LRN AM Newscall March 30

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to debate today whether Louisiana should have a centralized sales tax collection. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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A state representative has a plan to boost teacher pay to the regional average. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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The LSU women’s basketball team’s season ended earlier than most had expected, but Kim Mulkey says her coaching career is not over. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Today the House Ways and Means Committee will discuss a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state to implement a centralized system for collecting local sales and use taxes. The Tax Foundation says the proposal is sound tax policy. Manish Batt (Bot) is the Vice President of State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation…

Cut 4 (11) “…sales taxes.”

Bhatt says Louisiana remains a national outlier in lacking central collection and administration of its sales taxes. But the Police Jury Association of Louisiana opposes the legislation as they are concerned this legislation will result in a drop in local sales tax revenue. But Bhatt says a centralized sales tax system would still be the best method for everyone

Cut 5 (09) “…the system.”

Bhatt says because Louisiana’s sales tax system is one of the most complex in the country, state and local governments could be missing out on tax revenue…

Cut 6 (06) “…compliance.”

The House Ways and Means Committee meets at 9 AM.

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Researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center publish the first set of data from its RURAL Heart and Lung study. Lead Researcher Dr. Stephanie Broyles says the study gathered data in Assumption Parish.

Cut 7 (10) “…education level.”

Dr. Broyles says in cases where they saw differences, education levels, not income or age, stood out the most – but not in the way that people might expect.

Cut 8 (08) “…in lower education.”

The data book for Assumption Parish is out now. Dr. Broyles’ team also collected data in Franklin Parish, and she says it was very important that that parish be included in the study.

Cut 9 (07)  “…in the U.S.”

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A state lawmaker is looking to boost teacher pay to align with the regional average. Monroe Representative Michael Echols’ Teacher Pay Modernization Act would gradually increase teacher pay throughout the state until it reaches the Southern regional average.

Cut 10 (09) “…about 25-percent.”

Echols says the state would need to come up with somewhere between 200-million and 600-million dollars to accomplish this. Echols says one element of that involves finding cost-cutting opportunities within the public sector, including the elimination of job positions.

Cut 11 (08) “…that regional average.”

Echols says a lot of the cost-cutting could be mitigated if voters approve Constitutional Amendment Three in the May 16th election.

Cut 12 (09) “…in teachers’ pay.”

Louisiana teachers earn just under 60-thousand dollars a year on average, about 12-thousand dollars short of the national average. Echols’ bill will be considered by the House Education Committee.

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The LSU baseball rallied from seven runs down to beat Kentucky 17-10 to win its first SEC series and improve to 4-and-5 in conference play. The offense had one of its best days of the season. Derek Curiel was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs…

Cut 13 (13)  “…last out”

John Pearson got the Tigers back in the game with a grand slam in the third inning. Seth Dardar hit a three-run home run in the sixth to give LSU the lead. Dardar flipped his bat way in the air and was fired up as he circled the bases

Cut 14 (10) “…world to me.”

This would have been a bad loss for the Tigers, who were in jeopardy of losing their third consecutive SEC series and second straight at home. LSU got down 7-0 in the third inning, but Coach Jay Johnson is proud of how the team bounced back…

Cut 15 (14) “…made it happen”

LSU will host Southern tomorrow night and visit Tennessee this weekend.

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Following LSU’s season-ending loss to Duke in the Sweet 16, Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey addressed a report that she is retiring. A social media post during the game reported that this was Mulkey’s last game. Mulkey shot the rumor down in the postgame press conference…

Cut 16 (16) “…on social media.”

Friday night was a tough end to a season that had hopes of a Final Four appearance. LSU lost a buzzer-beating shot. Mulkey says it’s never easy to see the season end with a loss…

Cut 17 (20)  “…we had.

LSU will have to replace Flau’jae Johnson, one of the greatest players in the program’s history. But the Lady Tigers return two of their top three scorers in MiLaysia Fulwiley and Mikayla Williams. Williams is expected to return for her senior season, seeking that a coveted trip to the Final Four…

Cut 18 (17)  “…Final Four.” 

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After missing five games last season due to an ankle injury, linebacker Whit Weeks decided he was going to return to LSU for his senior season. Weeks says a big deciding factor in returning was when Blake Baker was retained on Lane Kiffin’s staff.

Cut 19 (10) “…I’m coming back, too.”

Weeks is expected to miss most of spring practice as he continues to recover from an ankle injury that forced him to miss five games in the 2025 season. Weeks says he wishes he could be out there with his team, but wants to prioritize his health.

Cut 20 (09) “…roll into fall camp.”