The Lt. Governor says he’s working to get New Orleans to relinquish control of the four Confederate monuments taken down in 2017, and turn them over to a group dedicated to historic preservation. Matt Doyle has the story.
____________________________
Motorists in Alexandria will begin seeing changes to the speed limit on I-49 beginning today. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (28) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
_____________________________________________
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser gave an update on the status of the four New Orleans Confederate monuments today on Talk Louisiana, saying he’s working to get the city to transfer control of them. There’s one major roadblock though, and that’s P.G.T Beauregard, who isn’t controlled by the city…
The monuments were taken down in 2017, sparking an intense series of standoffs in front of the statues in multiple areas of the city.
Rumors circulated after the monument’s removal that private citizens were cutting deals to have the statues transferred to their property, but Nungesser says none of those efforts were ever completed. Despite the initial failures, the Lt. Governor says some private citizens are still making an attempt.
Nungesser says right now the monuments are still being stored, and are not in the best condition at the moment, so he’s pushing to have the them transferred to a historic preservation group comprised of historical experts and academics who understand the history of the old statues.
Cut 5 (10) “…forward.”
____________________
Motorists on I-49 in the urbanized areas of Alexandria will see an increase in the speed limit. DOTD spokesperson Erin Buchanan says today crews are changing out the speed limits signs in the area.
The remaining portions in the Alexandria will see an increase from 60 to 70 miles per hour.
Buchanan says the change will see plenty of benefits as many of the drivers are already accustomed to driving the new speed limit.
Cut 7 (11) “…things like that.”
Buchanan says speed studies were conducted to calculate the optimal new speed for the area.
Cut 8 (12) “…feel comfortable driving.”
_____________________
Many Food Stamp beneficiaries will be receiving their funds on a modified schedule next month as the program wraps up it’s government shutdown inspired scheduling changes. DCFS Division of Family Support Deputy Assistant Secretary Sammy Guillory says those who normally get their SNAP on the 10th through the 14th will instead get their funds on the 9th.
Guillory says they had to make the change to make sure some of their recipients did not end up going too long without their food assistance.
Guillory says this should be the last month featuring disturbances to the usual SNAP cycle, after months of having to continually modify the schedule due to SNAP gaps caused by the shutdown.
___________________________
House Republican Caucus Chairman Lance Harris used today’s joint legislative budget committee to question Governor Edwards re-election claims that taxes have gone down during his term. The state representative from Alexandria says taxes are actually higher than they were when Edwards took office…
Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says a combination of cuts and tax increases were needed to overcome a massive budget deficit. Dardenne reminds Harris that deeper cuts to the state budget could have been made, but the state legislature never presented a plan
When tax increases were proposed, the Edwards administration warned of dramatic cuts to higher education and health care, if not approved.
The state sales tax is about a half-cent lower than it was last year, but still higher than the four-percent during the Jindal administration. Harris points out some business taxes have also increased…