Louisiana

Officials at Grambling State University continued Monday to downplay events culminating in a weekend campus lockdown and several misdemeanor arrests.

Ralph Wilson, GSU’s director of media, reported no changes from previous news conferences aimed at dispelling reports of gunshots fired on the campus Friday.

 
Wilson said the investigation so far has yielded no weapon, nor the alleged suspect who reportedly shot the firearm into the air.

(Read the full post about ‘All remains quiet at Grambling front’…)

Jerry Stovall didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation to give the keynote address at tonight’s Northeast Louisiana Pro-Athlete Sports Banquet and Gallery.

The former LSU and NFL standout, LSU head football coach and Louisiana Tech University athletic director said he’s proud to be part of the area’s tradition of nurturing great athletic talent.

 
“As an athlete, you can’t coach yourself up very much,” Stovall said. “So in the classroom and in the world living your life, you need help from others. West Monroe and Monroe have had an awful lot of outstanding individuals with passion for young people.”

The event begins at 6 p.m. (Read the full post about ‘Stovall talks a big-picture game’…)

U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander on Monday helped kick off a week of events to raise awareness of the Louisiana Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Alexander, R-Quitman, sponsored LaCHIP legislation while serving in the state Legislature several years ago.

 
LaCHIP provides low-cost or no-cost insurance for children up to 18 years old. To qualify, a family’s income cannot exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $3,534 monthly for a family of four.

“The program has been available for several years, but there’s still many who don’t have it,” Alexander said. (Read the full post about ‘Rep. Alexander rings in week of children’s insurance awareness’…)

SHREVEPORT — A Shreveport police officer is recovering, a family is grieving and an investigation continues after an officer-involved shooting early Sunday morning.

Tremendous Davis reportedly broke into ColorTyme Rent to Own in the 700 block of Shreveport Barksdale Highway just before 4 a.m. Sunday. Officer Jerry Alkire pulled his unmarked car up to Davis’ car and attempted to arrest Davis, but he jumped in his car and took off, striking Alkire in the leg, police said.

 
Alkire shot at Davis, hitting him in the upper body, police said. Davis underwent surgery at LSU Hospital, but died late Sunday night.

“I give my condolences to the family of Tremendous Davis. (Read the full post about ‘Investigation into officer-involved shooting continues’…)

VIVIAN, La. — An Oil City man was booked with driving while intoxicated after a Caddo Parish sheriff’s deputy found him asleep in an overturned car according to sheriff’s department spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick.

Chadwick said Jessie Streetman, 28, lost control of his Mitsubishi Lancer, which traveled west along an embankment before stopping upside down.

The incident occurred Saturday, but Chadwick said she learned about it Tuesday as reports came in from outside the Shreveport area.

The sheriff’s office said Streetman was released on bond after being booked into the parish jail.

NEW ORLEANS — A local judge said he will formally enter the race to become top prosecutor in Orleans Parish.

Former Appeals Court Judge Leon Cannizzaro said he will make his candidacy official Wednesday evening, confirming long-standing rumors that were supported by Cannizzaro’s resignation from the bench last week.

Cannizzaro joins Linda Bizzarro, Ralph Capitelli and Jason Williams — all attorneys — in seeking the prosecutor’s office. Keva Landrum-Johnson, who has served as District Attorney since the resignation of Eddie Jordan late last year, has not announced whether she will seek election to the post.

Though the primary election won’t take place until early October, the declared candidates have already begun jockeying for position and name recognition. (Read the full post about ‘Judge Announces Run For District Attorney’…)

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. Bobby Jindal touted Louisiana’s hurricane recovery efforts and tossed aside rumors he could be a possible running mate for Republican presidential contender John McCain during an appearance tonight on NBC’s “Tonight Show.”

Host Jay Leno introduced Jindal, 36, as the youngest governor in the country and as a possible vice presidential contender.

For his final question, Leno noted McCain’s trip to Louisiana last week and asked whether Jindal was flattered to be mentioned as a potential running mate.

Jindal replied, “It’s flattering, but I like the job I’ve got now.” He reiterated plans to run for re-election.

Leno also asked the governor about his Indian heritage and Jindal discussed recent changes to the state’s ethics laws, while Leno talked of Louisiana’s corrupt reputation.

The “Tonight Show” isn’t Jindal’s only appearance on the national stage this week. (Read the full post about ‘Jindal Talks To Leno’…)

BATON ROUGE, La. — The standoff involving East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s deputies and a man with a machete at the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries has ended.

The suspect was arrested Tuesday without incident.

Deputies responded to a call from a security guard at the campus about a man who had been sitting in his car since around 2:30 a.m.

Deputies said that when they approached the car, the man pulled out a machete and told them to back off.

The standoff ended around 9 a.m.

LIVINGSTON, La. — The Livingston Parish School Board expects to finish the 2007-08 fiscal year with a $1.56 million operating deficit, despite higher-than-anticipated revenues.

That projected deficit — the fiscal year does not end until June 30 — represents a nearly $2.7 million turn to the negative from what school officials had estimated in their original 2007-08 budget approved last summer.

Still, the one-year general fund deficit can more than be covered by $15.5 million in surpluses carried over from prior years. (Read the full post about ‘Livingston Schools Sink $1.56 Million Into Red’…)

Ted Jackson / Times-Picayune With the Gentilly Stage in the background, Mickey Villar of United Site Services uses a vacuum hose attached to a tank truck to suck up water still standing at the Fair Grounds as promoters prepare for the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell. A bright sun Monday began to dry many of the less trampled areas of the horse-racing track. Vacuum trucks helped, slurping up puddles at the Gentilly Boulevard site as dozens of sea gulls basked in the sunshine or flitted over the damp field in front of the Acura Stage. Mother Nature on Monday began to mend the muddy paths carved by thousands of people who slogged across the rain-drenched Fair Grounds during the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. (Read the full post about ‘Jazzfest works to clean up mess left by Mother Nature, die hards’…)