17:30 LRN Newscast December 21

Tax reform is in, and that means big changes to the way Louisianans file taxes.  Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

A Southern Media and Opinion Research poll finds Governor John Bel Edwards has his highest approval numbers since taking office nearly two years ago at 65-percent. His approval rating is higher than senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy and Congressman Steve Scalise.  Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says it helps Edwards is away from the political division that’s happening in Washington D-C…

Cut 4  (09) “perfect time.” 

Cleco has named Bill Fontenot as the new CEO effective January 1st. Fontenot has been with the company for 31 years.  He says the utility is looking to solidify their reliability. Fontenot says he looks forward to upgrading the power grid to withstand natural disasters.

Cut 15 (12) “catastrophic conditions.”

Cleco serves about 288-thousand customers in Louisiana.

Nearly 64,000 Americans died last year from drug overdoses, leading to a decline in life expectancy for the second year in a row, according to the CDC. President and CEO of the Addiction Policy Forum, Jessica Hulsey Nickel, blames the exploding opioid epidemic…:

Cut 8 (03) “every single day”