According to a report workers and their families in Louisiana are spending the largest share of their income on health care compared to the rest of America. Connor Ferrill has the story.
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Connor Ferrill”
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A Louisiana billionaire is asking the legislature to allow citizens to vote on a ballot measure that would fund vital infrastructure projects…
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According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund workers and their families in Louisiana are spending the largest share of their income on health care compared to the rest of America. Vice President for Healthcare Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund Sara Collins says…
Collins says what an employer has to pay on the overall premium is lower than the national average, but the issue stems from what an employee has to pay…
Collins says there are plenty of options that could help make employer health care more affordable for workers and families. She says one of the chief issues that needs to be addressed is the “family coverage glitch” that has left millions of families ineligible for marketplace subsidies. Collins says if you are on an employer-based plan spending 9.5 of your income on your premium, qualifying for subsidies will depend on what kind of plan you are looking for…
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Jim Bernhard, former president of the Shaw Group, says his private equity firm is willing to finance the cost of a new bridge over the Mississippi, and estimates the project would take about seven years to complete. Bernhard says the numbers look good for financiers investing in the project.
But before the billion dollar project could be initiated, Bernhard says access roads and additional infrastructure leading up to the structure will need to be approved, noting he would like to avoid another situation like the Sunshine Bridge.
Bernhard is hoping the legislature passes a ballot measure that will allow voters a direct say in funding for infrastructure projects, such as Baton Rouge Representative Rick Ward’s proposed gas tax increase. He says the project can’t wait.
He estimates waiting another five years on the project could inflate its cost by another 200 million dollars.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has received 12 juvenile whooping cranes at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge as they attempt to reestablish a flourishing population to the Bayou State. The state’s population of the bird at one point was as high as 10,000, but dropped to just one in the 1950s. LDWF Wildlife Biologist Sara Zimorski the birds will be released soon and expect to stay around the release area.
Cut 9 (08) “…southwest Louisiana.″
Zimorski says when the project started in 2011, the bird was absent from the state. But they used to be here in large numbers.
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Zimorski says one of the contributing factors to the bird’s disappearance in the state was the disappearance of the wetlands in favor of agriculture development. Now, the birds are starting to take a liking to some of those areas too.
Cut 11 (13) “…choosing as well.”
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The man wanted for the shooting of a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputy over the weekend was captured this morning in New Orleans. There had been a manhunt for 38 year old Tynonne Louis since Sunday when a deputy responded to a disturbance between Louis and his girlfriend, where Louis fled and shot the deputy. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto says Louis had an active warrant.
Cut 12 (09) “…the actual shooting.”
Lopinto says they did not expect Louis to go down easily when he was found at a bus station this morning by US Marshals. However he no longer had a gun on him. The sheriff adds he hopes the fence is thrown on Louis for quite an extensive amount of time.
Lopinto credits the help of Crime Stoppers for getting the tip that lead to the arrest.