Louisiana Headlines

CRAWFISH PRICES

Crawfish farmers awaiting AG probe

LAFAYETTE (AP) - Crawfish farmers have taken complaints of

price fixing to the state Attorney General's Office. They are

asking for an investigation into whether seafood wholesalers are

working together to control the market.

Agency spokeswoman Tammi Herring says the AG's office has made

no promise of an investigation but will listen to the 1,100-member

Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association.

Crawfish Farmers Association Director Stephen Minvielle says he

has yet to hear back from the Attorney General's Office after

several phone calls and e-mails over the past two weeks.

Herring says the complaint appears to have been a victim of the

transition shuffle since state Attorney General James "Buddy"

Caldwell took office this year, but she said that the farmers are

now on the agency's radar.

Farmers have said wholesale prices dropped from more than $2 per

pound to $1 per pound in the past month, a price so low that it

does not cover the production costs of pond-raised crawfish.

WIFE KILLED

Judge moves murder trial

MARKSVILLE, La. (AP) - State District Judge Mark Jeansonne has

granted accused killer Joseph Plauche's request to

move his highly followed murder trial.

Plauche's attorney Mike Small says pretrial publicity, mostly

from conversations in close-knit Avoyelles Parish, has saturated

the community and made it too hard to collect a 14-person jury.

Plauche, a Simmesport pharmacist, is standing trial on a

second-degree murder charge in the death of his wife, Margaret

Plauche, who was shot in the neck May 31st, 2007, at their home in

Marksville. She died two days later.

Joseph Plauche remains free on bond. If convicted, the automatic

sentence is life in prison without parole.

Jury selection of a 14-member jury, including two alternates,

started March 3rd in Marksville. By March 6th, both sides had

settled on 11 tentatively, but never got closer to the needed 14.

CHURCH SHOOTINGS

Anthony Bell files motion for delay

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Murder suspect Anthony Bell, who is

serving as his own attorney, has filed a motion asking to delay the

start of his first-degree murder trial scheduled for March 31st.

Bell, in his motion, said he needs more time to prepare for the

complex trial, review evidence and prepare and file additional

pretrial motions.

Without the additional time, Bell also claims he will not be

able to mount an effective defense and will therefore be denied his

right to a fair trial.

No hearing date was set on the motion to push back the start of

the trial. Bell, who is in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison without

bond, is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.

The 27-year-old Bell was indicted in June 2006 on five counts of

first-degree murder in a string of shootings on May 21st, 2006.

Four of the people, all Bell's in-laws, were killed inside The

Ministry of Jesus Christ Church in Baton Rouge. Bell is also

accused of kidnapping his wife, Erica, from the church and of

killing her at an apartment parking lot.

PHARMAWATER-REAX

Illinois orders water testing in reax to AP series

UNDATED (AP) - Illinois' environmental agency will begin

screening the state's waterways for pharmaceuticals.

The order comes in reaction to an Associated Press investigation

into the presence of trace amounts of medicines in drinking water

around the country, including New Orleans.

The report found that while water is screened for drugs by some

suppliers, they usually don't tell their customers that they have

found medication in it, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants,

mood stabilizers and sex hormones.

The trace amounts were found in the water supplies of at least

24 major metropolitan areas.

The AP series reported that Chicago was one of the largest

cities not testing its drinking water. Announcing the screening,

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich) said the

state would work with Chicago officials to begin testing the city's

water.

POWERBALL

No Jackpot Winner

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - None of the tickets sold for last

night's Powerball game matched all six numbers drawn, which were:

12-19-30-34-36, Powerball 8 and the Power Play 4.

Players matching all five numbers and the Powerball would have

won or shared the 238.6 million dollar jackpot. The prize goes to

an estimated 275 million for Saturday.

Tickets that match the first five numbers, but miss the

Powerball, win $200,000 each, and there were sixteen of those,

including one sold in Slidell.

OTHER LOTTERIES-LA

One ticket wins Easy 5, no big winners in Lotto

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - One ticket sold for the state's Easy 5

game last night won the top prize of $50,000, but none sold for the

Louisiana Lotto game matched all the numbers necessary to win that

jackpot.

The $875,000 Louisiana Lotto jackpot rolls over to $950,000 for

Saturday's drawing.

The numbers drawn were: 8, 10, 11, 21, 22 and 39. Twenty-two

tickets had five of the six numbers correct. Each of those is worth

$1,911.

In the Easy 5 drawing, one ticket purchased in Abita Springs

matched all five numbers.

The numbers drawn were: 4, 15, 24, 34 and 35.

The Easy 5 drawing for Saturday will be worth $50,000.

SPURS-HORNETS

Hornets 100 Spurs 75

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chris Paul and David West each had

double-doubles as the New Orleans Hornets rocked the visiting San

Antonio Spurs 100-75.

Paul delivered 26 points and 17 assists for the Hornets, who

shot nearly 59 percent from the field. West added 29 points and 10

rebounds in his first action since missing three straight games

with an ankle injury.

The Spurs shot just 43 percent, went 2-for-18 from 3-point range

and 7-for-17 from the line. Tim Duncan had 24 points and 11

rebounds for San Antonio, which saw its lead in the Southwest

Division trimmed to a ½ game over the Hornets.

Tony Parker also had 24 points for the Spurs.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)