The House Transportation Committee passed a bill that would give motorcycle riders the option to hit the highway without a helmet. Teiko Foxx has more…
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Congress is trying to force the sell TikTok to either sell to a U.S.-based company or ban the app. Brooke Thorington has more…
Cut 2 (32) “I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Expect overnight lane closures on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge beginning Monday as Phase 2 of the Basin Bridge Safety Corridor begins. Colleen Crain has more…
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”
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The House Transportation Committee passed legislation on Wednesday to repeal the state’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law which has been in place since 2004. The bill passed on a 10-3 vote. Hornbeck Representative Rodney Shamerhorn says wearing a helmet should be a personal choice.
Cut 4 (09) “…vegetable state.”
Under the current law, both riders and passengers are required to wear safety helmets regardless of age.
Shamerhorn wants to change it to people who are over 21 do not have to wear helmet if they can prove they have health insurance. He believes Louisiana has missed out tourism dollars from nearby states because of the helmet law. And noted many activities require safety gear to be available, its not mandatory.
Louisiana is one of 17 states that require full time helmets while riding a motorcycle.
Monroe Representative Pat Moore, who worked for an insurance company for 27 years, opposes the bill. She says riding a motorcycle without a helmet is like playing Russian Roulette. And questions the effect it will have on the state’s already skyrocketing insurance crisis.
The bill heads to the full House for more debate.
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Covington Senator and self-proclaimed Parrothead Patrick McMath wants to designate a portion of U.S. Route 11 in St. Tammany Parish to honor Jimmy Buffett. McMath says when the Margaritaville singer was just starting his musical career he traveled that very highway back and forth to play gigs.
If passed it would be designated as the “Jimmy Buffett ‘Changes in Latitude’ Memorial Crossing.”
McMath says he considers Buffett’s music the soundtrack of his life along with countless other fans. Even though Buffett was born in Mississippi and grew up in Alabama, McMath says the musician had a deep affinity for the Bayou State.
The bill advances from Senate Transportation and when McMath offers Senate Bill 44 to the upper chamber floor, he says he plans to dress accordingly.
Buffet passed away on September 1st at the age of 76. The Coral Reefer Band along with special guests will perform a tribute to the late singer at Jazz Fest this year.
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A proposed U.S. law targeting the social media app TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese base company ByteDance, could force the company to sell its controlling stake or be blocked in the U.S. Host of the podcast Tech Gumbo Host Haggai Davis says the issue is over the user data it collects and that it’s being sold within the communist country.
Davis says the bill forces the company to be sold to either a U.S.-based or a non-Chinese company to alleviate security concerns that a communist country could be misusing data against Americans.
Cut 11 (10) “…in the United States.”
Like other social media apps and search engines, Davis says when you sign on to any of them you automatically allow them to track your online activity which then gives advertisers insight of your personality traits.
He says the issue with TikTok is that the ownership is based in a Communist Country.
If you use the popular app, to promote your brand or business, Davis says he doesn’t anticipate it being banned anytime soon.
On Wednesday the U.S. House approved the bill, which now heads to the Senate.
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Phase 2 of the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge Safety Corridor begins Monday. Crews will be replacing speed limit signs and installing informative speed cameras that measure motorists’ speeds by radar. Rodney Mallett with the Louisiana Department of Transportation says there will be lane closures…
For years, cars have had a 60 mile per hour speed limit while trucks were limited to 55 miles per hour. Mallet says in phase two, there will be one limit for all vehicles…
Mallett says, the informative cameras that show motorists their speeds will eventually be replaced by enforcement cameras that will photograph license plates of speed violators. He says speeding motorists dangerously weave through traffic around other drivers…
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The LSU men’s basketball team begins play today as an eight-seed in the SEC Tournament. Coach Matt McMahon’s team will face Mississippi State at noon…
All SEC Selection Josh Hubbard is averaging 17 points to lead State. He scored 32 points against the Tigers earlier this season and hit six three-pointers in a 20-point win over LSU. McMahon days the Bulldogs defense does a good job of holding its opponents to less than 70 points a game…