A controversial proposal to increase the credit hour requirement for TOPS students has been tabled by the Board of Regents. Halen Doughty has more…
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Governor John Bel Edwards is in Washington to talk flood recovery and Medicaid expansion with federal leaders. Michelle Southern has more…
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A new study from Gallup finds 36-percent of Louisiana workers say they are engaged or highly involved in their workplace. That’s tied for second highest in the country. LSU Assistant Professor in the Rucks Department of Management, Jeremy Beus says he’s surprised by this ranking, because Louisiana doesn’t have as many high paying jobs as other states…
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The Gallup polls also finds states where workers are more engaged tend to have a high number of workers who are self-employed. Beus says this makes sense for Louisiana because there are many small businesses in the state.
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Alabama leads in engagement at 37-percent. Gallup also lists farming and fishing as two industries that result in a high engagement of employees. Bues says the ag and seafood industry are two high employers in this state
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On Sunday Governor John Bel Edwards will meet with US Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to discuss Medicaid expansion. The meeting comes amid ongoing discussions at the nation’s capital about repealing the Affordable Care Act. The governor’s Communications Director Richard Carbo says the governor will have a chance to tell Price about the impact Medicaid expansion has had on the Bayou State.
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Carbo says in the process of getting coverage for working Louisianans, the expansion is also saving the state about $200 million. He says the governor wants to ensure that the people who finally have health coverage are able to keep their insurance.
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Carbo says the governor will also discuss ways he can partner with federal officials as they try to come up with a plan for the future of Obamacare. He says Edwards wants to show federal officials how the ACA can benefit poor working class people.
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The Shreveport Aquarium is letting the good times roll in a very different way this weekend, as they’ll attempt to break a Guinness World Record on Saturday. Aquarium spokesperson Jake Wood says they’re inviting people to help break the record for the longest wave line just before the Krewe of Gemini parade.
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Wood says they also attempted to break the record last weekend, but they wanted to make a second attempt while those results are being calculated. He says to be official, they’ll need volunteers and drone cameras to watch the line and then auditors will verify their counts.
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The current record stands at 8,453. Wood says it’s imperative more than 90-percent of the line participates, or it could invalidate the record. He says anyone who wants to be in the wave line can show up to the start of the parade at Clyde Fant Parkway before the parade rolls. He says they also need plenty of volunteers to get everyone in place and monitor the participants.
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To get more information about the record attempt and sign up to volunteer, visit ShreveportAquarium.com.
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The Board of Regents decided not to move forward on a recommendation to increase the credit hour requirement to 30 hours for TOPS students and instead tabled the idea for more study. Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo supports the board’s decision to hold off on upping the hourly requirement from 24 hours.
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Rallo supports the 30-hour requirement because it encourages students to finish their degrees in four years. He says this means they won’t have to pay for a fifth year out of pocket, and they can start earning a paycheck sooner. But he says they had concerns about how the change would affect students.
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The change would not require legislative approval, and the proposal could still be taken up later. Opponents of the proposal say it would limit the freedom of students and families. Rallo says they don’t want to put an additional burden on students.
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The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission wants to start a new carnival tradition of safe and sober driving. Executive Director Dr. Katara Williams reminds revelers to “Protect Your Beads” by not drinking and driving. She says Mardi Gras is a celebration of our culture, but we should be smart about it…:
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Williams says, unfortunately, Mardi Gras revelers have a bad habit of getting behind the wheel when they’ve had too much…:
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((She says the five day holiday period from Friday through Tuesday usually records more vehicle crashes with injuries or deaths than any other holiday in Louisiana.)
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