Governor John Bel Edwards has signed legislation designed to control the cost of the TOPS program in future years. Starting in 2017, TOPS students will have to pay a portion of their tuition, if the legislature does not agree to raise the TOPS payment to match tuition hikes. The author of the measure, Mandeville Senator Jack Donahue, says this won’t solve all of the TOPS funding issues, but it’s a start…
cut 7 (05) “…we have”

Digital billboards are up in Baton Rouge and Shreveport urging residents to contact their legislators and ask them to support legislation that would expand the number of diseases medical marijuana can treat. Katie Corkern is featured on one of the billboards and she says FDA approved medication doesn’t help her child that has a seizure disorder…
cut 10 (08) “…talk about”
The full House is expected to vote on the bill that Corkern supports.

A 21-year-old Ascension Parish mother is facing charges after police say her two-year-old child ate methamphetamine. Gonzales Police Sergeant Steven Nethken says 21-year-old Tyler Dauzat was at first evasive in answering questions at the hospital, but a blood screen of the toddler showed meth in her system…
cut 4 (10) “….the methamphetamine”

The headshot of a service dog in the yearbook from West Monroe’s Good Hope Middle School has made national headlines. The service dog’s name is Presley and is photo can be found right next to his owner, 14-year-old Seph Ware, who has muscular dystrophy. The school’s yearbook advisor, Sonya Hogg, says Presley has evened signed a few yearbooks, with help from Seph….
cut 13 (05) “…from Presley”
Hogg says it was a natural decision for her to have a picture of Presley in the yearbook.

The House Appropriations committee has backed a plan that would give the Attorney General’s Office more oversight over its own budget. Metairie Representative Cameron Henry says A-G Jeff Landry requested more freedom to determine how to spend his agency’s allotted state funds…
cut 4 (10) “….move money around”
Governor John Bel Edwards says this action is not only unconstitutional, it’s also bad policy….
cut 6 (09) “….agencies”
The full House will debate this issue some more later in the week.

Flags are at half-staff over the State Capitol and all public buildings today in honor of Frank Levingston of Lake Charles. He was the oldest verified World War Two vet, who died earlier this month at the age of 110.

A poll of over six-hundred likely voters in Louisiana finds Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has a big lead over Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. John Couvillion of JMC Analytics conducted the survey and he says the poll shows very little evidence of Republican disunity…
cut 13 (10) “….republican”
Trump received an approval rating of 47-percent in the poll, while Clinton and Sanders disapproval rating was above 55-percent.

The state legislature is close to approving a bill that would require signs warning motorists of intersections where red-light traffic cameras are present. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter says if there are no signs and driver gets ticketed for blowing a red light, they’ll have the opportunity to contest that ticket…
cut 10 (08) “…be heard”
The full House still has to approve it and it then heads to the governor’s desk.

The House Appropriations Committee approves a proposed spending plan for next fiscal year that fully funds TOPS. The panel moved money away from other state agencies to fully fund the popular scholarship program. While speaking to the Baton Rouge Press Club, Governor John Bel Edwards expressed concerns about cutting funding to various agencies that have already seen their budgets slashed…
cut 13 (08) “…dollar amounts”
The budget bill still has a long way to go in the legislative process.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison says robbery appears to be the motive in the shooting death of Thomas Rolfe. He’s the Tulane grad, who was in New Orleans for the weekend to plan a spot for his wedding. Rolfe’s body was found a few blocks from where surveillance video spotted the 25-year-old purchasing water. Harrison says there were marks on Rolfe’s hands that suggests there was a struggle.

Carinsurance.com shows Louisiana is the third most dangerous state for teen drivers. The study also found Louisiana teens are driving drunk at a rate of 9-percent, and 49-percent are texting and driving. Highway Safety Advocate Jim Champagne says law enforcement needs to be tougher on teen drivers…
cut 8 (10) “…our teens”

23-million dollars of rehabilition work on the Jimmie Davis Bridge has been put on hold because the state could not come to an agreement on how much it should cost to move the cliff swallows living there. cliff swallows is a protected species of bird. State department of transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallett…
cut 10 (12) “…painting issue”
Mallett says the 23-million dollars is still allocated for the project, even though there is no word on when work will begin on the bridge.

The House Appropriations Committee passes a proposed budget for next fiscal year that fully funds TOPS. Committee Chairman Cameron Henry says money was moved around to come up with the 183-million dollars needed to pay for tuition costs associated with the scholarship program…
cut 12 (06) “…for priorities”
The budget still has a long way to go through the legislative process.

Baton Rouge mayor Kip Holden has filed his paperwork to run for Congress. Holden is expected to challenge fellow Democrat and incumbent US Representative Cedic Richmond, who represents the 2nd District which covers New Orleans and parts of the River Parishes and Baton Rouge. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Holden, who is term-limited as a mayor, is a strong candidate….
cut 3 (08) “….for him”

Louisiana is ranked the third most dangerous state for teen drivers, according to a new study from Carinsurance.com. Michelle Southern has more…
voicer 2 (30) “…reporting”

Rehabilition work on the Jimmie Davis Bridge in Bossier-Shreveport will not go on as planned, because there is a protected species of birds living on the bridge. Department of transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallett says the state and the contractor couldn’t agree on a cost to safely move the birds, so they will go back to the drawing board…
cut 11 (05) “…Shreveport area”

A report from Carinsurance-dot-com finds Louisiana is the third most dangerou state for teen drivers. The study found that Louisiana teens are drinking and driving at a rate of nine-percent and texting and driving at a rate of 49-percent, both percentages are above the national average. Highway Safety advocate, Colonel Jim Champagne, says it’s a disturbing report…
cut 7 (09) “….the nation”

Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden has filed papework that suggests he’s running for Congress. Holden is expected to run against fellow Democrat Cedric Richmond, who represents the 2nd District. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Holden could be a serious threat to Richmond, but he’ll need to raise some dough…
cut 5 (11) “…just announcing”
Qualifying is in July and the election is in November.

The Jimmy Davis Bridge in Shreveport-Bossier City will not get its planned renovation anytime soon because the construction contract has been terminated. Department of Transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallett says work has been halted because of a protected species of bird that’s nesting on the bridge.
CUT 9 (10) “the work”
Mallett says DOTD is regrouping and will try to come up with a cost prohibitive plan to protect the cliff swallows that are living on the bridge.

The House Appropriations Committee has approved a spending plan for next fiscal year that fully funds the TOPS Scholarship program. Governor John Bel Edwards proposed spending plan only funded TOPS at one-third of the level neeeded to completely pay for all of the tuitions. Money was moved from other parts of the budget to fully fund the scholarship program. The full house will debate the budget bill later this week.

A new study from Carinsurance.com shows Louisiana is the third most dangerous state for teen drivers. Highway safety advocate, Col. Jim Champagne is not surprised because he says we give teen drivers too much freedom at an early age….
cut 6 (12) “…until 18”
The study also found Louisiana teens are driving drunk at a rate of 9-percent, and 49-percent are texting and driving.

Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden has filed paperwork to run for Congress and it’s expected he’ll challenge 2nd District US Representative Cedric Richmond, who represents New Orleans and parts of the River Parishes and Baton Rouge. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Holden could be a strong challenger to Richmond…
cut 4 (05) “…very viable”
Holden is term-limited and can’t run for re-election as Baton Rouge’s mayor.

The tiny Tensas Parish town of St. Joseph may finally get their water problems resolved, as members of the governor’s staff are there today to discuss fixing the brown tap water. Halen Doughty has more…
voicer 2 (30) “…I’m Halen Doughty’