A political analyst says Governor Edwards is sitting pretty in the Governor’s race after racking up some big wins in the Legislative session…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”
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Crews are assessing damage following severe weather impacting southeast Louisiana. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
cut 2 (32) I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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South Louisiana was swamped today with a severe weather system creating localized flooding and even tornadoes. State climatologist Barry Keim says the system dumped dangerous amounts of water on some communities…
Cut 3 (11) “…region.”
One person died during the heavy rain event in Baton Rouge when their car flooded. Keim says the severe amount of rainfall was more than initially predicted, but this whole weather system has been unusual from the start.
Cut 4 (11) “…moisture.”
Keim says another inch of rain could fall tomorrow, which may not sound like much but…
Cut 5 (08) “…flooding.”
He adds that the chance for severe weather will drop off significantly by Saturday, but we could still be in for rain and thunderstorms potentially into early next week.
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Political analyst Clancy DuBos says Governor Edwards has terrific momentum heading into the fall governor’s election after a successful legislative session.
Dubos says the 1,000-dollar teacher pay raise, the 39 million in new education spending, and tens of millions of dollars in new infrastructure funds for New Orleans may win Edwards a second term.
Cut 6 (10) “…New Orleans”
Education saw a 140-million-dollar total increase in new funding, while New Orleans will get a 50-million-dollar funding injection, with an additional 27 million a year from redirected revenue generated by the hospitality industry.
But Edwards is taking some hits from his left flank as many pro-choice Democrats fume over his signing of one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans. DuBos suspects those voters will still turn out for the Democrat.
Cut 7 (12) “….Edwards”
Edward’s Republican opponents have indicated they plan on continuing to slam the Governor over tax increases he’s pushed in his first term, but DuBos says voters seem to be aware that those increases had to be passed to fix the budget chaos left by the previous administration…
Cut 8 (08) “…administration.”
Edwards Is running against Republicans Eddie Rispone and Congressman Ralph Abraham.
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Severe weather impacting southeast Louisiana has produced road flooding and reports of a tornado outbreak. East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome says the flood waters resulted in one death, adding the heaviest rains came today during rush hour traffic.
Cut 9 (09) “….one hour timeframe.”
Some areas of the parish have received up to five inches of rain since last night with reports of possible tornado damage.
Livingston Parish Sheriff’s spokesperson Lori Steele says teams are surveying the wind damage from what is believed to be a tornado outbreak in various areas of the parish.
Cut 10 (10) “…that’s near Taylor.”
Some areas that saw flooding in 2016 are also experiencing issues today. Steele discourages residents from sightseeing as many roads are impassable due to water and fallen trees.
Cut 11 (10) “…blocking that roadway”
As of noon, thousands of Entergy and DEMCO customers are without power.
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Two of the biggest names in sports, Peyton Manning and Les Miles, are among the eleven that will be inducted this weekend into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches. Former LSU baseball coach and A-D Skip Bertman hired Miles after Nick Saban left for the Miami Dolphins
Cut 12 (12) “…antytime.”
Miles won 77-percent of his games while at LSU, including a national championship in 2007. Manning led the Colts and Broncos to Super Bowl victories and goes down as one of the NFL’s all-time greats.
But CEO of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation Ronnie Rantz says the most deserving member of this class is a Danielle Scott, who is a five-time USA Olympic Volleyball Standout and won two medals
Cut 13 (11) “…the world”
Former La Tech quarterback Matt Dunigan is also going into the Louisiana Sports Hall of fame. Rantz says Dunigan is a 2006 Canadian Football League Hall of Fame inductee
Cut 14 (12) “…big personality.”
Peabody Magnet High School basketball coach Charles Smith will also be enshrined on Saturday, along with former Southern Baseball Coach Roger Cador and Leesville’s T-Berry Porter who was Louisiana’s first professional rodeo cowboy.
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