This morning lawmakers will meet to discuss the state of Louisina’s insurance market. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Last week’s storm has many residents working in their yards removing damaged plants. But you might be adding insult to injury.. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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A 29-year-old Baton Rouge native is set to be the first cancer survivor ever launched into space. Matt Doyle has the story.
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A joint legislative task force meets today to discuss the state’s insurance market and insurance affordability issues.
A substantial package of tort reform went into effect January 1st that supporters say will ultimately lead to lower premiums. Task Force Co-Chair Kirk Talbot says industry reps will be in attendance…
The new law included a significant lowering of the state’s jury trial threshold among other changes.
Talbot says the task force will also take a look at why Louisiana’s medical billing costs are exploding faster than our neighbors…
The task force will investigate the growing problem of insurance fraud and criminal rings staging wrecks with 18-wheelers to win big payouts…
The meeting will begin at 10 AM.
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Two winter storms last week have crippled the City of Shreveport. While the city expects to have water service restored today, the city will remain under a boil advisory for remainder of the week. Mayor Adrian Perkins says it all began last Monday.
Perkins says his water and sewer department is working around the clock along with contractors and state partners to get water restored. They have also set up water distribution sites for Shreveport citizens.
Perkins says nationally Texas has received the most attention, but areas of Louisiana are also experiencing critical devastation. As for being prepared for the winter storms Perkins says there wasn’t much that could have been done considering the current infrastructure.
Perkins says the National Guard, DOTD and GOHSEP have been assisting the City of Shreveport in recovery efforts.
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Many Louisianans are tempted to cut back and uproot plants after last week’s winter storms damaged tender plants, but LSU Ag Center professor Dr. Heather Kirk-Ballard says try to hold off until the spring to remove that unsightly foliage.
Kirk-Ballard says we could still see another freeze so it’s best not to prune or uproot anything just yet because the damaged part of the plant can act as insulator and protect the crown of the plant.
She says typically by March 15th for south Louisiana and April 1st for the northern half of the state we won’t see another freeze.
Kirk-Ballard says if you are in the mood to trim things back, work on trees and hardy summer foliage like roses.
Kirk-Ballard says while many plants received damage above the ground, they are still alive beneath the soil and they will return from their roots.
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29-year-old Hayley Arceneaux of Baton Rouge has been tapped to make history as the first Cajun, first cancer survivor, and first civilian woman to ever get launched into space.
Arceneaux will take flight on Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission. Arceneaux, a spokesperson for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, calls it an honor…
Arceneaux was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when she was just ten years old but was saved by treatment at St. Jude. Most of her femur had to be replaced with a prosthetic device.
Arceneaux with her background as a physician’s assistant, will be the flight’s medical officer as one part of the crew’s civilian run research project.
Inspiration4 is a SpaceX flight, a civilian run space agency. The flight was purchased by tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to help raise awareness for causes like St. Jude. Isaacman will also piliot the craft.
Arceneaux will begin training for the mission once the final crew members are selected, but she says she’s already getting into the space-faring mood.
The mission will launch at a future date from the Kennedy Space Center, spend about three days in space, and return via a water landing off the coast of Florida.
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