An area of low pressure is set to head into the Gulf of Mexico. Emelie Gunn reports it could produce heavy rainfall in Louisiana later this week…
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After lawmakers struggled to pass a budget in the regular and special sessions, Governor Edwards says he may not call another, even though budget woes are looming. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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An area of low pressure in the southern Gulf of Mexico is likely to turn into a tropical storm or depression in the next 48 hours. That’s according to State Climatologist Barry Keim, but he says there is good news with this tropical system.
Keim says one of the computer models has the potential storm heading towards the Texas-Mexico coast but there is a chance the system could move north towards the Louisiana coast. He says if that’s the case, the biggest threat to the Bayou State is lots of rain.
Keim says it doesn’t appear the storm will get strong enough to create any serious problems with wind or storm surge. He says the right hand side of the storm seems to be where the heaviest rainfall will be.
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Governor John Bel Edwards says he may not issue the call for a special session where lawmakers could address a looming fiscal cliff in 2018. Edwards says House Republicans did not support any of the recommendations from the tax reform task force in the regular session, nor did they propose a plan of their own. He’s skeptical anything would be accomplished in another special session.
Edwards says he’s not giving up. He says he will continue to work with lawmakers to try and find common ground where a compromise can be reached. But he says the options before the legislature in a future special session won’t be any different than they were this year.
More than a billion in temporary taxes are set to expire next year. If the call is issued, Edwards says he will look to House leadership to assure him that lawmakers have a plan they will support. He says almost any option would be much better than the alternative.
Cut 8 (11) “state general fund”
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LSU freshman pitching ace Eric Walker will start on the mound for the Tigers in tonight’s College World Series game against Oregon State. The right-hander is 8-1 with a 3.46 ERA and hasn’t pitched since he threw 8 shutout innings in LSU’s Baton Rouge regional-clinching victory over Rice. Walker says he’s ready for the big stage…:
Walker is 2-0 in those postseason outings between Arkansas in the SEC Tournament final and Rice in the NCAA Regional final, with a 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings, one walk and 16 strikeouts. Oregon State is hitting .296 as a team this season with 29 home runs and 62 steals in 80 attempts. Walker says he knows he’s going up against some serious talent…:
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Wounded Congressman Steve Scalise was elected US House Majority Whip three years ago, and experts say that no matter his condition the lawmaker from Jefferson Parish still has a bright political future. Analyst Clancy DuBos says Scalise is a classic Louisiana politician in the best and highest sense…:
Scalise was shot in what many believe was a politically motivated attack and remains hospitalized in serious condition. Dubos says another reason Scalise will not go anywhere anytime soon is that he still supported President Donald Trump’s campaign when the embarrassing Hollywood Access tapes were leaked…:
Cut 12 (11) “than anybody else in the House”
Dubos says it’s hard to imagine that Scalise would have any trouble keeping his seat in Louisiana’s 1st district. He says not only is Scalise popular with the public, but national media and pundits from both parties view him as a rising star…:
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A scorecard from AARP finds the Bayou State needs serious improvement when it comes to serving older adults and those with disabilities. Advocacy Director with AARP Louisiana, Andrew Muhl, says Louisiana is ranked 40th overall when it comes to meeting the needs of the elderly. He says these individuals are not getting the adequate day to day help that they need.
The scorecard found the value of unpaid care for older adults is over six billion dollars. Muhl says Louisiana has a very unbalanced long term care system. He says Medicaid dollars tend to go towards nursing homes when many older adults want to stay at home with assistance from friends and family.
Muhl says as a state, we have a lot of work to do. He says the state spends way too much on nursing home care and not enough on in-home care.
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