Gubernatorial candidate Congressman Ralph Abraham announces over 100 endorsements from local elected officials in 36 parishes. Matt Doyle spoke to the two state reps on the list…

 Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle.”

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LSU says the 2018 freshman class’s record setting performance levels are proof that the decision to allow more students into the school that did not meet GPA and ACT requirements was justified. Matt Doyle has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

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A study prepared for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development recommends that two riverboat casinos in Bossier City relocate after the market has been hurt in recent years. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

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Republican Congressman Ralph Abraham is touting over 100 endorsements from elected officials in 26 parishes in his run to unseat Governor Edwards in fall. The list features five district attorneys, two state reps, and a number of mayors, sheriffs, and others.

Monroe Representative Jay Morris says he’s proud to endorse his northeast Louisiana neighbor.

Cut 4 (09) “…Louisiana.”

Covington Representative Paul Hollis is the other legislator on the list. He says he’s especially impressed by Abraham’s background as both a doctor, and a pilot.

Cut 5 (08) “…Louisianian.”

Abraham is one of two Republicans, the other being Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone, hoping to eliminate the Gulf Coast’s only Democratic governor. Hollis says Abraham has the best shot of any candidate to knock out the incumbent.

Cut 6 (11) “…freedoms.”

Abraham Campaign spokesperson David Weinman says the endorsements show the breadth of the Congressman’s support as “the only candidate who can defeat John Bel Edwards.”

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The Louisiana Department of Transportation is observing Work Zone Awareness Week. The week is meant to bring attention to the need for drivers to be extra careful when traveling through work zones. DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallett says the when drivers speed through work zones with excessive speeds, it can be unnerving for workers.

Cut 7 (09) “…that’s their office.”

Mallett says in the most recent numbers, eleven people were killed in 2017 in Louisiana, while about 800 were killed on the national level. Mallett adds in most cases, the deaths were preventable.

Cut 8 (09) “…be very dangerous.”

In addition to the deaths, others were injured on the job.

Mallett says before taking a trip, drivers can plan ahead for the work zones along their route on their website 5-1-1-L-A dot org.

Cut 9 (10) “…ahead of time.″

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LSU President F. King Alexander is touting the performance of the 2018 freshman class, a portion of whom were admitted under the new “holistic admissions” policy where some applicants are admitted despite not meeting the GPA or ACT requirements.

King says opening up the admissions process has not sacrificed performance or achievement.

Cut 10 (09) “…we’ve had”

The average GPA was the same as 2017, at 2.8.

Shifting to holistic admissions sparked some controversy from opponents who argued it would weaken the flagship university’s sterling reputation. Alexander says this move just puts LSU in line with 48 of the nation’s top 50 schools.

Cut 11 (11) “…senior year.”

The 2018 class set a record with 92 percent of students maintaining their TOPS eligibility.

King noted that as a whole the retention rate stayed steady at 92 despite adding 900 more freshman, and there was only a slight difference in retention between those who had the traditional scores to get in, and those who did not.

Cut 12 (07) “…90 percent″

The freshman class brought in 5,812 freshman, topping a record set in 2012.

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A study prepared for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development recommends that two riverboat casinos in Bossier City relocate. The study found if the two casinos moved, both revenue and taxes paid to the state would increase. Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Jones says with increased competition from Oklahoma, the findings are not surprising.

Cut 13 (10) “…nearly a quarter.”

The study recommended that Boomtown Bossier City move to the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain while Diamond Jacks should relocate to northeast Louisiana.

Jones says the reason for the drop in activity in the Shreveport-Bossier area can be attributed to the rise of big tribal casinos that lure visitors from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to Oklahoma.

Cut 14 (09) “…about to expand.”

Jones says he anticipates that if the casinos do decide to relocate, they will likely take advantage of the recently passed law that gives gaming establishments the ability to be built on dry land. The difficulty in moving a casino to north Louisiana would likely be political, as the area is very conservative in its support for gambling.

Cut 15 (10) “…something like that.”

GOP lawmakers express their concerns to state health officials over audits that show misspent dollars within the Medicaid program. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 1 (32) “I’m Jeff Palermo”
Over a thousand students packed the lawn for UL Systems day to call attention to the needs of the 92,000 students studying at one of nine system colleges. U-L System President Jim Henderson celebrated the fact that this year’s event was certainly more upbeat than last year’s.

The Senate has gone home for the week and won’t be back until Monday.
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After failing for five months to recognizing additional revenues, the four member Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast that will give lawmakers an additional 110-million dollars in this year’s budget to spend and another 119-million dollars in next year’s budget.
House Speaker Taylor Barras “Yes” vote broke the gridlock, but he had previously blocked attempts to raise the forecast earlier this year because he was concerned the state may not collect as much money as projected. The House Speaker relented on Wednesday after hearing revenue projections from two different economists…
Cut 8 (09) “…we can get.”
Legislation in the House is bringing attention to law enforcement profiling of motorcycle riders. Many Representative Frank Howard says is sponsoring a bill that would add a 30 minute motorcyclist profiling awareness session to the training academy.
Cut 13 (08) “…over the state.”

House Republican lawmakers grilled state health officials about the growing Medicaid budget and whether the state is doing enough to prevent waste or misspending. Health Secretary Rebekah Gee says mistakes will be made with a large government program, but they are trying to control spending and pointed to the recent removal of 30-thousand people from Medicaid, because they made too much money…
Cut 4 (09) “…this program”

After failing for five months on recognizing additional revenues, the Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast that gives the state an additional 229 million dollars that it can spend between this fiscal year and next fiscal year. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne is glad the stalemate over revenue projections is over
Cut 9 (11) “…is gonna be”
The extra revenue can help fund teacher pay raises and the governor also wants to put more money towards colleges and public safety programs.

Democrat Charlie Greer of Natchitoches Parish is running for Agriculture Commissioner against incumbent Mike Strain, touting his 20 year career in the Ag Department, and time in law enforcement. Greer says if elected, he would push hard for the regulated production of industrial hemp, and hemp adjacent products to revitalize the state’s lagging Ag.
Cut 13 (10) “…in it.”
Greer also ran in 2015 and received 30 percent of the vote.

A 28-year-old Opelousas man is accused of stabbing his mother to death. St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says Cody James Arceneaux and his mother were involved in an argument when the mother grabbed a knife…
Cut 11 (10) “…could stab her.”
When deputies arrived they found Arceneaux curled up on the floor with a bloody towel in his hands.

The House Appropriations Committee is hearing from every state agency as they put together a spending plan for next fiscal year. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds says the health department’s budget is set to grow to nearly 15-billion dollars and they need confidence the money will be spent wisely
Cut 5 (11) “…we have.”
It was revealed during the hearing that 16-hundred people making at least 100-thousand dollars a year were covered by Medicaid, which is way above the income threshold. But Health Secretary Rebekah Gee says an upgraded computer system should make sure ineligible residents are not receiving taxpayer funded health care
Cut 6 (11) “…very well”

Republican Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain will have an opponent in the October primary. Democrat Charlie Greer of Natchitoches Parish says he’s running against Strain again. Greer received 30-percent of the vote in 2015, when Strain was re-elected to a third term. Greer blames Strain for causing the series of delays when it comes to the legal dispensing of medical marijuana. Strain says he’s just following the law to ensure the product is safe, but Greer isn’t buying it…
cut 14 (11) “…in place”
Greer says if elected, he would also push hard for the regulated production of industrial hemp.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the three children from Avoyelles Parish that were ejected from their church van in a fiery crash on Florida Highway in January where wearing seat belts. The Center for Auto Safety says while seatbelts remain an indispensable safety tool, they are not infallible.

House Republican lawmakers grilled state health officials about the growing Medicaid budget and whether the state is doing enough to prevent waste or misspending. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds is concerned the health department’s budget is set to grow by another billion dollars
Cut 3 (12) “…L-D-H.”
It was revealed during the hearing that 16-hundred people making at least 100-thousand dollars a year were covered by Medicaid.
After failing for five months on recognizing additional revenues, the Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast that will give lawmakers an additional 110-million dollars in this year’s budget to spend and another 119-million dollars in next year’s budget. House Speaker Taylor Barras “Yes” vote broke the gridlock
Cut 7 (11) “…budget work.”
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An Opelousas man is arrested following the stabbing death of his mother. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”
Democrat Charlie Greer of Natchitoches Parish is running for Agriculture Commissioner against incumbent Mike Strain, slamming his opponet for repeated delays in the release of medical marijuana. Greer says the delays have been unacceptable.
Cut 15 (09) “…put that”
Strain denies impeding medical cannabis progress.

After failing for five months on recognizing additional revenues, the Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast. The extra revenue recognized can help the state pay for raises for teachers and the governor also wants to put more money towards colleges and public safety programs. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne is glad the stalemate over revenue projections is over with

Cut 9 (11) “…is gonna be”

An Opelousas man is in jail suspected of stabbing his mother to death.  Detectives arrested 28 year old Cody James Arceneaux on Monday after receiving 911 calls from a witness inside the home and from the suspect.  Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says by the time deputies arrived, they found the suspect curled up on the floor holding his hands in a bloody towel, but were too late to help the victim.

Cut 12 (05) “…we got there.”

The victim has been identified as Vicky Granger.

GOP lawmakers express their concerns to state health officials over audits that show misspent dollars within the Medicaid program. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (32) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Democrat Charlie Greer of Natchitoches Parish is running for Agriculture Commissioner against incumbent Mike Strain, touting his 20 year career in the Ag Department, and time in law enforcement.

Greer says if elected, he would push hard for the regulated production of industrial hemp, and hemp adjacent products to revitalize the state’s lagging Ag.

Cut 13 (10) “…in it.”

Greer ran for the office in 2015, finishing with 30 percent of the vote.

House Republican lawmakers grilled state health officials about the growing Medicaid budget and whether the state is doing enough to prevent waste or misspending. It was revealed during the hearing that 16-hundred people making at least 100-thousand dollars a year were covered by Medicaid, which is way above the income threshold.
Health Secretary Rebekah Gee says mistakes will be made with a large government program, but they are trying to control spending and pointed to the recent removal of 30-thousand people from Medicaid, because they made too much money…
Cut 4 (09) “…this program”
The House Appropriations Committee is hearing from every state agency as they put together a spending plan for next fiscal year. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds says they need confidence that money is spent wisely.
Cut 5 (11) “…we have.”
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After failing for five months on recognizing additional revenues, the Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast that will give lawmakers an additional 110-million dollars in this year’s budget to spend and another 119-million dollars in next year’s budget. Governor John Bel Edwards says the action by the R-E-C that Louisiana has an improving economy and budget surpluses.
Cut 8 (10) “…opinion on that.”
House Speaker Taylor Barras “Yes” vote broke the gridlock.
An Opelousas man is in jail suspected of stabbing his mother to death. Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says Arceneaux claims his mother tried grab the knife to stab him, slicing the suspect in the process. He then regained the kitchen knife and began to attack her.
Cut 11 (10) “…could stab her.”
Detectives arrested 28 year old Cody James Arceneaux on Monday.

After failing for five months on recognizing additional revenues, the Revenue Estimating Conference adopted an income forecast that will give lawmakers an additional 110-million dollars in this year’s budget to spend and another 119-million dollars in next year’s budget. House Speaker Taylor Barras “Yes” vote broke the gridlock

Cut 7 (11) “…budget work.”

An Opelousas man is in jail suspected of stabbing his mother to death.  Detectives arrested 28-year-old Cody James Arceneaux on Monday after receiving 911 calls from a witness inside the home and from the suspect.  Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says an argument quickly escalated into violence.

Cut 10 (07) “…out of control.”

The victim has been identified as Vicky Granger.

House Republican lawmakers grilled state health officials about the growing Medicaid budget and whether the state is doing enough to prevent waste or misspending. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds is concerned the health department’s budget is set to grow by another billion dollars

Cut 3 (12) “…L-D-H.”

It was revealed during the hearing that 16-hundred people making at least 100-thousand dollars a year were covered by Medicaid, which is way above the income threshold. But Health Secretary Rebekah Gee says an upgraded computer system should make sure ineligible residents are not receiving taxpayer funded health care

Cut 6 (11) “…very well”

Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters has asked lawmakers for an additional 13-million dollars in funding to avoid having to cut the state’s food stamp program. Walters says food stamps are on the chopping block, because she will not cut child welfare services or money that’s needed during disasters…
cut 12 (08) “…a cut”
Walters understands no one is interested in cutting the SNAP program.

It’s University of Louisiana System day at the State Capitol. U-L System President Jim Henderson says this year’s event is certainly more upbeat than last year’s…
Cut 7 (09) “…Louisiana”
The day will feature four events starting at 11, including a McNeese cow roping demonstration at 1145 AM.

Law enforcement officers may soon have to go through additional training for motorcyclist profiling awareness.
Voicer 3 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

An East Feliciana Parish woman has been arrested after department of corrections officials caught her allegedly dropping off a large package of contraband in the parking lot of Elayn Hunt Correction Center in St. Gabriel. Officials say 25-year-old April Matthews tried to smuggle in marijuana, pain pills, cell phones, tobacco and Air Jordan tennis shoes.

GOP lawmakers are concerned with the growing size of the state’s health budget, which is set to increase to nearly 15-billion dollars next fiscal year. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds had several questions for Health Secretary Rebekah Gee during a House Appropriations Committee meeting…
cut 5 (11) “…we have”

Also in House Appropriations, Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters warned the food stamp program may have to be cut, unless the state agency receives an additional 13-million dollars in funding…
cut 10 (08) “…budget”
The Republican House budget proposal doesn’t include any additional dollars for D-C-F-S.

The latest installment of the Louisiana Survey finds that 88-percent of respondents support a teacher pay raise. Director of LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, Doctor Michael Henderson, says support for a teacher pay hike remains high, even after respondents were told the average salary for a public school teacher.
cut 6 (08) “….they should be”
Three-fourths of the state residents underestimate average teacher pay in Louisiana and they actually think they earn less than they actually earn.

Many Representative Frank Howard has filed a bill for this legislative session that would require law enforcement officers to undergo training so that they do not discriminate against people on motorcycles. Howard is concerned about motorcycle profiling…
cut 15 (11) “…different organizations”
Howard’s bill has been assigned for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.