Governor John Bel Edwards spoke in front of lawmakers today as the regular legislative session is now underway. Edwards is moving forward with the expansion of Medicaid, proposing a higher minimum wage, and reforming public education. He wants to make sure the working poor have affordable access to healthcare and the state will save 100 million dollars within the first year with the expansion.

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President Barack Obama declared seven parishes in Louisiana as a federal disaster area. The President’s action makes federal funding available to those affected in Bossier, Claiborne, Grant, Morehouse, Richland and Webster Parish. National Weather Service Forecaster C.S. Ross says we’ll get a better idea of the damage in a few days.

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Ross says this kind of immense flooding seems to happen every 25 to 30 years in northern Louisiana.

The chef and co-owner of the New Orleans restaurant Mother’s, Jerry Amato, has passed away at 65 due to complications from cancer. Louisiana Restaurant Association president Stan Harris says Mother’s is one of the most iconic Louisiana restaurants. He says many know them for their homemade biscuits, delicious gumbo and jambalaya, and unique sandwiches…:

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The Pearl River in southeast Louisiana is expected to crest at 21 feet today, the highest the river has been since the 1980s. St. Tammany parish President Pat Brister says the shelters in the western part of the parish are closed. She says they have yet to receive any requests for shelter on the eastern side yet, but are prepared if those calls do come, up to five-thousand homes could be impacted.

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She says they are getting information out to residents in the area so they can prepare for potential flooding.

Governor John Bel Edwards outlined some of his priorities to lawmakers of both the House and Senate as the 2016 regular legislative session got underway today. He says he’d like to see a moderate increase to the state’s current minimum wage of $7.25, because that amount is not a living wage in 2016…:
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Edwards also wants equal pay for women, 17 year olds included in juvenile justice system and restoration of the Transportation Trust Fund. He also said he wants to establish passenger rail along I-10 and I-20.

At the start of the speech, Edwards spoke of the devastating and ongoing historic flooding throughout every corner of the state. The president has declared disaster areas in 7 parishes in north Louisiana, and Edwards says they are working to add more parishes.

The Louisiana National Guard says they’ve rescued over 42-hundred citizens and 350 pets as they assist in flood fighting efforts in 33 parishes. Guard spokesperson Colonel Pete Schneider says they’ve been working around the clock since March 9th on a variety of operations…:
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Many rivers keep rising today and C.S. Ross, a National Weather Service forecaster, says even when the water finally recedes, there will still be major issues…:
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Jerry Amato, co-owner and chef at the iconic Mother’s restaurant in New Orleans, has died at the age of 65. Louisiana Restaurant Association president Stan Harris says diners love the quality and price of the made from scratch food at Mother’s, which contributes to creating this widespread demand…:
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Amato died of cancer.

Today is the first day of the 2016 regular legislative session, and after convening today, Governor John Bel Edwards spoke to lawmakers in a joint session. The state is facing an $800 million dollar deficit for next fiscal year, and Edwards says lawmakers are required to deliver a balanced budget…:
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He says for that reason, he can’t give final numbers about what cuts were made and what revenue was raised in the special session. Tax measures can not be taken up in the regular session.

Calcasieu Parish Emergency Preparedness director Dick Gremillion says an area about 30 miles along the Sabine River, which is home to roughly 24-hundred residents, could experience major flooding. He says the National Guard is trying to get people to leave…:
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In southeast Louisiana, the Pearl River is expected to crest at 21 feet today, which is the highest the river has been since the 1980s. St. Tammany parish President Pat Brister says they are getting information out to people in the area so residents can prepare for possible flooding…:
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The Louisiana National Guard has nearly 12-hundred Guardsmen in 33 parishes responding to major flooding throughout the state. Halen Doughty has the story:
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The state Department of Transportation says I-59 and I-10 in South Louisiana and Mississippi may close today due to flooding.

The Louisiana National Guard says they’ve rescued over 42-hundred citizens and 350 pets as they assist in flood fighting efforts in 33 parishes. Guard spokesperson Colonel Pete Schneider says this is the biggest response to a flooding event the Guard has ever seen in Louisiana. He says their machinery has been a vital resource…:
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7 parishes in north Louisiana have been declared federal disaster areas by the president.

The 2016 regular Louisiana legislative session is underway. There are over 1200 bills filed that lawmakers will debate over the next three and a half months, but they can’t deal with taxes. Lawmakers are still facing an $800 million dollar budget deficit for next fiscal year, and many believe another special session will follow the regular session. Governor John Bel Edwards is addressing legislators in a joint session at 1pm.

The co-owner and chef of the very popular New Orleans restaurant Mother’s, Jerry Amato, has passed away at the age of 65 from complications due to cancer. Amato was named the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s Restaurateur of the Year in 2003. Association president Stan Harris says Mother’s is one of the most iconic restaurants in Louisiana…:
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Amato and his brother are credited with turning Mother’s into one of the best known dining destinations in New Orleans.

The state Department of Transportation says I-59 and I-10 in South Louisiana and Mississippi may close today due to flooding. Motorists can get information on all state road closures at 511la.org.

Budget matters will dominate the regular session which begins today, but there a lot of other bills are on the table. Jeff Palermo has a preview…:
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Tax measures can not be taken up in the regular session. In the face of an $800 million dollar shortfall that still remains for next fiscal year, Senate President John Alario says he hopes this is a learning experience for legislators who were unwilling to raise more revenue during the special session:
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Seven parishes in Louisiana have been declared federal disaster areas by President Barack Obama. This means federal funding is available to those affect by flooding in Bossier, Claiborne, Grant, Morehouse, Richland and Webster Parish. C.S. Ross, with the National Weather Service, says we’ll start to get a better idea of the damage in the coming days…:
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In southeast Louisiana, the Pearl River is expected to crest at 21 feet today, which is the highest the river has been since the 1980s.

The co-owner and chef at the very popular New Orleans restaurant Mother’s, Jerry Amato, has passed away at the age of 65 from complications due to cancer. Amato and his brother purchased the Mother’s in 1986 and helped preserve the 76-year-old Louisiana themed restaurant. Amato was named the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s Restaurateur of the Year in 2003, and is credited with turning Mother’s into a well-known dining destination.

The regular legislative session begins today. Lawmakers return to Baton Rouge looking at an 800-million dollar budget deficit for next fiscal year. Senate President John Alario says legislators could make changes to the TOPS scholarship program, because of the large deficit. Alario says there are proposals to raise the academic standards or limit the financial award a TOPS recipient receives…
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In response to last summer’s deadly movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Shreveport Representative Barbara Norton has filed legislation to prohibit the possession of a gun inside a motion picture theater. Norton also has a bill requiring metal detectors at movie theaters. Political analyst Clancy Dubos doesn’t see that bill passing the legislature…
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The regular session must on June sixth.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says based on inital reports, nearly five-thousand homes have received flood damage. National Weather Service forecaster CS Ross says flood waters are starting to recede in some areas, but that brings another set of problems…
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The Pearl River is expected to crest at 21-feet today, the highest level since 1983. That’s causing flooding concerns in eastern St. Tammany Parish.

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of colorectal cancer in the contry. With this being National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Doctor Jordan Karlitz with the Tulane Medical Center, says colonoscopies are a great way to detect colon cancer…
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Karlitz says the recommended age to begin screening is 50.

The regular legislative session begins today, and while the budget will be top of mind, there are many other bills lawmakers will take up. LaPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford says there are several measures that suggest this session will produce some of the same type of fights we saw in 2015…:
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They can’t take up tax measures this session which ends June 6th and many believe another special session will follow.

Emergency officials are still watching the rise of several rivers and bodies of water as several parishes in north and southeast Louisiana remain under a flood warning. The Rapides Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness says the levee at Bayou Darrow in Grant Parish did breach and they are working on a way to temporarily plug the control structure. GOHSEP says at least 5,000 homes have received damage, but that number is expected to go up.

There are several highway safety bills on the agenda for the regular session. One would no longer require motorcycle drivers over age 21 to wear a helmet, but political analyst Clancy Dubos doesn’t think that one will fly. He does feel lawmakers will want to tighten up distracted driving bills…:
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Governor John Bel Edwards is addressing a joint session of the legislature at 1pm on this opening day.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and doctors say the illness is very prevalent in Louisiana. Dr. Jordan Karlitz with the Tulane Medical Center says they recommend African Americans be screened at age 45, and lower risk men and women at age 50…:
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He says screening is easy and been made much easier to tolerate.

Yahoo Sports is reporting that LSU star freshman Ben Simmons is signing with LeBron James’ agent. It’s expected Simmons will enter the draft and has played his last game as a Tiger as coach Johnny Jones didn’t accept an NIT bid on Sunday.

There are over 1200 bills that will be considered during the regular legislative session which begins today, and several will immediately impact citizens. Halen Doughty reports…:
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The Louisiana National Guard continues to assist local agencies from north to south Louisiana as nearly 1300 guardsmen respond to flood operations in over 25 parishes. Since March 9th they’ve rescued more than 3200 citizens, 316 pets, distributed about 12,000 bottles of water and 582,000 sand bags.

The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office identifies the man who drowned on Saline Bayou while attempting to retrieve items from his flooded home. They say a boat with three occupants capsized and officials were able to rescue two people, but not 78-year-old Harold Worsham who was later pronounced dead due to drowning.

There is still an $800 million dollar deficit for Louisiana next fiscal year, but lawmakers can’t take up tax matters during the regular session which begins today. Senate President John Alario says Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne is looking into all the state’s contracts to see if we can get some savings during the regular session…:
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He believes they won’t be able to avoid having another special session after this one.

Mississippi and Louisiana Mayors will hold a press briefing this afternoon to discuss ongoing impacts of the flooding thus far as well as projected effects taking place over the Mississippi River Valley.

The regular legislative session begins today with an 800 million dollar budget shortfall for the next fiscal year, and no way to raise revenue. Emelie Gunn has more…:
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Budget matters aside, there are several bills in the regular session that deal with higher ed reform. LaPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford says there is plenty to suggest that this will also be an education session…:
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There are several matters up for debate this session that would have an immediate impact on Louisianians. One proposed bill would raise the minimum wage, and another seeks equal pay for women. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says these bills will be a contentious topic…:
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At 1pm, Governor John Bel Edwards will address lawmakers at a joint session of the legislature.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month health experts say the illness is a significant problem in Louisiana. Dr. Jordan Karlitz with the Tulane Medical Center says they’re studying why that is and emphasizes the importance of both men and women being screened…:
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Officials in Rapides Parish report the levee at Bayou Darrow in Grant Parish has been breached. A federal disaster declaration is in place for 7 north Louisiana parishes. A flood warning continues for areas along the Amite and Tangipahoa Rivers in southeast Louisiana. St. Tammany Parish is expected to be next in line for flooding as areas further north drain from storms.