A 39-year old single mom who works in disaster recovery is now dependent on healthcare workers as she fights to breathe with COVID at Baton Rouge General. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (37) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”
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A long-term study of the impacts of just one year of early childhood education shows getting four-year-olds in pre-K programs can have a huge impact on their academic success. Matt Doyle has more.
Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”
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Lafayette Little is the latest team from Louisiana to make the Little League World Series. Matt Doyle has the story ahead of their first game Friday…
Cut 3 (28) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”
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Instead of helping others with disaster aid from the 2016 floods, 39-year-old Jessica Cooper finds herself in an ICU bed at Baton Rouge General. Cooper, a single mom who’s originally from Lake Charles wasn’t already vaccinated because it would require her to be off medication for several weeks in order for the vaccine to be effective.
Cut 4 (12) “…attacks quick.”
Cooper says being away from her daughter, Justus, for almost two weeks now, is especially hard and she was even prepared to say goodbye when her condition was much worse. Cooper says she’s extremely concerned because, at age 11, Justus isn’t eligible to be vaccinated yet. Because of that Cooper made the hard choice for virtual learning this year.
Cut 5 (14) “…breathe.”
As for her prognosis, Cooper isn’t sure when she’ll be discharged but says she’s been told she’ll need oxygen for some time. Cooper says she plans to get vaccinated once she’s off her medication and approved to do so, but in the meantime, she feels more drastic measures should be taken to stop the Delta variant and help keep others like herself out of the hospital.
Cut 6 (10) “…the vaccine.”
Cooper who also suffers from asthma, says her symptoms began on July 30th. She tested positive on August 4th and was admitted a few days later.
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A Council for a Better Louisiana study shows even just one year of early childhood education can substantially boost long-term academic success. CABL President Barry Irwin says they compared the effects of just one year of pre-K for four-year-olds compared to no pre-k and saw a startling difference.
Cut 7 (07) “….high school.”
The LA 4 Longitudinal High School Outcomes Study looked compared the results of 40,000 different students, some of whom were in the LA 4 Pre-K program.
Erwin says they tracked key metrics and found not only were there benefits early in a kid’s academic career, but those benefits also lasted through high school…
Cut 8 (12) “…kids.”
Per the study, LA 4 participation increased on-time graduation by four percent, TOPS qualification rates by about ten percent, Algebra scores by 12 percent, Biology scores by nine percent, Geometry scores by eight percent, English 2 scores by eight percent, and lowered special education placement rates by 45 percent.
Erwin says that was only with one year of early childhood education…
Cut 9 (11) “…high school.”
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CLECO customers can expect to see higher than average power bills, and the utility provider says there are multiple reasons for the increase. CLECO President Shane Hilton says the company implemented a rate increase that went into effect July first.
Cut 10 (11) “…equation.”
Hilton says another factor for a rate increase is the three hurricanes in 2020, forcing CLECO to spend $240-million to restore power, and like other utility providers in the state, they have no federal mechanism to recover those costs.
Cut 11 (08) “…our customers.”
Another reason for higher-than-average bills is the ice storms that impacted the state, which also saw a significant spike in fuel costs and high usage. Hilton says customers are seeing costs from the winter storms spread out over bills that eventually drop off in April 2022.
An increase in natural gas prices, which have almost doubled, and fuel costs to keep an older plant in Mansfield operational during the summer demand is also adding to the price increase for CLECO customers.
Hilton says if you need assistance there are several options to help you pay your bill. He encourages you to call CLECO or visit their website.
Cut 12 (11) “…the year.”
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The Little League World Series kicks off today and this year Louisiana is represented by Lafayette Little League.
Lafayette Little’s head coach Steven Menard says they’re a resilient team that really came together after a tough game in the State Championship against South Lake Charles.
Cut 13 (08) “…for us.”
Lafayette’s first game will be Friday at 4 PM against South Dakota. 16 teams will be in this year’s tournament but unlike most year’s no international teams will be in attendance.
Menard says the core of this team has been together for years and they’ve grown accustomed to the bright lights and high-level competition.
Cut 14 (11) “…ESPN.”
Menard likes his team’s chances heading into the tournament and says if they can keep their composure, they can go the distance.
Cut 15 (10)“…coming back.”