Vice President Mike Pence visits Baton Rouge this afternoon. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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After 19 years in office Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo is unseated by Independent Friday Ellis. Matt Doyle has the story.
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It’s questionable whether high school football will be played this fall. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Vice President Mike Pence visits with Governor John Bel Edwards in Baton Rouge today. Edwards says the visit comes following the selection of Baton Rouge as one of the three metropolitan areas in the nation to be selected to receive federal resources for surge testing.
The Governor and the VP will meet with education and health officials as well as members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation concerning the state’s response to the pandemic.
Edwards and Pence will also take part in a roundtable discussion at Tiger Stadium with higher education leaders to discuss college sports as well as the fall reopening plans.
Cut 5 (11) “…perhaps distance learning.”
Edwards says the success of LSU’s football team may have also contributed to motivating the VP to make the trip to the Bayou State.
Cut 6 (10) “…that fine university.”
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Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo loses his reelection effort, ending a 19 year run in the office.
Mayo began his time in public office back in 1995 when he won City Council seat. He was named interim Mayor in 2001, leading to him winning a special election for the seat and maintaining it until this year. He says it’s a disappointing loss, but…
The Democrat also had two unsuccessful bids for Congressional seats.
The Mayor says he’s proud of the progress the city made in his term. He pointed out over 2,000 businesses have been added since he was first elected, and the city’s books were set straight.
Projections estimate the city has lost about three percent of its population in the last ten years.
Friday Ellis, an Independent, won 52 percent of the vote while Mayo received 38 percent in a 41 percent turnout election. We asked Mayo what he thought was behind the loss…
Ellis is listed as white on the Secretary of State’s website. 63 percent of voters in the Mayor’s race were black.
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Deep discussions about mask usage are expected out of today’s meeting of the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning the strategy behind a safe reopening of schools next month. BESE President Sandy Holloway says tomorrow will be a formative meeting in recommendations issued to districts.
Cut 10 (10) “…not quite sure.”
Lawmakers tasked BESE with the responsibility to establish minimum standards for students, teachers, and staff on school property during the special session. Holloway said during a meeting of the House Education Committee, there will likely be a discussion of how to handle those that are not in mask compliance.
Cut 11 (09) “…walk through this.”
Holloway says they are abiding by the Governor’s recommendations and will expect districts to follow localized recommendations as well.
Cut 12 (07) “…that particular mandate.”
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State and federal personal, partnership, and corporate income tax returns for 2019 are due Wednesday.
The original due dates were in April and May, but Louisiana Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson says the pandemic inspired the state and feds to push it back two to three months.
Robinson says they still have a fair number of returns that have not been filed yet, and that many people took advantage of the extended deadline, and with good reason.
Robinson says if you still need extra time you can file for an extension. She says that extends the requirement to file the return, but…
Robinson says the turnaround for getting tax returns is right in line with the three to four-week wait you’d expect from the usual tax season despite COVID impacting the Department’s operations.
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For high school football to happen, Louisiana will need to reach Phase 4. That’s according to LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine who appeared before the House Education Committee. Rosepine Representative Charles Owen says the stark reality is that Louisiana must do a better job at mitigating the coronavirus spread…
Cut 16 (10) “…another direction”
The state is currently is stuck in phase two, after reporting 17-hundred new cases on Monday. Bonine was asked during the committee meeting about the potential of flipping spring and fall sports, so football can be played in 2021…
According to the LHSAA guidelines, the only two sports that can compete against other schools in Phase Two are cross country and swimming. Basketball, soccer, and wrestling all need to be in phase four too. Volleyball can hold competitive matches in phase three. Bonine says if some athletic events are able to proceed, they might do so without fans, but that creates other problems