It wasn’t much of a surprise but the bill in Louisiana seeking to end the so-called “sanctuary cities” practice died in the Senate for the second year in a row. One supporter even argued that if an illegal immigrant gets arrested with no identification, police officers would let them go. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says that’s nonsense…:
Cut 10 (11) “get out quickly”
New Orleans Police Chief Michael Harrison spoke in opposition.

In a last ditch bid for House approval, backers of a hike in the state gasoline tax Tuesday morning said they are seeking a 10 cent per gallon increase, instead of 17 cents. The new plan would raise about $300 million per year for roads and bridges compared to $510 million annually under the initial proposal. House Bill 632 is set for a House vote tomorrow afternoon.

A 23-year-old Thibodeaux woman has been arrested after allegedly forcing her way into an apartment and attempting to use a hacksaw blade on her ex-girlfriend. David Melancon with the Thibodeaux Police Department says Lechelsea Jenkins pushed passed a male in the home to get to the victim and began attacking her. He says Jenkins followed the victim to a back room, punched the wall and broke a TV…:
Cut 12 (10) “outside”
Jenkins faces a slew of charges.

A Texas Girl Scout group is safe after being rescued from Saline Bayou In Natchitoches Parish. Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says they received an alert around 9pm on May 28th that a kayaking group of three adults and six juveniles had never returned to their destination..:
CUT 15 (10) “the next morning”

A Senate Judiciary Committee rejects a proposal to end sanctuary policies in Louisiana. The measure would end practices that discourage cops from contacting immigration authorities if they encounter an illegal immigrant. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says he couldn’t see how this bill would improve public safety, as proponents argued it would..:
Cut 9 (07) “special reason”
Proponents claimed the bill had the support of law enforcement, but no cops testified in committee before the bill was deferred and likely dead for the session.

The Humane Society of Louisiana is offering a 1200 dollar reward for any information leading to the arrest of a man accused of killing a pit bull by dragging it behind a truck on Sunday night in Slidell. Director Jeff Dorson says the owner apparently told a witness that it was an accident
Cut 6 (10) “his dog”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have increased 55 percent in 15 years…:
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office says one of their deputies has been fired after being charged with felony third degree rape. The suspect is identified as former Deputy old Bradley Smith of Calhoun.

The LSU Tigers begin preparations today for this weekend’s Baton Rouge Regional. The Tigers first game is Friday at 2:30 against Texas Southern at Alex Box Stadium. LSU has won 11 straight and Coach Paul Mainieri likes the mindset of his team….
cut 18 (20) “….get it done”
Mainieri has yet to decide who will be his starting pitcher on Friday.

The Cajuns baseball team’s streak of reaching the NCAA Tournament has ended at four. UL Lafayette’s RPI of 58 didn’t make the cut.

Louisiana Tech also failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Going two and barbeque in the Conference USA Tournament hurt their chances. And McNeese State not winning the Southland Tourney also kept them out.

The LSU softball team is on its way to Oklahoma City for a third consecutive year, the home of the Women’s College World Series. The Tigers will face UCLA at 1:30 on Thursday.

And LSU-Alexandria will play Davenport, Michigan this afternoon in the NAIA Softball Championships. The Generals need to win to stay alive and they beat Davenport last Friday four to nothing.

The SEC Spring meetings begin today in Destin, Florida. Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs has floated the idea of moving Auburn to the SEC East. We’ll see if there’s any more talk about that. LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva would like to see the SEC relax its rules regarding in-stadium beer sales at football games and we’ll see if there’s any more discussion on that.

The LHSAA Executive Committee begins its annual summer meeting in Baton Rouge. The association will award future championship sites. Alexandria and Lake Charles are bidding to host both the boys and girls state basketball championships.

The Senate judiciary committee has rejected the House-approved bill that seeks to prohibit cities from having so called “sanctuary city” policies. The measure would hold certain state grants from municipalities that do not fully cooperate with immigration authorities. Proponents argued that cops need this bill, but New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says he hasn’t heard that…;
CUT 25 (09) “over the place”
The panel voted to defer the bill which means it’s likely dead for the session.

A bill to change the name of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts in Natchitoches has sparked a big discussion and will be heard in House Education on Wednesday. Alumni don’t want Jimmy D. Long Sr’s name added to the school like Lorie Aguilera..:
Cut 13 (08) “be needed”

Alzheimer’s disease deaths have increased 55 percent in the last 15 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical investigator for Alzheimer’s analysis, Dr. Patrick Gahan is with LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He says one reason for the uptick is that people are living longer…:
Cut 3 (11) “one of those”
He says Pennington has multiple drug trials, and they’re looking for patients over the age of 50 with a family history of Alzheimer’s to participate.

The LSU Tigers begin preparations today for this weekend’s Baton Rouge Regional. The Tigers first game is Friday at 2:30 against Texas Southern at Alex Box Stadium. The other two teams coming to Baton Rouge are Southeastern Louisiana and Rice. And if LSU wins the B-R Regional they’ll face the winner of Hattiesburg Regional, which features Southern Miss and Mississippi State.

Governor John Bel Edwards and Democrats are pushing for tax reform, because 1.3 billion dollars in temporary taxes expire July 2018. But Republican House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says Democrats haven’t presented a plan the legislature and public can support…
Cut 5 (10) “next step”
It’s likely a special session will be needed to address the fiscal cliff.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s office has arrested a 60-year-old man who allegedly ran over his wife with his with his vehicle, leaving her critically injured. Timother Cockerham has been charged with aggravated second-degree battery domestice violence and hit-and-run. The last report onthe victim is that she is in critical condition.

A bill to change the name of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts in Natchitoches has sparked a big debate. Delhi Senator Francis Thompson’s proposal would change the school’s name to Jimmy D. Long Sr. Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. Long served as a state representative from 1968 to 2000. Thompson says the late lawmaker was dedicated to creating the school in 1983…
cut 11 (06) “..name recognition”
But hundreds of LSMSA alumni oppose the name change. The Senate-approved bill will be heard in House Education tomorrow.

Marrero Representative Patrick Connick wants to see Louisiana’s ag industry produce organic foods. Connick says he knows a baker who makes bread and spends 100-thousand dollars a year on his organic ingredients….
cut 15 (13) “…others do”
Connick says organic farming is an emerging industry and wants to make sure Louisiana farmers are participating.

A Senate committee will hear the so-called “sanctuary cities” bill today. It took two votes for this bill to pass the lower chamber. Opponents believe it would unfairly target Hispanics. But Attorney General Jeff Landry believes sanctuary cities allow violent criminals to stay in the United States…:
Cut 8 (12) “additional crime”
This bill would prohibit cities that do not fully cooperate with immigration authorities from receiving certain state grants.

With 10 days to go, Governor John Bel Edwards has told senators he would veto any bill resembling the House approved spending plan for next fiscal year. He’s painted an ugly picture of what could happen under the proposal such as prisoners being released early, health care programs shuttered and critical services damaged. But House Republicans who crafted the plan say those are scare tactics and the state can’t afford what the governor wants to do.

There has been a surprisingly heated debate in the legislature over the renaming of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts in Natchitoches. Supporters want the institution to be called the Jimmy D. Long Sr. Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. But many L-S-M-S-A alumni oppose the name change like Lorie Aguilera. She says the school would lose its identity…:
Cut 12 (12) “to leave”
Long helped open the school in 1983.

The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office says one of their deputies has been fired after being charged with felony third degree rape. They say the action was taken against 38-year-old Bradley Smith of Calhoun in order to maintain the confidence of the public and strongly demonstrate that no one is above the law. An OPSO spokesman said no more information on the nature of the crime is available as the investigation is ongoing..

Time is running out for much else to get done during this legislative session that must end June 8th. Governor John Bel Edwards and Democrats are pushing for tax reform, because 1.3 billion dollars in temporary sales taxes expire July 2018. One possible solution is to keep the extra penny that was added to the sales tax last year. But Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Reynolds of Minden doesn’t like that idea…:
Cut 6 (08) “let’s fix it”
It’s likely a special session will be needed to address the fiscal cliff.

A Prairieville man is under arrest amid allegations he ran over his wife with a vehicle and left her critically injured in the driveway of their home. 60-year-old Timothy Cockerham is charged with aggravated second-degree battery domestic violence and hit and run driving, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office. Cockerham posted $75,000 bond. This case is still under investigation and more charges may be pending.

A measure to change the name of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts in Natchitoches has sparked unexpected emotion. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Attendance figures for The Bayou Country Superfest in New Orleans were released and they are a far cry from what the three day concert has seen in the past. Officials say about 60,000 turned out at the Mercedes Benz Superdome over the weekend to see the likes of Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Brooks and Dunn and Hank Williams, Jr. Around 100,000 attended the Superfest last year at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Time is running out for lawmakers to implement meaningful tax reform this session, and party leaders meet today seeking a compromise…:
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Halen Doughty”

Thousands remain without power today after deadly storms that moved through most of the top half of the state Sunday into Monday. CLECO reports about 6000 customers are still in the dark, and roughly 15,000 lost power at the height of the storm. Entergy reports about 3300 are still affected from the system that claimed the lives of two young adults after heavy winds knocked down trees in DeSoto and Caldwell Parishes.

With the growing popularity of organic foods, lawmakers are looking at how Louisiana could produce its own organic produce. The House will discuss a resolution this week that would connect the LSU and Southern Ag programs with the state to study cultivating organic products. The author is Marrero Representative Patrick Connick…:
Cut 14 (10) “the state”
He believes organic farming is the future.

A bill to change the name of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts in Natchitoches has sparked a big discussion and will be heard in House Education on Wednesday. Delhi Senator Francis Thompson’s proposal would change the school’s name to Jimmy D. Long Sr. Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts…:
Cut 10 (07) “is due”
Long helped open the school in 1983.

There’s 10 days left in the regular session and very little has been accomplished to address the 1.3 billion in temporary sales taxes that expire July 2018. Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Reynolds says with only 41 votes in the House, it’s hard for Democrats to get anything through the process…:
Cut 4 (10) “tax reform”
Republican Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says Democrats haven’t presented a plan where both the legislature and the public can agree..
Cut 5 (10) “next step”
It’s likely a special session will be needed to address the fiscal cliff.

A Senate committee will hear the so-called “sanctuary cities” bill today. Attorney General Jeff Landry doesn’t understand why local governments would not fully cooperate with immigration authorities..:
Cut 7 (06) “community safe”

FEMA says today is the deadline for August 2016 flood victims who are still in hotels through the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. Eligible participants must check out by Wednesday.

LSU is a number four national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Jeff Palermo has more on the Tigers…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”