Crawfish season is beginning to gather steam and one state agency wants to remind you what to do after enjoying one of the state’s favorite pastimes. Brooke Thorington explains.

Cut 1 (30) “…Brooke Thorington.”

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An LSU study of traffic trends before and during the pandemic indicates as the pandemic continued how the is virus spread. Brooke Thorington speaks with one of the researchers.

Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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Governor Edwards will announce whether or not the state will reduce COVID public health restrictions today at 1 PM. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

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The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is reminding crawfish connoisseurs to be sure to clean up properly after your boil to preserve other sea life. DEQ spokesperson Jean Kelly says never place shells or boil water into a ditch or waterway because it can seriously harm or even kill fish.

Cut 4 (09)“…treated.”

When you dispose of boil water and/or seasoned shells into a storm drain or ditch it goes directly to a lake, river, or stream.

The best way to dispose of both shrimp and crawfish shells is by double-bagging them and placing them in the garbage, Kelly says never put shells down the sink or garbage disposal.

Cut 5 (07)“…critters.”

Kelly says disposing of crustacean shells and boil water properly is vital to enjoying one of the state’s favorite pastimes in the future.

Cut 6 (08) “…every year.”

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Coronavirus vaccines are proven to significantly reduce COVID severity, and while it hasn’t been proven many doctors believe vaccination reduces transmissibility as well. Ochsner System Medical Director of Hospital Quality Dr. Sandra Kemmerly says if you are vaccinated then your body will immediately start fighting any virus you come into contact with…

Cut 7 (11)  “…asymptomatically.”

Lead Johnson and Johnson researchers believe the vaccine limits asymptomatic disease by 74 percent. Ochsner Infection Control and Prevention Medical Director Katherine Baumgarten…

Cut 8 (09) “…confirm that.”

Kemmerly says the reason why they can’t confirm this fact is that transmissibility is a harder endpoint to measure in clinical trials, and thus wasn’t studied as closely as other focuses.

Cut 9 (11) “…vaccinated.”

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An LSU study comparing traffic in ten states before and various stages during the pandemic, found that overall traffic volume decreased by 48 percent.  LSU Civil Engineering Professor Brian Wolshon (Wool-shon) says at the beginning as the virus spread across the country, traffic trends mirrored each other based on closures in each of the states.

Cut 10 (09) “…like that.”

The 10 states in the study were Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Vermont.

Wolshon says as the virus spread, and each state experienced waves, and plateaus of the virus, traffic also changed.

Cut 11 (12) “…cases.”

While an increase or decrease in traffic then later did not follow respectively an increase or decrease in case numbers it did indicate to researchers how the virus was spread.

Cut 12 (09) “…contact. ”

Wolshon says when you compare heavily populated areas like New York to Montana the states experienced different outbreaks of the virus, which also backs up the theory that the virus is spread when individuals are in close contact with others.  Data from the study also indicated that traffic-volume recovery was slower than the original decline of traffic.

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Governor Edwards will announce whether the state will loosen COVID public health restrictions this afternoon, and the data appears to support potentially moving into Phase Three.

Public Affairs Research Council Policy Director Dr. Steven Procopio says not only are new positive cases down but so is the percent positivity of tests, and total COVID-related hospitalizations.

Cut 13 (08) “..improve”

COVID hospitalizations are down to 629 compared to the over 2,000 we saw in early January.

The Governor has never released his official benchmarks for moving the state through different phases but Procopio says our current numbers look like a period when we were in Phase Three restrictions.

Cut 14 (10) “…interact.” 

During that period total COVID hospitalizations sat between 800 and roughly 500.

Last week Edwards said our trajectory looked promising and Procopio says the data indicates a cautious loosening of restrictions is justified right now.

Cut 15 (09)“..transmutability.”

657,000 Louisianans have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

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The LSU baseball team will take on Nicholls tonight at 6:30 after beating the Colonels 14-0 on Saturday.  The Tigers have been great at the plate so far this year, batting .303 as a team.  Hitting Coach Eddy Smith says the team does a good job of feeding off each other.

Cut 16 (15) “…impose their will.”

The Tigers are a young team and already have a number of freshmen that are making an immediate impact.  Coach Smith says he’s not surprised because he knew this freshman class would be special.

Cut 17 (12) “….these freshmen”

While the freshmen continue to make headlines, junior Drew Bianco has been hitting the ball well, as he’s batting .250 with two home runs, both of which occurred against Nicholls.  Bianco almost left the program over the summer as he entered the transfer portal before deciding to remain in Baton Rouge.  Bianco says that experience motivated him to have a big year.

Cut  18 (14) “…in the long run.”

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The LSU men’s basketball team will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at home tonight.  Vanderbilt is just 3-11 in SEC play this season but coach Will Wade says the Commodores are better than their record shows.

Cut 19 (16) “…how they’re playing.” 

LSU has lost its last two games due in large part to poor shooting.  Forward Darius Days has struggled in those losses, putting up a total of 4 points combined in those games.  Wade says he knows Days will get out of his shooting slump.

Cut 20  (13) “…at home.” 

Leaders in the state legislature are beginning to formulate their plans for tax reform legislation to be debated in the regular session that begins next month. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (32) “ …I’m Jeff Palermo.”  

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The state has hit another milestone in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Brook Thorington has the story…

Cut 2 (30) …I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

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Legislative leaders say they are putting together a tax reform plan that will be debated during the regular session that begins April 12th. Senate President Page Cortez says because of the complexity of the current tax structure, they want to bring stability, simplicity, and predictability to the state’s tax code

Cut 3 (10)  “…we will be successful”  

Cortez says the highest priority is to create a centralized state and local sales tax collection. He says Louisiana is one of three states not to have one, which makes it more difficult on businesses when it comes to paying taxes.

Cut 4 (12) “…right now” 

Cortez says phasing out the property tax businesses pay on inventory and reducing and simplifying the corporate franchise tax are other proposals that will be debated.

He says Senate and House leaders are also looking at eliminating the ability for taxpayers to deduct federal income taxes they pay on their state returns, which could lead to an overall lower income tax rate…

Cut 5  (11)  “…tax rate” 

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During an AARP Tele-Town Hall meeting, New Orleans physician Dr. Eric Griggs answered questions about COVID-19 and the vaccines. Griggs says the three vaccines available underwent thorough testing, Johnson and Johnson had 30-thousand clinical trial participants and 75-thousand people in the Pfizer and Moderna trials.

Cut 6 (12) “…the trial.”

Griggs says it’s important not to take anything like Tylenol before you are vaccinated to dull your immune response to the vaccine however you can take pain relief after your injection.

Cut 7 (11) “…after.”

When it comes to behavior after you have been vaccinated Griggs says because of variants of the virus you still need to continue to social distance and wear masks. As for travel and visiting with others outside your immediate household…

Cut 8 (10) “…a risk.”

To hear the complete town hall, visit AARP Louisiana’s Facebook page.

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New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said today that Tulane police officer Martinus Mitchum was fatally shot on Friday by a man who tried to force his way into a high school basketball playoff game. Ferguson says Mitchum was working as a security guard and tried to escort the gunman out of the building after he hit an employee working at the door

Cut 9 (10) “…the chest”

Officer Mithum was rushed to University Medical Center where he died and 35-year-old John Shallerhorn was quickly arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder of a police officer. Ferguson calls Mitchum a hero for making sure Shallerhorn didn’t get inside the gym…

Cut 10 (11) “…negligence.” 

It’s been reported Shallerhorn became irate after being told he had to wear a mask at the Carver High School playoff game, but Ferguson can not confirm that

Cut 11 (11) “…wearing a mask.”

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The Louisiana Health Department says it expects to receive this week nearly 38-thousand doses of Johnson and Johnson’s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter says this is a single dose vaccine which could be especially beneficial for people who have difficulty taking time off of work

Cut 12 (10) “ …vaccines now.” 

Kanter says the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is also a more durable vaccine and it can last up to three months in a refrigerator, whereas the other vaccines must be stored at very cold temperatures

Cut 13 (08)“…strike teams.”

Kanter says clinical trials on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine show its 100-percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths

Cut 14 (12) “…zero deaths” 

There’s a discussion about moving the Atlantic hurricane season up by two weeks. Brooke Thorington has more

Cut 1 (31) “…Brooke Thorington.”

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Governor Edwards’ proposed 400 dollar K-12 teacher pay raise has some teacher advocates crying foul. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle.” 

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The Johnson and Johnson effort to end the pandemic received emergency use authorization Saturday. Brooke Thorington on what makes this vaccine different from the others.

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

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The Workforce Commission reports the state unemployment system was bombarded with fraudulent applications last year, but most were rejected.

The Workforce Commission has turned over 28,000 suspected cases of attempted unemployment insurance fraud to law enforcement. Secretary Ava Dejoie says those attempts did not succeed.

Cut 4 (04)“…went off.”

The Commission also suspects they have an additional 60,000 could be fraud attempts. Assistant Secretary of Unemployment Insurance Robert Wooley says these applications have incomplete information, and…

Cut 5 (10)“…fraud.”

Dejoie says 2020 was an incredibly busy year for the department in general. They disbursed 8 billion dollars in federal and state UI benefits.

Cut 6 (07) “…2019”

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The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1st, but a committee at the National Hurricane Center is looking at changing the start date to May 15th. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the two-week jumpstart might be justified.

Cut 7 (11)  “…six seasons.”

Keim says but the bigger question is are we detecting storms sooner or is climate responsible for the earlier start.

Cut 8 (06) “…of it.”

The answer to the question according to Keim is that possibly both is happening, climate change and better surveillance.

Keim says hurricane season is tied to sea surface temperatures and when they become warm enough, they can feed energy into creating a tropical storm or hurricane. He says June 1^st is not necessarily some magical date.

Cut 9 (07) “…cycle.”

Keim says by moving the hurricane season up two weeks it may help to foster earlier preparation and forecasting for the Atlantic season.

The record-breaking 2020 season began May 16^th when tropical storm Arthur formed east of Florida.

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Many teachers are scoffing at the Governor’s proposed 400 dollar teacher pay raise, calling it far too little.  Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana Director Dr. Keith Courville says the Governor needs to add an extra zero to that figure if he wants to rival the pay teachers can find in neighboring states.

Cut 10 (09) “…faculty.”

The 400 dollar pay raise for teachers and 200 dollar pay raise for support staff will cost the state an additional 40 million dollars a year. The proposal will be debated in the upcoming April legislative session.

Courville says teachers made great sacrifices for the state during the pandemic and this proposal is just a slap in the face.

Cut 11 (09) “…this year.”

Courville says the Governor is not on track to meet his campaign trail promise of getting Louisiana teacher pay up to the southern regional average.

Cut 12 (09) “…wrong. ”

A+PEL is not associated with either of the state’s two major teachers unions, the LAE or LFT, and Courville described the 9,800 member group as the state’s independent, non-partisan teachers association.

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The Johnson and Johnson one dose COVID-19 vaccine has received emergency use authorization and doses should arrive in the state this week.  Tulane School of Medicine Professor Dr. Lisa Morici says data shows the J & J vaccine doesn’t have any of the severe allergic reactions shown with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines..

Cut 13 (11) “…injection site.”

Morici says don’t get caught up with the stats that J&J’s has an overall efficacy rate of 66-percent versus in the 90-percent and greater of the other vaccines.

Cut 14 (11) “…deaths.” 

When given the opportunity to be vaccinated, Morici says take whichever vaccine is first offered.

Besides being one-dose, Morici says the J & J vaccine also doesn’t require extensive cold storage like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines making it ideal for transport in rural areas.

Cut 15 (09)“…is great.”

On Thursday, State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter said that once approved the state anticipated receiving up to 38,000 doses of the J & J vaccine this week in addition to the weekly allocation of more than 97,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

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Louisiana Tech men’s basketball recorded two blowout victories over the weekend beating Rice 101-57 and 79-58. Kalob Ledoux had a season-high 25 on Friday and followed that up with a 17-point performance on Saturday. Coach Eric Konkol says he’s proud of Ledoux

Cut 16 (16) “…to the basket.”

Before Saturday’s game, Tech celebrated the collegiate careers of the six senior Bulldog basketball players who have led the team to a 19-6 record this season. Konkol calls them a special group…

Cut 17 (16) “….one another”

There is the potential for another game to be added, if not La Tech will play in the Conference USA Tournament next week in Frisco, Texas.

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The LSU men’s basketball team had a five point lead at Arkansas on Saturday, but played poorly in the second half and fell behind by 20 before losing to the 20th ranked Razorbacks 83-75. Coach Will Wade says it was a tale of two halves

Cut  18 (20) “…advantage of that.”

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After a couple of tough losses on the road in Milwaukee and San Antonio, the Pelicans return home tonight to host the Utah Jazz, who have the best record in the NBA. On Saturday, the Pels fell to the Spurs 117 to 114 to drop their record to 14-19. After the game, New Orleans All-Star Zion Williamson said the team is close to winning a bunch of games…

Cut 19 (19) “…be there.” 

Williamson says his teammates are determined to keep fighting, which is why he believes this team is close to turning the season around…

Cut 20  (16) “…figure it out”