Now that Governor John Bel Edwards has signed into law a measure allowing riverboat casinos to come ashore, when will it happen? Matt Doyle has more…
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If you’re 45 and think you can wait until your 50′s to get a colorectal scan, a new report from LSU Health says you’re wrong. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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The Senate has agreed to a budget and tax plan that would fully fund healthcare and higher ed. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Governor John Bel Edwards signed legislation allowing riverboat casinos to move up to 12-hundred feet onto land from their current berth space. Executive Director of the Louisiana Casino Association Wade Duty says riverboat casinos will not come ashore immediately, as there’s some regulatory work to do and operators have to design and come up with financing…
Lake Charles Senator Ronnie Johns, says the Shreveport-Bossier City market will benefit the most, because they face tough competition from Oklahoma, where Indian tribes are building huge casinos. Duty says this is the first major change in Louisiana since casino gambling was legalized in 1991…
Duty says the upcoming investments made by the casino industry will help the state’s bottom line…
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The American Cancer Society has new guidelines recommending earlier screenings for colorectal cancer, bumping the previously recommended age from 50, down to 45. LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health founding dean Dr. Elizabeth Fontham, says there’s been an alarming new trend…
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Colorectal cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer, and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths. There are six different tests that screen for the disease, but one everyone knows.
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The American Cancer Society recommends the average adult undergo regular screening with any of the six testing options, with the hope more screenings would save lives.
A colonoscopy is recommended once every ten years.
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Entergy Louisiana is planning on purchasing solar power generated by a solar farm that’s set to be the largest such facility in the state. The facility by Eagle Solar Group will be based in West Baton Rouge Parish, and should be up and running by 2020. Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May says it’s a huge project and a 20 year agreement.
The purchasing plan is estimated to save customers 29 million dollars over the life of the contract. May says it’s a great opportunity for customers, and expands Entergy’s diverse renewable energy portfolio, the he says is one of the most impressive in the nation.
May says solar is beginning to become remarkable cost effective, depending on the area.
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The project is pending regulatory approval by the Public Service Commission.
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The Senate passed a budget, and a tax bill to pay for it, that fully funds TOPS, higher ed, and healthcare. The tax bill raises 508 million dollars by renewing half of the expiring penny sales tax, and eliminating some business tax deductions. Ville Platte Senator Eric LaFleur says it’s a compromise that he hopes everyone can be content with.
Governor John Bel Edwards praised the legislation, saying “Louisiana has moved one step closer to avoiding catastrophic cuts.”
If adopted, the state sales tax would drop from the current five percent to 4.5 percent. LaFleur says late night talks with department heads led to tens of millions of dollars being freed up that could be passed back to taxpayers in tax breaks.
The plan also included a 21 million dollar increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit, which gives up to an additional 95 dollars a year on tax returns to 43 percent of Louisiana’s workers, often referred to as the working poor.
But not everyone was happy with the direction of the bill. Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says claims that the spending plan is a standstill budget are not true, because total spending levels are still higher than last year.
The budget and tax bill will be heard in the House today, the last day of the special session.
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