Many Republican state lawmakers do not want to use the Rainy Day Fund to solve the 304 million dollar budget deficit and there is also a Democrat opposed to it, as well. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Case data has recently been released on the number of human trafficking reports received in Louisiana in 2016, and it shows a significant increase. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Although most main stream media outlets have produced critical reports of President Donald Trump’s travel ban, multiple polls released show quite a bit of support for the executive order. A survey from the University of Quinnipiac finds between 42 and 48-percent of people support the order. LSU Political Communications Chair Martin Johnson says he expected this, especially with Louisianans.
Johnson believes a lot of the outcry comes from how quickly the ban was issued bringing a lot of confusion. A survey by Rasmussen finds 57-percent of people polled support the ban but Johnson says that poll is skewed because they only call landlines.
Johnson says Rasmussen also finds voters support President Donald Trump at over 50-percent and every other survey that calls cell phones finds Trump has about a 43-percent approval rating.
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Entergy Louisiana broke ground today on an 869-million dollar power plant in St. Charles Parish. Michael Burns with Entergy says this new power station will provide Louisianans with affordable and reliable electricity. He says it will be one of the cleanest and most efficient natural gas plants.
And Burns says over the next 30 years, customer savings will total 1.3 billion dollars. He also says the power plant will produce jobs.
Burns says the plant will begin operations in June of 2019. He says this power station is an excellent example of Entergy’s commitment of modern facilities and customer service.
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Several Republicans in the state legislature have voiced opposition into using money from the Rainy Day Fund to solve a 304 million dollar budget deficit, but there is at least one Democrat who also opposed it. Shreveport Senator Greg Tarver told News Radio 7-10 KEEL that there are other days to eliminate the shortfall without tapping into this fund.
Tarver says even though the Rainy Day Fund was used multiple times during the Jindal administration, we’re not as desperate now, because there are signs the state’s economy is improving as a result of rising oil prices.
A special session will likely begin on February 13th to address the budget shortfall. Governor Edwards is recommending a combination of cuts and Rainy Day dollars to eliminate the deficit. Tarver says he wants to avoid cuts to public education but there are other areas of the budget that could be cut.
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Case data has recently been released on the number of human trafficking reports received in Louisiana in 2016 and it shows a significant increase. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 104 cases of human trafficking were called in last year, compared to 75 in 2015. State Police Col Mike Edmonson credits a strong awareness campaign…:
Louisiana ranked 20th in the nation for the most human trafficking cases reported in 2016. California topped the list with 1323 calls last year. Edmonson says getting victims to come forward begins with compassion and not treating them like criminals…:
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The Polaris data indicates that more victims than ever are reaching out for help. Of the more than 100 cases reported in Louisiana last year, 74 were cases of sex trafficking and 21 of labor trafficking. Edmonson says he’s talked to victims who felt like this was the only life that they were going to ever have…: