A Bastrop mother is facing criminal charges in the death of her two children in a house fire Monday. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says 21-year-old Ciarria Johnson is charged with two counts of negligent homicide. Browning says the investigation is ongoing, but one thing is for sure: the two children were left unattended in the home for hours before the fire broke out…

cut 4 (12) “closer to noon-time”

4-year-old Tashae Johnson and her 3-year-old brother Clifton were killed in the fire after being left unattended in the home.

New figures released Tuesday show that less than half of Louisiana families earn enough money to cover basic costs. The report, by Loyola University’s Jesuit Social Research Institute found that 52-percent of state families with children are not making enough money to live, what they call, “a modest, dignified life.” According to their findings, the average Louisiana couple with one child accrues expenses adding up to $55,352 a year.

A state lawmaker concerned about the potential health effects of an open tray burn of 15-million pounds of M-6 propellant in Webster Parish did not get the answers he was seeking in a closed door meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency. Minden Representative Gene Reynolds is pushing for an incenerator burn, but the EPA continues to say an open tray burn is safe and easy…

cut 9 (09) “out of the air”

The EPA says a date has not been set on when they will do a trial burn, but officials say the propellants at Camp Minden are deteriorating and need to be disposed of soon.

The Alexandria Zoo is under fire from an animal rights group after two endangered primates froze to death last week. A zoo employee left three cotton-top tamarins out in the cold, resulting in the death of two of the monkeys. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesperson, Brittany Peet…

cut 6 (10) “January night”

Peet says PETA is requesting the USDA to investigate the zoo.

Senator David Vitter announces he has raised $4 million dollars for his bid to become governor of Louisiana. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 2 (31) “reporting”

A day after we learned LSU hired Alabama lineman coach Kevin Steele to be its new defensive coordinator, replacing outgoing DC John Chavis — today we find out Coach O is – Ed Orgeron – has also been hired to coach the Tigers’ defensive line. Orgeron is the former USC interim head coach and coached Ole Miss from 2005-2007.

The mother of the two siblings killed in a house fire in Bastrop Monday, now faces criminal charges in their death. 4-year-old Tashae Johnson and her 3-year-old brother Clifton were killed in the fire after being left unattended in the home. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says 21-year-old Ciarria Johnson is charged with two counts of negligent homicide…:
CUT 3 (06) “in Shreveport”
Browning says Johnson told authorities she left the home at 1PM to have her hair styled. The fire broke out around 3:30PM and the cause remains under investigation.

State Police is requesting a 30% increase for many of its troopers. Col Mike Edmonson says the money is coming from a special fund approved in last year’s legislative session which collects fines from drivers with expired auto insurance and puts them in an account for LSP salaries. He says they were asked to find a mechanism that would fund a pay adjustment:
CUT 13 (10) “spend those dollars”
He says rank and file troopers have not had a raise since 2002.

State Police is requesting a 30% pay hike for many of its troopers. If lawmakers approve the money shift, starting pay with benefits for troopers would go from about $35,600 a year to $46,600 a year. Col Mike Edmonson expects this will be approved as he’s heard nothing negative from lawmakers on this matter…

cut 15 (10) “decision”

This will be the first raise for rank-and-file troopers since 2002.

An L-S-U Health Sciences Center researcher hopes sea moss found in the Pacific Ocean could be used to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Doctor Steven Alexander says Bryostatin may not be able to cure a person who has Alzheimer’s, but he’s hopeful it could stop the memory loss…

cut 6 (11) “life quality”

Alexander says they are seeking FDA approval to begin clinical trials on humans.

So far, Senator David Vitter has raised $4 million dollars for his bid to become governor of Louisiana. According to his campaign, almost 90-percent of the contributions are from in-state donors. Lapolitics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says that’s impressive, but it’s not the whole story…

cut 10 (12) “David Vitter’s campaign”

Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary is in October.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is excited about the opening of its brand new student union today. Garland “Chico” Rodriguez , Assistant Director of Building Services says the two year project now sees the bookstore, Cajun Card office, and much much more…

cut 7 (12) “semester basis”

Rodriguez says the student government association and university program council will also be moving into the new building.

Senator David Vitter announces he’s raised $4 million dollars for his bid to become governor of Louisiana. Lapolitics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says a Vitter-friendly Super PAC has raised another 3.9 million dollars. He says Vitter is raising money through his Senate finance campaign account, which can’t be used directly on his gubernatorial campaign, but can be donated to the Super PAC…

cut 11 (10) “it’s unprecedented”

He says Vitter is re-writing the book on campaign finance in Louisiana.

State Police is requesting a 30% pay increase for many troopers. Some have been critical of the timing of the increase as the state faces budget woes and the price of oil is so low, but Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson says this has been a long time coming…

cut 14 (10) “they’ve done that”

He says the money is coming from a special fund approved in last year’s legislative session.

Two young siblings were killed in a house fire in Bastrop Monday and now their mother is facing criminal charges for leaving them unattended. Authorities say 21-year-old Ciarria Johnson left her children alone in the home while she was having her hair styled. Investigators also determined that Johnson made no arrangements for the care of her children while she was gone. Johnson is charged with two counts of negligent homicide.

Researchers from the LSU Health Sciences Center are encouraged that a new drug derived from sea moss could be used to treat Alzheimer’s. Scott Carwile has the story…

cut 1 (31) “reporting”

Republican US Senator David Vitter says he’s raised four-million dollars for this year’s governor’s race. We still haven’t heard any fundraising totals from fellow republican, Lt Governor Jay Dardenne, but la-politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says we know republican candidate Scott Angele and democat John Bel Edwards have eached raised at least a million and with the election still months away, a lot could happen…
cut 12 (07) “….very well change”

LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport researchers say a drug derived from sea moss could be used to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. Doctor Steven Alexander says they’ve seen positive effects with mice and the next step is to get F-D-A approval to begin clinical trials and they believe that could happen because it’s effective in pill form…
cut 5 (09) “….quite a long time”
State Police Colonel Mike Edmonson is seeking a 30-percent pay increase for many of his troopers. Michelle Southern has more…
cut 3 (31) “….reporting”

On the campus of U-L Lafayette, a new 40-million dollar student union opens today. Assistant director of building services, Garland “Chico” Rodriguez, says one of the things they are most excited about is the brand new dining hall…
cut 8 (12) “….and the service”
Rodriguez says the student union also has a new bookstore and several offices for student groups and organiziations.

State Police Colonel Mike Edmonson is requesting a 30-percent pay increase for many of his troopers. Edmonson says the money would come from a special fund approved in last year’s legislative session which collects fines from drivers with expired auto insurance and puts them in an account that can be used for L-S-P salaries…
cut 13 (10) “….spend those dollars”
Edmonson will make the request when the joint legislative budget committee meets on Friday.

A researcher at the L-S-U Health Sciences Center in Shreveport hopes sea moss found below the surface of the Pacific Ocean could be used to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Doctor Steven Alexander and his team have tested a drug derived from sea moss and it has a positive effect on mice who suffer from human Alzheimer’s disease…
cut 4 (06) “…cognition”
Alexander says they are seeking FDA approval to begin clinical trials on humans.

Senator David Vitter announces he’s raised $4 million dollars for his bid to become the next governor of Louisiana. According to his campaign, almost 90-percent of the contributions are from in-state donors. Lapolitics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says that’s impressive, but not the whole story…
cut 10 (12) “…David Vitter’s campaign”

Dr Frank Welch, medical director for the state’s immunization program, says nearly an estimated 400-thousand Louisiana residents have come down with the flu this season. He says they are still seeing an extraordinarily large number of cases reported each week, but:
CUT 7 (10) “anymore”
Welch says it’s still not too late to get your flu shot.

State Treasurer John Kennedy is getting the word out that they’ve collected through audits 31-million dollars in unclaimed property from life insurance companies. Kennedy says the money belongs to thousands of beneficiaries that never received their money….
cut 12 (11) “…keep the money’
To see if you’re owed money go to la-treasury-dot-com.

A 21-year-old mother has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide in the death of her three-year-old and four-year-old, who died in a house fire in Bastrop yesterday. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says they’ve learned that 21-year-old Ciarria Johnson left her children unattended for hours as she was having her hair styled. Browning says investigators believe the young siblings never had a chance to get out…
cut 4 (12) “…require supervision”
Browning says they believe the fire started from a gas heater in the living room, they also suspect a space heater was in close proximity to flammable materials.

And LSU has confirmed reports that Alabama linebackers coach Kevin Steele is will be the next defensive coordinator at LSU. Prior to coaching at Alabama, Steele served three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Clemson, helping Clemson win the A-C-C in 2011. He’s also the former head coach at Baylor and coached linebackers for the Carolina Panthers in the 1990s.