News for Friday 050214

By Dave Graichen

 

Municipal general elections will be held in 35 parishes across the state  Saturday.  Secretary of State Tom Schedler is expecting a low voter turnout. You can download the GeauxVote Mobile app to sign up to find polling  locations, review sample ballots, monitor election results and more. Polls will be open from 7:00am to 8:00pm)

 

State police report  54-year-old Mitzi Scott of Campti  died early Thursday when a 18 wheeler hit her vehicle while she was stopped on the road and trying to warn motorists about a fallen tree. The accident happened shortly before 5:30 in the morning on U.S. Highway 71 north of La. Highway 486, in the Campti area.  Scott was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

According to figures released  Wednesday  from  the Department of Health and  Human  Services,  out of about 184 thousand  Louisianans,  new enrollment  numbers  for the  Affordable  Care  Act  show  over  101 thousand people in the state have signed up.  That is up quite a bit from the 45 thousand reported by March 1st.

 

The Senate will be looking  at  legislation  to  raise  the  minimum standards students to qualify for the TOPS scholarship program.  The bill authored by Mandeville Senator Jack Donahue would raise the GPA requirement from 2.5 to 2.75 and the ACT minimum from 20 to 21.

 

Gov. Bobby Jindal and UPS Midstream Services Inc. President Stewart Jones formally dedicated the company's new 24,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Jena yesterday. The new full-service machining plant represents a $3.9 million capital investment. The Jena site employs 49 skilled machinists and support personnel and is ahead of schedule in its commitment to create 95 new direct jobs by 2017.

 

A  bill  that  would  prohibit motorists from using a hand held cell phone through school zones  gets  another  nod  from the legislature Thursday.  There were no objection to Bossier City Representative Jeff Thompson's bill in the Senate Transportation Committee. Thompson says this legislation is about keeping kids safe.   The law would  go  into  effect January 15 if it passes.  It hits the Senate

floor next.

 

The state Senate gave final passage to a measure that would prohibit speed cameras  on  Louisiana's  interstates.  The  bill  by  Sulphur Representative  Mike  Danahay  passed in the upper chamber by a 37-0 vote.  The House already  approved  the  legislation. Critics of such speed enforcement  devices on interstates say people are not given due process and the system  appears  to  be more about generating income.

 

The  Bossier  Parish Sheriff's  Office  has  arrested  a  substitute teacher for having  sexual  relations  with  a  17-year-old  Parkway student.   29-year-old Chelsea Alexander was charged with Prohibited

Sexual Conduct between Educator and Student.  No other students were involved.

 

In Jennings, the owner of a nutrition, coffee and juice bar has been arrested  for  allegedly  selling  illegal steroids at his business. 34-year-old Shannon Michael Guillory  was  booked on three counts of

distribution  of  a  counterfeit drug and distribution  of  anabolic steroids.

 

 US Senator Mary Landrieu says the Senate could vote next week on  legislation that would green light the long-delayed keystone oil  pipeline. Landrieu says it will need 60 votes on the Senate floor to

 pass and right now they have commitments from 56 senators who say  they'll vote for it.  Landrieu says construction of the pipeline will create more than 42- thousand jobs across the country and it will send a signal that North  America is an energy powerhouse.

 

The game time for  LSU's  home  opener  against Sam Houston State on September  sixth  has been set for 6:30.  Also,  ULL's  road  opener against Ole Miss on  September  13  will  begin at 3:00.  Both games will be televised on the new SEC Network.