The federal government announces that nearly 185-thousand Louisianans signed up for insurance through the federal Insurance Marketplace as of Sunday’s deadline. Michelle Southern has more…
cut 2 (30) “….reporting”

The state department of Revenue announces they will begin issuing tax refunds the week of March second, which is a week later than originally planned. Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says the delay is in response to the recent increase and still unfolding developments centered around fraudulent tax returns filed across the country.

A dozen museums under the control of the Secretary of State will be open only one day a week, because of budget cuts to that department. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says the reduced hours are in place for the foreseeable future…
cut 14 (10) “….as it looks”
The old state capitol in Baton Rouge and the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport will be in operation for three days a week, instead of five.

Big upset in college baseball last night as Nicholls State defeated second ranked LSU six to three. The Tigers left 17 runners on base, while Colonels first baseman Seth Stevens had two hits and two RBIs.

Over 184-thousand Louisiana residents enrolled for health insurance through the federal marketplace that was set up by the Affordable Care Act. The open enrollment deadline was Sunday. Marketplace director Kevin Counihan hopes open enrollment next year will be bigger and better than it was this year…
cut 9 (09) “…certainly does”

Crawfish processors say new federal guidelines regarding guest worker wages could cause a big hike in the price of the mudbugs. Louisiana’s crawfish industry depends heavily on legal foreign workers to perform jobs they can’t fill locally. Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor Frank Randol says the federal government mandates those workers now be paid $12.35 an hour…:
CUT 3 (08) “wholesale level”

The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office says a Bernice woman is under arrest after leaving her eight-month old son on a relative’s doorstep. Sheriff Dusty Gates says they received a call from the child’s father reporting that the baby was left outside a relative’s residence in Bernice…:
CUT 12 (12) “30 degrees”
The infant’s mother, 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson, is charged with criminal child abandonment.

A hard freeze warning is in effect for northern Tangipahoa, St. Helena St. Tammany and Washington parishes for midnight tonight until eight o’ clock tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service says temperatures could drop into the mid-20s in this part of the state. We could see low temps fall into the low 20s in northeast Louisiana.

A survey of Louisiana public school teachers finds that 78-percent of them believe the annual standardized tests are excessive…
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The Secretary of State’s Office is bracing for a $930 thousand dollar mid-year budget reduction. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says this one is the largest to hit historical sites. He says there will be dozens of layoffs, and hours of operation reductions are planned, as many museums and the Old State Capitol cut back.
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The Department of Labor’s required $5 an hour pay increase for guest workers will probably cause a big rise in the price of crawfish. Legal foreign workers perform jobs crawfish processors cannot fill locally, and that pay raise could mean more consumer cost. Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor, Frank Randol, says the feds caught them off-guard…
CUT 5 (10) Q: “changed the game”

A brother and sister are dead after being shot at the Sugar Shack in New Roads early this morning. Point Coupee Sheriff’s Office Captain Steven Juge says the incident happened around 12:30 am…
CUT 9 (08) “parking lot”
The victims are 38-year-old Seneca Williams and 41-year-old Lichelle Williams. The suspect is 31-year-old Jamie Croom, who remains at large.

The Louisiana Association of Educators has released a new survey showing about 78 percent of teachers are against yearly standardized tests of students, because they say the prep time for kids to get ready is taking away from learning time. LAE President Debbie Meaux says it’s a problem now, and a possible problem for the future, as they seek to find new teachers…
CUT 8 (06) Q: “for children”

A late-night shooting at a New Roads nightclub has left two people dead, and authorites on the hunt for the suspect who pulled the trigger. Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain Steven Juge says the suspect who remains at large is 31 year-old Jamie Croom…
CUT 11 (06) Q; “a club”
That club was the Sugar Shack, and the dead are 38 year-old Seneca Williams and her brother, 41 year-old Lichelle Williams.
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New federal guidelines for an increase in guest worker wages could be hitting crawfish lovers in the pocketbook. Louisiana’s crawfish industry depends heavily on guest workers to perform jobs they cannot fill locally, and processors say the five dollar an hour raise to 12.35 an hour will result in a $3 per pound increase in the price of tail meat…
CUT 4 (07) Q: ‘of the country’
That’s Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor Frank Randol.

In Union Parish, a Bernise woman is under arrest after leaving her 8 month-old son on a relative’s doorstep. With temperatures in the mid-30s before being discovered after about 90 minutes outside, the child was taken to the hospital with pnemonia. Sheriff Dusty Gates says they arrested 23 year-old Keondra Ferguson on criminal child abandonment charges…
CUT 14 (05) Q: ” the child”
The baby is now in the custody of the father.

The price of Louisiana crawfish could be going up big time. Here’s Eric Gill with that story…:
CUT 1 (30) Q: “reporting”

The US Department of Health and Human Services says over 184,000 people in Louisiana are signed up for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. That is a growth of 82 thousand state-wide over last year. Nationwide that number is about 11.4 million Americans. These numbers are as of February 15th which was the deadline to sign up this year.
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New numbers from the Louisiana Association of Educators reveals 78 percent of teachers believe annual state-required standardized tests takes too much time away from classroom instruction…
CUT 7 (10) Q: “to learn”
That’s LAE President Debbie Meaux, who thinks the better option is to test once in elementary school; once in middle school; and one more time at the high school level.

A brother and sister are dead after being shot at a New Roads nightclub early this morning. Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain Steven Juge (rhymes with huge) says there was some type of altercation at the The Sugar Shack …:
cut 10 (09) “from people”
The dead are thirty-eight-year-old Seneca Williams and 41-year-old Lichelle Williams. The suspect is 31-year-old Jamie Croom, who remains at large.

Crawfish processors say new federal guidelines regarding guest worker wages could cause a big hike in the price of the mudbugs. Louisiana’s crawfish industry depends heavily on legal foreign workers to perform jobs they can’t fill locally. Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor Frank Randol says the federal government mandates those workers now be paid $12.35 an hour…:
CUT 3 (08) “wholesale level”
There is concern that the price of crawfish could climb higher than what consumers are willing to pay.

Over 184,000 Louisianians are signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act as of February 15th which was the Obamacare enrollment period deadline. The US Department of Health and Human Services says Louisiana had the second-fastest growth rate during the last week of enrollment.

A woman from Bernice is in big trouble accused of leaving her baby on a doorstep of the father’s relative. Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates says 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson allegedly dropped her 8 month old son outside the residence for more than 90 minutes, with temperatures in the mid-30s, before being discovered. Gates says the baby was wrapped in warm clothing and in a car seat when found…:
CUT 13 (08) “have pneumonia”
He says Ferguson is charged with criminal child abandonment. The father is keeping the child.

Federal authorities are helping the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s office in locating the 31-year-old suspect who is accused in the murders of a brother and sister last night outside of a club in New Roads. They say Jamie Croom has a long criminal history and should be considered armed and dangerous.

The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office says they are looking for the suspect they believe is responsible for shooting and killing a brother and sister last night at a club in New Roads. Captain Steven Juge says the victims are identified as 38-year-old Seneca Williams and 41-year-old Lichelle Williams. The suspect who remains at large is 31-year-old Jamie Croom. He says it appears there was some type of altercation between the suspect and victims…:
CUT 9 (08) “parking lot”
He says Croom should be considered armed and dangerous.

The US Department of Health and Human Services says 184,532 people in Louisiana are signed up for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Nationwide that number is about 11.4 million Americans. These numbers are as of February 15th which was the deadline to sign up this year.

A survey of Louisiana Public school teachers finds that 78 percent believe annual standardized testing is excessive…:
CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

If you’d made plans to watch some LSU baseball at the Box this weekend the start times have change amidst worries of nasty weather. Boston College and the Tigers now play a double header Friday at 2pm and 7pm then game three is Saturday at 3pm. LSU and Nicholls play tonight at 6:30 in Baton Rouge.

A survey of Louisiana teachers finds 78-percent of them believe state-required standardized tests takes too much time away from classroom instruction. Louisiana Association of Educators president Debbie Meaux says teachers believe there’s an overemphasis on standardized testing in state’s school accountability system…:
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She believes students should only be required to take standardized tests once in elementary school, then again in middle school and one more time on the high school level.

The victims and suspects in the Pointe Coupee Parish shootings have been identified. Deputies say Jamie Croom is accused in the murders and currently remains at large but should be considered armed and dangerous. The victims are Seneca and Lischelle Williams who were murdered at the Sugar Shack over night in New Roads.

The Lafayette Police Department believes the person responsible for a fiery three car wreck yesterday was driving drunk. They say 23-year-old Bryce Champman slammed into a vehicle which was stopped to turn and upon impact engulfed in flames killing the driver. Champman is charged with 2nd offense OWI and Vehicular homicide.

The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office says a Bernice woman is under arrest after leaving her eight-month old son on a relative’s doorstep. Sheriff Dusty Gates says they received a call from the child’s father reporting that the baby was left outside a relative’s residence in Bernice…:
CUT 12 (12) “30 degrees”
The infant’s mother, 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson, is charged with criminal child abandonment.

The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office says a brother and sister are dead after being shot at the a bar called Sugar Shack in New Roads early this morning. They say there was some sort of fight that started inside the club and spilled outside, but not much else is known at this point and the names of the victims and potential suspects are not being released at this time as the investigation is ongoing.

Today is the start of the Lenten season which is a really big 40 days for the seafood industry as many people give up meat. Gulf Seafood Institute chairman Harlon Pearce says we need things to warm up to grow supply…:
CUT 7 (09) “out there”
He says fish are in great supply right now and this is the best time of year to get the best big juicy Louisiana oysters.

The Union Parish Sheriff’s office says a 23-year-old mother is behind bars accused of abandoning her 8 month old son on a doorstep in mid-30 degree temperatures. They say Keondra Ferguson of Bernice allegedly left the baby outside strapped in a car-seat covered with a blanket at the home of the paternal grandfather who made the discovery 90 minutes later. The mother is charged with criminal child abandonment.

Today a church in Shreveport is offering drive-thru Ash Wednesday ashes. Scott Carwile reports…:
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Baton Rouge based Marucci BodiTrak has developed what they call a smart fabric to help diagnose head injuries to football players during games. President Curtis Cruz says when an impact or collection of impacts registers hard enough into the fabric, a team official will automatically be notified via a mobile device…

cut 15 (07) “this level”

He says to truly help prevent concussions there needs to be a better way to detect injuries and provide care.

Today in Shreveport, Christ United Methodist Church will offer “Drive By Ashes” to accommodate those who’s schedules won’t allow them to make their full Ash Wednesday church service. Associate Pastor Kelly Berne says this is just another way to minister amid today’s hectic lifestyles…

cut 6 (06) “their busy schedule”

She says they will be set up in the church parking lot from 11 – 4 and you can receive your ashes without leaving your car.

The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office says a Bernice woman is charged with criminal child abandonment after leaving her eight-month old son on his grandfather’s doorstep, wrapped in a blanket and fastened in a car seat. They say the child was outside, with temperatures in the mid-30s, for over 90 minutes before being discovered. 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson admitted to authorities that she left the child because she was depressed and there was no one to help her. The father is now taking care of the baby.

Abita Brewing Company announces their craft-brewed root beer is now available in cans. Michelle Southern reports…

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