Today marks the 100th day in office for Governor John Bel Edwards. Jeff Palermo talks with a political analyst on a busy three-plus months for the new governor.
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Governor John Bel Edwards’ monthly call-in radio show begins today on the Louisiana Radio Network. Halen Doughty has more…
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The latest installment of the 2016 Louisiana Survey finds most Louisianans still don’t agree with same-sex marriage. Emelie Gunn has more…
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It’s been 100 days today since Governor John Bel Edwards took office. LSU Political Science professor Wayne Parent says Edwards did not get to enjoy a “honeymoon” at the beginning of his term, like other governors have, because of fiscal issues facing the state and an uncooperative legislature.
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Edwards has followed through with his campaign promise to expand Medicaid. The governor also said he would increase the state’s minimum wage, but that proposal will face stiff opposition from House Republicans. Parent says the governor biggest hurdle so far was addressing a 900-million dollar shortfall this fiscal year, and the governor was successful in raising taxes, wiping out most of that deficit.
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Parent says despite convincing the legislature to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues, funding issues remain a problem for the new governor.
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Governor John Bel Edwards’ monthly one-hour radio show begins today on the Louisiana Radio Network. The show will air on 15 radio stations, and it will allow the governor to speak with Louisianans one on one to address their concerns in the state.
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Edwards’ press secretary, Shauna Sanford, says Louisianans are well aware of the pressing problems facing the state. She says this show allows them to address those issues.
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After today, the show will air on the third Wednesday of every month. Sanford says that while there are many problems in Louisiana, there are also many solutions. She says Edwards wants to hear some of those ideas from the people.
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The Louisiana Survey finds 53-percent of residents surveyed are still opposed to same-sex marriages even after last year’s historic Supreme Court ruling. Director of the LSU Public Policy Research Lab Michael Henderson says this percentage has decreased over the past three years. He says the survey also found 52-percent support religious freedom laws.
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Henderson says he’s not surprised by the results on the questions regarding same-sex marriages but he is surprised that 73-percent of Louisianans believe the Confederate monuments should stay up. He says even 47-percent of black residents think the monuments should not be removed.
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Henderson says unlike the removal of the monuments, about half of residents are opposed to the state issuing specialty licenses plates displaying the Confederate battle flag.
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Legislation that establishes a legal framework for surrogacy births is heading to the House floor. Under current law, a child born to a surrogate is considered the infant’s mother. Metairie Rep. Joseph Lopinto wants to change the law so the genetic parents are immediately the legal guardians of the child.
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Lopinto says this bill puts proper safeguards in place that will make sure biological parents who choose to have a surrogate will not be able to back out and it ensures the surrogate will not have legal custody of the baby.
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President of the Louisiana Family Forum Gene Mills says they oppose third party gestational surrogacy. He says adoption is God’s way of providing parents to a child in need with a family but surrogacy disrupts that.
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Mills says surrogacy contracts ignore the integrity to a family because birth mothers consent to bear a child and forfeit that baby before it’s conceived. He says with this bill, now there will be a legal question and efforts that must be taken to demonstrate who is the mother of the child.
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After a slow start in conference play, LSU finds itself just one game back of Texas A&M for first place in the SEC West. The Bayou Bengals are 9-6 in the SEC and Coach Paul Manieri likes where his team is at…
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Last year, LSU was 10-5 at halfway point of league play and won the SEC regular season title. The Tigers are coming off a sweep over Missouri. They had 40 hits in the three victories and Mainieri says they faced two of the better starting pitchers in the conference…
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LSU’s next game is Wednesday night when they host Southeastern Louisiana. The Tigers have lost three midweek games already this season. Mainieri knows the Tigers can’t afford to many more midweek defeats, if they want to host a regional…
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