Kids who qualify for SUN Bucks are starting to receive their benefits. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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Despite coming in a distant second in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, John Fleming is feeling good about his chances in the runoff. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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The Louisiana House approves a congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two Black majority districts. Jeff Palermo has the story.
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Children enrolled in the state’s SUN Bucks program are starting to receive their money. The program provides money to kids who receive free or reduced-price school meals during the summer months when school is not in session. Tim Jenkins, the economic stability director at the Louisiana Department of Health, says each eligible child enrolled in the program will get a one-time payment of 120 dollars.
Cut 4 (08) “…66-million dollars.”
That money can be used on any SNAP-eligible food items. They may not be used to buy hot prepared food, energy drinks, soda, candy or any other junk food. Jenkins says there is a time limit to use the benefit.
Cut 5 (10) “…cannot be recovered.”
Jenkins says most eligible children don’t need to do anything in order to receive SUN Bucks.
The state expects to distribute all SUN Bucks benefits by Monday. There’s a link with more information on the Louisiana Department of Health’s webpage.
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And then, there were two. With the incumbent out of the race, Julia Letlow and John Fleming are now squaring off head to head for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Fleming says his supporters are more excited now, and a poll that his campaign did after the primary shows him tied with Letlow.
Fleming says while he opposes carbon capture and sequestration, Letlow is in bed with the industry – and not exactly figuratively.
Cut 8 (11) “…capture and sequestration.”
Fleming says while Letlow certainly has a well-financed campaign, his campaign finance strategy has not changed since he launched his Senate run a year and a half ago – and you will see and hear plenty of ads from his campaign between now and June 27th.
Louisiana Radio Network has repeatedly asked for an interview with Julia Letlow through her campaign, but her campaign never replied to our requests.
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After a debate that lasted about eight hours, the Louisiana House approved a Congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s majority Black districts. The vote was 66-35. The Republican-led legislature is drawing a new map because the U.S. Supreme Court says race played too much of a factor in the current map, which resulted in two majority-minority districts. Democrats says race should still be a factor in the drawing of a new map, but House Governmental Affairs Chairman Beau Beaullieu says that would lead to more litigation.
The proposal will most likely result in Republicans representing five of the state’s six Congressional districts.
Democrats allege the map drawn by the Republican-led Legislature is so solely based on party politics, but Beaullieu disagrees.
Cut 11 (14) “…two Democrat districts.”
Every Black member of the Louisiana House spoke in opposition to the legislation, including Opelousas Representative Dustin Miller.
Cut 12 (10) “…mean we should.”
Black lawmakers have opposed this map every step of the way, but they did not have the votes to stop it from going to the governor’s desk. It’s likely the Legislative Black Caucus or a voting rights group will file a lawsuit to prevent it from going into effect after Landry signs into the law.
New Orleans Representative Candace Newell says they also have other tools, just like the grassroots effort that led to the voting down of the five constitutional amendments on the May 16th ballot.
Democrats have said since Blacks make up a third of the Black voting population, Blacks should represent two of the state’s six Congressional districts for it to be a fair Congressional map. Beaullieu’s response:
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The Saints have wrapped up their first two days of Organized Team Activities in Metairie. Head Coach Kellen Moore says he really likes what he sees in his receivers.
Cut 15 (22) “…find the matchups.”
Moore says rookie receiver Jordyn Tyson, who had battled injuries throughout his college career, was limited during rookie mini camp, and his volume is still being controlled during OTAs.
Moore says now that Tyler Shough is fully entrenched as the team’s starting quarterback without any quarterback competition to navigate through, he’s expecting big things out of him this season.
Cut 17 (24) “…build it together.”
The Saints resume OTAs Monday.