BESE is slated to meet today to discuss the job future of Education Superintendent John White. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Gas prices are leveling off after climbing for the past week. Don Molino has more…
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The ACLU of Louisiana has sent a letter to Louisiana State Police after a man was cited for flipping off a trooper on the interstate. Halen Doughty has the story…
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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BESE meets behind closed doors to discuss the job status of state Education Superintendent John White. Board member Kathy Edmonston of Gonzales says she would like the entire panel to vote to whether or not White stays in the position he’s held since 2012. White appeared on Talk Louisiana to talk about this upcoming meeting
Edmonston has had public disagreements with the Superintendent, especially on White’s support for Common Core. White says he welcomes his evaluation.
White makes 270-thousand dollars a year and works month to month, as the board has yet to extend his contract. Even the governor has mentioned whether White should legally be the superintendent because the Senate did not confirm him this year. White says he will work until BESE makes a decision.
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After peaking over the last couple of weeks, gasoline prices appear to be leveling off, according to GasBuddy. Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy says this is good news for drivers. He says prices have peaked for the short term and are now moving back down again.
Oil prices spent the last few weeks rising from $42 to $50 a barrel. But DeHaan says they’re falling again, which is leading to a decline in prices at the pump. He says refineries have done an excellent job of keeping up with the high demand.
DeHaan expects gas prices may level off for the next few weeks before they really start to drop in mid- to late-September. Louisiana has the ninth lowest gas prices in the country with a statewide average of $2.16 a gallon. DeHaan credits a low gasoline tax and the oil industry for the low prices in the Bayou State.
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The ACLU of Louisiana has sent a letter to Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Kevin Reeves after a man was ticketed for flipping off a state trooper on I-20 near Rayville. Executive Director Marjorie Esman says the man was charged with felony public intimidation.
Cut 10 (12) “anything harmful”
Esman says as rude as it may be, giving someone the finger is a First Amendment right. She hopes the letter brings attention to the issue and directs state police in their training on the matter.
The charge was dismissed by the state attorney who reviewed the case. Esman says while they’re glad the charges were thrown out, they want to ensure state police do not infringe upon anyone else’s rights.
LSP issued a statement saying, “Louisiana State Police has tremendous respect for the First Amendment even when the citizens we serve choose to be vulgar and disrespectful. This was an unfortunate incident which will be used as a training opportunity.”
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A new report by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network finds Louisiana along with 11 other Southern states are slacking when it comes to implementing policies to reduce and prevent tobacco use. Lance Barbour with ACS CAN says evidence shows these steps work well in helping people quit.
32.6-percent of cancer deaths in Louisiana are a result of tobacco use. Barbour says legislators in the Bayou State could save lives just by increasing the tax on a pack of cigarettes.
The report finds over 24-thousand people in Louisiana will be diagnosed with cancer this year and over 9-thousand will die from it. Barbour says funding tobacco prevention programs would greatly reduce those numbers. He says right now, Louisiana has only spent 11 million dollars on prevention…
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