It appears the peak of the flu season is behind us, but health officials say we can’t let our guard down. Doctor Frank Welch, with the state department of health and hospitals, says during the height of the flu season, about eight out of every 100 doctor or hospital visit was for the flu, now that ratio is down to five out of every 100…

cut 7 (07) “going on”

Welch says it’s still not too late to get a flu shot and also practice proper hygiene.

CC’s and Raising Cane’s, two prominent Louisiana-born businesses, made the 2014 Top 10 Excellent Fast-Food Chains list. The California based research firm Sandelman & Associates ranked Raising Cane’s number four and CC’s Coffee House number six in the Quick-Track Awards of Excellence for quick service chains. Celton Hayden is the President of CC’s…

cut 10 (10) “in everything we do”

The study asked customers during their most recent visit to quick service chains to rate overall satisfaction on a 5 point scale.

A new Facebook option allows users to designate a friend or family member to oversee their account upon their death. Facebook’s Legacy Contact feature lets users choose someone to manage their account after they die. Jensen Moore, with LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication says she can’t believe it’s taken them this long to come up with this policy…

cut 4 (08) “deal with it”

You can set your Legacy Contact in the Security Settings page on your Facebook account. If you don’t want your Facebook page to continue on, you can opt for it to be deleted upon your death.

A federal judge his dismissed a lawsuit filed by a New Orleans area levee board that claimed dozens of oil and gas companies should pay damages for destroying Louisiana’s coast. Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown ruled that federal and state laws are not set up so that the levee authority could successfully file a suit against the energy industry.

Louisiana’s Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says the mid-year budget cuts handed down by Governor Bobby Jindal are just not fair. He says most of the larger cuts hit departments manged by elected officials…
CUT 11 (07) Q; “other agencies”
The Department of Ag received mid-year cuts equivalent to $2.6 million dollars, while the governor’s office had a ten-thousand dollar cut to its budget. The Jindal administration is defending the way the cuts were handed down.

Law enforcement in southeast Louisiana are looking for an inmate who was able to shed his shackles and run away from Washington Parish deputies early this morning. The escaped prisoner’s name is Kaunda Magee and he was last seen still wearing his handcuffs and a waist chain. He escaped as deputies were transporting him back to the jail after receiving treatment at a hospital for a shoulder injury.

In the fight of underaged use of alcohol and tobacco, the A-T-C is continuing the compliance checks of business to make sure there are no sales made to those aged below legal limits. Commissioner Troy Hebert says all businesses need to be smart about this…
CUT 14 (09) Q: ‘not worth it’
Hebert adds there are 16 and 17 year-old undercover operatives doing random checks throughout Mardi Gras.

A federal judge in New Orleans has thrown out a controversial lawsuit that sought millions of dollars from oil and gas companies to pay for damages done to Louisiana’s wetlands . The lawsuit was filed by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and they are expected to appeal.

Two people were found dead yesterday in an apartment building in Alexandria’s garden district and police are treating it as a homicide. The identity of the victims have not been released, but we know it’s a male and female.

The Saint Martin Parish Sheriff’s office arrested a Baton Rouge attorney who is accussed of stealing several items from an elderly client. The U-S Marshals Task Force took 63-year-old Stephen Spring into custody and he faces a charge of theft over five-hundred dollars.

And the search is on for a Washington Parish jail inmate who escaped from custody early this morning. He’s 39-year-old Kaunda Lopaz Magee and he’s previously been charged with aggravated rape.

It’s an absolutely perfect day for Mardi Gras parades. But Gary Chatelain with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says some cold and wet weather is on the way and it will get to north Louisiana first….
cut 20 (09) “…tomorrow night”
High temperatures in the upper 60s tomorrow in south Lousiiana, but mid 50s for north Louisiana and there’s a chance we could see some icy conditions along the I-20 corridor on Monday.

It’s a big weekend for Louisiana’s restaurant industry as Valentine’s night is the second most popular Holiday to eat out. Louisiana Restaurant Association spokesperson Erica Burns says with Valentine’s on Saturday, they expect to have tables full throughout the Mardi Gras weekend…
cut 29 (11) “…of days”
Burns says most upscale restaurants have been booked for at least a couple of weeks.

Statewide elected officials claim the mid-year budget cuts to their departments proposed by Governor Bobby Jindal are unfair….
cut 2 (31) “….reporting”

A Shreveport police officer has been arrested after he allegedly sexually assaulted a female in his office. The victim was at the police station so she can discuss with detectives about harassing phone calls she received. The officer arrested has been identified as 44-year-old James Greene, who has been on the force for 15 years.
The state’s Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner, Troy Hebert, finds its troublesome that there’s been a 13-percent non-compliance rate among businesses in the last couple of weeks when it comes to selling alcohol and tobacco to minors…
cut 12 (11) “….underage”
Hebert says they are using undercover operatives at this time of the year to prevent the selling of alcohol to minors during the Mardi Gras season.

Law enforcement are patrolling throughout the Mardi Gras holiday to discourage impaired driving and help reduce the number of crashes on Louisiana roadways. State Police spokeswoman, Melissa Matey, says if you’re going to partake in Carnival revelry, do it responsibly…:
CUT 5 (06) “Mardi Gras Festivities”
She says Thursday there were six fatal crashes between Lake Charles and New Orleans.

Law enforcement is out in force during the Mardi Gras season to discourage impaired driving and to keep things safe…
CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

A Walker man is under arrest, accused of secretly recording himself having sex with his girlfriend, then posting it on social media after the couple broke up. Thirty-year-old Robert Howard reportedly had an argument with his girlfriend, when she told him to leave her apartment. Shortly after, she noticed that Howard posted to sex video to Facebook. Howard was arrested on charges of video voyeurism.
————————
Some state officials say the mid-year budget cuts proposed by Governor Bobby Jindal are unfair, as departments managed by statewide elected officials are receiving much larger cuts than than almost all other state departments…
CUT 9 (11) “state government”
That’s Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne.

So far, The Louisiana Office of Alcohol And Tobacco Control says they’ve conducted over 600 alcohol and tobacco compliance checks across the state since February 2nd, finding 83 violations of business selling to underaged customers. The A-T-C says they are continuing those checks throughout Mardi Gras…
CUT 13 (11) Q: ‘that did that’
That’s A-T-C Commissioner Troy Hebert.