The special legislative session must end next Wednesday and lawmakers are still are at odds over the best way to address the 940 million dollar budget deficit for this fiscal year. Jeremy Alford of La-politics-dot-com (lapolitics.com) says there has been repeated delays on many tax votes, but there should be some movement hopefully Thursday afternoon…:
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Alford says if the House is unable to send over any additional revenue, then Governor Edwards will be left to make more cuts. Senate Finance Chairman Eric LaFleur, a Democrat from Ville Platte, says House Bill 122 on budget cuts will pass out of his committee Thursday. He says once that happens, more decisions can be made on the state’s deficit…:
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The full House is expected to take up tax bills Thursday when they convene at 1pm.

Parents with children that have developmental disabilities went before the Senate Finance Committee urging lawmakers to increase taxes to help fund programs that help them take care of their kids. Ashley McReynolds is the mother of 9-year-old Cooper who has a serious genetic disorder that makes him feel like he’s starving to death. She says without state assistance they would not be able to raise Cooper at home…:
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The testimony made many members of the committee extremely emotional.

The student body presidents of 19 Louisiana colleges wrote a letter to every state legislator today urging them to stop any further cuts to higher education. It says students of Louisiana are challenging their Senate and House of Representatives to provide real, long-term budget solutions to ensure the future of higher education. The letter calls on legislators to prevent higher education from having to absorb even the best case scenario cut, recommended by Edwards’ office, of about $75 million.

Parents of children with developmental disabilities went before the Senate Finance Committee urging lawmakers to increase taxes to help fund programs that help them take care of their kids. Ashley McReynolds is the mother of 9-year-old Cooper who has a serious genetic disorder that makes him feel like he’s starving to death. She says without state assistance they would not be able to raise Cooper at home. The testimony definitely touched members of the Senate Finance Committee like Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt….

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Former US Representative Joseph Cao (Gow) has joined the race for the US Senate seat that will be vacated by David Vitter. Eight well-known candidates are now in the race. Cao, a republican, served one term in the House beginning in 2009. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says with so many familiar names in the race, Cao is not a favorite to head into the run off.

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One person was killed and three others were injured in a two-vehicle crash last night near the Roanoke community in Jefferson Davis parish. Sgt. James Anderson with Louisiana State Police says none of the adults involved in the accident were wearing seat belts.

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25-year-old Kevin Daigle of Elton was pronounced dead at a Lafayette hospital.

Duck Dynasty fans are celebrating at the Duck Commander Warehouse in West Monroe as the show airs its 100^th episode tonight. Willie Robertson’s wife Korie, who also co-owns Duck Commander, says they are already filming season 10, and their new adopted 13-year-old son Rowdy Robertson will make appearances in the new season – joining 5 other siblings. The one hour season 9 finale airs tonight at 8pm on A&E.

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The state House once again decided to postpone the tax bills, one week from the day the legislative session must end. Governor John Bel Edwards says he’s getting concerned about the stale mate lawmakers are in right now as the GOP hesitates to raise taxes before they see more cuts in government spending. A more than $900 million dollar deficit must be filled by July 1st.

The Senate Finance Committee heard heartbreaking testimony today from parents of children with disabilities who want lawmakers to help fund programs to assist with raising their kids. A Zachary father says his 14-year-old son Blaine suffers from severe autism and another rare condition. He says with two other kids in college, he needs assistance from the state to help him take care of Blaine…:
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The testimony made several committee members emotional.

A tragic accident in Jefferson Davis Parish claimed the life of one 25 year old man and injured three others including a two year old child. State Police spokesman Sgt James Anderson says none of the adults were buckled up, but the two year old was restrained but still sustained injuries. He says not wearing seat belts had serious consequences for the adults involved…:
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25-year-old Kevin Daigle of Elton was pronounced dead at a Lafayette hospital.

Duck Dynasty fans are celebrating at the Duck Commander Warehouse in West Monroe as the show airs its 100th episode tonight. Willie Robertson’s wife Korie, says the small town of West Monroe has seen a huge boost in tourism since the show aired. She says the best thing about filming the show has been spending time together with their family…:
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The one hour season 9 finale airs tonight at 8pm on A&E.

Former US Representative Joseph Cao (Gow) has entered the race for the US Senate seat, joining seven other well-known candidates. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says the candidates with high name recognition and available funds will have a leg up. Democrats Foster Campbell and Caroline Fayard are also in the running, but Cross says only one of them may have a real shot…:
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Parents with children that have developmental disabilities went before the Senate Finance Committee urging lawmakers to increase taxes to help fund programs that help them take care of their kids. Ashley McReynolds is the mother of 9-year-old Cooper who has a serious genetic disorder that makes him feel like he’s starving to death. She says without state assistance they would not be able to raise Cooper at home…:
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The West Monroe-based show Duck Dynasty marks its 100th episode today. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
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Former state lawmaker Brett Geymann of Lake Charles says he’s running for Louisiana 3rd District Seat in the US House of Representatives. Geymann, a republican, is seeking to replace Charles Boustany, who is running for US Senate.

The state house is meeting at this hour and said they plan to take up the cigarette tax increase proposal.

Former US Representative Joseph Cao has announced he will run for the US Senate seat that David Vitter will vacate. Halen Doughty has more…:

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Baton Rouge Police say a Department of Development inspector is booked for allegedly trying to extort money from several Baton Rouge businesses. They say 29-year-old Jeremy Jamal Johnson, a code enforcement officer, is accuse of walking into establishments and and demand inspection money or else he’d shut them down. Johnson was charged with attempted felony theft, extortion, malfeasance in office and public bribery.

One person was killed and three others, including a 2 year old, were injured in a two-vehicle crash last night near the Roanoke community in Jefferson Davis parish. Sgt. James Anderson with Louisiana State Police says the investigation revealed that the driver, 24-year-old Kayla Laborde failed to stop at a stop sign and this is happening too often…:
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25-year-old Kevin Daigle of Elton was pronounced dead at a Lafayette hospital.

Duck Dynasty fans are celebrating at the Duck Commander Warehouse in West Monroe as the show airs its 100th episode tonight. Willie Robertson’s wife Korie, who also co-owns Duck Commander, says they kicked off the celebration this morning with camp cupcakes and mystery gifts for the first 100 customers at the warehouse…:
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The one hour long season 9 finale airs on A&E tonight at 8.

Former US Representative Joseph Cao (Gow) has entered the race for the US Senate seat that will vacated by David Vitter. Eight well-known candidates are now in the race. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says fundraising may be the defining factor in this race because so many candidates are competing for limited funds in the state…:
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Cross says Republicans John Kennedy, Charles Boustany and John Fleming are favorites to make the runoff. Democrats Foster Campbell and Caroline Fayard are also candidates in the US Senate Race.

Governor John Bel Edwards continues to press lawmakers on his proposals to increase taxes in order to fill the more than $900 million dollar shortfall this special session which must end a week from today. Legislators are in a holding pattern right now as the House postpones tax votes. GOP leadership is hesitant to increase taxes, because they would like to see more cuts in government spending. The Senate approved the one cent state sales tax on Tuesday.

Gas prices are starting to rise as refineries conduct maintenance in preparation for the busy driving summer season. AAA spokesperson Don Redman says the statewide average has increased four cents since last week and this uptick is typical for this time of year….
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Redman says refineries are also slowing production in response to abundant supply of gas.

Duck Dynasty fans are celebrating the show’s 100th episode today at Duck Commander in West Monroe. The one hour finale of season 9 airs tonight at 8pm on A&E. The Robertson’s are already in the process of filming season 10.

Governor John Bel Edwards says he’s becoming more concerned about where things stand at the Capitol with 5 days to go in the special legislative session called to balance the state’s budget. He met with Republican lawmakers today to try to once again persuade them to back his tax hike proposals. The Senate approved the one penny increase on the state sales tax yesterday and New Orleans Senator JP Morrell thanked his fellow senators for pushing this through…:
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The State House of Representatives continues to put off voting on numerous tax bills.

Triple-A spokesperson Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is a $1.60, up four-cents from a week ago. He says refineries are shutting down for spring maintenance which means the price at the pump should keep rising through March….:
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One person was killed and three others were injured in a two-vehicle crash last night near the Roanoke community in Jefferson Davis parish. Sgt. James Anderson with Louisiana State Police says none of the adults involved in the accident were wearing seat belts…:
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Twenty-five-year-old Kevin Daigle of Elton was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

According to a new study from WalletHub, Louisiana is the worst state for women. Jill Gonzales from Wallet Hub says they found Louisiana has one of the highest high school dropout rates for women at just over 4%. She says the ranking for women’s equality in the workplace is also very low, but there are ways to improve…:
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Louisiana ranks near the bottom in terms of women living in poverty.

After watching gas prices fall for several weeks, they are starting to move back up as refineries perform maintenance to get ready for the busy summer season. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
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Lawmakers remain in a holding pattern with a week left to go in the special session as the House and Senate work to negotiate a compromise on ways to plug Louisiana’s massive current financial year budget deficit. The Upper chamber approved a bill Tuesday that would increase the state’s four-cent sales tax by another penny. The State House convenes at 2pm, but it remains to be seen if they will once again put off votes on tax bills the way they have the past two days.

The deadly weather system that blew through south Louisiana last Tuesday was a wake up call for many Louisiana residents. State Farm is out with a study that finds Louisiana comes in at number 11 for states in paid wind claims. Spokesperson Roszell Gadson says in 2015, State Farm paid 33-hundred wind and tornado claims on structures around the state. He says last week’s tornado outbreak illustrates we are in a very active part of the country when it comes to severe weather…:
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governor John Bel Edwards has declared this week Severe Weather week encouraging families to make sure they have a plan in place for their family in the event of another devastating storm, including have the appropriate insurance in place.

A mother is in the East Baton Rouge Parish prison following the death of her newborn, according to a warrant. Detectives say 36-year-old Jerasha Bowman allegedly used cocaine while she was pregnant, and the baby also tested positive after birth. Bowman is charged with negligent homicide.