Governor Jeff Landry has appointed Dustin Yates, as the Interim Mayor of the newest City of St. George. Jeanne Burns has more.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”
_______________________________________________
President Biden has signed legislation designed to improve air travel. Sean Richardson spoke with Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves who helped write the bill that is designed to improve the flying experience.
Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”
____________________________________________
It’s conference tournament time in college baseball. Jeff Palermo looks at how Louisiana teams stand a week before the NCAA Regional pairings are announced…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
___________________________________________
Governor Jeff Landry appoints Dustin Yates Interim Mayor for the City of Sta George. Yates says getting the call came as a surprise.
Cut 4 (05) “….things like this.”
The Governor also appointed Police Chief, Todd Morris but still needs to appoint the remaining members of the council. Yates says until then he’s got plenty of work in front of him.
Cut 5 (13) “…in this transition.”
St. George will be the 5th largest city in Louisiana and the transition of services and tax dollars will be a huge task.
For many St. George was seen as an attempt to create a majority white city, separate from EBR. Yates says it’s a very emotional issue and people on both sides have very passionate opinions on the issue, but race wasn’t the reason.
Cut 6 (13) “…for our residences.”
Yates is serving his 19th year with the St. George Fire Department where he has held the position of Firefighter, Lieutenant, and Chief Administrative Officer.
___________________________________________________________
President Joe Biden has signed the FAA Reauthorization Bill. Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves had a major part in crafting the legislation. He says it’s good news for Louisiana travelers. One focus of the bill is to improve the overall experience for airline customers. Graves says that means everything from the baggage claim to air traffic control.
Cut 7 (11) “..experience for the family.”
The bill has consumer protections in place that would offer the option for customers to get paid in cash instead of airline credits and that would be at the discretion of the customer..
Cut 8 (10) “…major delays or inconveniences.”
One cause of those delays is not enough air traffic controllers to manage flights. Graves says this bill also addresses that and looks to recruit and hire more Air Traffic Controllers and reduce the bottleneck of delays around the county.
Cut 9 (18) “…mass retirements.”
The bill also has $24.9 million for funding the Airport Improvement Program to update not just runways but terminals and overall customer experience.
_________________________________________________________________
Congressman Garret Graves says he plans to run for re-election, but he hasn’t committed if it will be sixth District, his current seat that was reapportioned as the state’s second majority-Black district. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says Graves could run against fellow Republican Julia Letlow in District 5…
Cut 10 (10) “…Republican district.”
Democratic State Senator Cleo Fields has already announced he’ll run for the sixth district and Hogan says if Graves chooses to run against him, it will be extremely competitive…
Cut 11 (12) “…national contributors.”
Graves posted on social media “Because of the absurdity of the map, we are looking through these districts to determine where we can best represent the interests and the priorities of the people of Louisiana for the next two years until a reasonable map is restored.”
If Graves chooses to run against Fields versus another incumbent Republican, Hogan believes the GOP will be more likely to support him.
Qualifying is July 17th – 19th for the November 5th election.
______________________________________________
Two weeks are left in the legislative session and one of the biggest issues left undecided is whether lawmakers will pass a bill that will result in a Constitutional Convention in August. Details on how the convention will be held have yet to be decided. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate.
Pinsonat says Landry’s agenda on what will be revised in the constitution has not been made public and procedural matters, like will the proposed changes have to have a two-thirds majority before it’s placed on the ballot for voters to decide.
As for Landry’s first regular legislative session, Pinsonat says the governor for the most part is getting what he wanted.
The session ends June 3rd.
______________________________________________
The LSU baseball team ended the regular season by sweeping Ole Miss to finish the season 13-and-17 in the SEC. Many believe the Tigers needed 13 wins in league play to have a chance at making the NCAA Tournament. Coach Jay Johnson says there’s no doubt in his mind that LSU should play in a regional…
LSU can add to its resume on Tuesday morning when they face Georgia in the SEC Tournament in a single-elimination game. Johnson’s team finished the SEC by winning four of its last five series, which he believes is a great accomplishment…