Louisiana Public Broadcasting is seeking entries for the 2024 PBS short film festival. Brooke Thorington has more.
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New Orleans will host the Super Bowl for a record tying 11th time next year. And State officials are in Las Vegas preparing for what’s ahead. Teiko Foxx has more…
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana announced their planned acquisition by Elevance Health, raising the concerns of many including State Treasurer John Fleming. Colleen Crain has more…
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Louisiana Public Broadcasting is looking for independent short filmmakers to submit entries for the 13th annual PBS Short Film Festival. LPB spokesperson Colleen Spillane (Spuh-lan) says this is the tenth year Louisiana has participated and talent from the Pelican State has been represented every year in the past decade with an entry.
Entries can be fiction or non-fiction and Spillane says a committee at LPB will then judge the entries and those that make the cut will be entered into the 2024 PBS Short Film Festival.
Filmmakers are encouraged to visit lpb.org/filmfest for information on how to enter and specs for their submission. Spillane says the films need to be between three and fifteen minutes in length.
The deadline is February 21st and the website is lpb.org/filmfest
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The Bayou State is already preparing to host Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans next year. Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism is in Las Vegas to learn what’s ahead. Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser says they’re going over protocols…
New Orleans will host the Super Bowl for a record-tying 11th time next year. The last Super Bowl played in New Orleans in 2013 produced a total of $480 million in economic impact on New Orleans’ economy.
Nungesser says New Orleans is not the only city that benefits from hosting a Super Bowl
Nungesser expects steep competition to host future games as more cities build larger stadiums. And while the number of violent crimes in New Orleans dropped in 2023, Nungesser says the effort to buckle down on crime must continue.
Super Bowl 59 will be played on February 9th at the Caesars Superdome.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana announced their planned acquisition by Elevance Health, raising the concerns of many. Blue Cross says the move would improve access, quality, and affordability but State Treasurer and Family Doctor John Fleming says he, the Louisiana State Medical Society, and virtually all the specialty societies oppose this move because of the track record of Elevance in other states.
Fleming is concerned that Indiana based Elevance would have people out of state administering the health coverage of the people of Louisiana. Close to Two million Louisianans have Blue Cross and Fleming says currently, Blue Cross is owned by its members and run for their benefit.
Fleming says for-profit Elevance Health has a poor track record for withdrawing or denying claims. He also says the publicly traded company could have owners anywhere in the world. He’s concerned since they’ve centralized operations in other states…
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Governor Jeff Landry has called for a special session for lawmakers to debate his tough-on-crime legislation. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the will begin on Monday, February 19th, and will consist of 24 policies.
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Pinsonat says Landry is attempting to reverse former Governor John Bel Edwards’ Criminal Justice Reforms passed in his first term.
Pinsonat says the tough-on-crime approach is a nationwide trend among Republicans to reserve Democratic policies that shortened prison sentences and also allowed those accused of a crime the ability to not put up money for bail.
Among Landry’s legislation is expanding ways the state can carry out the death penalty. Pinsonat points out that when it comes to the death penalty it’s the courts that ultimately protect prisoners when it comes to their civil rights.
The special session will begin on February 19th and is scheduled to end Wednesday, March 6th. The Regular Session begins on March 11th and adjourns on June 3rd.
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A week from today a new college baseball season will get underway. The LSU Tigers are looking to repeat as champs and they are picked to finish in second in the SEC West, behind Arkansas. There are questions about LSU’s offense, but they have one of the best hitters in college baseball. Coach Jay Johnson says third baseman Tommy White looks good after offseason shoulder surgery…
Johnson is also thankful to have Hayden Travinksi back for a fifth season. Johnson says Travinski will provide protection for White in the Tigers batting order…
LSU will certainly miss Dylan Crews. The number two overall pick in last year’s Major League Baseball draft hit .426 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. Sophomore Paxton Kling will start in centerfield for the Tigers this season and Johnson is expecting a big season from the Pennsylvania native…
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First-year ULM football coach Bryant Vincent believes the Warhawks signed the best running back out of the state of Mississippi. Vincent says Ahmad Hardy rushed for 22-hundred yards his senior season…
ULM signed 11 players on Wednesday after signing 30 during the early signing period in December. Vincent believes they addressed a lot of needs, but there’s still more work to do…