The deadline for filing your federal income tax return is just days away.  David Grubb has more on what you can do if you’re feeling that pressure…:

CUT 02(35)      “…David Grubb.”

After nearby gunfire forced lawmen to shut down the Ponchatoula Strawberry festival early Saturday night, police in the Tangipahoa Parish town say they are close to making one or more arrests. A dozen or more shell casings were found within a block of the festival crowd, but no one was reported hurt.

If you’ve bought groceries lately, you know the impact of inflation on your wallet. Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says, yes, increased motor fuels costs are a big part of that … but also an outbreak of avian flu that’s hit 24 farm states and killed millions of chickens; forcing poultry and egg prices skyward. Dr. Strain says guidelines are in place to hopefully stem that tide and avoid a much bigger outbreak…:

CUT 08(12)      “…100 million birds.”

The Centers for Disease Control say don’t worry about GETTING avian flu; it does not infect people.

A study done before the COVID outbreak shows well over half of Louisiana kids live in what can only be called “working poor” conditions. Edy Addison with the Capital Area United Way says many don’t have a PC or internet to file for aid…:

CUT 05(11)      “…their household.”

A Lafayette police officer is fighting for his life, after a two-vehicle crash on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge yesterday. State Police spokesman Trooper Taylor Scrantz says Lt. Todd Alcorn was off-duty at the time & driving his personal vehicle when he hit the side railing and lost control. He is now in critical condition in a Baton Rouge hospital. Scrantz says it is believed Alcorn was driving while impaired…:

CUT 13  (10)        “…charges pending.”

The other driver involved in the wreck sustained moderate injuries.

The deadline to file your federal income taxes is coming up fast. If you haven’t yet started, CPA Catherine Rowe says you are far from alone. She offers this for you to consider…:

CUT 09  (12)        “…documentation together.”

If you file for an extension, remember you have to send the IRS at least part of what you think you may have to pay. This year’s deadline is April 18^th, because the 15^th is Good Friday.

An East Baton Rouge Parish woman faces multiple charges after a Sunday night car crash, in which she rolled over her SUV; injuring herself and the 11 children inside. One child was ejected from the vehicle and had to be air-evacced to a hospital. 34-year-old Laticia Brothers was charged with 11 counts of cruelty to juveniles, because none of those kids were seat belted. The vehicle is only designed to carry 8 persons maximum.

Governor John Bel Edwards was in Rapides Parish today for Cleco’s announcement that the energy provider will invest 900-million dollars to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Edwards says the innovative technology plan will take place at their electric generation unit in Lena…:

CUT 14(07)      “…incredibly important.”

Edwards says Cleco will not ask ratepayers to help fund this project.

A pre-pandemic report indicates 57 percent of Louisiana’s children live in households below the ALICE threshold. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Energy provider CLECO announced today it will invest 900-million dollars to significantly reduce carbon emissions at its electric generation unit in Lena. Cleco says it will build a carbon capture and sequestration facility to remove and compress 95-percent or more of the C-O-2 emitted in geological formations under the site.

NBC News reports the wholesale price for eggs is up nearly three times over this time last year. According to the U-S-D-A, the major reason for the price spike is an outbreak of avian flu that has affected 24 states and more than 46 million birds. Louisiana Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says measures and guidelines are in place to help stem the tide.
Cut 7 (12) “…with their flock.”
Strain hopes by acting quickly, a much bigger outbreak can be avoided.

A Lafayette Police officer is said to be fighting for his life after a two-vehicle crash on the Basin Bridge in Iberville Parish yesterday morning. State Police spokesperson Taylor Scrantz says Lt. Todd Alcorn was off-duty and driving a personal vehicle when he struck a bridge rail and lost control…

Cut 12 (07) “…Malibu”
Scrantz says Alcorn is in critical condition at a Baton Rouge hospital and the driver in the other vehicle sustained moderate issues. He says they believe Alcorn was impaired at the time of the wreck.

A pre-pandemic report indicates 57-percent of Louisiana’s children live in households below the ALICE threshold. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Edy (Edie) Addison with the Capital Area United Way says often those families earn too much to qualify for assistance and they are issuing grants to help the ALICE population with accessing existing resources.

Cut 4  (09) “…needs met.”

You’ll have to stretch your food dollar a bit further as the price of eggs is also on the rise. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain…

Cut 6  (10) “…February 8.” 

He says Avian flu is to blame for the price increase.

A bill to create Education Savings Accounts, to help give parents more school choice options, clears the House Education Committee. Kevin Gallagher has more…:

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

New Orleans Democrat Karen Carter Peterson has resigned from the Louisiana Senate after 23-years in the legislature. Peterson says she needs to focus all of her energy on her struggles with depression and gambling addiction. Last week, she spoke about her recovery on the Senate Floor and hopes her battles with addiction helps others.
Cut 12 (10) “…with the disease.”
But the Advocate newspaper reports Peterson’s abrupt resignation is because she’s under a federal investigation due to financial issues linked to her gambling.

A report, conducted before the pandemic, indicates 57 percent of Louisiana’s children live in households below the ALICE threshold. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Edy (Edie) Addison with the Capital Area United Way says the study took a deep dive into who these children are.
Cut 3 (10) “….are working.”
Addison says the report is concerning because ALICE households often earn too much to qualify for public assistance like food stamps and having two working parents doesn’t guarantee financial stability.

In an effort to make the drive along the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge safer, one Senator is proposing legislation to significantly increase speeding fines. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

A Lafayette Police officer is said to be fighting for his life after he was involved in a two-vehicle crash on the Basin Bridge in Iberville Parish yesterday morning. State Police Lt. Todd Alcorn was off-duty and driving a personal vehicle when he struck a bridge rail and lost control. He was also struck by an oncoming vehicle. A state police spokesperson says Alcorn was likely impaired.

New Orleans Democrat Karen Carter Peterson has resigned from the state senate after a 23-years. She’s been public about her struggles with depression and gambling addiction, but the Advocate says she’s under federal investigation. Political analyst says Clancy Dubos says Peterson was the first woman to lead the state’s Democratic Party.

Cut 13 (13) “…domestic violence.”

In Pineville, Cleco Power will make a major economic announcement at noon today. They will be joined by Governor John Bel Edwards and Senator Bill Cassidy; the utility provider will share details on an innovative technology plan for carbon capture and sequestration. Cleco serves approximately 291,000 customers in the Bayou State.

Senate President Page Cortez is proposing to up the fine for speeding on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge to 875-dollars for first offenders. Cortez’s legislation also calls for eight sets of speed limit signs equally spaced on the basin bridge…

Cut 9 (08)  “…high fine.”
The proposal is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee.

A bill to create an Education Savings Accounts (ESA’s) to help parents with funding for school options other than public school heads to House. Louisiana School Superintendents Association executive director Michael Faulk says the state already has a school vouchers program, and this will mean less state funding for local school systems and ESA’s won’t be everything proponents promise…:

Cut 5 (08) “…for a full year.”

The second in command at State Police is on administrative leave as an internal investigation looks into why his cell phone was cleared of data as facts of the 2019 in-custody death of Ronald Greene began coming out. Kevin Gallagher has more from a special House committee looking into Greene’s death…:

Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

The media released footage of Greene’s arrest two years later which shows LSP officers violently beating Greene while he was handcuffed. Greene’s family was originally told he died in a car crash.

New Orleans Democrat Karen Carter Peterson has resigned from the Louisiana Senate, ending a 23-year career in the legislature. Peterson says she needs to focus all of her energy on her struggles with depression and gambling addiction. On Thursday, she spoke about her recovery on the Senate Floor and hopes her battles with addition helps others.

Cut 12 (10) “…with the disease.”

But the Advocate newspaper reports Peterson’s abrupt resignation is because she’s under a federal investigation due to financial issues linked to her gambling.

Senate President Page Cortez files legislation in an effort to reduce wrecks on the 18-mile-long Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. Cortez says he’s seen multiple 18-wheelers fail to drive in the righthand lane even though signs are posted, and other vehicles are traveling at high speeds.

Cut 8 (03)  “…do something.”
The bill will increase speeding penalties to up $2,500.

Houma Representative Tanner Magee, who chairs a special House committee investigating the 2019 State Police custody death of Ronald Greene, says it was an appropriate decision by Colonel Lamar Davis to put L-S-P’s second in command on administrative leave. Magee says Lt. Colonel Doug Cain should not be actively working if he’s under investigation for having his cell phone data cleared…:
Cut 15 (07) “…all day long.”

Senate President Page Cortez wants to increase the fines for speeding on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. The speed limit on the bridge is 60 miles per hour for cars and 55 for trucks. Cortez says speeders on that stretch of roadway believe they are saving time
Cut 10 (10) “…being killed.”
Cortez’s bill calls for a speeding ticket on the basin bridge to be five times the standard fine imposed. That would be $875 for first-time offenders.

A bill to create Education Savings Accounts, to help give parents more school choice options, clears the House Education Committee. Kevin Gallagher reports…:
Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

A wind advisory is in effect for most of north Louisiana today and southwest Louisiana. Strong winds have led to power outages. SWEPCO is reporting nearly three thousand outages in the Shreveport area. The biggest chance for severe weather this week is Wednesday.

The second in command at State Police, Lt. Colonel Doug Cain, is on paid administrative leave as he’s under an internal investigation into why he had his state-issued cellphone wiped clean as information into the L-S-P custody death of Ronald Greene became public. A special House committee looking into Greene’s death, tried to ask Cain about the sanitizing of the phone, but Houma Representative Tanner Magee says Cain didn’t provide answers because of the L-S-P led investigation….
cut 15 (08) “…avoid answering questions”

Senate President Page Cortez is proposing to up the fine for speeding on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge to 875-dollars for first offenders. Cortez’s legislation also calls for eight sets of speed limit signs equally spaced on the basin bridge…
cut 9 (08) “…..high fine”
The proposal is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee.
Several school choice bills are being discussed in the Louisiana House. The legislation would give parents the option of using state dollars from an education savings account to leave a public school to attend a private school or receive special tutoring or services. CEO of the Pelican Institute Daniel Erspamer is behind the idea of public education funding following the child; not the school. He says the bill would give parents – on average – an extra $5500 a year for kids’ education choices…:
Cut 6 (13) “…to every family.”
But Louisiana School Superintendents Association executive director Michael Faulk says there are financial uncertainties with the legislation…
cut 7 (08) “….gonna do it”
The House Appropriations Committee is set to discuss school choice funding today.