Former St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Walter Reed’s corruption trial begins today. Halen Doughty reports the longtime DA faces 19 criminal counts….
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A House committee is seeking to speak with leaders of the small Tensas parish town of St. Joseph about why the water there has been yellow to murky brown for years. Halen Doughty has more…
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Nicholls State launches a lecture series tonight that’s designed to encourage females to pursue a career as a chef. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Nicholls State is launching a series to inspire future female chefs. Amelie Zeringue, an assistant professor at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, says successful female chefs will speak to the culinary students about how women can achieve their goals in this male-dominated industry.
According to Nicholls State, only 21-percent of the jobs in the restaurant industry are held by women. Zeringue says the schedules for people in the food industry poses problems for people with children, which may be why there are so few women…
The series kicks off today with speaker Chef Jaqueline Blanchard, a Nicholls graduate and owner of Coutelier NOLA. Zeringue says she hopes these speakers will encourage female chefs to overcome the challenges they may face in their careers.
The seven-part series will continue through the 2016 fall semester.
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St. Joseph residents are seeking help from the state about their water, which has been yellow to dark brown for years. They went before the House Natural Resources Committee and gave emotional testimony. Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson says the water is causing health issues in the small Tensas Parish town.
In order to get state funds to fix the water, the mayor must grant permission for a state administrator to oversee the money, but Mayor Edward Brown will not give his permission. St. Joseph residents pleaded with the committee to help them get clean water and showed the committee bottles filled with murky, brown water from their town. Roy Bowman spoke about the urgency of St. Joseph’s water problems.
The House Natural Resources committee is seeking to have Brown and members of the city council brought to Baton Rouge to explain how the water has gotten so bad there. Wanda Bowman, feels awful that her special needs son uses this filthy water.
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Former-St. Tammany Parish District Attorney, Walter Reed, federal corruption trial begins today at a US courthouse in New Orleans today. Reed faces 19 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, and fraud. Legal analyst Tim Meche says Reed could spend a lot of time behind bars if convicted.
Reed allegedly spent over $100-thousand from his campaign fund for non-campaign related purchases. Meche says it’s an interesting case, because federal prosecutors are seeking to convict the former DA on what amounts to state ethic violations…
Meche says the whole country will be watching, because it could have implications for other state elected officials. He says it could start a trend of prosecuting state offenses at the federal level.
Reed became not-so-affectionately known as “St. Slammany” for his aggressive pursuit of criminals and harsh sentences for the over 30 years he spent as St. Tammany DA. Reed’s son Steven is also facing similar charges for his role in the conspiracy.
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The state senate is expected to vote this week on a new contingency plan, if the state is unable to fully fund TOPS. Currently, if the scholarship program is underfunded, TOPS students with lower ACT scores and without financial need, lose their scholarships. Jennings Senator Blade Morrish seeks to change it, so all TOPS students receive at least some scholarship money…
TOPS is expected to cost the state 300-million dollars next fiscal year. But the governor’s proposed budget only allocates 110-million dollars for the popular program. Morrish says his legislation also contains language to help TOPS students, if they receive a partial scholarship..
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For students to receive a TOPS scholarship they must have a 2.5 GPA in high school and at least a 20 on the ACT. Morrish says his legislation is an attempt to make sure recipients have at least part of their tuition paid, if the state can’t fully fund the program. He says the current rules are unfair…
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Spring football is over for the Tigers and the anticipation for the 2016 season begins. Based on a large number of starters returning, LSU will be ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason polls. Coach Les Miles says if the Tigers want to be a national title contender, they must be dedicated to improving…
Starting quarterback Brandon Harris was 11-of-15 for 106 yards, as the Tigers worked on their short passing game in a two-hour scrimmage. Harris liked what he accomplished…
LSU fans were able to get a look at the tigers new back-up quarterback, Danny Etling, a transfer from Purdue. Etling was 6-of-12 for 106 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Harris enjoys the competition at the quarterback position…
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At Louisiana Tech’s spring game, new starting quarterback Ryan Higgins threw for 469 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. Two freshmen wide receivers stood out. Kam McKnight had 8 catches for 106 yards and one touchdown, while Alfred Smith grabbed four passes for 120 yards. Higgins McKnight and Smith will be really good football players…
Louisiana Tech’s defense was led by Jaylon Ferguson, who had three sacks. The former West Feliciana High standout had six sacks last season and knows a lot will be expected from him in 2016…