According to Triple-A close to two-thirds of motorists have made lifestyle changes due to prices at the pump. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”
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When qualifying for fall elections was over last week, two U.S. House district races had no Democrat entered. Kevin Gallagher looks at why…?
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”
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Motorists have been making significant changes in their driving habits to combat high gas prices, that’s according to a Triple-A survey. Spokesperson Don Redman says almost two-thirds of drivers are changing their driving routines and the top three behaviors they’ve altered are…
Even though the statewide average for a gallon of regular gas has dropped to $3.92, down 53 cents from a month ago, Redman says the changes in driving habits will most likely continue.
In addition to driving less, combining errands, and reducing shopping and dining out, Redman says many are forgoing vacations. Even though there was pent-up demand for vacations earlier in the year, Redman says many people are reconsidering additional travel.
Other habits motorists have changed are carpooling, driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle, and use of public transportation.
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Qualifying for the fall federal midterm elections ended last week with no Democrat candidate in two congressional district races. Why? LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says District 4’s Mike Johnson was just re-elected, having drawn NO opponent – democrat or otherwise. In District 6, Garret Graves has two challengers; a republican and a libertarian. Hogan says those are both VERY conservative districts…:
Hogan feels Louisiana has gerrymandered the districts to assure GOP dominance in all but one; the state’s mandated majority-minority District 2. However, he says the Representatives in D4 and D6 have worked hard for the folks back home…:
Cut 7 (13) “…constituents satisfied.”
Hogan says very few well-known Louisiana democrats sought to run for Congress. Many are relative unknowns. He says this isn’t good for the Democrats’ future endeavors…:
Cut 8 (09) “…in the 2023 elections.”
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The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has received approval to expand pandemic benefits for eligible K-12 students to help cover the cost of food for the summer. Assistant Secretary for Family Support Shavana Howard says it’s part of the USDA’s summer program.
Cut 9 (05) “…separate installments.”
She says of 575-thousand eligible families, they should be on the look for those two separate installments, the majority being issued in the autumn months and about 18 thousand will receive those benefits in the next two weeks.
Howard says students who received free or reduced-price meals and were in school in May of 2022, won’t have to apply for summer P-EBT benefits.
For those who did not receive benefits in May, Howard says they would need to apply by this Friday, July 29th. That website is pebtla-dot-org. In addition to an application, the website has more information about the program…
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130-million dollars will be used from the America Rescue Plan to bring more affordable and accessible internet to over 66-thousand households and small businesses in 50 parishes. Director of the Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity Veneeth Iyengar says internet service providers will use this federal money to boost high speed internet in rural areas….
Cut 12 (12) “…throughout the state”
Iyengar says, to find out if your parish will benefit from this money, go to connect-dot-la-dot-gov
Cut 13 (12) “…made yesterday.”
Iyengar says they expect to issue another 43-million dollars from the America Rescue Plan by October and they’ll also be able to tap into federal dollars contained in the Infrastructure Bill. He says the goal is to eliminate the digital divide in Louisiana by 2029….