With less than a month until the November 4th election, Senator Mary Landrieu is shaking up her campaign staff. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (31) “reporting”

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In a new poll on the 5th Congressional District Race, the incumbent Vance McAllister looks to be in good shape. Michelle Southern reports.

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With less than a month until the November 4th election, Senator Mary Landrieu is shaking up her campaign staff. She’s replaced her campaign manager and brought in some familiar faces from other successful races. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says anytime there is a campaign staff shake-up, it’s significant…

CUT 3 (10) “candidate would like”

Ryan Berni, who ran New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s campaign, is the Senator’s new campaign manager, replacing Adam Sullivan who will remain on staff. Landrieu has also brought in longtime associates T. Bradley Keith and Norma Jean Sabiston. Stockley says, in this tough re-election battle, the Landrieu campaign is in a time of no margin for error…

CUT 4 (09)  “professional respect for”

Recent statewide polls show the Senator trailing Republican challenger, Congressman Bill Cassidy, in a potential runoff election. Stockley says by bringing in people she is most comfortable with shows that Landrieu recognizes the seriousness of the situation…

CUT 5 (12) “Cassidy campaign”

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In the latest poll on the 5th Congressional District race by the Glascock Group, Congressman Vance McAllister looks to be in a good position to make the runoff. The numbers show the incumbent with 24% of the vote, then it’s fellow Republican Ralph Abraham with 20% then Democrat Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo with 18%. Pollster Darrell Glascock:

CUT 6 (12)  “that’s where it’s going”

Another poll released this week showed Mayo leading the field of candidates. The Duck Dynasty family member Zach Dasher polled at 11% with 12% saying they are still undecided. Glascock says if McAllister gets into the runoff, he’d be a major contender in a head-to-head heat…:

CUT 7 (14) “to 50-percent”

Glascock says another interesting thing his poll found is that 29% of those surveyed said they’d like to have Abraham as their next door neighbor which shows a high likability factor. He also asked voters if ads from a Washington D.C. group supporting Dasher and attacking McAllister were effective…:

CUT 8 (10) “it was a wash”

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The field of Republicans hoping to fill the 6th Congressional District seat has narrowed by one. Attorney Cassie Felder has dropped out of the race and thrown her support to state Senator Dan Claitor. Felder says her decision to drop out was based on her inability to raise enough money to do the advertising she would need in order to win the race…

CUT 9 (09)  “at winning this”

Felder announced her decision on her website and on WRKF’s Jim Engster Show. Felder says she’s endorsing Claitor because she thinks he has the right experience and is running for the right reasons…

CUT 10 (09)  “are phenomenal”

The 6th District race features Republicans Claitor, state Representative Lenar Whitney, and Garret Graves, as well as Democrat former Governor Edwin Edwards and others vying for the seat left vacant by Congressman Bill Cassidy. Felder says it’s unfortunate that in politics today it all comes down to money…
CUT 11 (06) “can’t get elected“

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In a Baton Rouge courtroom today, a former Department of Health and Hospitals worker pleaded guilty to stealing over $1 million dollars from the state to fund her gambling addiction. State Inspector General Stephen Street says 47-year-old Deborah Loper was accused of misappropriating Medicaid over payments…:

CUT 12 (09) “essentially stole the money”

Under terms of Loper’s plea agreement, she’ll serve five years in prison, five years probation and she must pay $1,018,423 dollars to the state in restitution. Street says Loper had been entrusted to manage a bank account for DHH…:

CUT 13 (06) “for her own use”

Street says they determined through an investigation, when Loper was arrested in 2013, that the money had been all gambled away…:

cut 14 (09) “it’s unfortunate”

The big news in Louisiana politics today is sudden release of Senator Mary Landrieu’s campaign manager. In an 11th hour shake-up, Landrieu hired Ryan Berni to run things as he did for her bother Mitch’s successful bid for New Orleans mayor. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley…:
CUT 4 (09) “professional respect for”
Stockley says this move shows that Landrieu recognizes things aren’t working right internally and it’s time for a change if she plans to defeat Congressman Bill Cassidy.

LSU reports its freshman class this fall has the highest average ACT score and highest average grade point average in the university’s history. The school also says this is the most diverse student body they’ve ever had. President and Chancellor F King Alexander says LSU is doing a good job appealing to more students with more diverse backgrounds.

In a Baton Rouge courtroom today, a former Department of Health and Hospitals worker pleaded guilty to stealing over $1 million dollars from the state to fund her gambling addiction. State Inspector General Stephen Street says 47-year-old Deborah Loper was accused of misappropriating Medicaid over payments…:
CUT 12 (09) “essentially stole the money”
Under terms of Loper’s plea agreement, she’ll serve five years in prison, five years probation and she must pay $1,018,423 dollars to the state in restitution.

The field of Republicans hoping to fill the 6th Congressional District seat has narrowed by one. Attorney Cassie Felder has dropped out of the race and thrown her support to state Senator Dan Claitor. Felder says she just wasn’t able to raise enough money…:
CUT 9 (10) “at winning”

With less than a month until the November 4th election, Senator Mary Landrieu is shaking up her campaign staff. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 1 (31) “reporting”

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office says a man who ran a horse farm and allowed mentally challenged people to ride horses there in exchange for them doing some work around the farm, has been arrested on charges he was raping one of the women. Cops say they are now looking for more possible victims. 50-year-old Vincent Fatrio of Covington was arrested for aggravated rape.

There’s a new poll out in the Louisiana 5th District Race and once again this one shows the Incumbent Vance McAllister with a very good chance of making a runoff. At 24%, McAllister leads Republican Ralph Abraham and Democrat Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayor. Pollster Darrell Glascock says if McAllister gets into the runoff, he’d be a major contender in a head-to-head heat…
CUT 7 (14) “to 50-percent”
The Duck Dynasty family member Zach Dasher polled at 11% with 12% saying they are still undecided.

With less than a month until the November 4th election, Senator Mary Landrieu is shaking up her campaign staff. She’s replaced her campaign manager and brought in some familiar faces from other successful races. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says anytime there is a campaign staff shake-up, it’s significant…

cut 3 (10) “candidate would like”

Ryan Berni, who ran New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s campaign, is the Senator’s new campaign manager, replacing Adam Sullivan who will remain on staff. Recent statewide polls show the Senator trailing Republican challenger, Congressman Bill Cassidy, in a potential runoff election.

LSU reports this fall’s freshman class has the highest average grade point average and highest average ACT score in the school’s history. The university also says this is the most diverse student body they’ve ever had. President and Chancellor F King Alexander says LSU is doing a good job appealing to more students with more diverse backgrounds.

In the latest poll on the 5th Congressional District race, Congressman Vance McAllister looks to be in a good position to make a runoff. The Glascock Group poll shows the incumbent with 24% of the vote, then it’s fellow Republican Ralph Abraham with 20% and Democrat Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo with 18%. Pollster Darrell Glascock…

cut 6 (12) “that’s where it’s going”

Another poll released this week showed Mayo leading the field.

12 Louisiana municipalities have reached a preliminary deal to build a new natural gas pipeline from Winnsboro to Natchez, replacing the 90-year-old Midla pipeline. Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland says several parties sat down and came up with an agreement…

cut 9 (13) “to our area”

The Louisiana Municipal Gas Authority expects Midla will file a formal settlement for approval as early as next year.

Interesting to be coming so close to election day, but Senator Mary Landrieu has let her campaign manager go and has hired her former chief of staff as a senior adviser. Adam Sullivan is being replaced by Ryan Berni who also ran The Senator’s brother New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s campaign. Senate polls continue to show Congressman Bill Cassidy with a slight edge over Landrieu in head-to-head matchups.

Louisiana’s Community colleges approve 6-year plan to double number of graduates. Jeff Palermo reports.:
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A special judge is going to be appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to hear the Destrehan High School teacher/student sex case. One of the suspects, 32-year-old Shelley Dufresne, is the daughter of a St. Charles judge so all judges in the parish have recused themselves. Dufresne and 24-year-old Rachel Respess are accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student.

The National Hurricane Center says this is the weakest hurricane season we’ve seen since 1983. There’s only been five named storms.

It’s festival season and the 39th annual Zwolle Tamale Fiesta kicks off today in Sabine Parish. The party is an annual celebration of Zwolle’s rich Spanish and Native American heritage. Mike Lyddy says they are going to have rides, contests and much more…:
CUT 4 (12) “plenty to eat”
The Zwolle Tamale Feista runs through Saturday.

In the final month of the campaign, Senator Mary Landrieu is shaking up her staff. Adam Sullivan is out as campaign manager, replaced by Ryan Berni, who ran the successful re-election campaign of her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Sullivan will reportedly remain on staff as senior adviser. The Senator’s former chief of staff and longtime political adviser, Norma Jean Sabiston, has also been brought in. Landrieu is locked in a tough re-election bid against two Republican challengers, Congressman Bill Cassidy and Rob Maness.

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell is encouraging parents of teens to take part in National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month. Amanda Larkins, commerce and consumer liaison for the state AG’s office, says they want the community to know about over the counter medicine abuse among teens especially the cough suppressant DXM…

cut 13 (11) “to get high”

Larkins says, by law, minors are now banned from purchasing products containing DXM.

A preliminary deal has been reached with 12 Louisiana municipalities to build a new natural-gas pipeline from Winnsboro to Natchez, replacing the existing 90-year-old Midla pipeline. Michelle Southern reports…

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About 40,000 classified state Civil Service employees will see a bump in their paycheck this month. A four-percent boost was part of the state budget that went into effect in July. Employees’ job performance had to rate successful or exceptional in order to get the pay raise.

A 6 year plan has been designed by The Louisiana Community and Technical College System to meet the state’s growing workforce demand. President Monty Sullivan says they have put together a bold plan that will help the state address its workforce challenges…

cut 11 (11) “process technologies”

Officials say tens of thousands of workers will be needed to fill the number of jobs that are expected to be created over the next five to ten years.

12 Louisiana municipalities have reached a preliminary deal to build a new natural-gas pipeline from Winnsboro to Natchez that would replace the existing 90-year-old Midla pipeline. Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland is a member of the Louisiana Municipal Gas Authority. He says they are elated this agreement was made in principle with Midla…

cut 7 (08) “here already”

The LMGA expects Midla will file a formal settlement for approval as early as next year.

Senator Mary Landrieu is making some big changes to her campaign staff. Ryan Berni will replace Adam Sullivan as campaign manager. Berni previously ran the successful re-election campaign of her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Sullivan will remain with the campaign as senior adviser. She’s also bringing aboard her former chef of staff and longtime political adviser Norma Jane Sabiston. The Senator is currently in a tough re-election bid.

The fall festival season continues in Louisiana as the 39th annual Zwolle Tamale Fiesta kicks off today in the Sabine Parish town. Scott Carwile reports…

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The Louisiana Community and Technical College System launches a 6 year plan designed to meet the state’s growing workforce demand. President Monty Sullivan says the goal is to double the number of graduates to 40,000 a year….
Cut 10 (09) “for this economy”
Officials say tens of thousands of workers will be needed to fill the number of jobs that are expected to be created over the next five to ten years.

Muninicipalities and businesses from Winnsboro to Natchez are pleased to hear Midla has decided to replace an aging pipeline with a new one, which will allow the area to continue to have accessibility to natural gas. Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland says it’s a huge relief…
cut 8 (07) “….in our area”
If the pipeline wasn’t replaced, communities in the area would have to turn to propane, which would be more costly.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says one in 25 teens report abusing excessive amounts of over-the-counter cold medicine containing D-X-M. Amanda Larkins, with the Louisiana Attorney General’s office says a new law went into effect this year that bans minors from purchasing products containing DXM…
cut 14 (08) “…in the forefront”
Larkins says the hope is that laws like this will reduce the number of teens who use cough medicine to get high.

A fun-filled weekend gets underway today in Sabine Parish as the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta gets underway. It’s an annual celebration of Zwolle’s rich Spanish and Native American heritage. Vendor Mike Lyddy says there’s plenty of entertainment, arts and crafts, parades and children’s activities. But the star of the show is the tamale…
cut 5 (05) “….just all kinds”