The state ethics law that caps how much a lobbyist can spend on treating state lawmakers to a meal has been increased by $3. The increase, from $50 to $53, is because of language in the law that ties the figure to the Consumer Price Index--allowing for future increases in the cap. Public Affairs Research Council president Jim Brandt says he doesn't like the way the law is going. Brandt says he sees a pattern of watering down ethics laws, which he hopes does not continue.
A state law to aid National Guard members and their families, when one is killed or disabled while on active duty in the War On Terror, may need to be changed. Senator Robert Adley of Benton says the administration is telling him one thing about the benefits, while Guard members and their families are telling him another. Adley says it appears the law doesn't cover the entire conflict. It provides a 250-thousand dollar death benefit, and 100-thousand dollars for total disability. Adley's called a Senate committee meeting on 9-11 to iron things.
Here's a warning for farmers--if you get a letter asking for a fee to help you get federal grant money for Gustav and Ike recovery...it's a scam. The state Agriculture Department IS giving out 44-point-5 million in hurricane recovery grants--but they don't charge you.
Long lines are forming at various clinics across Louisiana as parents get their kids vaccinated for the upcoming school year. State immunologist Doctor Frank Welch says it's not a big problem, as the long lines are only sporadic. He says parents shouldn't be concerned as long as they make that appointment to have their kids immunized. A new state law requires 11-year-olds and 6th-graders to be immunized for meningitis and chicken pox, in addition to all other required vaccinations.
Governor Jindal has resumed his out-of-state campaign fundraising, now that he's free to do so following the end of a state-imposed moratorium on such activity. UL-Lafayette political science professor Pearson Cross says Jindal's parish-by-parish visits--often with a big check in hand for local stimulus projects--are as important as continuing to build his campaign warchest. The governor was at a fundraising event in Destin, Florida today.
A Texas woman was busted Thursday afternoon when Louisiana State Police stopped her for a traffic violation on I-20 in the Calhoun area.
The date for the capital murder trial of Tracy Young has been set.
Fifty-two-year-old Lee Roy Williams Junior was booked into the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center this morning.
The southbound span of the Causeway Bridge was shut down for a while Friday morning after a Lacombe woman lost control of her Jeep Cherokee.
Former State Senator Ken Hollis of Metairie lost his battle with cancer Friday morning.
At least six people are confirmed dead and numerous others have been injured in a gas explosion yesterday evening in San Bruno, California.
Protests over plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Koran on 9-11 have turned deadly near a German-run NATO base in Afghanistan.
Americans will pause to remember a tragic day in the nation's history tomorrow as the ninth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks are observed.
Fruits and vegetables need to appear more in the daily diets of Americans.
Picnic baskets are getting loaded with food and the backs of vehicles are opening wide as tailgating for football season begins.
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