The Senate has unveiled its funding plan for next fiscal year, and it does not call for any cuts to higher ed, prisons, and the Department of Children and Family Services. Senate President John Alario says their proposal also fully funds the TOPS scholarship program…:
Cut 14 (09) “their budgets”
The budget was approved by the Senate Finance Committee and heads to the Senate floor for their approval.

Federal disaster recovery dollars appropriated by Congress are finally getting into the hands of flood victims. Nick Speyrer ( s p ay uh r ) with the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program says Governor Edwards passed out the first handful of reimbursement checks to those who already completed their rebuilding…:
Cut 8 (12) “to come”
Speyrer says the first step for flood victims to receive federal aid is to complete the survey at restore.la.gov.

After a proposal to increase the state’s gasoline tax was tabled for the session, one lawmaker proposed firing thousands of DOTD workers to pay for better roads. Shreveport Representative Alan Seabaugh says the department has plenty of money, but they aren’t responsible with it..:
cut 4 (08) “of em”
But state Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says that’s not a practical solution.

The road to Omaha begins for the LSU Tigers as they open the Baton Rouge Regional this afternoon by hosting Texas Southern. Senior left-hander Jared Poche of Lutcher will start on the mound…:
Cut 17 (08) “what happens”
The Tiger softball team won their first game Thursday in the Women’s College World Series.

Hurricane season begins today, and Colorado State University has upgrade their forecast for the season. In April, CSU called for a slightly below average season. State Climatologist Barry Keim explains why the forecast now calls for 13 named storms.

Cut 3 (09) “this year”

The CSU forecast calls for six hurricanes with two of them becoming major.

Oakdale Elementary School in Allen Parish was ravaged by a massive fire overnight. Deputy Chief Brant Thompson with the state Fire Marshal’s Office says they’re investigating what led to the huge blaze that left most of the school destroyed. He says thankfully the school was already out for the summer.

Cut 11 (10) “blessing here”

State Police say they have arrested the Baton Rouge man who allegedly struck and killed a 12-year-old boy during a police chase. Michelle Southern reports…

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A Shreveport man has been arrested after police say he put a 2-year-old in a refrigerator as a form of punishment. Police say 30-year-old Steven Funderburk is also accused of slapping the child across the face. He is charged with cruelty to a juvenile, and his bond was set at $100,000.

Senate Finance approves a 29-billion dollar budget plan for next fiscal year. It fully funds TOPS and it calls for more state spending than what the House proposed. So colleges, prisons and the department of children and family services will not see cuts. Governor John Bel Edwards says the Senate’s version of the budget makes responsible cuts to the Department of Health. A conference committee will be needed to iron out differences between the House and Senate.

Baton Rouge Representative Franklin Foil halts his effort to make it harder for high school students to get the TOPS scholarship. Foil told Senate Education a task force will be formed to examine TOPS and he’ll wait to see their findings…
Cut 15 (09) “that reason”
Foil’s bill would have raised the minimum high school GPA from 2.50 to 2.75.

Shreveport Representative Alan Seabaugh says Louisiana can pay for better roads if it fired three-thousand state transportation workers. DOTD employs 47-hundred. Seabaugh says that would free up a couple hundred million dollars and the state agency wouldn’t even notice the employee reduction.
Cut 5 (09) “do the job” (2x)
But Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says that’s not a practical solution to fund transportation infrastructure. He says all of the employees he was referring to are people that perform routine maintenance and road closures during disasters.
Cut 6 (08) “the actual work”
Seabaugh’s comments came during discussion of a proposed gasoline tax hike that died on the House floor.

State Police say they have arrested a Baton Rouge man who allegedly struck and killed a 12-year-old boy during a police chase. Michelle Southern reports.
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Michelle Southern”

Former LSU band director Roy King has reached a settlement with the university over his firing. King was part of the Tiger Band Program for 18 years, but he was terminated last year after a four-month internal investigation. King’s attorney says he’s happy it’s settled and he’s looking forward to moving on.

Baton Rouge Representative Franklin Foil’s attempt to make it harder for students to get a TOPS scholarship, by raising the GPA requirement, has been tabled for the session. Foil says he proposed the bill, because the cost of the taxpayer scholarship continues to escalate….
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Foil says the legislature is forming a task force to examine TOPS, so he’ll look at their findings, before proposing changes next year.

After first forecasting a below-average hurricane season, researchers at Colorado State University have upped their seasonal outlook and now predict a more active season. The revised forecast calls for 13 named storms. State Climatologist Barry Keim says Louisiana has not seen a hurricane make landfall in four years…:
Cut 4 (11) “but we’ll see”

A 12-year-old Baton Rouge boy is dead after he was struck by a vehicle involved in a police chase. The driver of that car has been identified as 32-year-old Joshual Hilton of Baton Rouge. He’s been charged with manslaughter. State Police Trooper Bryan Lee says Hilton was trying to flee police, who was conducting a drug investigation….
cut 8 (10) “….some closure”
The 12-year-old who was killed has been described as a very good boy.

A couple in Washington Parish has been arrested after the son allegedly hit his mother with a cast iron skillet. Chief Deputy Mike Haley says a table game got out of hand….
cut 13 (09) “….the head”
The mother suffered serious injuries.

Colorado State University upgrades its hurricane season forecast from below-average to near-normal. Jeff Palermo has more…
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The state fire marshal’s office is on the scene in Allen Parish where a fire destroyed much of Oakdale Elementary. Chief Deputy Brant Thompson says they are trying to determine a cause….
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Thompson says the school is home to 700 students and it’s a hard hit to the Oakdale community.

Baton Rouge Representative Franklin Foil halts his effort to raise the minimum GPA required for high school students to receive the TOPS scholarship. Foil told Senate Education a task force will be formed to examine TOPS and he’ll wait to see their findings before pursing his legislation…
Cut 15 (09) “that reason”

Colorado State University hurricane researchers have updated their 2017 Atlantic hurricane season forecast as it begins today. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the forecast now calls for 13 named storms.He says the US has gone 11 straight seasons without a major hurricane landfall. He says the last one was Wilma in 2005.

Cut 5 (12) “a major hurricane”

CSU finds there is a 32 percent chance a hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast.

State Police have arrested the man who allegedly hit and killed a 12-year-old boy during a police chase. Trooper Bryan Lee says 32-year-old Joshual Hilton of Baton Rouge faces multiple charges including manslaughter and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He says investigators are reconstructing the scene where Sammy Lee was run over…
Cut 7 (09) “was struck”

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a couple for aggravated assault after the man and girlfriend allegedly attacked the man’s mother with a cast iron skillet. Chief Deputy Mike Haley says Venus Camacho and Kurtis Strong started attacking Strong’s mother after an argument and Strong ended up severely injuring her by throwing the skillet at her head. He says this is extremely disrespectful.
Cut 14 (06) “unacceptable”

Strong is charged with two counts of aggravated battery and domestic abuse battery by strangulation.

After first forecasting a below-average hurricane season, researchers at Colorado State University have upped their seasonal outlook and now predict a more active season. The CSU forecast calls for six hurricanes, with two of them becoming major. State Climatologist Barry Keim says Louisiana has not seen a hurricane make landfall in four years…:
Cut 4 (11) “but we’ll see”
the forecast now calls for 13 named storms.

Bond has been set at $57,500 for the man who was arrested after he allegedly struck and killed a 12-year-old boy during a police chase in Baton Rouge. Investigators booked 32-year-old Joshual Hilton with manslaughter, reckless operation, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office arrests a man for allegedly locking his 2-year-old daughter in a refrigerator with the door closed as a form of punishment. He is 30-year-old Steven Funderburk of Shreveport.

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man and his girlfriend for aggravated assault after the couple allegedly attacked the man’s mother with a cast iron skillet. Chief Deputy Mike Haley says Kurtis Strong and Venus Camacho, both 38, were playing a table game with the Strong’s mother and her friend when Camacho and the mom got into an argument…:
Cut 12 (07) “his mother”
He says the son then threw the skillet at his mom’s head and her injuries were serious enough that she had to be taken to a hospital in New Orleans.

An elementary school in Allen Parish was ravaged by a massive fire overnight. Deputy Chief Brant Thompson with the state Fire Marshal’s Office says the fire began at Oakdale Elementary around 4 p.m. yesterday. He says it took some time to get the fire under control, and hot spots remained until this morning…:
Cut 9 (09) “by fire”
About 80 percent of the building was reportedly destroyed by the fire. The cause is under investigation.