Many plants were affected by this weekend’s freeze and Emelie Gunn has tips on how to treat the damaged plants…
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The staff of the Louisiana Board of Regents is recommending several changes to the TOPS scholarship program that will need legislative approval. Halen Doughty has more…
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Clean-up officially begins today for the old Charity Hospital building in New Orleans after being abandoned since Hurricane Katrina. Jeff Palermo has more…
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The cold weather over the weekend damaged many plants and it has some wondering what to do next. LSU AgCenter Horticulturist Dan Gill recommends waiting a while to see if the plant is actually dead, even if it appears to have damage.
cut 4 (10) “seven days”
Gill says once you determine if parts of your plant have been damaged, it’s time to prune the affected areas, but tropical plants should be treated differently than woody plants. He says with the herbaceous tropical plants, remove oozy, mushy, and foul smelling damaged tissue.
Cut 5 (11) “not sprouting”
Gill says a technique to immediately determine if a woody plant is damaged, is to scratch the bark with your thumb nail and if the tissue is green, it’s still alive and if it’s brown underneath, it’s dead. He also says do not get discouraged if a covered a plant and still received damage…
Cut 6 (10) “tropical again”
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The staff of the Louisiana Board of Regents is proposing several changes to the TOPS scholarship program. Higher Ed Commissioner Joe Rallo says the board is reviewing their report, and the final recommendations will be made in February. He says they are looking at a variety of ways to change how the scholarship is awarded, after the state failed to fully fund the program for the first time this year.
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The report also suggests freshmen TOPS recipients would have 80-percent of their total tuition covered, sophomores 90-percent and juniors and seniors 100-percent. Rallo says another proposed change would require TOPS students to take 30 credit hours a year, rather than 24. He says the goal of the switch would be to encourage students to graduate more quickly. He says currently less than 40-percent of TOPS students graduate in 4 years.
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Rallo says they are also looking into selling the naming rights of the scholarship program. He says TOPS students are the state’s best and brightest, and companies may be willing to help fund those students’ education.
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The proposals come after cuts to higher ed and TOPS meant scholarship recipients were forced to pay more than 50-percent of their spring semester tuition. Any changes to the program would not take effect until 2018, and it will need legislative approval.
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The clean-up process for Charity Hospital in New Orleans begins today. The historic building has been out of commission since Hurricane Katrina. LSU Health New Orleans Health Care Services Division Director of Facility Planning Jerry Jones says this project will cost over 6.4 million dollars. He says everything inside the building has been there since 2005.
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The process is expected to take around 180 days. Jones says all the equipment is rusted and not usable, so it will have to be stripped and used as scrap metal.
cut 11 (09) “disposed of”
The facilities contain asbestos, mold, chemicals, and other hazardous materials and the building is not safe for immediate occupancy. Jones says FEMA will pay for the cleanup. He says they’ve been waiting to finally clean out the facility for over 10 years.
cut 12 (09) “reuse”
It’s unclear what will happen with the 78 year old structure once it’s cleaned out.
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A 39-year-old Pierre Part man has been arrested for allegedly accidently texting an Assumption Parish Sheriff’s deputy about a potential drug deal. Commander Lonny Cavalier says on Friday night, Dwayne Hebert sent a text stating his crystal meth product was ready for delivery.
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Cavalier says no bond has been set for Hebert. He says Hebert was also arrested with two firearms along with the crystal meth.
cut 14 (10) “substances”
Cavalier says Hebert was arrested with two firearms along with the crystal meth. He says this really is an unusual case.
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