5-3-16
TWO MOTORCYCLES WRECKED YESTERDAY SOUTH OF JENNINGS AT THE INTERSECTION OF LA 26 AND BOBBY ROAD. ONE PERSON WAS AIRLIFTED FROM THE SCENE AND IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION AND THE OTHER IS IN MODERATE CONDITION
AT AROUND 2:20 YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AN AMTRAK TRAIN HIT A BACKHOE WHILE IT WAS WORKING ALONGSIDE THE TRAIN TRACKS AT A CROSSING BETWEEN WELSH AND LACASSINE. THE OPERATOR OF THE BACKHOE HAD A HEAD INJURY AND IS RECOVERING AT A LOCAL HOSPITAL. NO TRAIN PASSENGERS WERE INJURED.
A MAJOR MERGER BETWEEN TWO OIL COMPANIES HAS STALLED. JULIE DARCE HAS THE STORY.
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STATE SENATOR DAN “BLADE” MORRISH’S SENATE BILL 1, WHICH RENAMES A SECTION OF HWY 14 IN CALCASIEU PARISH AT “LOUISIANA STATE TROOPER STEVEN VINCENT MEMORIAL HIGHWAY” WAS SIGNED INTO LAW YESTERDAY BY THE GOVERNOR. STEVEN VINCENT, 44, WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, WHEN HE STOPPED TO INVESTIGATE A TRUCK IN A DITCH IN BELL CITY ON AUGUST 23 2015.
(AP) New cost controls are planned for TOPS, as lawmakers struggle to pay for the nearly $300 million college tuition program. The Louisiana House gave final legislative passage Monday to a bill that locks in the TOPS payment rate at next year’s tuition level, unless lawmakers vote to raise payments. That could cost students more if tuition grows larger but lawmakers don’t boost TOPS payments. The proposal by Sen. Jack Donahue, a Mandeville Republican, heads to the governor’s desk with a 74-20 vote. Former Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed the bill last year. But Gov. John Bel Edwards has said he will sign it into law. Because of state budget gaps, it’s unclear if students will even get full tuition funding next year or only partial awards.
(AP) Gov. John Bel Edwards’ push to boost Louisiana’s minimum wage remains stalled in the Senate as the Democratic governor continues negotiating with lawmakers, trying to win support for the bill. The proposal to raise the minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, sponsored by New Orleans Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, was scheduled for a Monday hearing in the Senate Finance Committee. But the hearing was scrapped. Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo says the governor’s office asked for a delay. He says the Edwards administration is still having conversations with lawmakers about the bill. A rescheduled hearing date hasn’t been set yet. The proposal narrowly won support in the Senate labor committee, but was sent to the finance committee because it would raise the pay of some state workers, costing the state.
(AP) Public school students would be required to have a wellness exam before entering kindergarten and sixth grade, if the Louisiana Senate agrees to a proposal that has won support from a divided state House. The measure by Rep. Walt Leger, a New Orleans Democrat, would allow parents to opt out of the requirement in writing. Leger says the bill is an effort to improve children’s health, to catch health problems early. Rep. Beryl Amedee, a Republican from Gray, who voted against the measure, says parents are in the best position to decide if a child needs a health exam and the state shouldn’t require it. The House sent Leger’s bill to the Senate with a 59-37 vote Monday.
AP) — Louisiana’s health department has set up a new website with enrollment information for the state’s planned Medicaid expansion. The site is www.healthy.la.gov . Louisiana will become the 32nd state to expand the government-financed health insurance program to the working poor when the new coverage begins July 1. Enrollment for the expanded health coverage begins June 1. Medicaid expansion will cover adults ages 19 to 64 making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — about $16,200 for a single adult or $33,400 for a family of four. Gov. John Bel Edwards and his health secretary, Rebekah Gee, announced the new website Monday at an event beginning a series of events around the state to promote Medicaid expansion. Gee estimated 375,000 people will get insurance from the expansion.
