The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for northwest Louisiana through most of the weekend. Eric Gill reports…:
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Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard says a Denham Springs police officer acted within the law when he shot and killed a man nearly a month ago. He says it’s their finding that the cop acted accordingly and under Louisiana law in using deadly force. He noted an investigation is still being conducted.

According to state officials, Louisiana casinos brought in $224.1 million dollars last month which is 6.8 percent higher than February the year before. Casino Association Executive Director Wade Duty says while the revenues are up, this isn’t an accurate year-to-year comparison because of the mid-December opening of the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles…:
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He also attributes the higher revenues to lower gas prices leading to increased out of state visits.

The LSU men’s basketball team returns to Baton Rouge today after a heart breaking 66-65 loss to North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack got a tip-in the final second to send LSU home for the season. LSU’s leading scorer was Tim Quarterman, who had 17 points. Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey each posted double-doubles last night, now we wait to see if they’ll return for their junior seasons.

The 2015 Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival poster is being called controversial by some who feel it’s racist. The painting is by Kalle Siekkinen who apprenticed under Bill Hemmerling who was the artist of the 2008 poster “Sweet Olive” which is still in demand today. Festival spokeswoman Shelley Matherne says the depiction of the two black children is meant to build a bridge between cultures..
CUT 10 (07) “she is everybody”
The Tangipahoa NAACP says the poster is distasteful and offensive.

Governor Bobby Jindal today announced The Martin-Brower Company will make a $16 million dollar capital investment to build a food distribution facility in Livingston Parish. They say the company will create 30 new direct jobs in walker that will provide an additional $1.3 million in new annual payroll by 2020.

Former New Orleans Saints Safety Darren Sharper has been charged with rape in Las Vegas. He already faces sexual assault charges in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Phoenix.

The Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting death of two horses in Bertrandville. Sheriff Mike Waguespack says they were contacted by the owner after he discovered his horses lying on the ground. Waguespack says when officers arrived they found that the two horses had been shot multiple times…:
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He says a reward will be offered in this case. The other horse did have to be put down.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for northwest Louisiana starting at 4pm today through most of the weekend. The watch will remain in effect through Sunday morning. Meteorologist Michael Berry says scattered showers began moving into the area this morning…:
CUT 3 (08) “Saturday night”
Berry says they’re expecting rainfall amounts of two to four inches, with some areas possibly getting six inches of rain. He says there is definitely a threat of flooding with high waters in rivers and lakes across north Louisiana.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s office says a man is under arrest accused of being responsible for a six week old baby being on life support. They say deputies responded to a hospital and found out the injuries to the baby’s brain were consistent with shaken baby syndrome. 26-year-old Michael Marcel of Houma is under arrest for attempted second degree murder.

The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival poster is getting a lot of attention this year as some are calling it beautiful art and others feel it’s offensive and racist. The painting depicts two black children surrounded by strawberries. Festival spokeswoman Shelley Matherne says art is subjective and interpretive…:
CUT 9 (04) “strawberry industry”
But the Greater NAACP of Tangipahoa Parish says the poster is a reminder of blackface performers and is offensive and distasteful.

This weekend will be a great one for a good crawfish boil. Not only are the prices down but they are also in excellent supply according to LAU AgCenter Aquaculture professor Ray McClain. He says this could actually be one of the better crawfish seasons that Louisiana has seen in the past several years…:
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They say you could easily see boiled crawfish coming in at $3.50 a pound this weekend.

A survey by MarblePort Polling shows it could come down to Republican US Senator David Vitter and Democratic state representative John Bel Edwards in a runoff. Eric Gill reports…:
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There’s been quite a stir over the 2015 Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival poster which depicts two black children. Some are saying it’s racist and others say it’s beautiful. The negatives are coming from folks who say the painting is a reminder of blackface performers and is offensive and distasteful. Others defend the poster as southern art an relevant to the festival.

The Spring Equinox occurs later today at precisely 5:45pm our time, marking the end of winter and the very beginning of Spring. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the good news is that the Climate Prediction Center says we should have normal temperatures throughout the season…:
CUT 6 (08) “much much welcome”
He says while temps will be normal, more precipitation is in the forecast over spring months.

According to state officials, Louisiana casinos brought in $224.1 million dollars last month which is 6.8 percent higher than February the year before. Lake Charles saw the biggest gain with a 28 percent increase from February 2014…the difference likely inflated by the brand new Golden Nugget which opened in December.

A MarblePort Polling survey on Louisiana’s governor’s race shows Republican David Vitter leading the field with 34-percent of the vote, followed by Democrat John Bel Edwards with 31-percent and Republicans Jay Dardenne and Scott Angelle with 14-percent and 7-percent, respectively. MarblePort Founder Ethan Zorfas says there is still time for Dardenne and Angelle to make an impact in this election, but both need to work hard to expand their name recognition and message…

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The gubernatorial election is October 24.

The Louisiana National Guard has received 10 bids from companies with ideas on ways to get rid of the 15 million pounds M6 propellant at Camp Minden. Col Pete Schneider says based on analysis of all the proposals by all committee members, hopefully a recommendation will be made…

cut 16 (11) “process is thorough”

Not many details are being released about the bids themselves or the ideas being presented.

Crawfish season is in full swing in Louisiana and it looks like this weekend will be prime for a boil. Michelle Southern reports…

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LSU’s return to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was short lived as the Tigers blew a 16-point lead and fell to North Carolina State 66-65. LSU missed its last 12 shots from the field and six free throws in the final four minutes to allow the Wolfpack to steal the victory. The Tigers end their season with a 22-11 record.

10 bids from companies have been submitted to the Louisiana National Guard with ideas on ways to get rid of the 15 million pounds M6 propellant at Camp Minden. Col Pete Schneider says in addition to various state agencies, area residents who opposed the open tray burning will also be part of the team formed to evaluate the situation…

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The EPA agreed to delay an open tray burn of the explosives and said they would entertain alternative methods.

Spring is in the air and crawfish season is in full swing in Louisiana. Gulf Seafood Institute Chairman Harlon Pearce says you could easily see boiled crawfish this weekend at about $3.50 a pound…:

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He says they expected a substantial change in the price of mudbugs once we got those crazy early March winter temperatures out of the way.

The Attorney General’s Office reports the arrest of a pair of Shreveport brothers after a large amount of child pornography was seized from their residence. A cyber crime investigation led to the arrest of 51-year old Richard Wilson and his brother 52-year-old Ronald Wilson. Richard faces 31 counts of possessing and 6 counts of distributing child porn, while Ronald is charged with 500 counts of possessing child pornography. Both were booked into the Caddo Parish Jail.

The Spring Equinox occurs today at precisely 5:45PM, marking the end of winter and the start of Spring. Michelle Southern reports…

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The Louisiana National Guard says they’ve gotten 10 bids from companies with ideas on ways to get rid of the 15 million pounds M6 propellant at Camp Minden. The EPA agreed to delay an open tray burn of the explosives and said they would entertain alternative methods. Col Pete Schneider says these 10 companies have all submitted proposals on what should be done…

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Not many details are being released about the bids themselves or the ideas being presented.

A MarblePort Polling survey on Louisiana’s governor’s race shows Republican David Vitter leading the field with 34-percent of the vote followed by Democrat John Bel Edwards 31-percent. MarblePort Founder Ethan Zorfas says Edwards is getting support from White Independent voters and looks to be sitting pretty good for a runoff spot…

cut 8 (08) “Mary Landrieu did”

Zorfas says there appears to be a bit of a resurgence of the Democratic Party.

Spring officially begins today at 5:45PM. State Climatologist Barry Keim says as far as the Spring outlook, expect more precipitation over the next couple of months than we usually get because of the current El Nino…

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Keim says it would be great if the El Nino would stick around through summer because they tend to mitigate the opportunity for hurricane activity.

With the arrival of spring, crawfish season is in full swing in the Bayou State. Ray McClain is an aquaculture professor with the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Center in Rayne and he says not only will crawfish prices be down this weekend, there will be plenty of mudbugs out there. He says when the temperatures are up, the catch is up…

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You could easily find boiled crawfish this weekend at about $3.50 a pound.

The LSU men’s basketball team’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion last night as the Bayou Bengals blew a 16-point lead and lost 66-65 to North Carolina State in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. LSU missed its last 12 shots from the field and six free throws in the final four minutes to allow the Wolfpack to steal the victory. Head Coach Johnny Jones on the missed free throws…

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LSU’s leading scorer was Tim Quarterman, who had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

In the CollegeInsider-dot-com Tournament, Northwestern State was crushed by the University of Tennessee at Martin 104-79. The Demons’ Jalan West lead all scorers with 34. Northwestern ends their season with a 19-13 record.

UL-Lafayette is still alive in the CIT. They travel to take on Sam Houston State tomorrow afternoon.

The Pels could have used Anthony Davis last night as they were defeated by the Phoenix Suns 74-72. Davis rolled his left ankle in the team shoot around yesterday and was benched. Eric Gordon lead the way for New Orleans with 14 points. The Pelicans drop to 37-31, one game behind Oklahoma City for the last playoff spot in the
Western Conference. Davis’ availability for tonight’s game at Golden State is uncertain.

In college baseball, Arkansas scored five runs in the first four innings on their way to a 5-1 victory over number one ranked LSU. The Tigers’ lone run came off of an Alex Bregman solo homer in the sixth. Sophomore right hander Dominic Taccolini earned the win for the Razorbacks, while Jared Poche is tagged with his first loss of the season for the Tigers. Game two of their three game series is tonight at 8PM.

The Saints have reportedly restructured cornerback Keenan Lewis’ contract. The deal will give the veteran more guaranteed money, which is what he wanted and some relief on the salary cap, which is what the team wanted.