News for Wednesday 101613
By Dave Graichen
Get ready for some more cool Autumn-like weather. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it's coming via a cold front that is bringing rain to parts of the state already. Keim says the cool front is expected to make its way from northwestern parishes to coastal regions by later today, bringing a nice cool snap. He says expect overnight lows in the upper 50's and daytime highs in the mid-to-upper 70's, with very little rainfall after today.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana announces they are dropping its prescription drug plan for seniors. That move will impact 13-thousand residents who will now have to find a new Medicare Part D Coverage. Members can enroll into a new plan starting today through February 28th.
A manhunt is underway for a Natchitoches man who is accused of fatally shooting 37-year-old Ted Charles Brou (Broh) during a home invasion late Sunday in the town of Creston, which is in Natchitoches Parish. Alan Virgil Brumfield is considered armed and dangerous. He's a white male, about five-foot-ten, 150 pounds. Authorities believe he's driving a blue Nissan Sentra with a Florida license plate.
Deputies in Rapides Parish seek an inmate who escaped Monday from a work detail on US 71. They say 28-year-old Randy Girod, of Columbia, is not considered to be dangerous. They ask anyone who may have seen him to contact the Sheriff's Office in Rapides.
Campaign finance reports show Senator Mary Landrieu ahead in fundraising for her 2014 re-election bid for the third quarter of this year. Between July and the end of September, Landrieu's team raised over $1.3-million, compared to her nearest challenger, GOP Congressman Bill Cassidy, who raised about $700-thousand. Landrieu's total raised is nearly $6-million. Cassidy $3.4-million.
Cleanup is underway a Fourchon Beach, after a ton of oil was found under the sand there. Tropical Storm Karen brought the oily mess partially to the surface. Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Anderson says it's a mat of oil, beneath the sand, that only became visible as Karen dissipated. It is assumed the tar mats and tar balls were from the 2010 BP oil spill. He says active cleanup is underway and so far about 500 pounds have been removed.
Benedictine monks in St. Tammany Parish win the final round of a lawsuit to allow them to sell their handmade caskets. The state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors have protested the coffin sales, as cutting into their business. The case went on appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The legal battle over who owns the phrase "Who Dat" is going back to court. Two new suits have been filed by a company called Who Dat Inc. against a number of New Orleans t-shirt shops for using the phrase without permission. Many say no one OWNS the expression and it dates back to the late 18th century.
Senator Mary Landrieu recommends that President Barack Obama appoint Walt Green as the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. Green has been acting U.S. Attorney in that Baton Rouge-based federal district since Donald Cazayoux stepped down in July.
Police in the Jefferson Parish town of Harahan say a woman told them hundreds of dollars in bras and underwear had disappeared from her dresser drawers. She placed a hidden camera and caught video of a neighbor entering her home, her bedroom and helping himself to her lacey things. Police arrested 19-year-old Ross Frioux for simple burglary and possession of stolen things.
Grant Parish Sheriff's deputies were called to a Colfax Church on Sunday. Not by the holy spirit but by parishioners who didn't care for the 7-and-a-half foot gator that got a bit too close to the
church. The deputies were miraculously able to return the alligator to the Red River.