The House will tackle a budget today that includes a pay raise for teachers, but does not include any additional funding for public education. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”
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A constitutional amendment to exempt diapers and tampons from the state sales tax fails in the Senate, but the measure got a second chance at life before discussion wrapped for the day. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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Nasty weather is threatening much of Louisiana today through the weekend. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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The House will discuss a state budget today that includes a teacher pay raise, but not 39 million dollars requested by the Governor for increased public education funding.
Louisiana Federation of Teachers Legislative Director Cynthia Posey has some problems with the current budget, starting with the fact that she says the “raise” isn’t really a raise…
Cut 4 (08) “…stipend.”
The budget includes a 1,200 raise, or stipend, depending on who you ask, for teachers and a 600 dollar raise for support personnel.
Posey says she’s highly concerned about the lack of additional funding, first, because without the money additional costs like higher workman’s comp and unemployment benefits would be passed onto teachers, cutting into the raise. Second, she says our schools need new investment.
Cut 5 (13) “…crumbling”
Posey says instead of the House proposal, her union is still backing the governor’s initial request for a permanent 1,000 dollar raise for teachers, a permanent 500 dollar support personnel raise, and 39 million in new funding.
Cut 6 (11) “…surplus.”
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A Senate bill aimed at a diapers and tampons sales tax exemption initially killed as a constitutional amendment finds a second life. Initially the bill did not receive the two-thirds support needed to pass following a 21-12 vote on the floor. Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says the tax exemption would not offer a beneficial savings to consumers enough to justify the measure.
Cut 7 (12) “…cents a week.”
Bill author New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says the savings helps the workforce for families who are required to send diapers with their child to daycare in order for a parent to maintain employment.
Cut 8 (10) “…more than 67 cents”
Later, it was an amendment made by Morrell to the bill that resulted in advancement with a 29-5 vote.
Cut 9 (06) “…longer be required.″
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A cold front heading toward the state continues to bring rain today that will stick around through the weekend. State Climatologist Barry Keim says much of Louisiana is at risk for severe weather from this pesky frontal system that will be slowly creeping across the Bayou State.
Cut 10 (10) “…marginal risk tomorrow.”
Keim says areas of the state could see up to ten inches of rain once this system has finally moved out of the area, which means flash flooding is a concern.
Cut 11 (08) “…at some risk.”
River basin flooding could also prove to be problematic.
Keim says it will be a bumpy four or five days across Louisiana and says make sure to plan accordingly and keep an umbrella until at least the beginning of next week.
Cut 12 (08) “…next few days.”
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The Louisiana Community and Technical College system has partnered with Amazon to create a new two-year degree in cloud computing, a skill which is becoming increasingly mandatory in tech.
Governor John Bel Edwards celebrated the announcement, and says it’ll help keep more tech savy students in state after they graduate…
Cut 13 (08) “…pipeline”
The “Amazon Web Service Educate” initiative is part of the company’s worldwide effort to expand access to cloud learning on the AWS systems.
Delgado interim chancellor Dr. Will Wright says the program is here by popular demand from tech companies across the state that have told him they’re in real need of these skills, with demand set to increase further in the future. Wright says they’re companies from a number of fields.
Cut 14 (10) “…aerospace.”
Edwards says the agreement is part of his ongoing efforts to attract tech to the state. He says like many people, he may not know exactly what these tech specialists do, but he knows it’s important to make sure they can do it.
Cut 15 (09) “to me.”
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A struggling LSU baseball team begins a series tonight against one of the SEC’s best teams. Arkansas leads the West Division with a 17-7 record, while the Tigers have lost three in a row and sit in fourth place in the West. Coach Paul Mainieri says Arkansas is an outstanding team, but they plan to battle as hard as they can
Cut 16 (12) “…finish strong”
The Tigers have had a lot of success against Arkansas, winning 13 of their last 14 SEC regular-season series, including the last seven in a row. But for LSU to win this series, they need better starting pitching, so they can utilize Zach Hess out of the bullpen…
cut 17 (11) “that point”
LSU will start the same three pitchers as they did last weekend. Ma’Khail Hilliard will start tonight, Eric Walker goes tomorrow and Landon Marceaux on Saturday. The Tigers have lost three in a row and there chances of hosting a Regional are decreasing. Walker says the confidence remains high…