News

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are voicing their skepticism of Governor Bobby Jindal’s tax overhauls. The forum this morning: an annual pre-session briefing hosted by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

Jim Patterson of LABI kicked off the presentation with what he’s heard from legislators about their private talks with Governor regarding his still unreleased tax overhauls. "[Gov. Jindal] does want to conform the local sales tax base to the state tax base," Patterson said. "This will help local governments to absorb what are going to be some relegation of services by the state to them.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has remained steadfast thus far in his opposition to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saying it’s too expensive and that Medicaid is an outdated, inflexible program. 

Not expanding Medicaid it will have a direct effect on low-to-moderate income New Orleanians.

Chris Stelly, from the Louisiana Entertainment office of the Department of Economic Development, talks with Jim about the Bayou State's film & TV industry and controversial film tax credits.

Novelist and storyteller Stephen Maitland-Lewis discusses his latest book, "Ambition".

The history of education in the South is woven to the history of race. When whites saw public-school integration coming, many started private schools, sometimes called "segregation academies" – and they still play a role.

The group of legislators that routinely opposes Governor Bobby Jindal's use of one-time money in his proposed budgets met over the weekend, and may soon have an alternate way to fund some of higher education's budget. 

Last year, the fiscal hawks proposed over $160 million of cuts to lower priority areas of the budget. Representative Kirk Talbot, a leader of the group, says those weren’t considered until the mid-year shortfall. They’ll try again this year.

Journalist and Author Leo Honeycutt (formerly with WBRZ News) and attorney Julie Baxter (formerly with WAFB News) discuss the legacy of Judge Frank Polozola, who passed away late Sunday.

LSU Criminologist Dr. Matthew Lee discusses problems with crime in Baton Rouge.

Author Michael Hainey discusses his book, "After Visiting Friends", his very personal story of investigating the mysterious circumstances of his father's death.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed $24.7 billion state budget for the next fiscal year seemingly leaves the state Department of Health and Hospitals relatively unscathed.

Ever since the Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional in Brown-versus-Board-of-Education in 1954, the racial makeup of our schools has been in flux.

Forced integration made the South’s public schools some of the most integrated in the country. But now, here and across the nation, schools are re-segregating.

Some of the earliest desegregation efforts played out in  Clinton, TN.

Plants get essential nutrients from the soil, but if they're in short supply fertilizer is the supplement.

 Governor Bobby Jindal wants to utilize one-time funds to keep the state afloat. Jindal's proposed budget was unveiled Friday to the Legislature's Joint Committee on the Budget.

The Governor's budget it $24.7 billion in size. One-time funds make up only $424 million of it – but last year, the budget’s use of one-time funds was smaller than that, and those funds not coming through were partially to blame for mid-year budget cuts.