One of the largest companies in Louisiana may be the most important player on the field Sunday for the Super Bowl. Matt Doyle has the story.
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The Louisiana movie industry is seeing a revitalization after lawmakers reworked the state’s film tax credit program in 2016. Kelley Ray talked with Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson…
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A task force’s proposal to alter TOPS for lower performing students is running into opposition from Taylor Foundation members. Jeff Palermo was there…
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Monroe-based CenturyLink is being relied upon to keep the lights on, and the broadcast rolling for this year’s Super Bowl. U.S. Bank Stadium is a new stadium built from the ground up with state-of-the-art technology, mostly by CenturyLink. Director of Smart Solutions Jesse Sullivan says it’s a project years in the making.
CenturyLink is responsible for most of the technology infrastructure needs in the stadium. Perhaps most importantly, Sullivan says it’ll be high quality Wi-Fi throughout the stadium.
CenturyLink will handle all of the major network video streams coming out of the stadium, as well as the massive data load of 72,000 fans sending snaps, Facebook videos, and Instagram selfies. Sullivan says the raw amount of data is staggering.
Tech giant CenturyLink employs 2,700 Louisianans, with a payroll over 200- million dollars a year.
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The St. Landry Parish Crime Stoppers program has been awarded the 2017 Best “Crime of the Week” segment in the nation for cities up to 250-thousand people. A 20-minute program airs weekly on Thursday mornings on Lafayette radio station K-P-E-L and shorter segments on other stations including K-E-U-N. Segments also air on Lafayette TV stations. Major Eddie Thibodeaux on the award from Crime Stoppers USA…
The program is responsible for assisting in 60 arrests in 50 different cases in 2017. Thibodeaux says the anonymous tips are the reason behind its success…
Thibodeaux says as the segments have evolved, members of the St. Landry Parish’s Sheriff’s Office have become more involved…
The awards were presented at a Crime Stoppers USA seminar in Hawaii.
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The Louisiana movie industry is seeing a revitalization after lawmakers reworked the state’s film tax credit program in 2016. The state offers a 150-million-dollars-a-year-cap on credits issued, or 20-million-dollars per production. Louisiana Economic Development says producers spent an estimated 668-million-dollars in 2017, up from 365-million-dollars the year before. Secretary Don Pierson says the recent uptick bodes well for the economy…
Oscar winner Tom Hanks has chosen the Capital City to film the World War II movie “Greyhound”. Pierson says shooting will begin in Mid-March aboard the U.S.S. Kidd and other Baton Rouge locations…
The entertainment industry is looking to Louisiana as the state becomes more focused on television productions and smaller independent movies. Pierson says they are highlighting to producers and directors, there’s more to Louisiana than just New Orleans…
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A task force’s recommendations to alter the TOPS scholarship is taking fire from advocates for lower income students. Jennings Senator Blade Morrish’s proposal would cap payments to lower performing high school students. Taylor Foundation Executive Director Dr. James Caillier says Morrish’s proposal will have a negative affect on poor students.
Morrish’s proposed cap is 4,000 dollars a year for TOPS Opportunity students, which is 1,600 dollars below the average yearly cost of attending a four-year Louisiana school.
Caillier says the proposal takes money from poor families to line rich student’s pockets…
Another proposal would force students to take a minimum 15 credit hours a semester to keep their scholarship, three more than required now. Caillier says students from poor families have bills that their rich classmates don’t…
The TOPS task force will vote on adopting their proposals February 7th, and then those recommendations would need legislative approval later this year.
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LA Tech is taking a three game win streak on the road to Florida with a chance at to crack .500 in conference play if the Bulldogs can get their first road win of the season tonight. After convincing wins over Rice and Southern Miss, Head Coach Eric Konkol is feeling confident in his team’s ability to shut down an FAU team tied with them in conference standings.
Bulldogs Senior Guard Jacobi Boykins has been stroking it from downtown the last two games, dropping 6 threes each time out. Konkol says his young team is feeding off that energy.
The three game win streak came after an extended home stand, and the Bulldogs have been unable to grab a single win on the road this year. Konkel says getting this win would be huge for the team’s development.
The game kicks off 6pm tonight.
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