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A Westwego City Council member is planning to hold a gun buy-back to try to take weapons off the streets of the Jefferson Parish community. Councilman Glenn Green has received approval from the council to use discretionary capital improvement funds to finance the program. No date has been set for the event. 

GRETNA, La. (AP) — Curbside collection of recyclable materials in unincorporated Jefferson Parish and the town of Jean Lafitte will begin on July 2. Parish officials say the company contracted for the service, Progressive Waste Solutions, has begun delivering 18-gallon recycling bins to residences.     

Bins will be provided to residences of four units or fewer.  

NEW IBERIA — The McIlhenny Co. got in on the pomp and circumstance of Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee by sending the monarch a sterling silver Tabasco sauce holder.

The Daily Iberian reports company chairman and CEO Paul McIlhenny said it's rare the company sends such gifts to royalty, but he thought the Queen's 60 years on the British throne deserved a present.

Elizabeth came to the throne on Feb. 6, 1952 on the death of her father King George VI. Her coronation took place in June 1953.

BATON ROUGE — A sexual abuse scandal that rocked Pennsylvania State University has resulted in new laws in Louisiana to penalize those who fail to report allegations of child sex abuse and to protect those who do.

Lawmakers say the measures were inspired by the Penn State scandal that rocked the university's administration and its athletics department.

Three of the bills have been signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal. The Republican governor said he intends to sign the fourth.

The New Orleans police union is launching a study of officer morale and confidence in strategies of the department.

The Times-Picayune reports Capt. Michael Glasser, head of the Police Association of New Orleans, said the survey will highlight issues facing rank-and-file officers and help pinpoint matters that need to be addressed.

Glasser said Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas and his administration have dismissed officers' concerns, ranging from rising crime and questionable practices to failing crime-fighting strategies and management deficiencies.

HOUMA — A man charged with fatally shooting his sister and wounding her boyfriend was a paranoid schizophrenic who was off his medication, his brother says

Joseph Voisin, 44, has been arrested for killing Mary Voisin, 47, and wounding Christopher Smith, 45, Thursday at their home in Gray, La.

Sam Voisin, the suspect's brother, tells The Courier that there were no signs anything was wrong. Family members had finished dinner, and Mary Voisin and Smith went into a bedroom with Joseph Voisin while Sam Voisin watched TV.