NOAA predicts the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season will be a busy one. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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The Governor’s budget clears House Appropriations with an amendment barring the state from requiring mandatory participation in the COVID-19 contact tracing program.
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Governor Edwards indicates he is open to compromising with the Legislature on tort reform legislation aimed at lowering auto insurance rates.
Edwards made the comments on his monthly talk show Ask the Governor. He says River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot’s bill has some merits…
Cut 3 (11) “…possible.”
Edwards did not specify what those provisions are.
The regular session ends June 1st but Edwards is confident something can be passed to lower Louisiana’s 2nd highest in the nation auto insurance rates.
Cut 4 (07)_ “…happen.”
But Edwards expressed disappointment over legislation that was rejected in the Senate he feels would have been effective in lowering rates.
Cut 5 (12) “…record.”
The signature tort reform bill passed the Senate on a veto-proof majority and is now being considering in the House.
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NOAA predicts a busy hurricane season in 2020 with the potential of 13 to 19 named storms, six to ten hurricanes, and three to six major hurricanes. NOAA’s lead hurricane season forecaster Doctor Gerry Bell
Cut 6 (13) “ …African monsoons.”
Bell says they do not anticipate an El Nino forming, which can suppress hurricane activity.
During the announcement, FEMA activity deputy administrator for resilience Carlos Castillo assured the public that the agency will be able to respond to a hurricane during the coronavirus pandemic and history shows it can
Cut 7 (13) “…2017 hurricane.”
NOAA acting administrator, Doctor Neil Jacobs, says they are also upgrading their weather research and forecast system and other models and also incorporate new data from satellites and radar
Cut 8 (06) “…time frame.”
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House Appropriations passes the Governor’s budget for the next fiscal year with an amendment that blocks state funding for COVID contact tracing programs that require mandatory participation.
Amendment sponsor, Erath Representative Blake Miguez says he’s been bombarded by constituents demanding…
Cut 9 (09) “…manner.”
Oakdale Representative Dewith Carrier says his rural constituents are concerned about contact tracing…
Cut 10 (13) “…they do”
Bossier City Representative Raymond Crews says making participation in contact tracing mandatory would undermine the fight against COVID-19.
Cut 11 (11) “…the table”
A Louisiana Department of Health spokesperson told lawmakers they have no plans to arrest or penalize infected people who refuse to answer questions about who they have been in contact with.
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Louisiana has surpassed 25-hundred COVID-19 deaths as the state reported 21 more fatalities today bringing the death toll to 2,506. LSU Infectious Diseases expert Doctor Catherine O’ Neal says we could see an increase in the death rate in the next couple of weeks, because of COVID outbreaks in nursing homes
Cut 12 (09) “…go down”
The number of people hospitalized by COVID-19 dropped again today and it now stands at 884 .
State health officials report that 67-percent of the people listed as a COVID-19 death were over the age of 70. O’Neal says that’s why it’s critical to slow the spread of the virus in nursing homes
Cut 13 (11) “the hospital”
O’Neal estimates that it will be early spring before a successful vaccine can be mass-produced. She says that will help protect the vulnerable population, but there will still be a risk
Cut 14 (10) “…seasonal virus”