LRN PM Newscall June 17

A consumer advocacy group once again observes an anniversary by sending a business lobby a tiki torch. Brooke Thorington explains.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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Dads take center stage this Sunday, though a new survey shines a light on just how difficult it is for Louisiana’s working fathers. David Grubb has more…

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m David Grubb.”  

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In an effort to hold the president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry accountable for a promise he made two years ago, Eric Holl with Real Reform Louisiana sent Stephen Waguespack another Tiki Torch. Holl says in a radio interview Waguespack said tort reform would lower auto insurance rates.

Cut 3 (12) “…go down.”

Holl says since House Bill 57 passed two years ago, auto insurance rates have actually increased. He says in 2020 rates rose 19 percent and announced rates for 2022 could increase as much as 15 percent.

Cut 4  (12) “…for them.”

Because Waguespack was not amused with the personal delivery of a tiki torch last June 17th, Holl says he opted to have Amazon handle the delivery this year, but Waguespack has yet to deliver on his promise.

Cut 5  (09) “…that promise.”

Efforts to reach Waguespack have gone unanswered.

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This Father’s Day you may want to forget about getting Dad a tie or a wallet and instead maybe hand him a copy of the classifieds. A new survey by Wallethub-dot-com says that Louisiana is the worst state in the country for working dads. Communications director Jill Gonzalez says the rankings speak for themselves…

Cut 6  (14) “…struggled the most.” 

Just how bad do Dads have it here in the Bayou State? Gonzalez says Louisiana has almost a perfect storm of conditions to make a work-life balance nearly impossible and few support systems in place for getting it back, particularly in mental and physical health.

Cut 7 (10) “…in Louisiana.” 

The bottom of the survey rankings are dominated by Southern states, where insured rates are lower for workers, childcare costs exceed the quality of care, and men are being overworked, leaving too many in inactive lifestyles outside of their jobs. Gonzalez says Louisiana could learn from the states at the top of the rankings and start enacting policies more friendly to fathers.

Cut 8 (13) “…why not Louisiana.” 

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Choosing a major in college can be very stressful.  UL-Monroe VP of Enrollment Management Lisa Miller says the university is making that process easier by utilizing a new tool called MyMajors, which aligns students with degree programs based on their strengths, talents, and interests.

Cut 9 (12) “…versions of themselves.”

Incoming students take the MyMajors online assessment during their orientation and before exploring UL-M’s degree programs during breakout sessions. Miller says the response has been very exciting and the impact on students is easy to see.

Cut 10 (13) ” …something much greater.” 

Interest assessments aren’t new, though the MyMajors program is unique in that it provides students with a list of 10 majors at UL-M that might be good options for them, allowing academic advisors to provide additional information and guidance, which Millers says hopefully leads to greater confidence in degree paths, as well as higher retention and graduation rates.

Cut 11 (11)  “…degree programs.” 

MyMajors is free and is not only open to ULM students, but to anyone interested in pursuing a college degree. You can complete the quiz and get your own report at u-l-m-dot-mymajors-dot-com.

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Legislators have until Monday to submit a court-ordered congressional map that has two Black-majority districts instead of one that was passed by the Republican majority in February. On Thursday House Speaker Clay Schexnayder asked Federal Judge Shelly Dick for a deadline extension.

Cut 12 (09) “…we have.”  

Schexnayder says there are a number of new maps that have been submitted for consideration including three in the House.

Schexnayder says some of the maps submitted by Republican lawmakers do not have two Black minority districts as instructed by Judge Dick and they are merely placeholders and can be amended if needed. He says this is only the beginning of the judicial process because the map that passed in February has yet to be ruled on in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cut 13 (12) “…compare them.”

House Governmental Affairs is meeting now to consider four maps that have been filed and Senate Governmental Affairs meets at 1 pm to continue discussions on a bill that was debated in committee for almost five hours Thursday.

Cut 14 (12)  “…unnecessary.” 

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