Entergy is prepared to ask the Public Service Commission today if it can charge customers more than $3 billion to cover storm repair costs over the last two years. PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell says not so fast. David Grubb has more…
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m David Grubb.”
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The bill called the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” that received pushback from transgender advocates and even sparked the first veto session in modern Louisiana history is going for round two. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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A bill for the regular legislative session next month would expand what constitutes “justifiable homicide.” Kevin Gallagher reports on a bill to allow the use of a gun to defend one’s property from rioters…:
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”
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Entergy is prepared to ask the Public Service Commission today if it can charge customers more than $3 billion to cover storm repair costs over the last two years. If Entergy’s request is approved, households would see a surcharge of $10 per month added to their bills for the next 15 years. PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell says Entergy would pay nothing under that plan.
Campbell is also concerned that north Louisiana would be disproportionally impacted by those costs. He says residents in that area are still paying for previous storms and were generally spared by Hurricane Ida and other recent weather events.
Under the state’s current guidelines the PSC sets consumer rates for services, with the companies charging for power and can seek compensation for repair costs for damages caused by storms. Campbell says it may be time to revisit those policies, especially considering Entergy’s ever-increasing profits.
Campbell also says that Entergy is expected to request to recover an additional $1.4 billion in damages later this year, and two other utilities, CLECO and SWEPCO have their own requests pending as well.
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Franklinton Senator Beth Mizell is once again attempting to pass her “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” after last year’s legislative effort forced the first veto session in modern history. The bill prohibits a female sports team from allowing students who are not biologically female to participate.
Governor Edwards said he vetoed the bill because it was mean-spirited and searching for a problem that doesn’t exist. The override attempt won Senate approval but fell two votes short of a two-thirds majority in the House.
Mizell says the bill filed for the 2022 session adds verification of sex by using one’s birth certificate which lists one’s gender at or near birth.
Mizell says the intent of her bill is to protect women’s sports.
Since last year’s session, Lia Thomas a transgender woman who previously competed on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swim team has now set new records in the sport for females. Mizell says this changes the narrative from last year’s debate and even more states are considering such legislation.
Ten states have similar laws, which include the surrounding states of Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The 2022 legislative session begins on March 14th.
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A bill filed for the regular legislative session – which starts next month – seeks to aid those who use a gun to defend their property during a riot or other social disorder. Caddo Parish Republican state Representative Danny McCormick is the bill sponsor. He says his bill expands of what can be considered a “justifiable homicide”…:
Cut 10 (09) “…or burn down your home.”
McCormick says his bill would apply to use of armed force to defend one’s property during a riot, or to “prevent imminent destruction of property.” He says watching the riots of the spring and summer of 2020 caused him to bring the bill…:
Louisiana statutes clearly define what is considered a riot.
Portland, Oregon (and many other U.S. cities) saw dozens of fires set during racially motivated riots in 2020. McCormick says he’s seeking to amend current law on what constitutes a justified homicide because current law doesn’t allow armed protection of one’s property…:
Cut 12 (09) “…guilty of homicide.”
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After photos and videos surfaced of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other elected officials not wearing face masks at a Mardi Gras Ball Friday, spokesperson Beau Tidwell had to address the subject at a press conference.
The photos are from the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball Friday evening. Despite the city’s COVID requirements that face masks must be worn inside public spaces, with the exception of eating and drinking, Photos from the event appear to show otherwise. Tidwell says the guidelines remain in place.
Tidwell says guests were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to attend the ball, which is part of the city’s requirements for indoor venues.
Tidwell says the vaccine, testing, and masking requirements will remain in place throughout Mardi Gras.
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LSU will have its hands full tonight when the men’s basketball team travels to Rupp Arena to face sixth-ranked Kentucky. After going on a three-game win streak the Tigers lost a heartbreaker at South Carolina, dropping them to 2-6 away from home this season. Kentucky is an SEC-best 16-0 on its home floor, and Coach Will Wade has to figure out how to stop possibly the most talented team in the conference.
Cut 16 (13) “…really good pieces.”
Late game execution has been a problem for the Tigers all season. Of their seven conference losses, four have been by seven points or less, with two by a single basket. Wade says LSU spends plenty of time on preparation for those situations, but it just hasn’t stuck.
LSU topped the Wildcats 65-60 in their first matchup at the P-MAC, but since then the two teams have been going in opposite directions. Wade says there’s little if anything that the Tigers can learn from that win with his team struggling while Kentucky has won eight of its last 10.
Cut 18 (20) “ …beat ‘em here.”
Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm.
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A sold-out crowd is expected in Ruston tonight as Louisiana Tech hosts LSU on the Bulldogs home baseball diamond. Both teams are 3-and-0 and. The Tigers swept Maine and scored a program-record 51 runs for an opening weekend series. Tech Coach Lane Burroughs says LSU’s hitters will challenge his pitchers…
This is only the seventh meeting between the two schools in baseball and Tech’s only win came in 2019. It’s the first time the Diamond Dogs have hosted LSU and Burroughs knows his players are fired up for the game…
The two teams played twice last year and LSU won both contests, 16 to 7 and 16 to 8.