Governor John Bel Edwards says he’s becoming more concerned about where things stand at the Capitol with 5 days to go in the special legislative session called to balance the state’s budget. He met with Republican lawmakers today to try to once again persuade them to back his tax hike proposals. The Senate approved the one penny increase on the state sales tax yesterday and New Orleans Senator JP Morrell thanked his fellow senators for pushing this through…:
cut 1 (12) “…fiscal years”
The State House of Representatives continues to put off voting on numerous tax bills.

Triple-A spokesperson Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is a $1.60, up four-cents from a week ago. He says refineries are shutting down for spring maintenance which means the price at the pump should keep rising through March….:
cut 12 (04) “…1.75″

One person was killed and three others were injured in a two-vehicle crash last night near the Roanoke community in Jefferson Davis parish. Sgt. James Anderson with Louisiana State Police says none of the adults involved in the accident were wearing seat belts…:
CUT 3 (10) “received injuries”
Twenty-five-year-old Kevin Daigle of Elton was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

According to a new study from WalletHub, Louisiana is the worst state for women. Jill Gonzales from Wallet Hub says they found Louisiana has one of the highest high school dropout rates for women at just over 4%. She says the ranking for women’s equality in the workplace is also very low, but there are ways to improve…:
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Louisiana ranks near the bottom in terms of women living in poverty.

According to Triple-A, the statewide average for a gallon of gasoline has climbed four cents since last week. Fuel analyst Don Redman says the price at the pump is on the rise, because production has slowed down at refinieries, because of regular mainetenance and an abundant supply of fuel on the market already. But Redman doesn’t expect prices to get too high…
cut 11 (09) “…prices down”
Triple-A has the statewide average at a $1.60 for regular gasoline.

Governor John Bel Edwards met with republican leaders with the House and Senate encouraging them to take action on bills that could raise revenue, so the state can avoid deep cuts to higher education and health care. GOP leadership is hesitant to increase taxes, because they would like to see more cuts in government spending. The special session must end a week from today.

Louisiana is the worst state for women, according to a new study from Wallethub. Halen Doughty reports…
voicer 2 (30) “…I’m Halen Doughty”

A racial discrimination trial between the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and their former head football coach Jerry Baldwin begins today. Baldwin, an african-american, was 6-27 when fired in 2001.

Former US Representative Joseph Cao has entered Louisiana’s 2016 US Senate race. Cao is a republican and served in the US House for one-term after he defeated former Congressman William Jefferson in 2008.

After watching gas prices fall for several weeks, they are starting to move back up as refineries perform maintenance to get ready for the busy summer season. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
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Lawmakers remain in a holding pattern with a week left to go in the special session as the House and Senate work to negotiate a compromise on ways to plug Louisiana’s massive current financial year budget deficit. The Upper chamber approved a bill Tuesday that would increase the state’s four-cent sales tax by another penny. The State House convenes at 2pm, but it remains to be seen if they will once again put off votes on tax bills the way they have the past two days.

The deadly weather system that blew through south Louisiana last Tuesday was a wake up call for many Louisiana residents. State Farm is out with a study that finds Louisiana comes in at number 11 for states in paid wind claims. Spokesperson Roszell Gadson says in 2015, State Farm paid 33-hundred wind and tornado claims on structures around the state. He says last week’s tornado outbreak illustrates we are in a very active part of the country when it comes to severe weather…:
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governor John Bel Edwards has declared this week Severe Weather week encouraging families to make sure they have a plan in place for their family in the event of another devastating storm, including have the appropriate insurance in place.

A mother is in the East Baton Rouge Parish prison following the death of her newborn, according to a warrant. Detectives say 36-year-old Jerasha Bowman allegedly used cocaine while she was pregnant, and the baby also tested positive after birth. Bowman is charged with negligent homicide.

The state House of Representatives convenes at two PM, but will they take up any bills to generate revenue as the state tries to close a 940-million dollar deficit this fiscal year? The lower chamber has put off votes the last two days on tax bills dealing with alcohol, tobacco and internet sales. Natchitoches Representative Kenny Cox says his bill to raise the tax on beer will not cost the consumer much…
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Meanwhile, Republicans are waiting to see what the Senate does with a House-approved bill that makes 106-million dollars worth of cuts.

It’s just over a week ago that south Louisiana was hit with a deadly tornado outbreak. State Farm spokesperson Roszell Gadson…
cut 6 (10) “…to normal”
Gadson says Louisiana ranked 11th in the country last year in wind paid claims.

Wallethub ranks Louisiana as the worst state in the country for women to live in. Wallethub analyst Jill Gonzales says the Bayou State ranks low in the areas of high school dropout rate for women, female uninsured rate, and the percent of women living in poverty…
cut 9 (04) “…in poverty”

In political news…Former Congressman Joseph Cao of New Orleans announces he’s running for US Senate in 2016. Cao, who is a republican, served one-term in the House starting in 2009.

Former state lawmaker Brett Geymann of Lake Charles says he’s running for Louisiana 3rd District Seat in the US House of Representatives. Geymann, a republican, is seeking to replace Charles Boustany, who is running for US Senate.

And State Police says one person was killed and three others were injured in a two-vehicle wreck in Jefferson Davis Parish last night. Authorities say none of the victims were wearing seatbelts. Twenty-five-year-old Kevin Daigle of Elton was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The Louisiana senate approves a bill that would increase the state’s four-cent sales tax by another penny. It would go into effect on April first and generate cash quickly, as the state is trying to close a massive budget deficit. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell thanked his fellow senators for getting this legislation approved…
cut 20 (12) “…fiscal years”
The State House of Representatives continues to put off voting on numerous tax bills, including one that would increase the tax on alcohol for the first time in decades. Natchitoches Representative Kenny Cox says he’s still trying to come up with 70 votes on the House floor for his bill to get approval…
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The special session must end a week from today.

Gas prices are starting to rise as refineries conduct maintenance in preparation for the busy driving summer season. AAA spokesperson Don Redman says the statewide average has increased four cents since last week and this uptick is typical for this time of year….
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Redman says refineries are also slowing production in response to abundant supply of gas.

Louisaina ranks 11th in paid wind insurance claims in the US…
voicer 1(27) “….reporting”

We are a week away from the end of the special session that is addressing a 900-million dollar deficit this fiscal year and a two-billion shortfall next fiscal year. On the surface there’s not much movement. Natchitoches Representative Kenny Cox is trying to get the 70 House votes needed to increase the state’s alcohol tax for the first time in decades…
cut 14 (03) “…we can get”
Meanwhile in the senate, the upper chamber has agreed to increase the state’s four-cent sales tax by a penny for the next five years. Differences remain between the House and Senate on when that additional penny should come off the books.

You’re starting to pay a few extra pennies at the gas pump. Triple-A spokesperson Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is a $1.60, up four-cents from a week ago and gas prices should keep rising as refinieries are shutting down for regular spring time maintenance…
cut 12 (04) “…1.75”

According to a new study from WalletHub, Louisiana is the worst state for women. Jill Gonzales from Wallet Hub says they looked at over 15 metrics including median earnings for female workers, women’s preventative healthcare, the female uninsured rate and the female homicide rate….
cut 7 (04) “…those metrics here”
Gonzales says Louisiana also has one of the highest high school dropout rates for women.

Add another name to the 2016 Louisiana US Senate race. Former New Orleans Congressman Joseph Cao says he’s running for the seat occupied by David Vitter, who is finishing out his final year in office. Cao is a republican and served one-term in the House starting in 2009.

Legislators are working to fix Louisiana’s massive budget deficit, and only 8 days are left in the special legislative session. Ruston Representative Robert Shadoin says things are moving, but slowly. Shadoin says there will likely be some changes to the House’s approved budget cut bill because those cuts were deeper than expected. He says he didn’t want to vote for the increase in the sales tax but it had to be done…

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A Financial Aid Working Group met today to make a plan to ensure public high school students comply with a new policy requiring them to apply for financial aid to go to college. Ken Bradford, Assistant Superintendent at the Department of Education, says he is disappointed that only 44% of students are applying for any kind of financial aid….

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A Baton Rouge man has been arrested after an unrelated DNA test links him to a 1996 rape case. Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Don Coppola says 20 years ago, a 17-year-old girl was walking down the street and asked now 59-year-old Jerry Williams for a ride, where he then took her to his house and raped her. He says during the initial investigation, detectives had trouble re-contacting the victim so the case went unsolved…

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A new report from Bankrate-dot-com says Louisiana is the 5^th worst state for retirement. Claes (Claus) Bell, a senior analyst at Bankrate, says they examined several key factors to determine the quality of life in retirement, including cost of living, taxes, and residents’ overall well-being.

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Bell says the crime rate is an important factor because elderly people are typically targets for crime.