Children who attend city-sponsored summer camps in Lafayette this week are also learning how to respond to active shooters. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Governor John Bel Edwards has called for a special session to begin on June 15th to redraw a Congressional district map, but a Republican legislator says it may not happen. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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In addition to normal camp activities, children who attend city-sponsored camps in Lafayette this week will also be trained on how to respond to an active shooter. Lafayette Police Corporal Matthew Benoit says it’s a growing concern that can’t be ignored.
The presentation covers topics like what to do if you come across a gun and what to do at school if there’s an active shooter. Benoit says two school resource officers who already have a working relationship with students are presenting the program to children ages 9 to 12, and they are able to…
In addition to how to respond appropriately at school, they also instruct children on how to be more aware of their surroundings outside of school and if they see something out of the norm to say something. Benoit says they cover how to respond in a variety of situations.
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Resource officers are also teaching campers the proper way to respond to any threat of violence not just an active shooter.
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Republican lawmakers are confident the Congressional District map they approved in February is compliant with federal and state laws, despite a federal judge ordering the Legislature to redraw the map because it does not have two majority-Black congressional districts. Senate Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Sharon Hewitt…
Governor Edwards has issued the call for a special session to begin on June 15th for legislators to redraw a Congressional district map. Hewitt says a special session may not be needed depending on what the 5th U-S Circuit Court of Appeals says about the map approved by the Legislature. She says time is short as Congressional elections are this fall and other states are in a similar situation…
Critics of the map approved by the Republican-led Legislature say a second majority-Black congressional district is warranted because one-third of Louisiana’s population is Black, therefore two of the state’s six congressional districts should be majority-minority. But Hewitt says the federal voting rights act says the minority party does not have a right to proportional representation…
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Hewitt says the Black population is not concentrated enough to create to two majority-Black districts.
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Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval watched his bill that would have banned hand-held communication while operating a motor vehicle go down to defeat in the Senate. Huval has been relentless in his effort to make the state’s highways safer and says this push isn’t about taking away rights, it’s about saving lives.
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One of the major hurdles Huval faced with his bill was concern that it could lead to overreach by law enforcement and potential profiling of drivers. To alleviate those concerns he received input from other lawmakers and agreed to a number of amendments that would have increased protections for motorists and oversight of law enforcement agencies.
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Huval hasn’t been dissuaded by this most-recent setback. He promises that he will be back with another bill. He says there’s enough evidence from other states, like Georgia, that have adopted similar policies that this type of legislation could not only improve safety but decrease insurance rates as well.
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While Americans are watching their pennies due to inflation, Senator Bill Cassidy has some positive news to report. Cassidy’s “No Surprises Act,” to keep patients from being caught off guard by medical bills is showing results.
A recent study indicates that 12-million surprise bills are anticipated to be avoided this year alone.
Cassidy says if you do receive a higher bill for services contact the US Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-985-3095…
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(Louisiana Department of Insurance 1-800-259-5300)