Governor-elect John Bel Edwards names Doctor Rebekah Gee as his secretary for the department of health and hospitals. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Mardi Gras season kicks off today with King’s Day and bakeries all over the state will be busy cooking up king cakes. Emelie Gunn has more….
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The US set a new auto sales record in 2015, but Louisiana didn’t see such a boost. Michelle Southern reports…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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At $450 million dollars, tonight’s Powerball jackpot is the 4th largest in the game’s history. The cash value for the Wednesday drawing is worth an estimated $275.4 million dollars. Louisiana Lottery spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says sales for this run have been through the roof, which is why it was raised from $400 million…:
Chopin says today’s jackpot is also the biggest the multi-state game has had since February of last year, when three winners split $564.1 million. She says many people in Louisiana play Powerball when the jackpots get this big…:
Chopin says they like to send out a few reminders to players who like to go in on some tickets with friends or in an office pool…:
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LSU public health professor Doctor Rebekah Gee is the new secretary for the Department of Health and Hospitals. Gee says expanding the eligibility qualifications, so more people can participate in the state’s Medicaid program is her top priority. She says it would benefit thousands of poor working adults
Governor-elect John Bel Edwards says putting procedures in place to expand the state’s Medicaid program will be one of his first duties when he takes office on Monday. Edwards says the expansion will go into effect this summer..
Gee will oversee a nine-point-seven billion dollar agency that has about seven-thousand employees. She also takes the job during a budget crisis, but the challenge doesn’t faze her
Cut 9 (08) “will address them”
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Twelfth night is today and that means it’s the kick off to Mardi Gras season and a busy time for bakeries. Co-owner of Haydel’s Bakery in New Orleans, David Haydel, says with Fat Tuesday on February 9th and a short Mardi Gras season, king cakes will be selling quickly.
Haydel says this is the time where the bakery has all hands on deck to make sure they make enough king cakes for everyone. He says his bakery ships cakes worldwide, so no matter where you are, you can celebrate.
Sam Scelfo, owner of Gambino’s Bakery, says because this Mardi Gras season is so short, they’re going to be extra busy making king cakes. He hopes people start having a lot of parties soon to ensure they’ll sell lots of cakes in the short amount of time.
Scelfo says during the offseason, they play around with many different cake flavors and combinations to keep things interesting during Mardi Gras. He says they’re introducing some new flavors this season that they’ve never had before.
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The US set a new auto sales record in 2015, but Louisiana didn’t see such a boost. Automakers announced Tuesday that last year, nationwide sales hit a record of about 17 million vehicles. Bob Israel is the President of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association. He says our oil based economy is suffering which played a part in a slight auto sales decline in Louisiana last year:
Israel says Louisiana set a record for auto sales in 2014, and those were down about 3.7 percent last year…:
Israel says the industry as a whole benefits from easy credit, low gas prices and economic growth, but the low oil prices are affecting sectors across the board in Louisiana. Still, he says, dealers in The Bayou State aren’t complaining…: