• Man guilty in '01 murder cover-up
A Bush man was found guilty on Wednesday of having helped Dominic Robinson escape and cover up evidence after the killing of Samantha Jaume, a Mandeville-area homemaker murdered in front of her

• SAVED BY THE CELL
When Ronald "R.J." Richard jumps on his tractor to do yard work, he normally clips his cell phone to the hip pocket of his overalls.

• Schools chief backs off hair ruling
An American Indian boy who wears his hair in a braid as part of a religious custom will be allowed to remain at his Slidell school after the superintendent of St. Tammany Parish schools reversed an earlier decision that the child would have to cut his hair or wear his braid in a bun.

• Some schools ban talk about election
Crowded into the multipurpose room at Mandeville Elementary School on the morning of Nov. 5, the student body of more than 500 boys and girls joined American citizens and people throughout the world in celebrating the election of Barack Obama, who will become the country's first black president.

• Taxing bodies holding back
Except for fire protection districts, most taxing bodies in St. Tammany Parish have heeded a call from local legislators, officials and the general public to maintain lower property tax rates.

• Bad past betrays suspect in car break-ins, cops say
Even after spending seven years in prison, it didn't take Michael Nelson long to get back to his old habits, Slidell police said.

• Abita taxes, utility rates are going up
Nearly in the same breath, the Abita Springs Board of Aldermen this week voted to raise property taxes and utility rates.

• Attacked man kills pit bulls, cops say
A Slidell man shot and killed his neighbor's two pit bulls after they attacked him and his dog Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

• Beaten mayor testifies about robbery
For the second time this year and with the same defendant seated at a table nearby, Madisonville Mayor Peter Gitz took the witness stand on Tuesday, hoping that the man he and prosecutors believe beat and robbed him at his restaurant in 2006 gets placed behind bars.

• Schools chief gets state honor
Recognized for innovation in education, St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Gayle Sloan has been named the 2009 state Superintendent of the Year.

• Board to let bar stay open to 2 a.m.
Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant can remain open until 2 a.m. because the rowdiness that prompted a mandatory midnight closing time is no longer a problem, the Mandeville Zoning Board decided Tuesday night.

• Parish opens new animal shelter
St. Tammany Parish's new $1.9 million animal shelter, on the drawing board since 2002, finally opened this week with little fanfare north of Lacombe.

• Budget features cash for paving, offices
The Covington City Council has approved an $18.1 million spending plan for 2009 that includes $1.1 million for street resurfacing and $175,000 to begin turning all of City Hall into a police station.

• Roadside Covington store goes up in flames Sunday
Rudy Booth sat on the front porch of his store Sunday morning, keeping up his weekly tradition of drinking coffee and shooting the breeze with the regulars at Ramsey's Grocery.

• Slidell man severely burned
A Slidell man suffered severe burns in a fire that gutted a two-story duplex Teddy Avenue early Sunday morning, authorities said.

• Twin spans will close for a night
The westbound lanes of the Interstate 10 twin spans will close Sunday night and early Monday for inspection of the bridge.

• City's zoning proposal to be unveiled
Planning consultants will unveil their proposed zoning map for Covington on Wednesday during a 6 p.m. meeting at the Greater Covington Center.

• Fire district rolls millage ahead
Residents who live in the Mandeville area will pay between 10 percent and 14 percent more for fire protection next year after the St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 4 board agreed to roll forward its millage rate, though parish and state leaders had urged against the move.

• Ground broken for Slidell school
Three years and three months after the original school was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, work has begun on a new Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Slidell.

• Mandeville police chief retiring
Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell announced his retirement on Thursday after 30 years in the post, making him the first official to take the fall for a series of scandals that is now the focus of state and federal criminal investigations.

• Slidell residents to pay more for fire protection
Residents who live in and around Slidell will see a moderate increase this year in their annual fee for fire protection after the St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1 board decided Thursday night against rolling back the millage rate the full amount as most other parish taxing bodies have done.

• Fire, police pay disputed
Covington Mayor Candace Watkins and City Council President Matt Faust got into heated exchanges Wednesday night as the council approved an $18.1 million budget for 2009.

• Mandeville house fire likely set on purpose
The fire that seriously damaged the home of a man who is seeking to recall Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price was almost certainly arson because it started at several locations, the state fire marshal's office said Wednesday.

• Modular builder closes the door on Slidell shop
The owner of a modular home business in Slidell plans to close his store after a protracted battle with city officials for permission to place two model homes on Lindberg Drive.

• Arson suspected in home's blaze
A weekend blaze that gutted the home of a man who is leading an effort to recall Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price is being investigated by the state fire marshal as a possible arson.

• Push to fill Slidell seat hits snag
Though Slidell voters agreed last week to amend the city's charter to allow the City Council to appoint an interim member to a vacant seat, the language in the amendment may prohibit the council from filling the vacancy that now exists.

• Habitat to work with city on designs
Representatives from the local Habitat for Humanity chapter said Monday night that they want to work with Slidell officials to come to a consensus on new housing designs to bring variety into the neighborhoods where the organization builds.

• Little Pearl Elementary settles in at new school
Preparing an educational display about reading for her classroom in the new Little Pearl Elementary School, kindergarten teacher Erin Marvel celebrated stability.

• FEMA OKs more for Slidell
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to cover the final $1.1 million for Hurricane Katrina-related sewer system repairs in Slidell.

• Folsom building curb rejected
Disregarding the voices in a packed village hall, two of the three Folsom Board of Aldermen instead listened to the mayor on Monday evening and struck down an ordinance that would have placed a six-month moratorium on large-scale commercial and residential projects in the village.

• Arson probed in Madisonville fire
The suspect in a drive-by shooting near Madisonville is back behind bars, on suspicion of setting fire to her former home Monday while out on bond.

• Body found in canal during investigation
St. Tammany Parish deputies recovered a body they believe to be a female murder victim in the Pearl River Canal near Sun on Monday and were interviewing a "person of interest" in the case, authorities said.

• Parish schools rank 3rd in state
Receiving a districtwide score for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, the St. Tammany Parish public school district ranked third in the state for school performance, accountability results released Friday for the 2007-08 school year show.

• Work-release site next to parish jail OK'd
The St. Tammany Parish Council, despite objections from Covington officials and residents, has granted a zoning change and permit for a local company to run a prisoner work-release program next to the parish jail.

• City's 'most wanted' is caught
After four weeks on the lam, a 30-year-old man described as Covington Police Department's "most wanted criminal" was apprehended Thursday evening in Mandeville.

• Chevy dealer can start engine
The St. Tammany Parish Council has given Hood Northlake LLC the green light to move into and open its new auto dealership south of Covington after the company committed to do road improvements required of its zoning permit.

• Council agrees to lower property tax rates
The St. Tammany Parish Council agreed Thursday night to maintain reduced property tax rates collected by parish government this year -- a move that will soften the blow of increased property values faced by most taxpayers.

• School panel agrees to put grades 2-5 in new elementary
St. Tammany Parish school officials on Thursday approved a recommendation to house grades two through five at the new elementary school near Madisonville.

• Body ID'd as man from Covington
A body found Wednesday along the Little Bogue Falaya River has been identified as that of a 69-year-old Covington man, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office said.