Louisiana News

The federal government says states on the Gulf of Mexico can run their own seasons in both state and federal waters for anglers going after red snapper, a popular catch that's still recovering from nearly disastrous overfishing.

A Commerce Department news release Tuesday says Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas all received two-year experimental permits to manage the seasons and to test data collection.The department says each state will set its own private recreational season this year and next, closing each season when its quota is reached.

Funeral services are this weekend for a Louisiana soldier declared missing during the Korean War, whose remains were recovered last year.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says 19-year-old Army Sgt. 1st Class Lester R. Walker, of Ferriday, will be buried in Downsville following graveside services Saturday at Ruggs Bluff Cemetery.

Walker was a member of Battery B, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division on Sept. 3, 1950. He was declared missing in action near Changnyeong, South Korea, while attached to Task Force Haynes.

Lawmakers in the Louisiana House spurned an effort to restore voting rights to some convicted felons on probation or parole.

Louisiana's 1974 constitution allows suspension of voting rights for people who are "under an order of imprisonment" for a felony.

A law passed two years later spelled out that people on probation or parole for a felony are included in that definition. Rep. Patricia Smith's proposal would have changed that to allow someone on probation or parole for a felony to register to vote after being out of prison for five years.

As Louisiana's pharmacy board started awarding the permits to dispense medical marijuana, state lawmakers are criticizing the process as unfair to small, locally-owned pharmacists.

Several Democrats on the House health committee on Tuesday questioned the competitive process used to award the potentially lucrative permits. They say the panel should have stalled its selection while lawmakers considered changing some rules governing the dispensing pharmacies.

Louisiana's legislative auditor says the state has spent more than $5 million on lawsuits involving sexual harassment claims since 2009.

Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera's office conducted a review of sexual harassment policies in executive branch agencies and procedures for handling accusations.

The audit says the state's self-insurance agency paid the money for "closed claims" involving 84 sexual harassment lawsuits. That includes payments to people who filed claims as well as lawyers' costs.

A judge is to rule next month on a motion to throw out a malfeasance charge against a former guard who was on duty when a 15-year-old inmate killed himself at a New Orleans jail.

Former Orleans Parish sheriff's deputy Keriana Alexcee was arrested last April after an investigation into the death of Jaquin (jah-KWAHN') Thomas. The teen had been jailed at Orleans Justice Center jail and was facing a murder charge when he hanged himself with a mattress cover in October 2016.

Congressman Clay Higgins campaign reports the former law enforcement officer has raised 218-thousand dollars during the first quarter of this year and has 211-thousand dollars on hand. Higgins had just 50-thousand dollars in the bank at the end of 2017. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says Higgins finally has his campaign fundraising operation going.

Chancellors of two LSU Health Sciences Centers delivered impassioned testimonies in front of the Senate Finance Committee, calling on legislators not to pass the proposed budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee that they say would devastate healthcare. Shreveport Chancellor G.E. Ghalli says the proposed cuts are impossible to make.

The budget will be discussed on the House floor Thursday.

A House committee killed Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith’s proposal to ban bump stocks on guns. Authorities say a bump stock was used to kill more than 50 people in Las Vegas last October by allowing semi-automatic guns to shoot rapid-fire. Smith says something like that can happen here too.

Kyle Galotta, who opposes the bill, says the Las Vegas shooting should not mean the end of Bump Stocks.

NRA spokesperson Erin Luper says they oppose the state ban on bump stocks, because there is legislation pending in Washington to ban them nationwide.

If you are a parent, you may find it hard to feed your child if they are a picky eater. About one in four kids develop an eating problem. Most quickly outgrow the fast-food and junk food only phase, but a few need professional assistance. Ochsner Pediatrician Dr. Myriam Ortiz says don’t force them to eat what they don’t want to. It could be due to other issues.

Ortiz says it’s important not to become frustrated with your child. She also warns against bribing your child. You could be training them in a way that is not conducive with what you are trying to accomplish.