One of the big items on the 2015 runoff ballot Saturday is the race for Lt. Governor. Michelle Southern reports…

cut 1 (29) “I’m Michelle Southern”

The Louisiana Department of Revenue has suspended the 2015 Louisiana Tax Amnesty period. The suspension was ordered after a mistake was discovered regarding information included in some of the invitation letters. It was decided to postpone the amnesty until corrected letters are mailed. The program is rescheduled to run from December 1st through the 31st. During the amnesty period, taxpayers are able to pay delinquent taxes with reduced interest and penalty charges.

In response to the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris that were performed by members of ISIS, Republican Senator David Vitter is pushing his federal legislation that would stop the influx of refugees from Syria in the United States. The senator says one of the terrorists entered France by posing as a Syrian refugee. Vitter says the Paris attacks show the US can’t have lax policies when it comes to this issue…

cut 15 (08) “in place”

Vitter’s opponent in the governor’s race, Democrat John Bel Edwards, calls this bill a last ditch effort to save the senator’s political career. Edwards’ campaign spokesperson, Mary-Patricia Wray, says they’ve learned that Vitter missed three Congressional hearings on Syrian refugee resettlement…

cut 17 (11) “a stunt”

The gubernatorial runoff election is this Saturday.

Republican David Vitter takes a break from his gubernatorial campaign to file federal legislation that seeks to stop the influx of Syrian Refugees into the country. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

State Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner, Troy Hebert, says he will be stepping down from his post at the end of the year. Hebert was serving as a state senator when appointed to the post by Governor Bobby Jindal in November, 2010. Hebert says he’s looking forward to spending more time with his family, but doesn’t rule out seeking political office in the future.

Governor Bobby Jindal has ended his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. In a statement, the governor says it was an honor to run for President, but this is not his time. Jindal’s second term as governor ends in January. LAPolitics-dot-com Publisher Jeremy Alford expects Jindal to tout the accomplishments that have occurred during his eight years as governor…

cut 6 (10) “high note”

He says the Jindal administration has to deal with a midyear budget deficit and a deficit from last fiscal year.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has implemented new guidelines that calls for 100% screening of imported seafood before it enters the country. For years, Louisiana shrimpers have complained about cheap imports flooding the market. US Senator Bill Cassidy says this new guideline should reduce the amount of imported shrimp making it into the country…

cut 9 (06) “combination”

He hopes this new policy will help local shrimpers.

Governor Bobby Jindal has suspended his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. In a statement, Jindal says it was an honor to run for President, but this is not his time. Publisher of LAPolitics-dot-com, Jeremy Alford, says bad press from Louisiana followed him to the early primary states like Iowa…

cut 5 (10) “couple of years”

He says Jindal had a hard time gaining support in a field that contained over a dozen candidates.

New guidelines that call for 100% screening of imported seafood before it enters the country has been implemented by the US Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy says Louisiana producers are required to follow strict safety measures and we should demand other countries do the same. He hopes this new policy will help local shrimpers…

cut 8 (10) “lower costs”

One of the big items on the 2015 runoff ballot on Saturday is the race for Lt. Governor. In a recent forum, both Republican Billy Nungesser and Democrat Kip Holden were asked what was the first thing they planned to do if they were elected to the state’s second highest post. Holden said he’s going to travel the state and find out what people want for their cities..

cut 10 (10) “those things”

Both candidates for governor have said they were going to immediately call a special session in 2016 to deal with the state’s budget woes. Nungesser says he’s going to put together a package to present to the legislature that would restore cuts to the state’s parks, museums, and historical sites…

cut 11 (06) “to the world”

Polls will open at 7AM Saturday.

Governor Bobby Jindal has dropped out of the 2016 presidential race. In a statement, Jindal says it was an honor to run for President, but this is not his time. Publisher of LAPolitics-dot-com, Jeremy Alford, says there were several signs that Jindal’s campaign was not doing well…

cut 4 (10) “suspend the campaign”

Jindal’s second term as governor ends in January.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has implemented new guidelines that call for 100% screening of imported seafood before it enters the country. The new policy comes after U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy questioned the FDA when studies showed large amounts of bacteria in imported seafood…

cut 7 (09) “to me”

Cassidy says our Louisiana producers are required to follow strict safety measures and we should demand that other countries do the same.

Republican Senator David Vitter is pushing his federal legislation that would stop the influx of refugees from Syria in the United States. During a speech on the Senate floor, Vitter says verification safeguards are not in place to confirm that each refugee doesn’t pose a security threat to the country…

cut 14 (08) “we do”

Vitter’s opponent in the governor’s race, Democrat John Bel Edwards, calls the Senator’s bill a last ditch effort to save his political career. Edwards’ campaign spokesperson, Mary-Patricia Wray….

cut 16 (06) “political stunt”

The gubernatorial runoff election is Saturday.

Governor Bobby Jindal has announced he’s dropping out of the 2016 Presidential race. In a statement, Jindal says now is not his time. The governor says he’ll go back to work at the think tank he started a few years ago, called America Next. Jindal’s second term as governor ends in January.

The debate on whether or not to accept Syrian refugees has become an issue in Louisiana’s gubernatorial race. In a new TV commercial, Republican David Vitter claims Democrat John Bel Edwards has pledged to work with President Obama to bring Syrian refugees to Louisiana. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross…:
cut 13 (10) “to be important”
Edwards has fired back at Vitter claiming the senator missed key votes regarding the Syrian refugee issue.

Natchitoches Mayor Lee Posey has banned the Confederate flag from the city’s annual Christmas Parade. Many residents have differing opinions on this decision. Emelie Gunn has more…
voicer 2 (31) “…reporting”

Fatal crashes in Louisiana are on the rise. The state Highway Safety Commission says in 2014, 739 people died on Louisiana’s roadways, up 2% from the prior year. Louisiana Highway Safety spokesperson Jessica Bedwell says the number of 18-24 year olds dying in alcohol related crashes is also up. She says we have to get drunk drivers off the road…:
cut 12 (04) “alcohol impaired”

The issue over whether or not Syrian refugees should be allowed to resettle in Louisiana is hitting the governor’s race. Republican David Vitter accuses Democrat John Bel Edwards of working with the President to bring people escaping the civil war in Syria to the US. Recent polls show Edwards with a double digit lead over Vitter and UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says this issue may tinker with those numbers a bit…:
CUT 15 (10) “It’s unclear”
Edwards claims Vitter has missed votes in Congress that dealt with this issue.

The Louisiana Department of Revenue says they are suspending the 2015 Tax Amnesty Program until December 1st. They say there was a mistake with the information included in some of the amnesty invitation letters so they decided to stop the period until the letters can be corrected.

Natchitoches Mayor Lee Posey has banned the Confederate battle flag from their annual Christmas Parade. There are some who say that the flag represents hatred and a time when really bad decisions were made. But Dakota Scoggins is selling Confederate battle flag t-shirts at his shop and says Posey’s decision is hypocritical…:
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The Sons of Confederate Veterans have decided not to ride in the parade for the first time in over two decades.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Louisiana ranked number two nationally for worker safety in 2014. They survey showed Louisiana improved to 2 incidents per 100 full time workers. The national average is 3.2. Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eyesink credits business and industry in the state as well as their employees…:
CUT 3 (09) “number of years”

The state braced for some severe weather today as rain is dumping inches on to Louisiana ahead of a cold front as tornado and flood watches were issued. The National Weather Service says the rain will stop on Wednesday then temps will drop dramatically. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s not unusual to see severe weather like this so far into fall…:
CUT 1 (08) “this time”

Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner Troy Hebert announces he will be leaving his post at the end of 2015 after having served as the head of the ATC the past 5 years. In a statement, Hebert says he looks forward to spending time with his family and added, “Who knows. I may have one more political race in me.”

The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office says a 27-year-old man from Laplace is under arrest and booked with distribution of child pornography after sharing an image with an undercover agent. Cops arrested Matthew Wade Guillory.

Natchitoches Mayor Lee Posey has banned the Confederate battle flag from their annual Christmas Parade. Northwestern State University Professor Holly Stave doesn’t believe this will affect attendance to the parade. She says there are other ways to honor our Southern heritage…:
CUT 7 (10) “were made”
Others are not happy about this. The Sons of Confederate Veterans have had a float in the parade for more than 20 years, but decided not to partake this year because of the ban.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says the number of fatal crashes in Louisiana is up as 664 incidents on state roadways killed 739 people last year. Spokesperson Jessica Bedwell says most of these fatal crashes happen at night and often involve younger drivers…:
Cut 11 (08) “distracted driving”