State News

• News - State

  East Feliciana to switch to new call system

  

  Posted 4:03 AM 5/14/2013 by AP

  Emergency call-taking and dispatching duties will be switched from the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office to a new 911 call center Wednesday. Officials say the move will mean a change of priorities for existing sheriff's telephone numbers. The (More)

  
  

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• News - State

  La. business owner booked on Medicaid fraud counts

  

  Posted 4:00 AM 5/14/2013 by AP

  The owner of a personal care services agency has been arrested on charges she billed Louisiana's Medicaid program for services that weren't provided. Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell's office says 36-year-old Ruth Wicks Smith was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Landrieu picks up new challenger in Senate race

  

  Posted 4:00 AM 5/14/2013 by AP

  A retired Air Force colonel from Madisonville says he plans to run for the U.S. Senate next year, seeking to oust Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu. Rob Maness, a Republican who said he works for Entergy Services Inc. and owns a family farm, announced his candidacy Monday. He said (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Dalai Lama to visit New Orleans

  

  Posted 3:57 AM 5/14/2013 by AP

  The Dalai Lama is visiting New Orleans less than a week after gunfire at a Mother's Day parade injured 19 people. An entourage of Tibetan monks Tuesday will create an elaborate sand mandala to commemorate the Dalai Lama's visit. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader won the Nobel (More)

  
  

• News

  Police ID suspect in New Orleans mass shooting

  

  Posted 8:47 PM 5/13/2013 by AP

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Police are identifying a suspect in the shooting of 19 people during a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans. Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said Monday night that they were looking for 19-year-old Akein Scott. He says multiple people identified Scott as the (More)

  
  

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• St. Martin

  RV dental clinic to help St. Martin students

  

  Posted 8:26 AM 5/13/2013 by AP

  St. Martin Parish students are eligible for dental care through a mobile clinic that's scheduled to hit the roads this summer. The Advocate reports a recreational vehicle equipped as a dental clinic was set to begin offering services last year but (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Landfill owner, DEQ, reach settlement

  

  Posted 8:24 AM 5/13/2013 by AP

  The New Iberia owner of a landfill closed in 2009 has agreed to pay $73,904 and at least $150,000 for environmental cleanup work as part of a pending settlement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ and Gordon's Disposal, owned by businessman Gordon Doerle, have agreed (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Dent appointed to women's commission

  

  Posted 8:22 AM 5/13/2013 by AP

  Elizabeth Dent has been named to the Louisiana Women's Policy and Research Commission.
  Dent, of Baton Rouge, is president of Financial and Management Services.
  The commission is an advisory group focusing on women's issues in Louisiana.
  The appointment was made by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

  
  

• News - State

  2 children killed in St. John traffic wreck

  

  Posted 8:15 AM 5/13/2013 by AP

  Louisiana State Police are investigating a car accident that left two children dead. The accident happened at 2 a.m. Sunday on Hwy 44, just east of Hwy 54 in St. John the Baptist Parish. WVUE-TV reports the victims have been identified as (More)

  
  

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• News - State

  La. accepting bids for alligator hunting tags

  

  Posted 3:34 AM 5/10/2013 by AP

  State officials are accepting bids for alligator hunting on Wildlife Management Areas and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers properties.
  Bidders have until June 13 to submit applications forms for the 2013-2015 alligator harvest seasons.
  The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says 12 to 83 tags will be issued to successful bidders this year.
  Only adults with previous alligator hunting experience are eligible to submit bids.

   

   

  
  

• News - State

  Boat festival is Saturday in Lockport

  

  Posted 3:33 AM 5/10/2013 by AP

  The Bateaux de Bois Festival is set for Saturday at the Center for Traditional Boat Building in the Lafourche Parish community of Lockport. The Daily Comet reports the festival is sponsored by the Friends for Traditional Louisiana Boat Building and will (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Tulane gets grant for free-people-of-color project

  

  Posted 3:29 AM 5/10/2013 by AP

  The Louisiana Research Collection at Tulane University is getting grant money that will fund a project promoting knowledge on the history of free people of color in Louisiana. The university says the $194,000 grant is from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Tulane project (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Ex-N.O. cop appeals judge's refusal to set bond

  

  Posted 3:44 AM 5/9/2013 by AP

  A former New Orleans police officer has appealed a judge's refusal to free him on bond while he awaits a retrial on charges he shot and killed a man without justification outside a strip mall in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. U.S. District Judge Lance Africk refused Wednesday to reconsider (More)

  
  

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• News - State

  Southwest Airlines to increase service in NO

  

  Posted 3:45 AM 5/8/2013 by AP

  Southwest Airlines is increasing air service from New Orleans with new non-stop service to Austin, Texas beginning in November. Southwest currently operates 51 flights from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The facility's largest carrier, Southwest began non-stop service to (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Contractor linked to N.O. jail probe dies

  

  Posted 3:44 AM 5/8/2013 by AP

  A contractor linked to a federal investigation of an alleged bid-rigging scheme involving Orleans Parish Prison has died. John Killeen's defense attorney, Vinny Mosca, confirmed Tuesday that his client died of pancreatic cancer in late April. WWL-TV (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Pineville woman dies in Rapides accident

  

  Posted 3:42 AM 5/8/2013 by AP

  A Pineville woman has died in a Rapides Parish traffic accident. State police say Tuesday morning's accident happened on Interstate 49 south of Louisiana Highway 112. A Honda Accord driven by 58-year-old Linda T. Jett was southbound on the interstate when Jett apparently lost control. (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Brokaw headlines Loyola graduation

  

  Posted 4:00 AM 5/7/2013 by AP

  Television journalist Tom Brokaw will be the keynote speaker at Loyola University's graduation ceremonies on Saturday. Brokaw will receive an honorary degree during the ceremony along with jazz vocalist Germaine Bazzle and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times Managing Editor (More)

  
  

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• News - State

  Landrieu delivering state-of-city address

  

  Posted 3:59 AM 5/7/2013 by AP

  New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu is set to deliver his annual state-of-the-city address in the historic Treme neighborhood at a community center that was recently re-opened, years after it was damaged during Hurricane Katrina. Tuesday's setting is symbolic of post-Katrina progress that (More)

  
  

• News - State

  Wolford named to real estate commission

  

  Posted 3:58 AM 5/7/2013 by AP

  Evelyn Wolford has been appointed to the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.
  Wolford, of New Orleans, is a licensed broker for Latter & Blum Real Estate.
  The 11-member board oversees public interest in real estate transactions in the state.
  The appointment was made by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

  
  

• Vermilion

  Flood Insurance Rates May Rise

  

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  Posted 5:15 PM 5/6/2013 by Chris Welty

  Hundreds of residents may see their flood insurance policies increase by thousands of dollars.

  The National Flood Insurance Program is looking to fill budget shortfalls by increasing insurance premiums. In 2012, Congress approved the Biggert Waters Flood Reform Act. Any homeowner who (More) • Video (1)