In Lake Charles, a ribbon cutting was held today for a 10-point-eight million dollar culinary, gaming and hospitality teaching center. Teiko Foxx has more…
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Despite a rough beginning for the strawberry growing season weather-wise, the current warming trend has sped things up. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (30) “….I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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State and local officials were on hand today for the grand opening of SOWELA’s $10.8M State-of-the-art Culinary, Gaming, and Hospitality Training Center in Lake Charles. SOWELA Chancellor Dr. Neil Aspinwall says with three big casinos in Lake Charles a facility to train the workers is needed…
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According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the hospitality jobs sector is expected to increase by nearly 15-percent by 2026. Aspinwall says they want to meet that demand…
The 28-thousand foot square building features a top of the line culinary kitchen, gaming tables and model hotel rooms. Aspinwall says the facility design is cutting-edge.
Funding for the facility was approved by Governor John Bel Edwards and the state legislature in 2018.
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As we approach the peak of the strawberry season, Springfield strawberry farmer, Trey Harris says production is down from this time last year. But he says the current unseasonably warm temps are speeding things up.
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Harris says highs in the 80s and warm nights are causing a growth spurt among strawberries.
And while you might assume strawberry farmers welcome rain, Harris says they are able to control water consumption, and too much water and fog at this point can affect the taste of strawberries.
Harris says inflation has impacted farmers with increased labor, plant, and fertilizer costs. He says its vital residents support locally grown berries now more than ever.
The peak of Louisiana strawberry season is March, April, and May. Harris says in addition to buying locally grown berries residents should support the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival April 14-16.
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East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore announces he’s not running governor. Moore, who is a registered Democrat, has served as Baton Rouge’s top prosecutor since 2008. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Moore didn’t have much of a chance with DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson expected to get in…
Wilson, a Black Democrat from Lafayette, is expected to officially enter the race early in March. Pinsonat says it appears he’ll be the lone major Democrat in the race to replace outgoing Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards…
Cut 10 (06) “…John Bel Edwards did.”
A teacher from LaSalle Parish, Danny Cole, says he will run for governor as a Democrat. Pinsonat expects the October ballot will have a few names with a “D” next to it, but he says Wilson is the Democrats best chance for a candidate to reach the run-off…
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Internet outages continue to hinder the campus of Southeastern University after an incident over the weekend. UL -System President Dr. Jim Henderson says the university and state police have identified the suspected cyber incident responsible for the outage.
State Police in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security is assisting with the response.
Staff and students are unable to use the school’s email, along with the system students and professors use to communicate and administer tests and assignments.
Henderson says the ability to isolate and restore the school’s internet system is a testament to the Information Technology team responsible for their ability to rectify the outage.
And while the inability to communicate digitally is a major inconvenience, Henderson says it could be much worse if there wasn’t an IT team prepared to handle such problems.
A timeline of when the school’s computer system is expected to be restored has not been released.