News for Friday 110912

By Dave Graichen

A  Rapides  Parish  teen  was killed Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car. State Police  say  15-year-old,  Jacob Simpson, was riding  his bike in the middle of the inside left lane  of  Hwy  165 near C. Walters  Road  when 19-year-old driver Lacey Jordon collided with  him. He was not wearing  a  helmet  at  the  time.  The  crash investigation continues.

A 15-year-old Shreveport  boy  is  recovering  from serious injuries sustained when he was hit, while riding his bike,  by  a  Shreveport police car. Another teen was also hit in the Tuesday night incident, but was not seriously hurt. The matter is under investigation.

The Winnsboro woman who set  herself  on  fire  last month then told police that men in hoods attacked her has had her condition upgraded from critical to serious. That's the word from the  LSU  Hospital in Shreveport,  where  20-year-old  Sharmika  Moffitt is being treated. Police believe Moffitt wrote a racial slur and "KKK" on her own car, then set herself on fire. She's recovering from severe burns.

Louisiana motorists continue to get big  breaks  at  the  pump.  The current  statewide  average  for  a  gallon of gas is now $3.29. The American Automobile Association says this  is  28 cents less than we were paying last month and the colder it gets, the  more  the  price will fall.

The search committee charged with finding a new president for the University of Louisiana will interview its only finalist today. Sandy Woodley is scheduled to meet with the committee in Baton Rouge. Woodley is currently is the vice chancellor for strategic initiatives for the University of Texas system. In that role, she oversees the offices of strategic management, institutional studies and policy analysis. The University of Louisiana System has more than 92,000 students in nine universities, including Northwestern State in Natchitoches. The system also includes Louisiana Tech in Ruston, which is seeking a president. The Tech search committee will meet at noon today to choose finalists. Nine people have applied so far.

A  proposed  80  mile  per  hour  passenger  train  to  run  between Shreveport Bossier and Dallas Fort-Worth,  is  being  shopped to the states  of  Louisiana  and Texas  by Amtrack. Lt. Governor Jay  Dardenne calls the project doable  but still wants to see what comes out of a feasibility study due in March of 2013.

A federal prosecutor in New Orleans is demoted for making online  comments on a newspaper website. U-S Attorney Jim Letten said today that  Jan Mann is no longer serving as First Assistant U-S Attorney and Chief  of the Criminal Division. Legal Analyst Chick Foret says Letten's  announcement confirms the allegation Mann was posting internet comments. South Louisiana landfill owner Fred Heebe, who is under investigation by federal agencies, accused Mann of posting anonymous and sometimes biting  internet comments about the cases she was investigating and filed a  defamation lawsuit against her. Mann will remain an assistant U-S  Attorney, but Foret says further action could be taken against her.

A military parade will roll through historic New Orleans tomorrow as  part of the state's bicentennial celebration. The parade will feature  representatives from every branch of the military.  Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne says it’s the biggest military parade in the  state in 100 years. The previous military parade of this size was in 1912, during the  state's centennial observance. Before the parade a wreath will be laid

at the Veterans Memorial Square in Metairie and Dardenne says a special  piece of  World War Two history will be presented to the museum, a world war two set of dog tags from the beaches of Normandy in France.  The bicentennial parade will begin at 3 P-M in the French Quarter.

An organization out of Monroe is pushing for legislation that would  legalize recreational marijuana in Louisiana. Similar referendums were  passed in Colorado and Washington State after Tuesday's election. Donnie Griffith is the founder of Legalize Louisiana. He says there are many benefits to legalizing marijuana in Louisiana.  Griffith says instead of having drug cartels supplying marijuana to  users in Louisiana, we could grow our own and tax it. He says now that  pot has been legalized in other states, his group hopes to present  harder evidence to Louisiana lawmakers showing them there is no harm brought on by the crop.

The state department of health and hospitals says it's close to  finalizing cooperative endeavor agreements that would keep a mental  hospital open in Mandeville. DHH Deputy Secretary Kathy Kliebert says  Meridian Behavioral Health is a private company, interested in taking  over in-patient services on the Southeast Louisiana hospital campus. The 60-year-old facility was facing closure as a result of budget cuts.

Two influential members of Louisiana's Congressional delegation have  differing views of how to avoid the country's coming "fiscal cliff".  Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu says it would seem that raising taxes is

inevitable. But Republican Congressman Steve Scalise, of Metairie, says the federal  government shouldn't make taxpayers foot the bill for its own over spending and mismanagement. Numerous tax cuts expire at the end of the year, as automatic spending  cuts take effect.

Calling her  "sinister and despicable" a Baton Rouge Judge sentenced 25-year-old Charlotte  Staggs  to 40 years in prison for abusing and neglecting her 20-month-old stepson. In 1009, the boy was brought to

a  hospital  in  ER  for swallowing  nail  polish  remover.  Doctors observed  he  was also severely  malnourished  and  dehydrated  with numbers scrapes and bruises all over his body.

SPORTS

Ninth ranked LSU faces its fifth straight ranked opponent on Saturday  night when they host Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are ranked 22nd,  but they've lost their last two. Also, LSU has dominated this series over the last two decades, winning 12 straight over the Bulldogs.

The undefeated Atlanta Falcons will be in the Mercedes Benz Superdome  on Sunday to battle the Saints. The Dirty Birds are a perfect 8-and-0