BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer State legislators left Baton Rouge last spring with a promise to return this year and turn the $2,000 temporary bonuses all public K-12 teachers received last year into permanent raises. A $48 billion spending package approved Thursday by the House falls short of that goal. The plan would let districts decide on the size of bonuses paid out to teachers. The USS Kidd left its Baton Rouge home on Thursday as it was towed down the Mississippi River, eventually heading to a shipyard in Houma for long-overdue repairs to its leaking hull, renovations that will bring it closer to its 1945 configuration, and a new paint job. The ship was last overhauled 60 years ago. Photos: USS Kidd leaves Baton Rouge for repairs John Cavalier, who co-owns a Denham Springs bookstore with his wife, says he sees the pendulum swinging back in favor of locally owned and independent bookstores. He thinks people have developed a newfound appreciation for personal experiences, and local bookstores can deliver on that. | 