Keep Louisiana Beautiful has several New Year’s resolutions for Louisianans to help do their part in keeping the state clean in 2024. Teiko Foxx spoke with Director Susan Russell

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A Jefferson Parish man was fatally when a bullet came through his apartment window. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) is asking Louisianans to adopt one of their resolutions to help clean up the Bayou State in the New Year. Director Susan Russell says litter is a major issue in Louisiana. She says one simple resolution is to have a garbage bag in your vehicle to collect litter.

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According to KLB’s 2023 roadside litter study, there are more than 143 million pieces of litter on Louisiana roadways.

Russell says truck drivers can make sure their bed is free of debris. She also urges truck drivers to secure large loads when transporting items on the highway.

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More than 53 percent of roadway litter is due to motorists. The KLB study also found Louisiana taxpayers are paying more than $91 million annually on litter abatement, a 65 percent increase since 2010.

Russell suggests using reusable bottles and bags and fewer single-use paper and plastic items.

Cut 5 (09) “ …don’t biodegrade.” 

Visit LetLouisianaShine dot org for more resolutions and litter facts.

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Opelousas police officer Savannah Butler faces two counts of negligent injury after her firearm was discharged at police chief Graig LeBlanc and his wife Crystal. St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says it happened after an argument between the LeBlancs outside of Butler’s home.

Cut 6 (11) “…front of him.”

Guidroz says they do not know why Chief LeBlanc was at Butler’s residence on December 22^nd, or why his wife, who’s a Captain with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office later arrived at the home and what led to the argument.

Cut 7 (05) “…trespassing.” 

Butler and Captain LeBlanc have both been placed on administrative leave, pending investigations by both agencies.

After being shot the LeBlancs were treated for their injuries and released from local hospitals. Guidroz says fortunately the injuries were not serious…

Cut 8 (03) “…lot worse.” 

Butler also faces illegal discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice charges, after allegedly cleaning up the scene before notifying the Sheriff’s Office.

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An innocent bystander was killed on New Year’s eve near Westwego in Jefferson Parish as a woman was attempting to retrieve her stolen vehicle. Sheriff Joe Lopinto says when the owner tried to get her vehicle back, she was confronted by three male suspects in the parking lot and at least one of the suspects fired at the vehicle’s owner…

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The Jefferson Parish coroner has identified the victim as 32-year-old Corey Washington. Lopinto says the search for the suspects continues…

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Lopinto says the victim was inside a nearby apartment complex when he was struck by a stray bullet

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Pennington Biomedical health experts want you to know New Year resolutions that involve nutrition, exercise or mental health are doable with small shifts. Teiko Foxx has more…

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 January 8th will mark the end of a long political career for Jay Dardenne. Colleen Crain has more…

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A Violent Crime Task Force has submitted a report that will give the new Legislature something to work from as they look to pass criminal justice reform measures. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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Does setting health and fitness resolutions for a new year have to be a waste of time? Pennington Biomedical Assistant Professor of Research Jacob Mey has some tips on staying on track. Mey suggests making subtle adjustments to your diet and every day ask yourself… 

Cut 4 (10) “…positive direction.”

When starting a new exercise routine, a couple of days of exercise at a light effort is a great way to start. If you never work out, Mey says don’t start with a goal that involves working out 6 days a week. He suggests starting slowly rather than diving in at the deep end.

Cut 5 (13) “…step counts.”

Health goals should also include celebrating the little victories to track how far you’ve come.

Mey says be kind to yourself when things don’t go as planned. He says regroup and identify achievable steps to keep going.

Cut 6 (09) “…person perspective.”

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A 35-year political career is ending. Jay Dardenne who has served in the East Baton Rouge Metro Council, state senate, Secretary of State, Lt Governor, and Commissioner of Administration, is retiring from politics. The 69-year-old started in state government when elected to the state senate in 1991. He served in the upper chamber until 2006 and helped craft several significant pieces of legislation

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Dardenne left the Senate in 2006 to be Secretary of State after the death of Fox McKeithen. He was elected as Lt. Governor in 2010 and helped come up with the Pick Your Passion marketing campaign…

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In 2015, Dardenne ran unsuccessfully for governor. However, on the campaign trail, he connected with John Bel Edwards. After Edwards was elected, he chose Dardenne as his Commissioner of Administration, putting him in charge of state finances. He says the challenges of the job began on day one…

Cut 9 (12)  “…two billion dollar problem.”

It took a couple of years to put an end to budget deficits, but the challenges didn’t stop as the state was also hit with major hurricanes, civil unrest after the Alton Sterling police shooting, and the COVID pandemic.

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The Louisiana Violent Crime Task Force has submitted a report for the next Legislature to review. Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala served on the Task Force and says the report contains several broad recommendations and areas to address. Bacala says speeding up the time between an arrest and trial has to be addressed…

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Bacala says legislation is also needed to bring real, substantive consequences to juveniles committing serious crimes. He says the Legislature also has to address rehabilitative efforts and programs and the alarming shortage of law enforcement officers…

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Bacala says to understand all of the issues with violent crime, they need better data. He says one important statistic has come to their attention. Bacala says felony arrests in New Orleans have significantly dropped, from 22-thousand in 2010 to just four-thousand in 2022…

Cut 12 (12) “…blow up.” 

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The LSU Tigers completed their mission of achieving a ten-win season as LSU rallied in the final minutes to beat Wisconsin 35-31 in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa. Garrett Nussmeier was named the game’s MVP as he led the Tigers back from two 14-point deficits…

Cut 13 (13) “…Las Vegas” 

In his first collegiate start, Nussmeier threw for 395 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Nussmeier led LSU on an eight-play, 98-yard drive for the winning touchdown with just over three minutes left.

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LSU’s defense struggled giving up 508 yards, but back-to-back sacks on the Badgers final drive put the game away. Coach Brian Kelly says it was a good confidence builder…

Cut 15 (15) “…win a championship.”

Kelly says he was with Nussmeier’s performance…

Cut 16 (16) “…for us”