Latest news with #Luneau
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
American Hockey League Announces 2024-25 All-Rookie Team
© Stan Szeto-Imagn Images The American Hockey League has officially announced the 2024-25 All-Rookie Team. The team is voted on by players, coaches and media from all 32 teams. The 2024-25 team is: Goaltender ― Nikke Kokko, Coachella Valley Firebirds (32 GP, 20-9-2, 2.23 GAA, .914 SV%) Defenseman ― Luca Cagnoni, San Jose Barracuda (62 GP, 14-35-49, 10 PPG) Defenseman ― Tristan Luneau, San Diego Gulls (56 GP, 7-41-48, 1 PPG, 2 GWG) Forward ― Justin Hryckowian, Texas Stars (66 GP, 20-38-58, +14, 4 PPG, 1 GWG) Forward ― Ville Koivunen, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (62 GP, 21-34-55, 4 PPG, 2 GWG) Forward ― Bradly Nadeau, Chicago Wolves (63 GP, 30-26-56, 8 PPG, 7 GWG) Nadeau leads all rookies in goals and is second in rookie scoring to Hryckowian. He is the fifth U20 player in AHL history to score 30 goals in a season. He was selected 30th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023. Advertisement Koivunen is third in AHL rookie scoring and his offensive ability has immediately come through for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He has five assists in seven NHL games this season. A second round pick of the Hurricanes in 2021, he was acquired by Pittsburgh in the trade that sent Jake Guentzel to Carolina. Hryckowian leads all rookies in scoring in what is his first full pro season. He has one point in five NHL games this season. He was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Stars in 2024 after three seasons at Northeastern University. Cagnoni was a fourth round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2023 and has been dominant offensively in his rookie season, sitting fourth in scoring by AHL defensemen this season. He recorded two assists in six NHL games this season. Luneau is fifth in scoring amongst AHL defensemen this season after missing most of what was intended to be his rookie year last season due to injury. A second round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2022, Luneau won QMJHL Rookie of the Year in 2021 and Defenseman of the Year in 2023. He is pointless in six NHL appearances this season. Advertisement Kokko has stepped up admirably for Coachella Valley this season as they look to make their third straight Calder Cup Final. A second round pick of the Seattle Kraken in 2022, he made his NHL debut earlier this season. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed law would increase penalties for left lane camping
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Drivers who hog the left lane on Louisiana interstates could soon face tougher penalties, under a new bill aimed at making roads safer and reducing frustration for motorists. Senate Bill 11, filed by State Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, proposes hiking fines for drivers who block the left lane by driving under the speed limit. The bill will be considered during the Louisiana legislative session beginning April 14. If passed, SB 11 would: Increase the fine from $100 to $150 for a first offense. Impose a $250 fine for a second offense within 12 months of the first violation. Impose a $350 fine and the possibility of up to 30 days in jail for a third offense within 12 months of the first violation. The bill also removes the requirement that a driver must be going at least 10 mph below the speed limit to be in violation. Instead, it would apply to any vehicle traveling below the posted speed limit in the left lane on a multilane highway. Sen. Luneau said he drafted the bill after speaking with Louisiana State Police officers, who said the current law is difficult to enforce because troopers have to run radar on two vehicles to confirm a 10 mph speed difference. 'Troopers told me that to enforce the law and write tickets, they would have to actually run radar on the two vehicles and make sure there was a ten-mile-an-hour differential,' Luneau said. He added that drivers camping out in the left lane often cause accidents and increase congestion by forcing frustrated motorists to swerve around them. 'There are a lot of accidents that are caused because of this, and it pains drivers, especially commercial drivers, and causes them to take a lot longer to get where they're going,' Luneau said. The senator said his intention is not to make money for the state but to deter repeat offenders. 'I wanted to not so much make it a moneymaker, but to capture the people who are repeat offenders,' he said. Drive safely: Study shows the deadliest state highways in Louisiana Southern University women's basketball upsets Barack Obama's March Madness bracket Louisiana leaders react to Trump's executive order to shut down Education Department Louisiana teacher accused of paying students to send sexually explicit photos, videos Cheesecake Factory removes more than a dozen menu offerings to 'make room' for new dishes New Roads Police: Former Tractor Supply worker wanted for theft, fraud Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Universal EFA bill clears House committee
Mar. 4—An amended bill to offer universal access to a taxpayer-funded Education Freedom Account grants, regardless of family income, cleared its first hurdle Tuesday. House Education Funding Committee Chairman Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill, persuaded his panel to support, along party lines, an incremental expansion of the program allowing families making up to 400% of the federal poverty level to receive them in 2026. The current cap is 350% of the poverty level. For a family of four, this would raise the eligibility income level from $109,200 to $128,600 annually. Under Ladd's amended bill, the income limit would be eliminated in 2027. "Parents are looking at options — what is the best placement for the child," Ladd said. "The education-choice programs are showing they are creating more competition with the public schools." Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, said it makes no sense to offer a taxpayer subsidy equal to about $5,200 per child to wealthy families. More than 70% of those currently receiving EFA vouchers already had their children in private schools, he said. "Hardly anybody is leaving their public schools to take a voucher," Luneau said. The original bill (HB 115) would have eliminated the income limit for the school year starting this fall. The committee vote was 10-8 with all Republican members joining Ladd in support, all Democrats backing Luneau in opposition. Ladd said he objects to EFA critics who bemoan the use of taxpayer dollars on grants parents can spend as they wish on private, religious or alternative public schools or home schooling. "Whose taxpayer dollars are these? The taxpayers, they are my dollars, your dollars. I feel everybody who is paying into the system ought to have the opportunity to benefit from that contribution," Ladd said. Luneau and Ladd battled over the price tag of the bill, which didn't have an updated fiscal note. Luneau said the current $27 million cost of the program could go over $40 million during the first year and as high as $100 million after that. To back up his estimate, Luneau said there were 16,600 students in private schools and 3,900 in home school programs. But Ladd said 9,000 private-school students are ineligible for an EFA because their parents live outside the state and pay the full tuition at Phillips Exeter or some other boarding program. Another 1,700 are in pre-school private programs and they likewise can't get an EFA, Ladd said. "I am not going to debate you but $100 million is totally off track. The combined cost would be a little more than $17.5 million for two years," Ladd said. Vice Chairman Walter Spilsbury, R-Charlestown, said lawmakers next year should discuss whether to enhance accountability over EFA spending since by then they will receive a performance audit of the program. klandrigan@
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Debate ensues about EFA state law on taxability
Feb. 12—A leading House Democrat on school finance called for repealing a state law that deems all taxpayer-subsidized education freedom account (EFA) scholarships to eligible parents as tax exempt payments. State Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, said his bill (HB 402) would not impose a new levy on New Hampshire residents, but instead it would correct a mistake lawmakers made in creating EFAs in 2021. "We should not be providing misleading or incorrect information about someone's federal tax liabilities," Luneau told the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday. "The clause in state law reads, 'Funds deposited in an Education Freedom Account should not constitute taxable income to a parent or to a student.'" A pair of tax experts disagreed over whether someone can owe federal taxes for getting an EFA that eligible families receive to offset some of the cost of sending their child to a private, religious, alternative public or home school program. About 5,700 families now receive EFAs that average just over $5,000 for each student. Bill Ardinger is a Concord lawyer/lobbyist and former House member who has helped write many state tax laws on the books, including the Business Enterprise Tax (BET) created in 1993. Ardinger backed Luneau's bill and said EFA spending can be federally taxable if the money isn't spent on tuition, books or fees for an educational program. Room and board, optional equipment or spending to support home schooling would be taxable, said Ardinger, who also worked as a tax expert on Capitol Hill. {span style="font-size: 20px;"}"The state of New Hampshire should not put what should be viewed as tax advice into a statute that could be wrong," Ardinger said.{/span} He said he paid no attention to this clause when EFAs were first created because they were limited to low-income families that fail to make enough money to have to file a tax return. In recent years, lawmakers expanded eligibility for EFAs to families making up to 350% of the federal poverty level, which is more than $109,000 for a family of four. But Stephen Matthieu, who owns Legacy Financial Solutions of Manchester, said the federal tax code exempts scholarships from taxable income and he's never included them for any of his 1,200 clients. "I don't know anybody who considers this to be taxable income," Matthieu said in opposing the bill. "We are setting this up as potential for the taxation of low- or moderate-income people." Rep. Fred Doucette, R-Salem, questioned the need for the bill since federal law supersedes state law. "The IRS has a robust compliance and auditing system that they follow so if there is an issue, it is their horse to chase," Doucette said. House Ways and Means Chairman John Janigian, R-Salem, said a compromise could be to change the bill to make it clear EFAs are not taxable under state law. Ardinger agreed that any parent getting an EFA that owned a business would not have to claim the scholarship as income under the BET or the state's Business Profits Tax. klandrigan@
