LSU and a news organization have created a website which would let the public give an opinion on how Louisiana’s budget woes could be repaired. Jeff Palermo reports…:
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A first of its kind study finds childcare issues costs the state over a billion dollars a year in the economy. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser announces an initiative to get Louisianans to vacation right here in the Bayou State. Emelie Gunn has more…
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LSU and a news organization have created a website which would let the public give an opinion on how Louisiana’s budget woes could be repaired. LSU’s Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs and The Advocate, together developed “solve-the-budget-dot-org.” LSU Mass Communications Professor Len Apcar says the poll has two sections
Cut 4 (10) “and spending cuts”
Lawmakers are faced with the task of deciding how to deal with a projected $440 million dollar budget deficit. Apcar says poll participants can select “Yes” or “No” to a number of different options related to revenue and spending, with the dollar amounts included for each….:
Apcar says the website aims to teach Louisianians about the complexities of the state’s finances, and hopes a number of people respond between now and the end of the session. He also says that once developers look at the results, it could shed some light on what the masses would really like to see happen at the Capitol…:
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Congressman Clay Higgins has sent a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards urging him to take action to keep Louisiana’s confederate monuments in place, after the Liberty Place monument in New Orleans was taken down under the cover of night. Higgins says this is something that has to be done at the state level.
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser recently sent a letter to President Trump making the same plea, but Higgins says there’s nothing the feds can do. He says these monuments are a part of Louisiana’s history, and they deserve to be protected.
The New Orleans City Council voted to remove four confederate-era monuments, with statues of Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis still awaiting removal. But Higgins doesn’t think it will stop there. He says the decision to surgically remove this part of our history reflects weakness and fear.
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A study by the LSU Public Policy Research Lab and the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children finds a lack of quality childcare costs employers and employees over a billion dollars a year. LPIC Executive Director Melanie Bronfin says Louisiana has cut funding to early child care programs 70-percent since 2008.
The report finds one in six workers in Louisiana quit their jobs because of trouble with child care. Dr. Belinda Davis with the Public Policy Research Lab says this results in added costs for employers as the cost of temporary workers and training new employees is expensive. She says this creates large impacts on the state’s economy.
Bronfin says a way to solve these problems is to stop cutting money to pay for the Louisiana School Readiness Tax Credits. She says early child care programs are critical to working parents and employers
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Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser unveils a new initiative called Destination Louisiana to encourage Louisianans to vacation in their home state. Nungesser hopes residents will staycation in the Bayou State rather than jumping on a plane. He says there is so much beauty to see right here.
Over the next six months, six different parishes will receive multi-platform coverage from the Louisiana Office of Tourism, starting with Iberia and ending in Sabine. Nungesser says this initiative is an opportunity to showcase all the great reasons to enjoy what Louisiana has to offer.
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Nungesser says radio commercials and digital billboards will promote the Louisiana parish of the month. He says for more information on the Destination of the Month, visit Louisiana-travel-dot-com (louisianatravel.com).