CC’s Coffee House plans to expand to 50 locations by the end of the year. Jeff Palermo has more…
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US Senator John Kennedy has written a letter calling for the Louisiana Department of Health and Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee to do their job. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (27) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Bourbon Street is known for being party central, and unfortunately also a hotspot for crime. Emelie Gunn has more on the Crescent City’s plan to cut down crime…
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CC’s Coffee House is expanding, with plans to have 50 locations open by the end of 2017. There are currently 33 stores, mostly in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lafayette and the plan is to triple the number of shops in three to five years. Director of licensing expansion with CC’s, Mark Verges, says the company takes pride in what they do…
Verges says new locations in Youngsville, Carencro and Alexandria are opening up within the next two weeks and stores in Covington, Houma and Port Allen are right behind. He says there is one location in Mississippi with plans to continue to expand into Texas and Alabama.
Cut 5 (10) “surrounding markets”
Verges says the company believes they have the right partners to continue to successfully expand their brand…
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US Senator John Kennedy wants Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee to reduce state spending on Medicaid. Kennedy says Medicaid accounts for 41% of this year’s budget, which is why TOPS has been cut, teachers can’t be paid more money, and congestion remains a problem on I-10.
Kennedy says the Medicaid budget has increased by 81% in less than a decade. But he says even though the health budget is going up every year, health outcomes aren’t improving. He says Louisiana still ranks third for cancer deaths, fourth in cardiovascular deaths, and second in infant mortality.
Kennedy’s recommendation to the state legislature is to decide how much the state can afford to spend on Medicaid, which will then be matched by federal funds. He says Dr. Gee then needs to design a budget around that amount of money.
But Gee says the facts in Kennedy’s letter are just plain wrong. She says it’s surprising that as a recent State Treasurer, Kennedy is so out of touch with how the state spends its money. She says Medicaid expansion is actually saving the state money.
Gee adds that health outcomes can’t be fixed overnight. She says Louisiana ranks at the bottom in the nation for health, but you can’t improve health if people don’t have access to care.
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New crime prevention measures will be put in place throughout the Crescent City and it calls for big changes on Bourbon Street. The announcement was made by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who says this $40 million plan will increase the flexibility of police manpower and improve crime deterrence.
Landrieu NOPD is getting 300 more police cruisers for officers to park at home, as a means of crime deterrence. He says much of Bourbon Street will be closed off to vehicle traffic during busy times. He says they’re also putting more security measures in place on Bourbon.
Landrieu says security cameras will also be posted in 20 hotspots around the city, as well as a mobile booking center for big events. He says they even considered closing Bourbon Street bars down at 2 a.m., but they came up with a better plan to make bars safer.
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Congressman Garret Graves has been named the Chairman of House Water Resources Subcommittee. Graves says this panel has jurisdiction over the Army Corp of Engineers, EPA, and other issues that greatly effect Louisiana. The Baton Rouge Republican says he’ll be in position to speak up for Louisiana during times of natural or manmade disasters…
Graves will use this position to push for the construction of flood control projects. He says while many people say money is saved by not building flood mitigation programs, that’s not the case in Louisiana.
Graves, who once served as the chairman of the coastal protection and restoration authority, says he plans to use his experience to make sure the Army Corp of Engineers delivers on flood protection and coastal restoration projections or give the funds to a local agency.
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