Parks Senator Fred Mills’ medical marijuana bill will be heard before the House Health and Welfare Committee today. A similar bill by Mills failed to pass committee last year. He says some changes in the bill this year include putting the Department of Agriculture in charge of growing medical marijuana and limiting the number of dispensing pharmacies in the state to ten…

cut 5 (07) “oil form”

Mills says he’s worked with the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association to make the bill more acceptable to lawmakers.

Republican Gubernatorial candidate Scott Angelle will take a tour of north Louisiana beginning this week. Recent polls have shown Angelle trailing the other three major candidates; Democratic Representative John Bel Edwards, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and the leader, US Senator David Vitter. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says north Louisiana has always been a hot spot for Vitter…

cut 8 (08) “Vitter’s base”

Angelle’s tour will travel through 27 parishes.

Former US Senator Mary Landrieu has landed a new job. She’s been hired as a Senior Policy Advisor by the Washington DC lobbying firm Van Ness Feldman. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says Landrieu’s career as a politician will help her out in her new occupation….

cut 11 (06) “administrative level”

The company says Landrieu will advise clients on various public policy and regulatory issues with an emphasis on energy, natural resources and infrastructure matters.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office says LSU offensive tackle Jevonte Domond is booked with felony domestic abuse for allegedly choking his fiance in the presence of children. Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks says the victim claimed she was strangled by Domond to the point of almost completely blacking out…

cut 14 (09) “her story”

LSU football coach Les Miles says Domond has been suspended from the team.

Parks Senator Fred Mills will present his medical marijuana bill before the House Health and Welfare Committee today. The measure cleared the full Senate on a 22-13 vote. He says medical marijuana has been legal in Louisiana since a law was passed back in 1991…

cut 4 (07) “medical marijuana”

A similar bill by Mills failed to pass committee last year.

Former US Senator Mary Landrieu has found a new job. She’s been hired by the Washington DC lobbying firm Van Ness Feldman as a Senior Policy Advisor. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says it’s not a surprise for former Senators and US Representatives to accept these kind of jobs…

cut 10 (10) “Capitol Hill”

Dubos says Landrieu’s career as a politician will help her out in her new occupation.

Republican Gubernatorial candidate Scott Angelle announces he’ll be touring north Louisiana beginning this week. According to a release, the tour will travel through 27 parishes meeting with local officials, business owners, educators and residents. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says this is brilliant strategy…:

cut 7 (10) “tremendously”

Recent polls have shown Public Service Commissioner Angelle trailing the other three major candidates for governor; Democratic Representative John Bel Edwards, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and the leader, US Senator David Vitter.

A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The proposal by Representative Lenar Whitney would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference of the baby. The Houma lawmaker has argued that this is a problem in Asian communities where there is a preference for boys…:
CUT 12 (10) “you should vote no”
New Orleans Senator Karen Carter Peterson wasn’t happy with the implication by Whitney…:
CUT 13 (13) “sex selection”
The vote was 2-2 so the House approved measure will not go to the Senate floor for now.

Tuesday, Governor Bobby Jindal announced the total number of bills signed for the 2015 Regular Legislative Session which ends June 11th is 18.

The current maximum prison sentence for multiple marijuana possession offenders in Louisiana is 20-years, which is one of the toughest penalties in the nation. But legislation by New Orleans Senator JP Morrell-approved by the Senate this week- would reduce mandatory jail time…
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There is a similar bill moving through the House.

Parks Senator Fred Mills will present his medical marijuana bill before the House Health and Welfare Committee Wednesday. The measure cleared the full Senate on a 22-13 vote. He says medical marijuana has been legal in Louisiana since a law was passed back in 1991…:
CUT 4 (07) “medical marijuana”
A similar bill by Mills failed to pass committee last year. Mills says he’s worked with the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association to make the bill more acceptable to lawmakers.

Two bills are moving through the legislature that seek to reduce prison times for repeat marijuana possession offenders. Similar efforts had failed in the past, but New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says this time around, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association and the Louisiana District Attorney Association do not oppose the legislation.
CUT 6 (10) “moving forward”
Morrell’s bill reduces mandatory jail time to 8 years.

Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. Clint Guidry, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, says there is one big factor contributing to the big drop in price…
CUT 3 (05) “over 50-percent”
He would like to see the feds step in with import restrictions on shrimp.
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A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The proposal by Houma Representative Lenar Whitney would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference. She says this is a problem in Asian communities where there is a preference for boys…:
cut 12 (10) “you should vote no”
Opponents say there’s no evidence to indicate this is a problem.

Another round of severe weather rolled through Louisiana earlier today causing flooding and widespread power outages. And it’s not over yet…
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State Climatologist Barry Keim, who says there is at least a 50-percent chance of rain each day for the rest of the week.

The current maximum prison sentence for multiple marijuana possession offenders here in the state is 20-years, which is one of the toughest penalties in the nation. But legislation by New Orleans Senator JP Morrell-approved by the State Senate Monday- would reduce mandatory jail time…
CUT 7 (10) “in jail”

Louisiana continues to tally up the above average rainfall amounts, with some parts of the state really getting slammed. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we could be getting some more severe weather this week…
cut 11 (10) Q: “it right now”
He says the culprit is a very unstable atmosphere, probably caused by El Nino.
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By a 2 to 2 vote, a Senate Judiciary Committee has stalled a bill by Houma Representative Lenar Whitney that would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference. New Orleans Senator Karen Carter Peterson took issue with the bill; saying it implied lawmakers wanted to kill baby girls with a “no” vote…
CUT 13 (13) Q: ‘sex selection”
Which according to Whitney is a problem in Asain communities, where there is a preference for boys.

Now that shrimp season is under way, local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. One shrimper says he’s getting 55-cents per pound for his catch, compared to $2 a year ago. The main reason, according to the Clint Guidry of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, is the increase of imported shrimp. He says he’s hopeful the feds will step in to restrict the number of imports.

Legislation to soften the penalties for those convicted multiple times for marijuana possession continue to make progress in the legislature…
cut 2 (30) “…reporting”

Former US Senator Mary Landrieu has landed a new job; joining a Washington DC lobbying firm called Van Ness Feldman. Landrieu will be that firm’s senior policy advisor on energy, natural resources and infrastructure issues. Landrieu was beat out by Bill Cassidy in last year’s Senate race.
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A bill by a Houma lawmaker that would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference, has stalled in a Senate Judiciary Committee. Committee Chair New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says he couldn’t support the legislation by Representative Lenar White without evidence it’s a problem…
CUT 14 (09) Q: “timing of it”

With the severe weather rolling in the state earlier today, weather experts are pointing to El Nino as a major cause for the above average rainfall. State Cimatologest Barry Keim says the state has averaged about six inches of rain over the last month, but some isolated areas have gotten more…
CUT 10 (10) Q :’above normal’

A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The proposal by Representative Lenar Whitney would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference of the baby. The Houma lawmaker has argued that this is a problem in Asian communities where there is a preference for boys…:
CUT 12 (10) “you should vote no”
New Orleans Senator Karen Carter Peterson says she did not like the way Whitney worded that statement. The vote was 2-2 so the House approved measure will not go to the Senate floor for now.

New Orleans Senator JP Morrell’s bill to reduce prison time for repeat pot offenders was approved by the full Senate Monday. He says the legislation is not an attempt to legalize marijuana for recreational use…:
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There is a similar bill moving through the House.

There are still thousands residents without power throughout the state after a strong line of storms moved through last night. The majority of the outages are in southeast Louisiana which caught the brunt of the heavy rain, wind and lightning. Forecasters say the atmosphere is not stable and unfortunately more severe weather could be coming this week.

Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. Eric Gill as more…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

Another round of severe weather rolled through Louisiana earlier today and State Climatologist Barry Keim says more rain is coming. He says rainfall is in the forecast for the next several days. Keim says there is at least a 50-percent chance of rain each day for the rest of the week…:
CUT 9 (09) “kind of patterns”
Keim says the Tangipahoa Parish town of Tickfaw has received 10.8 inches of rain over the last month, five inches above normal.

A week into shrimp season local prices at the dock are plummeting. Clint Guidry, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association says some shrimpers are having trouble paying for expenses much less making a profit because of a massive increase in imported shrimp. He says there is one specific way consumers can help Louisiana shrimp…:
CUT 5 (06) “working fisherman”

A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The vote on the legislation by Houma Representative Lenar Whitney was 2-2.

Governor Bobby Jindal could be kept out of the first Republican debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. Fox News will host the debate in August and the network requires contenders to be in the top 10 in an average of five national polls leading up to the event. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says with Jindal in jeopardy of making the cut, he’ll try to get the attention of party activists…:
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Legislation to soften the penalties for those convicted multiple times for marijuana possession continues to make progress in the legislature. Jeff Palermo has more…:
CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

Power is slowly being restored throughout the state after thousands of residents woke up in the dark this morning on the heels of a strong line of storms that moved through Louisiana overnight. The storms produced frequent lightning, gusty winds and heavy rain and meteorologists say there could be more wet weather on the way especially this afternoon.

It’s being reported that former US Senator Mary Landrieu is joining a lobbying firm in Washington advising on public policy and regulatory issues dealing mostly with energy, natural resources and infrastructure.

Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. One shrimper says he’s getting 55-cents per pound for his catch, compared to $2 a year ago. Clint Guidry, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, on the major contributing to the drop in price…:
CUT 3 (05) “over 50-percent”
The dramatic drop in the price of shrimp is making it difficult for fishermen to pay expenses, much less make a profit.

For a fourth straight season, LSU is a national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which will get underway when the Tigers host Lehigh University on Friday. The other two teams in the Baton Rouge regional are UNC-Wilmington and Tulane. UL Lafayette has made it to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season. The Ragin Cajuns received an automatic bid after winning the Sun Belt Tournament and the play Rice on Friday.

Louisiana has some of the harshest marijuana possession penalties in the country, but two bills are moving through the legislature that seek to reduce prison times for repeat offenders. Similar efforts to reduce possession penalties failed in the past, but New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says this year, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association and the Louisiana District Attorney Association do not oppose the legislation:
CUT 6 (10) “moving forward”
The House has also approved a bill that reduces pot penalties.

The Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s office says two men from Lafayette died while swimming in Lake Arthur park Monday afternoon. They say 23-year-old DeKeithan Dugas and 24-year-old Keylon Lambert were racing each other the water when they went under. Authorities recovered the bodies after a near 4 hour search. The incident is under investigation.

There are thousands of power outages throughout the state after a strong line of thunderstorms moved through overnight. Most Louisianians slept right through it but the National Weather Service did confirm a tornado touched down in Kenner. Strong winds downed multiple trees and power lines — there are no reported injuries at this time.

The state Department of Transportation continues to gather feedback from motorists on how I-10 through the Baton Rouge area should be improved. Eric Gill reports…:
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