The mayor of Winnsboro is arrested on a Medicaid fraud charge. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (28) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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A new poll shows state senator Blake Miguez is leading the Fifth District Congressional Republican primary. Jeff Palermo has the story.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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DOTD is using the occasion of Love The Boot Week to launch a new program aimed at cleaning litter from busy highways. Secretary Glenn Ledet (luh-DAY) says it’s called Sponsor-A-Highway.
Cut 3 (05) “…segments of highways.”
Unlike the more common Adopt-A-Highway, in which volunteers pick up trash along the stretch of highway they have adopted two to four times a year, Sponsor-A-Highway is geared towards companies which pay a monthly fee to have a third party vendor clean the sponsored section of highway. Ledet says sponsors are already signing up.
Ledet says sponsors get road signs with their logos on them, giving them an additional advertising opportunity, making this a win-win for everyone.
Cut 5 (13) “…really congested areas.”
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The Louisiana House rejects a bill that would have required some TOPS recipients to pay back their scholarships if they lost them as a result of poor grades or not taking the required number of courses. Baton Rouge Representative Edmond Jordan could not figure how they would pay it back, since the scholarship money goes directly to the school.
Cut 6 (13) “…to be garnished.”
The measure failed on a 38-to-62 vote.
Bossier City Representative Dennis Bamburg says he’s looking after taxpayer dollars with his legislation.
Bamburg had exemptions in the bill, where TOPS recipients would not have to pay their scholarships back if they lost them while also dealing with significant life challenges, like a death of an immediate family member. He also gave the option for a student to go to a technical school instead, with the state still paying for the tuition.
But Baton Rouge Representative Barbara Freiberg says no other scholarship asks for the money back if a student fails to keep it.
Cut 8 (07) “…back those scholarships”
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We are ten days away from the start of the early voting period for the May 16th election. Pearson Cross teaches political science at ULM, and he’s expecting a low turnout for the state’s first closed primary election since 2010.
Republican and Democratic U-S Senate primaries are the main item on the ballot, but voters in 20 parishes will also be electing a new person to represent the 5th Congressional district. In a poll of 600 likely voters, State Senator Blake Miguez leads the field in the 5th District Republican Party Primary. Cross says it remains to be seen if Miguez ends up replacing Julia Letlow.
Baton Rouge Senator Rick Edmonds received 13-percent of the vote in the survey, followed by Monroe Representative Michael Echols at 10-percent. Board of Regents chairwoman Misti Cordell received three-percent. Cross says the winner of this election may come down to who has the most money.
Cut 11 (13) “…just don’t know”
New Orleans-based pollster Greg Rigamer conducted the survey that was paid for by business lobbyist Alton Ashy.
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LSU freshman baseball player William Patrick from Monroe will have an opportunity to play in right field now that Jake Brown is out for the season with a broken hamate bone in his wrist. Patrick started for Brown in last night’s 10-7 win over UNO and had an RBI double — but not before he got some valuable advice from Brown.
Coach Jay Johnson is impressed with Patrick’s athleticism.
Cut 13 (07) “…a great competitor.”
LSU will look to snap a six-game SEC losing streak when they visit Mississippi State for the start of a three-game series Friday night.