Latest news for May 25, 2013

• 1 dead, 1 wounded in East Feliciana shooting

  CLINTON — East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s deputies late Friday arrested one man in Friday’s shootings on La. 10 near Clinton. Eric Martin, 26, of Ethel, … Continue reading →

• Texas Brine makes settlement offers to sinkhole evacuees

  Texas Brine Co. began making settlement offers Friday afternoon to Bayou Corne residents affected by the Assumption Parish sinkhole who have not filed suit against the company, including one recipient who called his, “woefully low.” The settlement offers were made days after the Houston company came under …

• Convicted killer sentenced to consecutive life terms, plus 100 years

  An East Feliciana Parish man was sentenced Friday to two consecutive life terms, plus another 100 years in prison, in the brutal slaying of his former girlfriend and her 3-year-old son and the attempted killing of two of the woman’s other young children at a BREC park near …

• EBR school system expects more spending in 2013-14 fiscal year

  The East Baton Rouge Parish school system will dip substantially into its reserves to stay in the black during the fiscal year that starts July 1 with projected revenue decreasing and spending increasing sharply, according to a proposed general operating budget released Friday. The proposed $424.6 …

• Crime, education limiting growth in Baton Rouge

  East Baton Rouge Parish remains the most-populous parish in the state, but crime and education issues appear to be inhibiting growth in the city of Baton Rouge, an LSU demographer says. Those same factors, meanwhile, are fueling growth in other areas of the parish as well …

• Two vying for CATS interim CEO job

  The search for the interim director for the Capital Area Transit System has been narrowed to two candidates — neither of whom have experience in transportation. But both candidates, John Conroy and Robert Mirabito, do have experience running successful multimillion-dollar businesses. A committee of …

• Capital Area United Way announces 2013-14 funding

  Capital Area United Way will provide more than $8 million to agencies in the Baton Rouge metro area for community programs in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the organization announced Friday. Of the total amount, $5.5 million will be invested in the 113 programs sponsored by 47 agencies.

• BRCC graduates 440 students

  Graduates at Baton Rouge Community College’s commencement ceremony Friday were encouraged to envision what they want Louisiana to look like in the future and then use their talents to help make that vision happen. Pam Breaux, assistant secretary for the state’s Office of Cultural Development, spoke …

• Gonzales councilman’s new term off to bumpy start

  GONZALES —Tim Vessel’s first several months as a Gonzales councilman have gotten off to a start the mayor describes as “a black eye on the city.” Vessel unseated longtime incumbent Joe Waguespack, who spent 28 years on the Gonzales City Council, in November’s election, but …

• Bids on Hammond airport tower project are over budget

  Construction bids for Hammond Northshore Regional Airport’s control tower project came in more than $500,000 over budget, giving officials just 30 days either to come up with the additional funding or go back to the drawing board on the design. Officials budgeted more than $1.2 million for …

• North Lafayette’s Couret Farms development under construction

  LAFAYETTE — The first homes are now going up in a River Ranch-style development on roughly 125 acres in north Lafayette, and residents are expected to begin settling in there this fall. Couret Farms, developed by the same team behind River Ranch in Lafayette and …

• Lafayette schools look to boosting graduation rates

  LAFAYETTE — As Lafayette Parish high school seniors receive their diplomas in ceremonies Saturday, about a third of their freshman-year classmates won’t be in similar circumstances if statistics hold true. Last year, about 70 percent of Lafayette Parish students completed their high school education and …

• Louisiana Budget Projects says proposed amendments would threaten future

  Two proposed constitutional amendments under legislative debate would further complicate future state budgets by giving special treatment to four health care provider groups, the Louisiana Budget Project said Friday. Protected would be funding for hospitals, nursing homes, intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled and pharmacies — …

• La. ranks high in gun violence, low in gun safety

  Louisiana has the highest rate of gun violence in the nation and the weakest gun safety laws, according to a recent national study, and state lawmakers are moving to expand the already permissive statutes. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit group that …

• BR, N.O. make Forbes list of best cities for information jobs

  Baton Rouge and New Orleans both ranked among the top cities their size on Forbes’ magazine’s list of “Cities Winning the Battle for Information Jobs.” Baton Rouge ranked No. 7 on the list of medium-sized metros that are luring information jobs. Trenton, N.J., was first. New …

• Man shot son then himself in apparent murder-suicide in River Ridge

  River Ridge — Jefferson Parish sheriff deputies Friday found a man dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound and the 16-year-old son he is believed to have fatally shot in the house they shared in a quiet neighborhood. Col. John Fortunato, a …

• New courses to be scaled back

  A ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court means the state will scale back plans to offer public school students classes through online firms, colleges and private companies, state Superintendent of Education John White said Friday. The change, which stems from a 2012 state law, is called course …