The state will begin accepting proposals from private financiers for a public-private partnership to construct a new I-10 bridge over the Calcasieu River. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”
_______________________________
The state’s Domestic Violence Flexible Housing Assistance Program receives a million-dollar grant. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
__________________________________________
Governor Edwards is celebrating the progress we made this week in administering our first Pfizer COVID vaccinations. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”
__________________________________________
The Louisiana Department of Transportation has been given Legislative approval to seek out private partners to finance and build a new Interstate 10 toll-bridge over the Calcasieu River.
DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson says the current bridge isn’t structurally deficient but it wasn’t built to accommodate this much traffic.
Cut 4 (12) “…strangled.”
The current Calcasieu River I-10 Bridge, which predates the Interstate, sees 66 percent more crashes on it than the state average according to DOTD.
Wilson says he knows a toll bridge will not be popular but the only other way to fund the 700 to 800 million dollar project would be a gas tax increase, which lawmakers have rejected…
Cut 5 (06) “…be there.”
Last December lawmakers approved the first state-level public-private partnership infrastructure project, a 165 million dollar bridge and tunnel replacement in Belle Chase.
DOTD will begin soliciting offers from various financiers and present the best offer to the Legislature for approval. Wilson says this type of investment is becoming more common.
Cut 6 (11) “…investment.”
_____________________
More domestic abuse victims in Louisiana will be able to acquire housing thanks to a million-dollar grant awarded to the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Director Mariah Wineski says domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women with children and the funds will help immensely.
Cut 7 (09) “…safe housing.”
LCADV piloted the project earlier this year and partnered with eleven domestic violence organizations to provide housing assistance and more than 600 victims were able to benefit. Wineski says the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement grant could not have come at a better time for victims who have left their abuser.
Cut 8 (12) “…those folks”
Wineski says often when a victim is trying to find safe and secure housing they are often discriminated against, despite laws to protect them, because their rental record is tarnished and a lack of funds to pay deposits.
Cut 9 (10) “…record”
Louisiana ranks 5th in the nation for the rate of women murdered by men and Wineski believes the grant will hopefully contribute to reducing that number.
___________________________________
Governor Edwards says 71 hospitals received COVID vaccine doses this week and thousands of frontline healthcare workers were able to get their first of two Pfizer shots.
Edwards says they’re trying to keep the public up to date on vaccination progress. He gave one conservative estimate for our progress through four days…
Cut 10 (11) “…that number.”
The state was told they’d receive 39,000 doses this week but Edwards says they were pleasantly surprised to find many of the five dose vials contain enough serum for six shots, a 20 percent increase.
Cut 11 (10) “…to us.”
But Edwards says those vaccines won’t be publicly available until late spring, and…
Cut 12 (09) “…concerning.”
Hospitals are starting to fill up with COVID patients. We’ve now surpassed the late summer second wave hospitalization total of 1,600 and Edwards says he’s concerned it’s only set to get much worse.
___________________________________________________
We’re a week away from Christmas and if you haven’t even started your shopping or still have a number of items to check off your list Amazon has some options for you. Amazon spokesperson Alyssa Bronikowski says the online retailer has options for last-minute shoppers.
Cut 13 (10) “…delivery.”
If you are using Amazon for your holiday shopping and you have clever children or adults who act like children Bronikowski says you might want to change the setting on your Alexa so your orders remain a surprise
Cut 14 (08) “…holiday season.”
Among the most popular items being ordered this season, Bronikowski says are air fryers, headphones, and board games.
Cut 15 (11)“…the country.”
Another popular gift idea for procrastinators is Prime Memberships and gift cards.
_____________________________________
LSU finishes the regular season on Saturday by hosting Ole Miss with a chance to end the year with a .500 record. The Rebels have a high powered offense that leads the SEC in yards per game and is averaging almost 40 points a game. Tigers Safety Jacoby Stevens says their tempo is what makes them so difficult to defend
Cut 16 (16) “…entire week”
While the Rebels have a great offense, they have the worst defense in the SEC, allowing 529 yards a game and 39 points per contest. LSU center Liam Shanahn hopes the Tigers offense can take control of the game
cut 17 (10) “…good things.”
Shanahan says it would be great to end the season on a high note
cut 18 (09) “…this offseason.”
_____________________________________________
The Ragin Cajuns will take on Coastal Carolina tomorrow for the Sun Belt Championship. The Chanticleers are 11-0 thanks in large part to their defense, which ranks number one in the conference in scoring defense at just under 19 points per game. Cajuns coach Billy Napier explains what makes that unit so good.
cut 19 (15) “…coverage.”
Coastal Carolina is led on offense by freshman quarterback Grayson McCall who is having a stellar season. Napier says McCall can hurt teams in a variety of ways.
cut 20 (20) “….through progressions.”