Governor John Bel Edwards holds a press conference today to review the challenges and successes the state has seen in 2016. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says based on his latest Southern Media and Opinion Research survey, Edwards approval rating is at 64-percent. But Pinsonat says the governor faces a number of challenges in 2017, which will impact his popularity going forward….
cut 9 (08) “….houses fixed”
Edwards had a meeting with Senator-elect John Kennedy and US Representatives-elect Mike Johnson and Clay Higgins to discuss flood recovery efforts and asked them to push the Housing and Urban Development Department to approve rules on how the state can spend the second installment of federal recovery dollars.

A student at Northshore High School in Slidell has died after a car he was riding in ended up submerged in water in the Salt Bayou area. He’s been identified as Tyler Levy.

The latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics finds women earn on average 76-percent of the salary men make in Louisiana. Tulane business professor Dr. Mark Rosa says typically, women spend more time caring for families, and being out of the office could affect earnings, especially in commissioned jobs.
Cut 3 (07) “better pay”
In Louisiana, there’s been a push for several years to pass an Equal Pay Bill requiring companies to pay women the same salary as men for equal work.

The Southern Rail Commission has provided cash to Baton Rouge and a couple of other cities to help develop a passenger rail service that connects Baton Rouge with New Orleans. John Spain is with the commission and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, he says there’s also talk of passenger trail service between New Orleans and Orlando….
cut 11 (09) “…seven days a week”