North central Louisiana lawmakers at the Capitol today waited anxiously for news from back home as reports began filtering in about a deadly EF-3 tornado that sliced through Ruston, the home of Louisiana Tech University. Tech President Les Guice says thankfully the tornado skirted the edge of the core academic buildings, but the residential halls weren’t so lucky.
Cut 14 (12) “ fields”
The pictures from the campus are startling, with trees ripped up by the roots, and debris littering the grounds. Guice says walking the halls and fields that are usually teeming with students was heart-wrenching.
Cut 16 (11) “…traumatic”
The Louisiana National Guard has mobilized a unit to assist with recovery. They are equipped with chain saws, dump trucks and bobcats.
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A bill to legalize the growing and processing of Industrial hemp is on it’s way to the full House after unanimously passing in the House Agriculture Committee. Jennings Representative John Guinn says he supports the legislation, and in a back and forth with Strain, says the banning of hemp production in America can be traced to the rise of their competitors in big plastic…
Cut 9 (11) “…interesting“.
Following a 5-1 vote, a constitutional amendment that aims to raise the minimum wage in Louisiana to $9 an hour on July 1, 2020, is headed to the Senate floor, where the effort died last year. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter says a bump in the minimum wage would show that the state is serious about helping its working poor.
Cut 10 (12) “…government to survive.”
Governor John Bel Edwards has sought an increase in the minimum wage since taking office in 2016.