A 17-year Slidell old girl was killed in a boating incident on July 4th and the driver of the boat faces vehicular homicide charges. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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A new campaign takes the message of coastal preservation right to the President’s backyard. David Grubb has more…
Cut 2 (36) “…I’m David Grubb.”
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A tragic 4th of July boating incident in Livingston Parish claims the life of 17-year-old Madison Bradley of Slidell. LDWF spokesperson Adam Einck says agents were notified that the female was last seen riding in front of the protective railing of a pontoon boat on Blind River just before 6pm.
Her body was found hours later and a male teen who also was knocked off the vessel resurfaced with minor injuries. Einck says the operator of the boat 33-year-old David Crowe of Denham Springs was booked into the Livingston Parish Jail and charged with vehicular homicide, DWI and reckless operation.
Cut 4 (10) “…protective rail.”
Wildlife agents remind you to never ride in front of the protective railing on a boat. Einck says this incident is another tragic reminder of what can go wrong.
Einck says there have been 20 boating fatalities in Louisiana so far this year.
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One bill recently signed into law is HB 963, which requires the state’s public schools to provide instruction in water safety. Proposed by Larose Representative Joseph Orgeron, he says it was a deeply personal issue for his constituency. Darby and Nicole Bourgeois lost their son Riley to a drowning at a neighborhood swim party and lent their voices as Orgeron moved his bill through the legislature.
Cut 6 (11) ” …Riley Bourgeois Act.”
Similar legislation was originally proposed by Orgeron’s predecessor, Reggie Bagala. Orgeron says he was honored to pick up the mantle and deliver this for the Bourgeois family and the thousands of others that might not have to deal with the tragedy of losing a child.
Cut 7 (10) “…something good of it.”
Child drownings have been on the rise in the state. Figures provided by the Louisiana Department of Health show that an average of 17 children drowned each year from 2017 through 2019, making it the number three cause of injury-related death in children up to age 14. Now, local schools will have some tools to hopefully reverse that trend.
Cut 8 (09) “…where the instruction is.”
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The Coalition to Defend Southwest Louisiana started a new campaign last week that seeks to stop the spread of gas terminals across the Gulf Coast. Southwest Louisiana coordinator James Hiatt says the group took their message to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the vacation home of President Joe Biden, to point out that the exclusive community would never allow itself to be destroyed the way the fossil fuel industry has decimated our state’s coast.
Cut 9 (09) “…these executives’ pockets.”
The goal of the campaign is to put a halt to the expansion of Gulf Coast gas export terminals. Hiatt, a former refinery operator and lab analyst, says adding more of these terminals, also known as LNGs, in an attempt to increase profits is a threat to our way of life.
Cut 10 (09) “…that’s suicidal.”
Hiatt says another major concern is that the oil and gas industry has made promises to workers, environmentalists, and politicians regarding the safety of gas export terminals and their economic impact, but has failed to deliver on those promises.
Cut 11 (10) “…greenwashed untruths.”
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The topic of gun control rises to the forefront again after a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. Louisiana Democratic Congressman Troy Carter says after the 9/11 attacks we made changes to how we fly, and he says he need to apply the same logic with gun sales.
Carter praised the bipartisan gun legislation that the President is about to sign but says even more needs to be done with gun laws. He says Democrats and Republicans need to continue to unite. like they did with approving aid for Ukraine.
Cut 13 (11) “…30 hospitalized.”
The New Orleans congressman says while he’s a supporter of the 2nd Amendment he believes in universal background checks. Carter says allowing those checks to be done properly over a period of days could keep guns out of the hands of someone who could cause mass harm.
Cut 14 (10) “…background checks”
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Cut 16 (08) “…their businesses“