News

  Beth Ackerman says she had to help a Republic Services worker dump her loaded recycling bin into the truck to keep it from sitting on her curb for a fifth straight week.

The Shreveport Times reports (http://bit.ly/13R463e ) that she's among many Shreveport residents upset by what they say is poor service.

Gary Bartels, of Republic Services, says complaints have gone way down in recent months.

But some city councilors and residents say poor service continues.

 A year after George Rodrigue's death, his estate will release 450 copies of a Blue Dog Mardi Gras print he designed.

The Advertiser (http://bit.ly/1xu8wcf) reports that this one paints the round-eyed, perky-eared dog in Carnival colors: half of its face is green, it has a yellow snout and wears a purple mask.

Rodrigue's son, Jacques Rodrigue, says a special stamp proves the silkscreen prints are authentic. The 1.5-inch by 3-inch stamp uses ink that looks black to the naked eye, green under infrared and purple under ultraviolet light.

  Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to Governor Bobby Jindal's plan to use a mix of patchwork financing and modest cuts to close a budget deficit of more than $170 million.

The House and Senate budget committees backed the proposal without objection Thursday, only days before the budget had to be rebalanced to avoid a special session.

Minor changes were made to the Jindal administration plan submitted last month. Financing sources were swapped. Agriculture department job cuts were scrapped. A cut to road maintenance work was eliminated.

Governor Bobby Jindal is defending his headlining a prayer rally on Louisiana State University's campus next month that has drawn the ire of student protesters who say the group hosting the event promotes discrimination and an anti-gay agenda.

The January 24 prayer rally is expected to draw thousands of people to LSU's campus for what Jindal, a Roman Catholic, describes in an invitation as "a time of worship, prayer, fasting and repentance."