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• Wednesday discussion could change popular solar program Play Video

  April 16, 2013 10:30 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The savings homeowners have been enjoying from solar panels are under fire. Under the current rules, utility companies credit homeowners the retail rate for the excess electricity generated with solar. But, that could change. Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Clyde Holloway is proposing smaller credits for homeowners,... more »

• Late-payment rate on US mortgages hits 4-year low

  February 12, 2013 6:59 AM

  LOS ANGELES - Homeowners who took on mortgages well after the housing bubble burst are doing a better job keeping up with payments. Credit reporting agency TransUnion said Tuesday the trend is helping bring down the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate to the lowest level in four years. TransUnion says the... more »

• Citizens rates rising by average of 7.7 percent

  January 11, 2013 4:09 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The state's property insurer of last resort has proposed raising homeowner's rates an average of 7.7 percent statewide this year. The Advocate reports the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.'s board said Thursday that the rate increase is being driven in part by higher reinsurance costs for coastal... more »

• Report: Death rate from cancer still inching down

  January 7, 2013 3:25 PM

  WASHINGTON - Researchers say death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down. Cancer deaths began slowly dropping during the 1990s, and today's report shows the trend holding. Among men, cancer death rates dropped by 1.8 percent a year between 2000 and 2009. The rate declined by 1.4 percent a... more »

• Baton Rouge sewer rates to increase in 2013

  December 31, 2012 8:40 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Along with the new year, East Baton Rouge Parish residents and businesses will see higher sewer fees in 2013. Since Jan. 1, 2004, Mark LeBlanc, an assistant director for the city-parish Department of Public Works, says sewer fees have gone up 4 percent each year. ... more »

• La. insurance dept offers online rate comparisons

  December 18, 2012 10:34 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says his department's new online system will make it easier for Louisiana residents to shop for the best insurance rates in their cities. You can't get quotes for your house and car. The auto insurance guide compares quotes for a 2004, 2007 or... more »

• Obama: No fiscal cliff deal without higher rates

  December 4, 2012 12:35 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says there will be no deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" unless Republicans drop their opposition to raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans. However, Obama is signaling flexibility on where the rates eventually wind up. Obama says he knows he won't get everything that... more »

• Deficit talks will test GOP focus on tax rates

  November 12, 2012 4:16 PM

  WASHINGTON - Republican leaders say the government can raise tax "revenues" without raising tax "rates." But they have yet to detail how they would pursue it. The distinction might mean little to Americans who end up with larger tax bills even if their tax rates don't change. This politically tricky... more »

• Unemployment rates fall in 95 pct. of US cities

  October 30, 2012 4:14 PM

  WASHINGTON - Unemployment rates fell in nearly all large US cities in September from August, a sign that recent jobs gains have been widespread. The Labor Department says rates declined in 355 of the 372 metro areas, the most since April. The report also shows that nearly half of cities... more »

• NCAA grad rates improving in football, basketball

  October 25, 2012 1:23 PM

  INDIANAPOLIS - The latest figures from the NCAA show that football and men's basketball players are graduating in record numbers. The annual Graduation Success Rate figures, released Thursday, show both sports hit an all-time high based on the one-year measurement of freshmen who enrolled in 2005-06. Men's basketball players made... more »

• Unemployment rates fall in 7 US swing states

  October 19, 2012 10:23 AM

  WASHINGTON - Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election. Rates dropped in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. They unchanged in New Hampshire and Virginia. The declines could help President Barack Obama at... more »

• Mortgage rates hit all-time low Play Video

  September 27, 2012 6:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Mortgage rates are at a national all time low at 3.4% on a 30-year fixed rate. The low rates come as the Federal Reserve continue to stimulate the housing sector. "The rates have stayed historically low, which has allowed quite a few people to refinance, cutting their... more »

• Port Allen council adjusts millage rates

  August 9, 2012 7:36 AM

  PORT ALLEN - The Port Allen City Council has approved slight adjustments to two of the city's millage rates in response to declining property values. The council unanimously adopted a resolution setting the millage rate for its general fund at 7.67 mills and 5.48 mills for tax revenue allocated... more »

• Two Baton Rouge high schools improve graduation rates

  January 18, 2012 2:17 PM

  Baton Rouge, La. - Two high schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System have made great strides in increasing graduation rates. McKinley High School has won the Louisiana Department of Education Award for making the High Priority School Honor Roll by ranking in the top 10 schools... more »

• La. metros buck national foreclosure trend

  July 28, 2011 3:44 AM

  NEW ORLEANS- Five Louisiana metropolitan areas have moved up the ladder in the number of residents in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac said Thursday that New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport-Bossier City, Lafayette and Houma-Thibodaux all saw foreclosure activity increase for the first half of 2011... more »

• La. dropout rates fall sharply

  March 23, 2011 3:19 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. - Dropout rates in Louisiana are falling. The number of students in grades 7-12 who dropped out was 14,616, or 4.8 percent, in the 2008-09 school year. That fell to 10,520, or 3.5 percent for the 2009-2010 school year, according to figures released by the... more »

• Former CATS CEO reacts to transit system dilemma

  January 27, 2011 6:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE- No magic bullet has emerged in the effort to save the Baton Rouge transit system, as time ticks toward its end in nine months. CATS is short more than $1 million to operate in 2011. It wanted to cut routes, including weekend service, and raise rates to make... more »

• CATS cuts could affect BR businesses

  January 18, 2011 10:23 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Users of Baton Rouge's transit system say if major changes are made to routes and services, they could get fired. And business owners argue, the city can't run without a bus service. Employers and employees say you may not ride the bus, but many people who work... more »

• CATS board approves plan to cut routes, raise rates

  January 5, 2011 9:46 PM

  Route changes and fare increases were approved Wednesday night by the Baton Rouge transit system. It'll cost more to ride and CATS buses won't roll on weekends or holidays. Regular fares will go up a quarter to $2-a-ride, and a number of routes will be cut. The system is... more »

• Colleges promise improved results for tuition hike

  October 27, 2010 4:44 AM

  Louisiana's public colleges are entering into contracts pledging to boost graduation rates, improve student achievement, and eliminate underperforming programs in exchange for increasing tuition by up to 10 percent a year. The Board of Regents will consider the performance agreements Wednesday for 34 campuses. If approved, the colleges will be... more »

• Jindal continues travels, questions sabbatical policies

  October 25, 2010 5:38 PM

  Governor Bobby Jindal continues his travels in and out of the state while questioning public universities’ sabbatical policies. Jindal said sabbaticals, paid time for research given to professors, need to be analyzed while higher education is dealing with another round of budget cuts. LSU officials said only 19... more »

• UL Lafayette student group to protest planned budget cuts

  October 5, 2010 6:13 AM

  The threat of more state budget cuts to higher education has moved one group of Louisiana-Lafayette students, tired of rising tuition rates, to rally against cuts this week. Links for Literacy hopes to raise awareness of budget cuts and the possibility of new ones this winter. Jennifer Saputo, a member... more »

• Mortgage rates at lowest point in decades

  September 2, 2010 9:04 AM

  Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the tenth time in 11 weeks, as investors worried about the economy. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.32 percent this week, down from 4.36 percent last week. That's the lowest since... more »

• St. James council votes to lower millage rates

  August 20, 2010 6:52 AM

  St. James Parish Council has voted to lower parish millage rates for 2010, providing average savings of $100 for property owners. The 2009 total property taxes of 40.94 mills will be lowered to 40.85 mills. Property taxes are expected to generate an estimated $48 million this year, about $35,000 less... more »

• Medicaid cuts begin Sunday

  July 29, 2010 11:21 AM

  Sunday, rates paid to private health providers in Louisiana's Medicaid program will begin to shrink. The cuts come, as part of a $280 million cut to the program that provides care to the poor, elderly and disabled. It trims spending by $168 million and is the final piece of... more »

• Baker may increase utility rates

  June 21, 2010 6:57 AM

  Residents in the city of Baker could see their rates for natural gas, water and sewer service go up in order to offset rising expenses for operating the city's utility system. The council is expected to introduce an ordinance Tuesday, and a final vote could come at the council's July... more »

• Bossier City proposes raising sewer rates

  June 9, 2010 7:14 AM

  Bossier City Council plans to raise city sewer rates by $8 per month, regardless of usage, and issue up to $82 million in sewer-related bonds. The fee would be $12 per month for a few subdivisions outside the city limits but to whom the city still supplies sewer. The city... more »

• State Farm increases rates

  May 6, 2010 11:12 PM

  State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., Louisiana's largest residential insurer, won an average 9.9 percent rate increase Thursday for homeowners' coverage in Louisiana. However, coastal areas vulnerable to hurricanes will be bearing much of the brunt. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon approved the increase, just about two months after... more »

• Low inflation gives Fed room to keep rates down

  February 19, 2010 1:41 PM

  The Federal Reserve seems likely to keep interest rates at record lows for several more months after news Friday that consumer prices excluding food and energy fell in January. It was the first time such prices have fallen in any month since 1982. The report suggested that short-term... more »

• New Central schools could include tax break

  January 21, 2010 4:15 PM

  The costs for two new schools in Central may be lower than expected. That could mean a break for taxpayers. Plans call for a new intermediate and elementary school to be built on Sullivan Road north of Hooper Road. Voters in Central approved a 20 year property and sales... more »

• Louisiana graduation rate falls

  October 19, 2009 7:06 AM

  A new report says Louisiana suffered the biggest drop in its public high school graduation rate of any state in the Southern region over a five-year period. The Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta says Louisiana's figure dropped from 64 percent in 2002 to 60 percent in 2006. The national... more »