State Representative and gubernatorial candidate John Bel Edwards calls himself the anti-Jindal candidate as he tries to woo voters. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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A combination of sleet, freezing rain and snow have closed several roads in Louisiana. Scott Carwile has more from the governor’s homeland security and emergency preparedness….

Cut 2 (25) “reporting”

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State Superintendent of Education John White is concerned the Jindal administration will cut funds used to pay for standardized testing. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “reporting”

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State Representative and gubernatorial candidate John Bel Edwards calls himself the anti-Jindal candidate as he tries to woo voters who are looking for a change in state government leadership. Edwards made the statement during an appearance on the Jim Engster Show. The Amite Democrat says the state doesn’t need a third Jindal term, which is what his opponents in the race are offering…

cut 4  (12)  “we’ve been doing”

Edwards says Senator David Vitter would be “Jindal on steroids”, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne “Jindal light”, and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle “Jindal incarnate”. Edwards trails his three Republican opponents in fundraising for this election. He says it’s critically important to have the money necessary to deliver your message and he’s working on that…

Cut 5  (10)  “competitive campaign”

Edwards is the lone Democrat in this year’s governor’s race. There is a big question on whether or not Democratic New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will throw his hat into the ring. Edwards says Landrieu can run, but if he does, he violates a pledge he made to New Orleans before he was re-elected…

Cut 6 (07)  “to do that”

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State Education Superintendent John White is concerned the governor will not provide funding for standardized tests tied to Common Core. The Jindal administration will present a proposed budget for next fiscal year on Friday. White says it’s a state law to give out a standardized test…

CUT 7 (08)  “in the budget”

A Jindal administration spokesperson says there are no plans to cut student testing, but all state agencies will face strategic reductions to contracts. White says if the state doesn’t provide dollars for student testing, it could lead to big problems

Cut 8  (10)  “our state” 

Jindal opposes the use of any test that’s tied to Common Core. White says he’s heard rumors the governor will take away money that would go towards paying for standardized testing…

Cut 9 (12)  “federal funding”

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It’s a winter wonderland along the I-20  as a result of a winter storm that slamed the northern parishes. Kevin Davis, director of the governor’s office of homeland security and emergency preparedness, says numerous roads are closed despite the department of transportation’s best efforts

Cut 10 (10) “cleared”

Some roads over central Louisiana may have also closed overnight because of icy conditions. Davis says the National Weather Service reports temperatures should start rising after lunch time

cut 11 (07) “roadways open”

Davis says if wintry precipitation has fallen in your area, stay home, if there’s no need to travel

cut 12 (06)  “better off”

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The wintry precipitation that’s impacted a large portion of the state is expected to end this morning, but chilly temperatures will remain. State Climatologist Barry Keim says any freezing rain advisories that are still posted, will likely expire at 12:00 or earlier

Cut 13 (09)  “the forecast”

Keim says while the wintry precipitation comes to an end, we won’t see temperatures back above 60-degrees until the weekend

Cut 14 (11) “dries out”

Keim says this is the first winter storm Louisiana has experienced this season and hopefully the last….

Cut 15  (09)  “can happen”

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Central Louisiana leaders are celebrating the news that an aluminum alloy manufacture plans to build a mill that would employ nearly 15-hundred workers. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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Winter weather conditions in north Louisiana is causing ice accumulation on roadways and hazardous driving conditions for motorists. Eric Gill has more…

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The city of Pineville is ecstatic over the news that American Specialty Alloys has announced they plan to build a two-point-four billion dollar aluminum mill where the International Paper mill once operated. Pineville mayor Clarence Fields says the project is expected to create nearly 15-hundred new jobs

CUT 3 (06)  “surrounding communities”

Fields says the average salary for those direct jobs is 70-thousand dollars and operations at the facility are expected to begin late next year. He says American Specialty Alloys estimates it will take two-thousand construction jobs to build the mill…

CUT 4 (07)  “we’re excited”

A-S-A officials say they considered building the plant in several southern states, when they announced plans last November to build a “mill of the future.” Fields says a 34-million dollar performance-based grant from the state and central Louisiana hospitality helped convince them to build the plant in Pineville…

CUT 5 (10)  “visit areas”

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Winter weather conditions in north Louisiana have caused the closure of several roadways and exit ramps. These conditions can cause ice accumulation on roadways and hazardous driving conditions for motorists. Trooper Michael Reichardt says driving conditions are far from optimal and not getting any better…

CUT 6 (10)  “of your house”

Reichardt says it would be best if motorists could avoid driving in these conditions. He says the state DOTD is working to keep I-20 open by pre-salting the roadway. Reichardt says, if you do need to need to drive, you should use extreme caution and make really smart decisions behind the wheel…

CUT 7 (11)  “for your safety”

If you do need to drive in these conditions, Reichardt says you should definitely slow down and give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination safely. He says, from the information he’s gathered, these conditions could continue to impact the area for a couple of more days…

CUT 8 (08)  “prolonged event”

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Due to the recent rash of measles outbreaks, the Centers for Disease Control is recommending adults between the ages of 57 and 43 get a measles shot, even if they were already vaccinated. Dr. Frank Lopez, with LSU Health New Orleans Infectious Diseases, has the specifics on the CDC recommendation…

CUT 9 (10)  “vaccinated appropriately”

He says anyone born between 1957 and 1971 should be evaluated by their primary care provider to make sure you were vaccinated appropriately. Lopez says there was some kind of vaccination gap between those years…

cut 10 (11)  “become available”

He says the gap resulted in people either not being vaccinated against the measles or receiving a vaccination that isn’t as effective as the current vaccine. Lopez says you should discuss this with your doctor since medical information from 40 to 50 years ago is limited…

cut 11 (07)  “primary care provider”

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Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency as a result of winter weather that’s impacting Louisiana.  State Climatologist Barry Keim says Shreveport-Bossier is under a winter storm warning, a winter weather advisory is in effect for the Monroe area and Lake Charles and Alexandria are under a freezing rain advisory until noon tomorrow…

cut 12 (10)  “warm up sufficiently”

The state department of transportation has closed a portion of I-49 in Caddo Parish, so is I-220 in Bossier and Caddo Parish and several on and off ramps of I-20 in Ouachita Parish have been shut down. Keim says freezing rain could be a problem for most of the state today

cut 13 (05)  “very, very careful”

Keim says over a tenth of an inch of ice is forecasted for the northern half of the state, including Alexandria. He says Lake Charles could also see icy conditions…

cut 14 (07)  “big question”

LSU students believe the governor and state lawmakers should do more to protect higher education from deep budget cuts. Scott Carwile has the story…

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Many parents will be happy to hear that the Google online video library YouTube now offers a more age appropriate medium for children. Michelle Southern reports.

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The iconic Louisiana Cajun food company Savoie’s (sa-vwa) is celebrating 60 years in business. Michelle Southern reports…:

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A group of LSU students believe the legislature should approve a constitutional amendment that protects higher education from budget cuts. Higher ed and health care are not protected and they will likely take the brunt of next fiscal year’s budget cuts. Mass communications student David Scotton leads an effort to get such an amendment proposed

cut 4  (5)  “that solution”

Scotton has helped gather over one-thousand signatures of LSU students who support the idea for a constitutional amendment to protect higher education…

Cut 5  (05)  “not happy”

Scotton is a junior at LSU and he’s seen how previous budget cuts have harmed the university….

Cut 6 (07)  “not respected”

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Many parents will be happy to hear that the Google online video library YouTube is now offering a more age appropriate medium for children. YouTube Kids is a free app and it launches today for Android devices. LSU professor Jenson Moore who specializes in digital media says this is a major evolution in social video…:

CUT 7 (08)  “on track with this one”

Moore says there is a stream on the side of any video you may be viewing and those are typically never safe for young eyes because anything can show up. She says one of the new features of YouTube Kids is the safe search which limits certain words and will weed out inappropriate words or uncensored content…:

Cut 8  (11)  “has designated” 

Moore says comments can also be removed which many times contain profanity or inappropriate content even if the video is considered kid safe. She also says YouTube Kids will only contain a small amount of advertising but there will be no “click throughs” or purchase options…:

Cut 9 (09)  “YouTube channel”

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The iconic Louisiana Cajun food company Savoie’s (sa-vwa) is celebrating 60 years in business. The company headquarters remain at the original grocery site on LA 742 just east of Opelousas. Robert vanLeeuwen (Van-Lay-Vun) is a vice president at Savoie and he says sixty years is a real milestone as there are not many “niche” food products companies who reach that age in Louisana

Cut 10 (10) “of ownership”

vanLeeuwen says it all started with Eula Savoie, affectionately known as Ms. Eula, who got into the hog farming business shortly before the price of hogs dropped steeply in 1955. It was then, he said, that Ms. Eula decided to have the hogs slaughtered for sausage…:

cut 11 (10) “each hog”

vanLeeuwen says Savoie’s prides itself on offering Cajun food products that are as traditional as they are delicious…:

cut 12 (10)  “dressing mix”

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A winter storm warning is in effect for parishes along the I-20 corridor today. Marty Mayeaux, with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, says freezing rain and sleet is expected…

Cut 13 (10)  “I-2o corridor”

There are also several parishes in northeast Louisiana that are under a freezing rain advisory until 10:00 this morning. Mayeaux says how much ice we see across north Louisiana depends on the temperature

Cut 14 (07) “more ice”

Several schools are closed today, including Louisiana Tech and Grambling State. Mayeaux advises against traveling today, if you don’t have to, because we see could some significant icing

Cut 15  (08)  “early on”

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Meteorologists are keeping an eye on the potential for winter precipitation in north Louisiana Sunday night and into Monday. Michelle Southern reports.

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Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle is the first 2015 gubernatorial candidate to begin advertising on television. Michelle Southern reports…:

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Meteorologists are keeping an eye on the potential for winter precipitation in north Louisiana Sunday night and into Monday. Mario Valverde with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says cold is expected along with rain…:

CUT 3 (09)  “hazardous”

Valverde says it’s going to be cold and it’s going to be wet and nothing good comes from everything freezing up. He says this precipitation is likely to continue into Monday with many areas struggling to get much above freezing during the day down into central Louisiana…:

CUT 4 (07)  “gonna be”

So what about the white stuff? Valvdere says there is a better chance for snow on Monday night as the cold air builds deeper…:

CUT 5 (10)  “the air gets”

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Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon encourages taxpayers to file for an insurance rebate available to any person who pays for a homeowners, renters or business property insurance policy. Donelon says eligible taxpayers should check the box on their returns for the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Assessment rebate

CUT 6 (12)  “tax return”

Donelon says unfortunately millions of dollars in rebates connected to this assessment are unclaimed every year. He says you can also still claim the assessment, if you failed to do so from 2011 to 2014…

CUT 7 (10)  “refund for”

Donelon says if you have questions, go to the insurance department’s website or call 1-800-259-5300. He says over 300-million dollars from 2006 through 2010 expired and never claimed…

CUT 8 (10)  “to access”

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Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle is the first 2015 gubernatorial candidate to begin advertising on television. LaPolitics.com was the first to deliver the report about the ads and publisher Jeremy Alford says (today) Friday is the first day Angelle’s spots starting airing as part of the $200,000 buy…:

CUT 9 (09)  “damaged”

Alford says there are three commercials in rotation feature Angelle’s “Workhorse Not a Showhorse” line and in one of the ads he speaks in Cajun French…:

cut 10 (09)  “the spicket has been opened”

Alford says now we can expect to see gubernatorial ads non-stop between now and the fall — not only from candidates but also from super PACS. He says the Angelle campaign wanted to keep the buy extremely quiet because they wanted to be the first on the air…:

cut 11 (11)  “was celebrating”

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The legislature’s joint budget committee approved a 103-million dollar cut to this fiscal year’s budget. But there were several complaints on how the cuts were handed down. Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith expressed her frustration that the governor’s office only received a ten-thousand dollar cut in funding

cut 12 (06)  “by example”

Smith says a leader should lead by example during tough budget times and could do so by working without pay

cut 13 (11)  “six months”

Crowley Representative Jack Montoucet, who is also an alligator meat processor, expressed concerns with the cuts to the department of ag, which he says will result in fewer food inspectors…

cut 14 (10)  “my concern”

Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols pushed lawmakers to approve the governor’s plan, because if any proposed cuts are re-stored, it it will lead to deeper cuts next fiscal year….

cut 15 (10) “higher education”