If you’re planning to jump on a plane to visit friends or family this Holiday season, prepare to pay more for your ticket. According to Expedia.com, Thanksgiving flights are up 17 percent from last year and Christmas flights have gone up 2 percent. Travel expert Dale Irvin says if you want to travel by air cheap you should book a flight with an “uber-discount airline”…:

cut 11 (12) “small one”

Discount airlines Frontier, Jet Blue and Spirit fly out of New Orleans and there’s one called Allegiant Airlines in Shreveport.

A recent survey by the National Retail Federation shows more than two-thirds of Americans will buy Halloween costumes this year. NRF Senior Director of Media Relations, Kathy Grannis, says people are spending money on more than just costumes and candy…

cut 5 (09) “trick-or-treating”

She says Americans will spend a total of $7.4 billion this Halloween.

It’s been several days since many parts of the state have seen rain. State Climatologist Barry Keim says, on average, Louisiana gets a rainfall event every four days. He says even though it is unusual to go this long without seeing rain, we do have some significant dry days in history…

cut 14 (12) “sraight day stretch”

Keim says it will likely remain dry in Louisiana at least until November.

Louisiana will get to view a partial solar eclipse today as the new moon will obscure part of the sun. Louisiana Tech Astronomer Lee Sawyer says this is happening a few weeks after the total eclipse of the moon. He says the very best way to view today’s partial eclipse is at an observing party or at a science museum but you should NOT look at the sun directly…

cut 8 (07) “pinhole camera”

Sawyer says we should be able to see the maximum point of eclipse before the sun goes down today at around 6PM.

If you’re planning to fly for the Holidays this year prepare to go a little deeper into your wallet. According to Expedia.com, Thanksgiving flights are up 17 percent from last year and Christmas flights have gone up 2 percent. Travel expert Dale Irvin says airlines are finding it’s more profitable to fly less with more people….

cut 10 (09) “sitting out there”

Irvin says over 20 million people are expected to fly from now through December.

There are many parts of the state that haven’t seen rain over the last several days and State Climatologist Barry Keim says it will likely remain dry in Louisiana at least until November…

cut 13 (11) “on the average”

Keim says on the upside, the sugarcane harvest is going on right now and the farmers are probably loving the dry conditions.

A recent survey by the National Retail Federation shows a record number of Americans will buy Halloween costumes this year. NRF Senior Director of Media Relations, Kathy Grannis, says Halloween has become much more than a child’s holiday. She says adults are really getting into Halloween…

cut 4 (10) “of Halloween”

The survey says the average person will spend $77.52 for the holiday.

A partial solar eclipse will take place today as the new moon will obscure part of the sun. The partial solar eclipse will be visible starting at 6PM.

The Louisiana Department of Education says 92% of public school teachers evaluated this year received an effective grade. Superintendent John White says this report also showed that schools who expect more of their teachers, will see their students do better
CUT 14 (14) “learning goes up”
Two percent of teachers were classified as ineffective down from 4 percent last year.

Governor Bobby Jindal announces JP Morgan Chase has donated $1 million into the fund that helps technical colleges fund programs focused on training skilled workers. Monty Sullivan is the Louisiana Community and Technical College System President. He says this money will be used in a very targeted way to address the most high demand programs in Louisiana…:
CUT 7 (08) “engineering technology”

Health officials are urging you to avoid coming down with the flu as the season approaches. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

The Secretary of State’s Office is reporting that nearly 36 thousand people registered to vote in the November 4th election since August 1st. That puts the total voter roll at 2.9 million and Secretary of State Tom Schedler says voter turnout could be as high as 50 percent. Early voting is underway through Tuesday excluding Sunday.

A man shot and killed his 11 year-old son’s abductor at the Baton Rouge airport while a TV camera was rolling back in March of 1984 has died. Gary Plauche shot and killed Jeffery Doucet, who was being extradited back to Baton Rouge amid accusations of kidnapping and sexual assault…

CUT 10 (14 ) Q: “understood it”

That’s John Spain, who was news director at the Baton Rouge TV station at the time. Plauche was sentenced to 5 years probation with no jail time.

The latest numbers show almost 36 thousand people have registered to vote in the November 4th election since August 1st, putting the total voter roll at 2.9 million. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says voter turnout could be as high as 50 percent.

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State Superintendent of Education John White reveals today that the public school teacher “Compass” ratings are out, and it shows 92 percent of teachers received an effective grade.

CUT 13 (11) Q: “not use it well”

The teacher achievements scores seem to be growing faster than the student scores, and that’s something White would like to see some improvement on.

The cold and flu season is upon us in Louisiana, and it’s time to get your flu shot. And health officials say, the sooner the better…

CUT 4 (07) Q: “hasn’t developed yet”

That’s Dr. Fred Lopez, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, who adds good hand-washing and plenty of rest are a couple of more ways to protect yourself.

A man who killed his son’s sexual abductor at the Baton Rouge airport in March of 1984 has died from complications related to a stroke. Gary Plauche shot Jeffrey Doucet at the Baton Rouge airport while a TV camera was rolling. Photographer Abram McGull – who is a former prosecutor -says that video is still being shown…

CUT 11 (11) Q: “incident”

Gary Plauche’s son Jodi was 11 years old at the time.

Governor Bobby Jindal announces JP Morgan Chase has donated $1 million into the fund that helps technical colleges fund programs focused on training skilled workers…

CUT 6 (07) “raise a family”

The state will match that money with another $ 4 million dollars.

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The Louisiana Department of Education released a report today on the evaluation of public school teachers, showing 92% of teachers received an effective grade. Superintendent John White says while that’s good news about highly effective scores, those outpaced the growth of STUDENT achievement scores…

CUT 12 (08) “any favors”

But White fully expects the student growth to follow.

If you want to take steps to fight the cold and flu season this, health officials say you need to start with a flu shot…

CUT 3 (:10) Q: ‘in this country’

That’s Dr. Fred Lopez, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.

A report released from the state department of education shows that 92-percent of public school teachers were rated as effective. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

 
The Secretary of State’s Office is reporting that nearly 36 thousand people registered to vote in the November 4th election since August 1st, putting the total voter roll at 2.9 million. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says voter turnout could be as high as 50 percent.

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With the announcement of JP Morgan Chase donating $1 million into the fund that helps technical colleges fund programs focused on training skilled workers, Governor Bobby Jindal says the $1 million dollar gift will be matched with $4 million in state funds…

CUT 8 (10) Q: “in programs”

That’s the Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Monty Sullivan, who says this will help them secure funding through the WISE Fund which was created by the legislature.

 
It’s the cold and flu season, and health officials are strongly suggesting that everyone get a flu shot, then take some more common sense precautions…

CUT 5 (06) Q: “and flu season”

That’s Dr. Fred Lopez, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. About 60 thousand people in the U.S. died from the flu last year.

The man who killed his son’s abductor at the Baton Rouge airport in March of 1984, Gary Plauche, died this week at the age of 68. Jeffrey Doucet was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting Plauche’s son Jody 30-years-ago — and when the suspect was extradited back to Baton Rouge, Plauche was waiting at the airport then fired a shot. The incident was caught on camera and Abram McGull was the news photographer…:
CUT 9 (14) “same thing too”
Plauche was sentenced to 5 years probation but did not get jail time. Gary died from complications due to a stroke.

The state Department of Education says 92% of public school teachers are rated in the top two evaluation categories up from 89% last year. Two percent of teachers were classified as ineffective down from 4 percent last year.

It’s flu season which of course means your health officials are in vaccination awareness mode. Dr. Fred Lopez, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, says everyone over six-months of age to get a flu vaccine. He says it won’t work immediately but will kick in a couple of weeks…:
CUT 4 (07) “hasn’t developed yet”
He says it’s a good idea to sanitize your hands often and if you do get sick, stay home.

Governor Bobby Jindal announces JP Morgan Chase has donated $1 million into the fund that helps technical colleges fund programs focused on training skilled workers. Monty Sullivan is the Louisiana Community and Technical College System President. He says this money will be used in a very targeted way to address the most high demand programs in Louisiana…:
CUT 7 (08) “engineering technology”
The $1 million dollar gift will be matched with $4 million in state funds.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says we’re getting closer and closer to the 2 million mark in jobs in Louisiana. Executive Director Kurt Eysink says construction is seeing the most growth with 11,000 jobs added over the year ending September 30th. He says as construction pops up, we’ll see more professional jobs coming…:
CUT 9 (09) “in Louisiana”
JP Morgan Chase announced Tuesday they are donating $1 million to help fund training programs that would match graduating students with all these jobs.

The man who shot and killed his son’s abductor on live television at the Baton Rouge airport in March of 1984, Gary Plauche, died this week at the age of 68. Jeffrey Doucet was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting Plauche’s son Jody 30-years-ago — and when the suspect was extradited back to Baton Rouge, Plauche was waiting at the airport then pulled out a gun and fired a shot. He was sentenced to 5 years probation but did not get jail time. His family said he died from complications related to a stroke.

Cold and flu season is upon us and people are looking for ways to avoid coming down with a seasonal bug. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

Governor Bobby Jindal announces JP Morgan Chase has donated $1 million into the fund that helps technical colleges fund programs focused on training skilled workers. Jindal says this money will allow the community and technical colleges to expand courses specifically designed to meet the workforce training needs in Louisiana…:
CUT 6 (07) “raise a family”
He says the money will be used to pay for classes such as welding, pipe-fitting, petroleum technology and electrical work.

The Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s office says one man is dead and another hurt after an accident Tuesday evening at the Drax Biomass plant which is about 12 miles north of Bastrop. They say two sub-contractors were doing tests when something happened — they aren’t sure what. One of the workers died at St. Francis in Monroe and the other is being treated for minor injuries.

Gas prices continue to drop nearly a dime a week and the statewide average today in Louisiana is $2.95 according to the American Automobile Association. Last year at this time the price was around $3.15. Analysts predict we could get down to $2.50 as we get further into the autumn season.

Cold and flu season is upon us and people are looking for ways to avoid coming down with a seasonal bug. The Centers for Disease Control recommends everyone over six-months of age to get a flu vaccine. Dr. Fred Lopez, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, says there is a reason for that recommendation…:
CUT 3 (10) “in this country”
He says you can also avoid getting the flu by washing your hands with soap and water and using hand sanitizers.

Gas prices are nicer than they have been in years. Scott Carwile reports…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

A 21-year veteran of the Shreveport Police Department pleaded guilty Tuesday to contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile after being accused of buying his 15-year-old son two beers at a bar last month. Sgt. Sgt. Jason Brook testified he didn’t think it was illegal to buy your child alcohol as long as they remained together. He is on paid administrative leave from Shreveport PD and faces up to six months in jail.

The job outlook in Louisiana continues to be a bright one. The Louisiana Workforce Commission released figures this week showing non-farm employment grew by 33,100 jobs over the year ending September 30th — a new record with employment now exceeding 1.98 million…:
CUT 7 (12) “huge for us”
That’s LWC Executive Director Curt Eysink.

A presidential campaign could be on the horizon for Governor Bobby Jindal but he said there is still plenty of work for him to do in Louisiana his next 14 months. November 4th election candidates have been asked to grade Jindal on his performance but the Governor says it’s too early to call that yet…:
CUT 13 (08) “more progress”
Jindal defends his record, based on the record number of people who are working in the state today.