A Tickfaw woman is behind bars after allegedly abandoning her eight-year-old son inside a Ponchatoula laundromat. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Louisiana has been enjoying budget surpluses for the last several years, but a report from the Legislative Fiscal Office says that may change soon. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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A new poll of Louisiana voters shows Governor Landry’s and President Trump’s approval ratings have dropped since last year. Andre Champagne has the story.
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A Tickfaw woman is behind bars for allegedly abandoning her eight-year-old son inside a Ponchatoula laundromat this past Sunday. Polchatoula Police Chief Bry (“bree”) Layrisson says people saw 43-year-old Jeanette Edmonds drive away without her son, and she was quickly located in Harvey and taken into custody by Jefferson Parish deputies. Layrisson says Edmonds showed no regard for the well-being of her son.
Layrisson says that was not the first time Edmonds tried abandoning her son that day.
Cut 5 (09) “…same thing occurred.”
The boy’s father drove down from Ruston to pick him up. Layrisson says in the more than four hours it takes to drive from Ruston to Ponchatoula, officers took care of the boy.
Cut 6 (06) “…cartoons for him.”
Layrisson says all things considered, the boy is doing well. Edmonds, meanwhile, is behind bars on three charges.
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Louisiana is in good shape financially as work is underway to craft a state spending plan for next fiscal year, but Jan (“yahn”) Moeller with Invest in Louisiana warns the state could see budget deficits in future years. Moeller says the reason is simple.
Cut 7 (09) “…starting to increase.”
Moeller says state revenues peaked in 2024 and are slowly going down, and projected costs of running state government are going up.
One example is the proposed 82-million -dollar increase in funding for the Department of Corrections. Meanwhile, the state must make up for a loss in federal dollars because of the budget bill approved by Congress in 2025.
Cut 8 (06) “…the coming years.”
Moeller says there’s an extra 42-million dollars in this year’s budget proposal to pay for extra administrative costs for SNAP, and that figure is expected to grow in future years.
Moeller says the projections of future budget deficits is just not his analysis, it’s also the conclusion of the Legislative Fiscal Office, which is concerning for those who count on state funding.
Cut 9 (12) “…for healthcare coverage.”
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It’s a game-changer for how Louisiana competes for major economic development projects. Louisiana Economic Development launches the FastSites program. Governor Landry says it’s a program in which the state invests money to make sites shovel-ready for economic development projects.
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Landry says the state chose from a pool of 50 applicants for FastSites funding, and those chosen span 16 parishes throughout the state. (19 sites were chosen.)
Cut 11 (07) “…round of FastSites.”
Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois says getting these sites ready is essential for the state to be able to compete with neighboring states for major economic development projects in advanced manufacturing, logistics and next-generation industries.
Cut 12 (11) “…can even begin.”
The FastSites program is backed by the 150-million-dollar Site Investment and Infrastructure Fund created in the last legislative session.
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A statewide poll of Louisiana voters shows approval ratings for Governor Landry and President Trump have fallen. The Pelican Institute for Public Policy surveyed 762 Louisiana voters, and 43-percent approve of Landry’s job performance. Pelican Institute Vice President Erin Bendily says Landry’s approval rating last year was 58-percent, but she believes rising costs are hurting Landry’s approval numbers.
Cut 13 (09) “…come to fruition.”
Bendily says Landry’s disapproval rating held steady from last year at 36-percent. But the percentage of voters who said they are unsure of Governor Landry’s job performance jumped from six-percent to 22-percent.
Bendily says in their poll last year, President Trump’s approval rating among Louisiana voters was 60-percent, but this year it’s down to 49-percent.
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The UL-Lafayette baseball team is set to host second-ranked LSU tonight in front of a sold-out Tigue Moore Field. The Cajuns enter tonight’s game with the number-14 RPI in the nation, and head coach Matt Deggs says it’s always fun when the Tigers come to Lafayette.
The Cajuns used only eight pitchers in their series win over UC San Diego last weekend. Deggs says the team is prepared to do whatever it takes to secure a marquee win and boost their RPI.
Cut 17 (10) “…club over there.”
LSU, meanwhile, is looking to rebound from Monday’s 13-10 loss to Northeastern. Coach Jay Johnson says the loss is a perfect learning opportunity for his team moving forward.
LSU’s starters only tallied four hits in Monday’s loss. Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide says the team has to do a better job of picking each other up throughout the game.
First pitch is six p.m.