Louisiana news briefs

Lake Charles woman pleads to bank fraud
LAKE CHARLES (AP) — A Lake Charles woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than a quarter of a million dollars from her employer.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley, in a news release, said 47-year-old Kristen Brady pleaded guilty last week before U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi to one count of bank fraud.
Finley’s office says Brady worked for a rental company as a bookkeeper for 12 years before she was fired in November 2013. It was later discovered that she had forged authorizing signatures on more than 200 checks to her benefit in the company’s name, and in the process, received $255,324 of which she was not entitled.
Brady faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, restitution and a $1 million fine.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 30.

LSU Health Shreveport
gets $4.82M NIH grant
SHREVEPORT (AP) — LSU Health Shreveport’s largest program grant ever is getting even bigger.
Officials say the National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year grant of more than $4.82 million to Dr. Dennis J. O’Callaghan, head of the Department of Microbiology, to continue and expand the capabilities of the institution’s Center for Molecular and Tumor Virology.
The funding comes from the NIH’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program. The Health Sciences Center has received $22.9 million in COBRE funding since 2003.
Officials say the new funding will allow O’Callaghan and others to continue mentoring young scientists and provide the necessary research equipment and facilities for their work. CMTV is presently comprised of 18 faculty members from LSU Health Shreveport, LSU Shreveport and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

2 dead, 1 injured
in New Orleans shooting
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans police are investigating a shooting that left two men dead and an 18-year-old man injured.
Police responded to a shots fired call around 1:30 a.m. today and found two men ina red four-door Jaguar suffering from gunshot wounds.
Police say the unidentified men were pronounced dead at the scene.
They say an 18-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to a nearby hospital where he is listed in stable condition.
Investigators say they have no suspects or motive for the shooting.

West Side Expressway,
new bridge, gaining traction
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Traction is starting to build for a proposed new four-lane highway on the west side of the Mississippi and a new bridge across the river. But the speed bump on the plans may be the estimated price tag: $1.65 billion.
Talk of the new West Side Expressway began in earnest about five years ago. The state Legislature this year approved $1.65 million for a feasibility study of the proposed expressway.
A new Mississippi River bridge that’s part of the project would go from the west bank, between Plaquemine and White Castle, to the east bank, south of Baton Rouge.
Two parishes, Ascension and Iberville, are poised to provide funds for the study, as well.
Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso says the highway is sorely needed.

All Baton Rouge students
to get free lunches
BATON ROUGE (AP) — The East Baton Rouge Parish school system will be providing free lunch to its almost 42,000 students, including thousands who in the past had to pay for their meals.
The change, announced Monday, takes effect Aug. 11, the start of the 2014-15 school year.
The school district plans to take advantage of a new federal initiative that allows public schools in high-poverty areas such as Baton Rouge to provide free meals to all students without families having to fill out individual forms.
Nadine Mann, director of the child nutrition program, says making lunch free for all students will save families between $122 and $744 a year just for lunch.

DOTD promises congestion fixes along La. 1
PORT ALLEN (AP) — West Baton Rouge Parish officials say they have received word that relief is on the way for daily congestion along La. 1 and the Mississippi River bridge on Interstate 10.
In a July 10 letter to the West Baton Rouge Parish school system, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development informed school leaders its traffic engineers are working on a comprehensive review of signal timing throughout the La. 1 corridor.
Officials with DOTD were responding to pressure from the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board, which has urged the state to address the growing traffic along the popular thoroughfare.
School board President Jason Manola said the daily traffic frustrations also pose safety concerns should any type of emergency arise at a school along La. 1.

N.O. police officer suspended
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 33-year-old New Orleans police officer is on emergency suspension without pay after being arrested for allegedly trying to run over a man with her car.
Police said Monday that Officer Stephanie Caldwell got into a fight with a 47-year-old man about 3:30 a.m. Sunday. Investigators say as the man ran Caldwell pursued him in her personal car, driving against traffic and hitting a parked car. She later hit a wooden post, cracking it in half and disabling her vehicle.
From The Associated Press.
Caldwell, who was off-duty, was booked with domestic aggravated assault, domestic simple battery, reckless operation of a vehicle, hit and run and driving against traffic.
The victim, whose name was not released, was not injured.
Caldwell is a 10-year veteran assigned to the Special Operation Division Tactical Unit.