she had a sexual relationship with Keith that produced a son…

cut 13 (07)  “year old”

Keith was released from jail on a 100-thousand dollar bond. Stassi says they continue to investigate, but at this time, there’s only three victims in this case…

cut 14 (08) “no sir”

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Houma Police say a 36-year-old woman accused of dumping a pot of boiling grease on her sleeping ex-boyfriend turned herself into authorities this morning. Police chief Todd Duplantis says investigators originally thought it was just boiling water that burned the 33-year-old victim

cut 15 (09) “the bed”

The victim suffered severe burns to his torso, right arm and face and was sent to a burn center in Baton Rouge. Duplantis Lynette Joseph faces a charge of second-degree battery…

cut 16 (11) “or both”

05.22.15
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11:40 LRN Sportscast May 22nd

LSU’s bullpen came through again last night as the Fighting Tigers topped Arkansas 10 to 5 to advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Russell Reynolds was the winning pitcher as he threw 3.1 innings of shutout baseball. Jesse Stallings, Hunter Newman and Zac Person also pitched scorless innings of relief. LSU needed to lean on the pen again last night, because starting pitcher Austin Bain was pulled in the second inning after giving up four runs. The Tigers will play again tomorrow against the winner of tonight’s game between Florida and Arkansas.

In the Sun Belt Tournament…U-L Lafayette takes on Texas-Arlington in an elimination game. In two games in the tournament, the Cajuns have scored 19 runs.

And the UL Lafayette softball team begins its best out of three super regional series against Auburn this afternoon. The Lady Cajuns are two wins away from their seventh appearance in the Women’s College World Series.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr has confirmed that his assistant, Alvin Gentry, has interviewed with the Pelicans about their head coaching vacancy. Gentry has been a head coach before, most recently in Phoenix, where he went 158-144 in five seasons.

The Saints announce they’ve signed first round pick Andrus Peat to a four-year contract. The offensive tackle was selected with the 13th overall pick out of Stanford. Peat was named a first-team All-American by several news organizations last season and was an Outland Trophy semifinalist.

Also in the NFL…former Saints first round pick Reggie Bush, says he would like to return punts again this season. Bush recently signed with the San Francisco 49ers and hasn’t returned punts regularly since his final season in New Orleans in 2010.

Louisiana Tech announces changes to its 2016 non-conference football schedule as they drop Mississippi State and Texas A-and-M and add Texas Tech and UMASS.

05.21.15
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LRN Newscast 17:30 May 21

On a 65-37 vote, the state House approved a 24-billion dollar budget for next fiscal year, sending the spending plan to the senate. House Appropriations Chairman Jim Fannin says the budget process started with a one-point-six billion dollar shortfall, but they covered much of that gap, by passing revenue generating bills, recognizing additional dollars thanks to an improved revenue forecast and other financing…
cut 14 (10) “…MFP”
As it stands now, the budget reduces funding for LSU’s medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport and the state’s public-private hospital partnerships are also underfunded. Fannin says some agencies will also face cuts…
cut 15 (08) “…highest priority”
The Senate Finance Committee will take up the budget next week.

Governor Bobby Jindal’s religious freedom executive order is receiving strong criticism from democrats. The leader of the state democratic party, New Orleans Senator Karen Peterson, says she can’t believe Jindal would issue the order, when businesses and the tourism industry expressed concern the measure could alienate visitors or keep conventions away…:
CUT 10 (08) “we represent”
Jindal’s controversial order prevents the executive branch of state government from taking adverse action against a person or a business for their belief in traditional marriage. The governor says it re-affirms our first amendment rights….
cut 12 (09) “….without discrimination”
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu signed his own executive order in response. The mayor says his executive order lets the nation know New Orleans is an accepting, invititing city that thrives on its diversity.