The high school graduation rate saw a slight decline from 2018 to 2019, but Louisiana schools did graduate a new record number of students. Matt Doyle has more.
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Minden Senator Robert Mills is asking Governor Edwards to allow clergy to enter health care facilities to support the mental health of patients. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Governor Edwards addressed the pandemic’s impact on the state’s incarcerated population in his most recent coronavirus press conference. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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The state graduation rate declined from 81.4 percent for the class of 2018 to 80.1 percent for the class of 2019.
New Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says it’s a disappointing development after years of gains in the graduation rate.
Louisiana high schools did graduate a record 42,650 students for the class of 2019.
In some good news, the number of students graduating with college credit or industry credentials went up ten percent. Brumley says further increasing that number will be a focus during his tenure.
Just over half of all students in the 2019 class graduated with college credits or credentials.
Brumley says it’s too early to determine whether the pandemic will result in an even lower graduation rate, that being said…
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A Minden Senator is asking the Edwards administration to allow clergy members into healthcare facilities to tend to sick and/or dying patients.
The current public health emergency bars family from entry, but Robert Mills says clergy should be considered mental health support personnel.
This would include nursing homes, hospitals, and adult residential facilities.
Mills says it’s not just a quality of life issue, but a quality of death issue for those with little time left.
A recent lawsuit in Maryland was resolved in favor of allowing clergy to enter healthcare facilities to see patients.
Mills says Governor Edwards could make this happen with a simple executive order, but…
Capital observes estimate that another session will be held sometime in October to reevaluate state revenue.
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Business Facilities Magazine ranks Louisiana Economic Development’s FastStart program as the top workforce development program in the nation for the eleventh consecutive year. Executive Director of the FastStart program Paul Helton, says there is no secret to the success, they just produce results.
Cut 10 (12) “…delivers on that.”
The magazine also ranks Louisiana number one for best industrial electricity rates, New Orleans number one among logistics leaders, and the Port of South Louisiana number one for imports.
Helton says the program incentivizes business development in the state by providing workforce training, recruitment, and selection services for companies.
Cut 11 (12) “…things like that.”
Helton also credits for the program’s use of innovative methods of training for the high marks.
Cut 12 (09) “…for our clients.”
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Governor Edwards addressed concerns about COVID-19 among the state’s incarcerated population during his most recent coronavirus press conference. Edwards says another corrections officer recently died from the virus.
Cut 13 (09) “…worker at Angola.”
As of Tuesday, Edwards says two inmates are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
Edwards says coronavirus testing is being done with both staff and inmates at all facilities.
Cut 15 (11) “…our parish jails.”
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LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron says he’s preparing his team for the season to start on time with the season opener in Tiger Stadium versus U-T-S-A on September 5th. Orgeron says if the schedule changes, they will not blink…
Orgeron made the comments during a Facebook Live Interview with the Baton Rouge Rotary Club. The SEC is expected to make an announcement soon on what the upcoming college football season might look like. Orgeron says when the players returned to campus in June they had a cluster of coronavirus cases
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Saints Coach Sean Payton says he would not be surprised if there are NFL games suspended this season because of a coronavirus outbreak. Each team has to follow social distancing guidelines at their facilities and players could also be fined if they do something that puts themselves in jeopardy of getting infected. But Payton says that’s probably not enough to prevent an outbreak
The players will need to test negative for COVID-19 three times in a four-day period. If they do, they will undergo a physical this weekend. Even though there was no offseason conditioning program, Payton expects the players will be in great shape
Next week will be a lot of weight training and conditioning. Starting August 12th the entire team can get on the field for practice, but padded practices do no start August 17th. Payton says they can’t allow the protocols that are in place to be an excuse for not getting ready to play