Repairs to the Sunshine Bridge in St. James Parish are ahead of schedule. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”
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A Covington woman with 3 DUI charges within the same year will serve over a decade in prison after an intoxicated 2017 crash on The Causeway left one man dead and injured another.
Cut 2 (30) “Im Connor Ferrill”
A suspected serial killer has confessed to the murder of two Terrebonne Parish women. The murders happened in 1982 and 1996. Houma Police Sgt. Travis Theriot says the suspect, 78 year-old Samuel Little is accused of being connected with a multitude of slayings across various states.
Theriot says its detectives and investigators from Louisiana State Police interviewed Little at a Texas jail where he is currently being held. He credits the work of various law enforcement agencies for being able to secure a confession.
Theriot says the most important part of this case is that now the families of the victims have closure.
The Mad Hatter agrees to a 1.5 million dollar contract settlement with LSU that frees him up to chase new job opportunities, whether on the field or silver screen. Les Miles had 6.5 million left on the contract he signed in 2005 that was cut short after he was fired in 2016. Tiger Rag Editor James Moran says it’s a coup for AD Joe Aleva.
Miles was making 133,000 a month to not work, but if he joined a new team, that money likely would have stopped. Miles may be losing out on five million dollars, but Moran says it’s tough to put a price on career freedom.
The rumor mill is swirling with reports that say Miles is the front-runner to get the Kansas head coaching gig. Moran says there’s good reasons why his name tops the list, but now that he’s a free agent again, he may be tempted by better offers.
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Repairs to the Sunshine Bridge in St. James Parish are ahead of schedule. The bridge has been closed due to a barge carrying a crane colliding with the structure last month. The detour has inconvenienced the nearly 25,000 drivers who use the bridge daily. DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallett says although they are seeing much progress, he says weather is always a variable that can alter the speed of repairs.
Cut 9 (11) “…than was anticipated.”
Mallett says following the initial planning process, the construction phase has been moving at a rapid pace.
Cut 10 (09) “…rolling our way.“
Mallett says that those being detoured seem to be handling it okay for the time being.
Cut 11 (10) “…their regular routine.”
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Baton Rouge has been flooded with gunfire over the last week, with a 20 percent increase in shots fired, and 10 dead from shootings in the last 15 days including a kindergartner who was shot by a 13-year-old. Police Chief Murphy Paul attributes the majority of these shootings to drug related crime.
Cut 12 (09) “…those incidents.”
This spike in shootings comes after months of peace relative to the historic levels of violence in 2017.
So Murphy says they’ll be putting 42 additional officers on the streets. Those officers will be put in uniform moved from administrative roles and into designated “hot zones”. Deputy Chief Robert McGarner says this is to address what they calculate is the small portion of the population that is responsible for the violence.