BC-LA--Louisiana-News Digest,ADVISORY, LA

Louisiana at 2 a.m. on Tuesday

Good evening, Louisiana editors.

If you have any contributions for or questions about the report, call 1-800-662-7717. To report technical problems: 1-800-469-1362. AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, can also be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. Reruns are also available from the Service Desk (800-838-4616). The news editor is Brian Schwaner. The breaking news staffer this evening is Chevel Johnson.

TOP STORIES

XGR-STATE BOOK-BIBLE

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Shreveport lawmaker is scrapping his proposal to name the Bible as Louisiana's official state book. Republican Rep. Thomas Carmody told the House on Monday that he wouldn't pursue the measure. He said lawmakers had told him they were worried the bill was becoming a distraction from more important debates, like on the state budget. By Melinda Deslatte. SENT: 386 words.

XGR-ANTI-SODOMY LAWS

BATON ROUGE, La. — A dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books 10 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they are unconstitutional. One such state is Louisiana, where gay rights groups contend police have used anti-sodomy laws to target gay men. But state lawmakers sided with religious and conservative groups in refusing to repeal the law last week. By Lauren Langlois. SENT: 514 words.

STANDS for earlier item slugged: BC-LA-XGR--Gay Rights.

XGR-DRONE LIMITS

BATON ROUGE, La. — A bid to limit the use of unmanned aircraft on private property in Louisiana has stalled in the state Senate. Sen. Dan Claitor's proposal would have made it illegal to use drones to photograph people on private property without their permission, with a list of exceptions including for law enforcement. By Melinda Deslatte. SENT: 391 words.

FREE RECYCLING

(Information in the following story is from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com)

BATON ROUGE, La. — That extra computer monitor sitting in the closet or that old printer gathering dust in the office can be brought in for recycling or reuse through Friday. The Capital Area Corporate Recycling Council is offering a week of free recycling for individuals and businesses in observance of Earth Day. SENT: 347 words.

FILM TAX CREDIT FRAUD

BATON ROUGE — Federal prosecutor say former Baton Rouge businessman Gregory M. Walker, who has admitted defrauding buyers of $1.4 million in Louisiana film tax credits that he did not own, allegedly enticed $325,000 from other investors in July. At the time, the 47-year-old Walker and his attorneys already were in plea negotiations with prosecutors in the larger case. As a result of the new allegations, Walker surrendered to federal marshals last week in response to an order by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady. Court records show his sentencing hearing on the $1.4 million tax credit case is June 5. The newspaper says Walker's attorney, John C. Anderson, did not respond to requests for comment on the continuing case. SENT: 290 words.

LAFAYETTE SCHOOL BOARD

LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Parish School Board meets Wednesday to consider taking a formal and unified stand against proposed legislation that singles out the board. State Rep. Nancy Landry filed three pieces of legislation specific to the Lafayette board that are under consideration in the current legislative session. One bill would move the board's current election cycle to a gubernatorial election year. That bill received approval in the House on April 10 and awaits consideration in the Senate. Two more bills are related to how the board is structured. School board President Hunter Beasley questioned why the bills "single out" Lafayette Parish and criticized Landry for not discussing her intentions with the board. Landry says her bills are products of constituents' concerns that the board has lost focus. SENT: 360 words.

COUNTERFEIT GOODS

LAFAYETTE — An Alabama man faces two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to copyright infringement in November. In a news release, prosecutors say 54-year-old Augustus Powell, of Huntsville, Ala. was stopped by police in Louisiana three times in one year and found in possession of thousands of bootlegged movies and music. U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik in Lafayette, La., ordered Powell to undergo three years of supervised release last week and pay $7,000 in restitution to the Motion Picture Association of America. SENT: 166 words.

ENTERTAINMENT/LIFESTYLES

ESSENCE FEST-EMPOWERMENT

NEW ORLEANS — Essence Fest marks 20 years in July with a kicked-up effort to empower its core community. In an interview with The Associated Press, Essence magazine's Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Bush said reaching the milestone year was their chance to extend conversations started two decades ago and continued annually. Bush says the festival is not just known for its musical performances scheduled each night in the Superdome. It's also known for its free Empowerment Experiences inside New Orleans' convention center where seminars are held covering topics ranging from finances and relationships to education and politics. This year, the festival will offer a new initiative called Empower U where attendees wanting to extend the dialogue will get a chance to do just that. This year's festival runs July 4-6. By Chevel Johnson. SENT: 496 words.

PEOPLE-ROBIN ROBERTS

HAMMOND — Southeastern Louisiana University will honor ABC's "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts with an honorary doctorate at its spring commencement on May 17. The school's governing body, the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, approved awarding Roberts with the degree last year. The ceremony is set for 10 a.m. at the University Center, where about 1,200 students will receive bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Roberts is a 1983 communications graduate and former basketball star at Southeastern. After graduating, she entered the broadcasting field and eventually joined ESPN, hosting "SportsCenter" and contributing regularly to "NFL Primetime." She joined "Good Morning America" in 2005. SENT: 248 words.

LOUISIANA IN BRIEF

Editors: The following brief items moved Monday on AP's Louisiana wire and may be of interest for your Tuesday editions.

XGR-ABORTION

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana House has agreed to require women seeking an abortion in the state to receive a pamphlet that describes possible psychological effects of the procedure, though studies disagree on those effects. The bill by Republican Rep. Barry Ivey, of Baton Rouge, also would mandate the women get information on the illegality of coerced abortions and services available to human trafficking victims. SENT: 142 words.

FBI SHOOTING

NEW ORLEANS — A spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department says the agency will not pursue a criminal investigation involving an FBI agent who shot and killed a New Orleans man during an undercover drug sting last summer. Dena Iverson said the Civil Rights Division reviewed the information collected by the FBI regarding the shooting and declined to open a criminal investigation. SENT: 127 words.

RANDOLPH-ETHICS

THIBODAUX — A court date has been set for Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph to argue the unfairness of her ethics fines stemming from renting out her Grand Isle camp to BP. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge will hear the case on May 22. SENT: 129 words.

POINTE COUPEE SCHOOLS

NEW ROADS — The shutdown of Pointe Coupee Central High School has some residents questioning whether Livonia High School will be able to handle the influx of new students next school year. U.S. District Judge James J. Brady's decision to shut down Pointe Coupee Central came at the request of the state's Recovery School District. The RSD asked the court in March to return jurisdiction to the Pointe Coupee Parish School Board after six years under the state's umbrella. SENT: 128 words.

DENHAM SPRINGS-SICK LEAVE

DENHAM SPRINGS — The Denham Springs City Council may have to repeal part of the city's advance sick leave policy after the state Legislative Auditor's Office said the policy violates state law. Under the policy, city employees may apply to the city council for sick leave beyond the hours they have accrued, up to 120 days. Any advance leave is repaid using sick time the employee earns after returning to work. SENT: 130 words.

RAPIDES-FATAL CRASH

ALEXANDRIA — State police say a Pineville man has died in a two vehicle crash in Rapides Parish. Troopers say the accident happened around 10:30 Sunday morning on Louisiana Highway 496 west of Alexandria. SENT: 82 words.

NEW ORLEANS-FLOOD CONTROL

NEW ORLEANS — The Army Corps of Engineers will close a portion of Prytania Street in uptown New Orleans beginning Monday for about a year while a drainage culvert is installed. An Army Corps spokesman says the heavily trafficked roadway will be closed at Joseph Street in both directions. Traffic will be diverted to Nashville Avenue. SENT: 71 words.

LAKE CHARLES AIRPORT

LAKE CHARLES — In anticipation of the area's projected economic boom, Lake Charles Regional Airport has opened its expanded passenger lounge. It's a business center on the second floor of the passenger terminal. Airport Director Heath Allen said the area was designed to provide a place for ticketed passengers to relax or work as they wait for their flights' departure. SENT: 123 words.

WILDLIFE FIELD DAY

CLINTON — The LSU AgCenter plans a wildlife field day May 3 at the Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station near Clinton. LSU AgCenter forestry and wildlife specialist Don reed says the session will focus on the management of white-tailed deer and on controlling feral hogs and other nuisance animals. SENT: 87 words.

BUSINESS

BATON ROUGE-BUILDING PERMITS

BATON ROUGE — Several major commercial building projects and an increase in homebuilding activity lifted the value of building permits issued in East Baton Rouge Parish by 16.4 percent for the first quarter over 2013. The value of building permits issued by the city-parish Department of Public Works Inspection Division through the end of March was $151.1 million. That's compared with $129.8 million in permits issued during the same period in 2013. The total number of permits increased by 1.8 percent from 5,170 to 5,263. The number of single-family home permits increased by 24 percent from 158 in 2013 to 196. SENT: 201 words.

LAFOURCHE-TRAINING CENTER

THIBODAUX — Officials in Lafourche Parish say construction on a Career Magnet Center has been moving smoothly despite recent weather delays. Groundbreaking for the new school on Louisiana Highway 308 was held in January. In recent weeks, work has been proceeding on pilings and foundations. The $15.9 million project is expected to be completed by July 2015. The center is designed to bridge education with the area's economy by allowing junior and senior high school students to earn industry-based certificates. SENT: 168 words.

EARNS-BANCORPSOUTH

TUPELO, Miss. — Regional bank BancorpSouth Corp. saw profit rise for the third quarter in a row, jumping 37 percent in 2014's first quarter from the same three months in 2013. BancorpSouth posted quarterly profit Monday of $28.4 million, or 30 cents per share. That's up from $20.8 million or 22 cents per share in 2013's first quarter. SENT: 375 words.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF

JOBLESS CLAIMS

BATON ROUGE, La. — First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending April 12 increased from the previous week's total. The Louisiana Workforce Commission said Monday that initial claims rose to 2,461 from the previous week's total of 2,101. There were 2,620 initial claims during the comparable week in 2013. SENT: 127 words.

CALPINE-LS POWER-ACQUISITION

NEW YORK — Calpine Corp. said Monday that it has agreed to sell six of its power plants to privately-held LS Power Equity Advisors for $1.57 billion. Houston-based Calpine plans to use the money to pay down debt, acquire other sites or buy back its stock, said CEO Jack Fusco. Two of the plants are in Alabama and the others are in Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Combined, they can generate nearly 3,500 megawatts of electricity. SENT: 134 words.

BATON ROUGE HOUSE

BATON ROUGE — Home sales in metro Baton Rouge dropped 14.6 percent in March for the first time in 18 consecutive months of year-to-year increases. In figures released Monday by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, there were 647 home sales that closed in March in the nine-parish area. That compares with 758 closed sales in March 2013. SENT: 107 words.

SPORTS

LOUISIANA OUTDOORS

SPRING FISHING

NEW ORLEANS — Up until about a decade ago, Venice was the place idiots went to catch speckled trout in the springtime. Guys who couldn't even catch a speckled trout if they were fishing in Dudley Vandenborre's ice chest would go to Venice and mop up. The place was that easy. The bays on the east side of the delta -- with names like Blind, Redfish and Garden Island -- would stack up with trout. Venice regulars called them school trout, but anglers from other ports would have honored them as trophies. We're in a school of 3-pounders? Yawn. Wake me up when we're in the 5-pounders. But something happened to Venice right around the time Hurricanes Katrina and Rita turned the region's roseau cane into bagasse. The storms were followed by an epically good autumn that is still revered among Venice's guides and regulars, but the spring action has never gotten close to what it was before that awful summer of 2005. By Todd Masson, The Times-Picayune. SENT:985 words.

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