As COVID numbers surge, health officials in New Orleans say capacity restrictions for festivals and sporting events in the fall are possible due to the Delta variant. Officials say getting more people vaccinated is the key. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says this one is preventable, and the vaccination rate must increase. He acknowledges there have been breakthrough cases, but overall, it’s rare, however, Kanter says as the variant spreads, breakthrough cases will only increase.
Cut 11 (09) “…risk out there.”

Congressman Garret Graves was the last candidate to run against former Governor Edwin Edwards, beating Edwards in the 2014 race for the 6th Congressional District seat.
Graves says Edwards was one of the most charming and gifted men to ever grace Louisiana politics, but he leaves behind a complicated legacy…
Cut 15 (08)“…scrutiny.”

Qualifying for the New Orleans mayoral race begins today and incumbent Latoya Cantrell appears to be in a strong position to get elected to a second and final term.
Political analyst Clancy DuBos says Cantrell has about 600,000 dollars on hand heading into qualifying.
He says the opponents Cantrell does manage to attract will likely hammer her on local issues like crime and trash, but he expects she’ll run on her pandemic record.
Cut 8 (09) “…pandemic.”

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy expresses hope a vote will occur soon on an infrastructure bill that would invest around one-point-two trillion dollars in infrastructure projects over the next eight years. Cassiday says they will be busy the next few weeks working to finalize the bill text…
Cut 4 (10) “…infrastructure needs.”