WVUE Local News Headlines

Report: Payton to appeal suspension today

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:50:15 -0500

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A person familiar with the decision says that Saints coach Sean Payton will file an appeal of his season-long suspension with the NFL on Friday.

The person says the appeal will also ask NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his guidance on the parameters of the suspension. The person spoke to The Associated Press Friday on condition of anonymity because the league nor the Saints have announced Payton's plan to appeal.

Goodell suspended Payton for his role in connection with New Orleans' bounty system.

Drew Brees reacted this afternoon saying, "Obviously I can't discuss it. I think just like you I saw today that Coach Payton is planning on appealing that ruling. Other than that I mean it's obviously a tough time for all of us that we're trying to get through and hopefully move on to more positive things."

Goodell said at NFL meetings this week in Florida that Payton could have some contact with the team but did not go into detail.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Mega-Millions jumps to $640 million!

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:33:38 -0500

New Orleans - People hoping to strike it rich are lining up all around southeast Louisiana to buy Mega Millions lottery tickets today. You can watch the drawing live tonight exclusively on Fox 8 at 10pm.

The record jackpot has jumped to $640 million dollars, making it the richest lottery in world history surpassing the former record of $390 million.

If one ticket matches all six numbers for the half-billion dollar mega-jackpot, the winner would have the choice of receiving the full jackpot in 26 annual payments of about $20.7 million, or a cash option of approximately $389.8 million.

Since January 24th, the lottery jackpot has now rolled 18 times without a winner. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately one in 176 million.

Mathematician Mike Catalona of Dakota Wesleyan University in South Dakota says if you buy 50 tickets, you have just as much of a chance to win as you have being struck by lightning.

New Orleans police discover man shot to death in car

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:40:30 -0500

New Orleans-- Responders were called out early Friday morning to the 6800 block of Cindy Place in New Orleans East.

New Orleans Police Department investigators found the man shot several times inside a silver Nissan around 5 a.m.

They have not released any motive or suspects.

If you know anything information in this case, contacts Crimestoppers at 822-1111.

Take Two: Revised coastal plan wins over some critics

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:38:29 -0500

Houma, La. -- Some of those most affected by the state's Coastal Master Plan greeted its unveiling two months ago with a loud thud.

However, the Jindal Administration has won over some early critics thanks to changes in the plan.

In Terrebonne Parish, for example, the original plan called for rebuilding barrier islands and ridges, but it envisioned very little in the way of marsh creation.

Since then, the state has taken from projects in southwestern Louisiana and put the resources closer to population centers, such as Houma.

"We see it as a tradeoff," said Reggie Dupre, Executive Director of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District. "We're willing to have a less sustainable project in order to protect communities."

Supporters concede some of the marsh projects in the revised plan might be more vulnerable to salt water intrusion and, over time, could succumb to the same forces that caused land there to melt into the sea.

However, the parish also wants to introduce fresh water and river mud from the Atchafalaya.

That could involve pumping sediment over 30 or 40 miles to the eastern parts of Terrebonne Parish, an effort that state officials fear would drive project costs into the stratosphere.

"It is an expensive project," conceded Parish President Michel Claudet. "But when you look at the benefits to us in the long run, it's certainly substantially cheaper than many of the projects shown in the master plan.

Claudet points out the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has also agreed to consider an on-going parish study, which aims to show sediment projects can be managed more cheaply than standard estimates today.

"I don't think it's to the point where it's cost prohibitive," Claudet said.

Other parish governments also have warmed to the plan as the state rearranged timetables for projects.

In Jefferson Parish, ring levees for the town of Jean Lafitte, Barataria and Crown point were originally envisioned to be built after 2032, money permitting.

This week, Jefferson Parish President John Young praised the state's decision to move the levees into an early phase.

Young put out a statement saying, "the restoration and preservation of Louisiana's coastline, before it completely vanishes, is essential to the personal safety and economic prosperity of all Louisiana citizens."

In Orleans parish, the central wetlands-- a cypress forest lost to salt water intrusion from the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet-- is now included in the master plan.

All of the projects depend on the state's ability to piece together billions of dollars in funding over the next half century.

"What they're trying to do is narrow down some realistic goals that can be done, assuming that we raise $50 billion over 50 years," Dupre said.

However, he conceded the $50 billion estimate is "very aggressive. We don't know if that's even close to reality."

More cars being booted after city changes booting policy

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:33:38 -0500

The city of New Orleans has a new policy when it comes to booting vehicles.

Cars used to be booted after receiving three or more violations, but now, in an effort to increase revenue, city officials are cracking down, saying they'll boot anyone with just one delinquent parking ticket.

It's a story we're working on with our partners at the Lens.

Buck Stother says he struggles everyday to find a parking spot for his delivery truck. “I’m in a freight zone right now but there are some days when you're in a bigger truck and you can’t fit in a freight zone. And you try to park someplace else, and then you're gonna get a ticket,” Stother said.

Stother turns in his tickets to his company, but sometimes, it can take weeks for them to get paid. Now, the city says anyone with just one delinquent ticket, will get booted. “I hope it don't happen, but it could. It’s not right,” Stother commented.

City officials say year to date they've got a 134 percent increase in the number of vehicles booted as opposed to 2011, meaning their efforts are paying off.

But attorney Stephen Rue doesn't agree saying, “I know there’s been discussions with lawyers about perhaps a lawsuit being filed, a class action lawsuit, because of the failure of proper due process.”

Rue says he's been inundated with calls from residents who say their cars have been booted, but they never knew they had gotten a ticket in the first place. “Certainly we know the city is trying to have other vehicles of revenue but at what cost?” Rue asked.

Residents we spoke to, like Eura Jones, say they don't agree with the new policy change. “I think it’s terrible. It’s ridiculous,” Jones said.

Garth Sevdalis added, “It seems kind of a strong penalty."

But despite concerns from residents, the city is moving forward with the new one delinquent ticket policy and hopes to put over 3,000 boots on cars this year.

In order for a ticket to be considered delinquent, the owner must not have responded to notices sent to their home, and there had to have been no payment on it for 120 days.

Final Four brings big programs to Big Easy

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:23:33 -0500

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Looking for those charming underdog stories? Go find the DVD from last year.

This year's Final Four brings together a conglomeration of big-name schools, all saddled with their typically big-time issues - a reminder that everything in college sports is not as pure as the NCAA and its "student-athletes" would like us to believe.

In the national semifinals Saturday, Kentucky plays Louisville and Ohio State meets Kansas.

All the schools have made headlines for a variety of off-the-court reasons over the last several months, including: the proliferation of one-and-done players, stories about coaches in courtrooms and a handful of financial misdeeds involving recruits, players, coaches and even ticket managers.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Senators debates voucher, teacher tenure

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:57:42 -0500

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. Bobby Jindal's education officials are seeking to assure lawmakers that a proposed teacher tenure overhaul will be fair.

Education Superintendent John White told senators that teacher evaluations based on student improvement will include consideration on factors including poverty, absenteeism and students' special needs.

The Senate Education Committee began hearings Thursday morning on the House-passed tenure bill and a measure creating a statewide private school voucher program.

Prosecutor accused of tainting case with Web posts

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:49:08 -0500

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal prosecutor may have tainted the jury pool for the trial of five current or former police officers convicted in deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina by anonymously posting inflammatory comments about the case on a newspaper's website, defense attorneys argued in court filings Wednesday.

The defense lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt to postpone an April 4 sentencing hearing for the officers until after the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility completes an investigation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sal Perricone's online posts.

Engelhardt didn't immediately rule.

Perricone resigned from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office on March 20 after acknowledging he anonymously posted comments on nola.com, The Times-Picayune's companion website, about judges, politicians and cases on which he has worked.

Defense lawyers say Perricone posted numerous comments about the case against the officers before they were tried on charges they engaged in a cover-up to make it appear police were justified in shooting six unarmed people on the Danziger Bridge less than a week after the 2005 storm. Two were killed in the shootings.

All five of the officers were convicted in August of civil rights violations stemming from the shootings and the cover-up.

Although Perricone wasn't assigned to the case, the defense lawyers argue he may have posted the comments "as platforms to inflame the public and to incite anger and disgust."

"The full extent of misconduct in the U.S. Attorney's Office is still unknown, as is its impact on the pool from which defendants' jury was drawn," they wrote.

Lawyers for retired Sgt. Arthur "Archie" Kaufman, who was convicted of participating in the cover-up but wasn't charged in the shootings, said "at least a few of the prejudicial comments coincide with leaks of confidential and/or sealed information to the media."

In commenting on a February 2010 article by The Times-Picayune about target letters sent to three officers, Perricone allegedly made disparaging remarks about one of Kaufman's lawyers and implied Kaufman would be indicted in the case.

Under the pseudonym "legacyusa," Perricone also allegedly commented on Associated Press and Times-Picayune stories about the case against former New Orleans Police Lt. Michael Lohman. The officer later pleaded guilty to participating in the cover-up and cooperated with prosecutors.

Kaufman's attorneys said that comment was "tantamount to declaring Kaufman guilty in the media."

"Even more concerning," they wrote, "Lohman's case was under seal when the article about the expected guilty plea was published and the `legacyusa' comment was made."

AP source: No decision on appeal, Saints' coach

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:35:37 -0500

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A person familiar with the situation says decisions are still pending on a possible appeal of Sean Payton's suspension or an interim coach should his season-long punishment be upheld.

The person says Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and their staffs are in meetings at the team's suburban headquarters and focused primarily on preparations for next month's NFL draft. The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity on Thursday because the Saints have not announced their plans, Payton's suspension in connection with the Saints' bounty scandal is slated to begin on Sunday.

Payton has sought advice on the matter from his friend and retired coach Bill Parcells, who told the New York Daily News he'd consider the interim job if Payton asked him to take over.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Anonymous jury planned for Lil Boosie trial

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:17:01 -0500

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Court officials say the rarely utilized practice of an anonymous jury will be used for the high-profile first-degree murder trial of rapper Torrence "Lil Boosie" Hatch.

The Advocate reports the trial of Hatch, accused in an alleged murder-for-hire in 2009, is scheduled to begin April 30.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said the last time he can recall an anonymous jury being used in a parish case was in 1987 for the trial of three Colombians accused in the machine-gun slaying of drug smuggler-turned-government informant Adler "Barry" Seal.

Moore, who noted that Hatch's attorneys did not oppose his office's request for an anonymous jury, said jurors will be identified only by number.

Hatch's attorneys dismissed any suggestion that threats have been made in the case.