Tourism leaders are looking to capitalize on the increasing trend of international tourists visiting Louisiana. Scott Carwile reports…
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After a community effort to save 13 Live Oak Trees along Highway 182 in Jeanerette that were set to be cut down for safety reasons, the Department of Transportation says they’ve come up with a new plan. Michelle Southern reports.
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Rumors of Les Miles leaving LSU for Michigan are back again. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Tourism leaders are looking to capitalize on the increasing trend of international tourists visiting Louisiana. Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne says they have been very aggressive in marketing Louisiana to international visitors and those efforts are definitely paying off…
He says the state had an 18-percent increase in international visitors last year, the highest increase of any state in the nation according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. Dardenne says there are an increasing number of visitors from Brazil and Australia coming to Louisiana and there will be an effort to get more tourist from those countries to come to the Bayou State…
The top four international markets for Louisiana tourism are Canada, UK, Germany, and France. Dardenne says international tourists are great for Louisiana because they typically stay longer and spend more money…
Cut 6 (09) “prosperous industry”
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After a community effort to save 13 Live Oak Trees along Highway 182 in Jeanerette that were set to be cut down for safety reasons, the Department of Transportation says they’ve come up with a new plan. DOTD spokesman Rodney Mallett says the oaks are interfering with a measure that requires a 10 foot space between the road and any obstacle..:
The stretch extends 4.73 miles between the Iberia Parish line to La 670 in St. Mary Parish. Governor Bobby Jindal asked DOTD to preserve the trees because of their importance to the parish and the state. Mallett says they worked out new ways to help restore the ride quality of the roadway like adding signage and rumble striping…:
Certain members of the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge rallied residents in support of saving the trees. DOTD had flagged the area due to a high number of crashes on the stretch over the last several years in which drivers were running off the road. Mallett says they realize the historical significance of the trees along the scenic byway…:
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Louisiana Tech is one of the five universities nationwide to receive a one-point-four million dollar grant to produce more secondary math and science teachers. The grant money comes from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Louisiana Tech’s interim dean of the College of Education, Doctor Don Schillinger, says they are very excited about this.
Cut 10 (09) “across the region.”
Schillinger says the grant is for a five year time period but he hopes their teacher preparation will remain sustainable for many years to come.
Schillinger says this grant focuses on the STEM area of education, which means science, technology, engineering and math. He says because of the curriculum, the university has created many partnerships with local school districts to ensure the students get field experience.
cut 12 (10) “actual content areas.”
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The Les Miles to Michigan rumors are back. That’s because Miles’ alma mater, Michigan, is searching for a new football coach after firing Brady Hoke. LSU beat reporter for Gannett Newspapers, Glen Guilbeau, says Miles has been offered the Michigan job two previous times and said no and will likely say no again, if offered a third time.
Guilbeau says Miles won’t consider taking the job. He says Miles doesn’t want to leave LSU because of the young players and another great recruiting class for the upcoming season.
Michigan went 5 and 7 this season. And Guilbeau says it will take a lot of hard work to get Michigan to become a title contender again, while LSU is closer to competing for national titles.
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