A Lafayette judge who repeatedly used a racial slur in a video taken insider her home has resigned from the bench. Judge Michelle Odinet’s attorney, Dane Ciolino, sent the resignation letter to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Ciolino says Odinet asked for forgiveness in the letter but knows forgiveness will not come quickly…
cut 12 (08) “….work to do”
Odinet had been on an unpaid leave of absence after the video surfaced.

Looking ahead to the year in politics, debates will emerge that we’ve seen at the state capitol before. LA-politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford on some of the hot button topics…
cut 5 (09) “….criminal justice reform”
State lawmakers will also hold a redistricting session in February.

The new year brings a change to the state’s medical-marijuana program as eligible patients can now buy it in smokeable form. Houma Representative Tanner Magee…
Cut 13 (12) “…uses wants.”
And the smokeable form is cheaper than the other medical marijuana products.

Taxpayers will also see lower income tax rates in 2022, but Louisiana residents will not be able to deduct federal income taxes paid on their state income tax returns anymore. The tax reform has been pitched as revenue-neutral and tax expert Jason Decuir says if it does lead to a budget shortfall, changes could be made…
cut 9 (10) “…for the state”
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office says most individual income taxpayers who don’t itemize will see a tax cut, while those who itemize likely will pay more.

Embattled Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet who garnered national headlines after a viral video of where she allegedly used a racial slur as her family watched a home security video of an attempted burglary has stepped down from the bench. Odinet’s Attorney Dane Ciolino says in her resignation letter, she says she’s sorry for the pain she’s caused to the community…

Cut  11 (12)  “..to come”  

Medical marijuana in its smokable form is now available in Louisiana. Since the program launched in 2019 there are now 28-thousand patients who have a valid medical marijuana prescription. Houma Representative Tanner Magee says many of those individuals are over the age of 65

Cut 15 (10)  “…find beneficial”

2022 is already shaping up to be a very active & potentially dramatic year for Louisiana politics. Kevin Gallagher elaborates…:

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

2022 appears to be a repeat of how 2021 started with over one thousand COVID patients in Louisiana hospitals.  The Louisiana Department of Health reports 76-percent of those patients are not up to date on their COVID vaccine. LDH reports 15-thousand new cases since New Year’s Eve.

The New Year brings changes to the state’s tax code. Jason DeCuir is a partner at Advantous, a tax consulting firm in Baton Rouge. He says a big change is with state income tax rates, after voters last fall approved lowering individuals’ tax rates in exchange for losing their deduction for federal taxes paid…:
Cut 7 (11) “…taxes that they pay.”
DeCuir says corporate state income taxes were also reduced.

Louisiana junior senator John Kennedy is up for re-election this year. La-politics dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says the jockeying will also begin for the 2023 governor’s race….
cut 6 (10) “….run for governor”
Alford expects several announced candidates for governor by the end of the year.

Louisiana medical marijuana patients now have the choice to get smokeable medical marijuana at one of the state’s nine licensed pharmacies. Michelle Southern has more…
Cut 3 (29) “…I’m Michelle Southern.”

There are concerns about the state’s health care capacity now that COVID hospitalizations have surpassed one-thousand again. The Louisiana Department of Health reports at least 15-thousand new cases since Friday. Many children return to school today and despite a recommendation from the state health department, the LHSAA will not halt their winter sports season.

2022 is starting much like 2021 started with over one thousand people in the hospital suffering from COVID in Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Health reports 76-percent of those patients are not up to date on their COVID vaccine. LDH reports 15-thousand new cases since New Year’s Eve.

The New Year brings new changes to the state’s tax code and it will impact your paycheck. Kevin Gallagher has more…:
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

The new year brings a change to the state’s medical-marijuana program as eligible patients can now buy it in smokeable form. Houma Representative Tanner Magee…
Cut 13 (12) “…uses wants.”
And the smokeable form is cheaper than the other medical marijuana products.

2022 is shaping up to be an active year for politics in Louisiana. “LAPolitics.com” publisher Jeremy Alford says first up a redistricting session in February. Alford says partisan politics PLUS population losses will come into play as legislators redraw district lines for Congress, the legislature, Public Service Commission and state courts…:
Cut 4 (12) “….see some changes.”
Governor Edwards has said he wants a second majority-minority Congressional district, but Alford expects the GOP-led legislature will resist.

2022 brings new laws to Louisiana including one that impacts the state’s medical-marijuana program. The smokeable form of medical marijuana is now available to patients who receive a prescription from their doctor. Houma Representative Tanner Magee says the smokeable form involves less processing, it should also cost less for the consumer…
cut 14 (12) “…..look at it”
Magee authored the legislation that made smokeable marijuana legal in Louisiana.

Embattled Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet has stepped down from the bench as a result of a viral video where she allegedly used a racial slur as her family watched a home security video of an attempted burglary. Odinet’s Attorney Dane Ciolino says the judge takes full responsibility…
Cut 10 (11) “…the community”

2022 is already shaping up to be a very active & potentially dramatic year for Louisiana politics. Kevin Gallagher elaborates…:
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Louisiana ended the year by reporting another ten-thousand new COVID cases and hospitalizations increased to 881. Brooke Thorington reports Governor Edwards is holding off on issuing another mask mandate…
cut 2 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

The state epidemiologist with the Louisiana Department of Health has recommended a halt to extracurricular activities at schools because of the latest surge in COVID cases but the LHSAA says it will not halt their winter sports seasons.

The new year brings a change to the state’s medical-marijuana program as eligible patients can now buy it in smokeable form. Houma Representative Tanner Magee authored the legislation that made it legal for the state’s nine licensed pharmacies to dispense the flower form of marijuana…
Cut 13 (12) “…usually wants.”

Another unseasonable warm day today, but a cold front arrives tonight in north Louisiana. There’s a slight risk for severe weather ahead of the front and State Climatologist Barry Keim says this arctic blast will push temperatures below freezing…
cut 8 (11) “…on Monday morning”
Lows will be in the mid-20s in north Louisiana on Monday.

Another warm day today, but a strong cold front is on its way. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 6 (13) “….and some hail”
Keim says it will be much colder tomorrow and temperatures will get below freezing Sunday night into Monday morning.

The New Year brings changes to the state’s tax code. Jason DeCuir (dih-KWEER) is a partner at Advantous, a tax consulting firm in Baton Rouge. He says a big change is with state income tax rates, after voters last fall approved lowering individuals’ tax rates in exchange for losing their deduction for federal taxes paid…:
Cut 7 (11) “…taxes that they pay.”
DeCuir says corporate state income taxes were also reduced.

Lafayette City Court judge Michelle Odinet has resigned after she was suspended for shouting racial slurs in a video taken inside her home. Odinet’s family was watching home security video of an attempted burglary. In her resignation letter, Odinet says she’s sorry for the pain she’s caused to the community…
cut 11 (12) “…to come”
That’s Odinet’s attorney Dane Ciolino.

The Tournament of Roses Parade is set to roll in Pasadena, California and for the first time, Louisiana will have a float in the parade as a way to promote tourism to the Bayou State. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says since its the Rose Parade, the float is covered with flowers or plants…
cut 9 (12) “…green with parsley”
The Louisiana “Feed Your Soul” float features cypress trees, pelicans, alligators, jazz, and New Orleans; all represented with natural plant materials.

The state reported nearly 10-thousand new COVID cases yesterday and the number of people hospitalized as a result of the virus is up to 881. At this time there is no statewide mask mandate in place, but Governor John Bel Edwards says one could be coming…
cut 12 (11) “…before that happens”

Embattled Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet has stepped down from the bench as a result of a viral video where she allegedly used a racial slur as her family watched a home security video of an attempted burglary at her home. Odinet’s Attorney Dane Ciolino says the judge takes full responsbility and knows this is the right course of action…
cut 10 (11) “…of the community”
In her resignation letter, Odinet says she’s sorry.

Louisiana will be a feature in the 133rd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade this morning. Kevin Gallagher has more…
cut 1 (31) “….I’m Kevin Gallagher”

Another warm day today, but there is a slight risk for severe weather as the state will soon experience a big change in temperatures. A strong cold front will drop temperatures into the 40s on Sunday for north Louisiana and 50s for south Louisiana. Much of the state will be below freezing on Monday morning.

The Lafayette city court judge under fire for a video in which she can be heard off-camera uttering a racial slur resigns – effective immediately. The cell phone video, shot inside Judge Michelle Odinet’s home, shows a TV screen on which people are watching home security video of someone attempting to burglarize the house. That’s when the inflammatory words are heard. Odinet had been on forced leave without pay. Her resignation is immediate.

Celebrating the New Year with fireworks? Ashley Rodrigue, with the state Fire Marshal’s office, has a few safety tips. Like never use them when you’ve been drinking, don’t let kids light or handle them and be sure to properly quench the stuff after you’re done…:

CUT 05        (11)    “…trash can.”

In a press event yesterday, Governor John Bel Edwards addressed the ongoing surge in COVID cases – many of them the Omicron variant. The state added over 12-thousand new cases Wednesday and over 9-thousand Thursday. About 760 are hospitalized with the virus. Mr. Edwards says this time he is asking Louisianans to mask back up, to keep more people from failing ill…:

CUT 14        (11)    “…a loved one.”

COVID tests sites are swamped, so he says – if you cannot get tested, act as if you ARE positive and take precautions.

Get ready for the cold weather to return over the holiday weekend. By Monday morning we should see low temperatures in the mid-to-upper 20’s in northern parishes and the low-to-mid 30’s in the south. So get those coats back out.

Judge Michelle Odinet, the Lafayette city court judge who was caught on a viral video using a racial slur, has resigned. In her letter to the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court, Odinet says she takes full responsibility for her “hurtful words” and apologizes for any trouble she’s caused..

The Great Holiday Heat Wave of 2021 is almost over. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a significant cold front will begin moving across Louisiana in the afternoon and evening of New Year’s Day. He says some Saturday precipitation could even be somewhat severe in the northern half of the state. He says the cooling continues through the weekend…:

CUT 07 (09)      “…of the state.”

By Monday, you can expect frigid temperatures to the work week.

Amid the recent surge of COVID cases and hospitalizations in Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards implores residents to take proper precautions in an effort to reduce transmission of the virus but fell short of reinstating a mask mandate. He says even though a mask mandate is not in place it doesn’t mean one should ignore their vital use to mitigate COVID…:

CUT 13 (11)      “…wear a mask.”

He says get vaccinated and/or get necessary boosters and stay healthy.

Meanwhile the state Department of Health is urging schools to keep a handle on the spread of the Omicron virus by canceling all extracurricular activities. Sports events, cheerleading, band, music and theater –after school social functions like dances. All of it. Again, it’s a recommendation; NOT a mandate.

Be prepared for temperatures statewide to take a huge nosedive. By Monday morning, northern parishes could see a hard freeze, and the mercury will go into the lower 30’s in the south.