There’s talk of central Louisiana getting a second interstate, called I-14, connecting Texas to Georgia. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Research from the American Cancer Society finds Louisiana ranks fifth in the nation for the number of smoking-related cancer deaths. Michelle Southern reports…
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There is serious conversation about an east-west interstate that would cross central Louisiana through Alexandria, connecting western Texas to Georgia. Malcom Morris of Leesville, who is with the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition, says the chance of a new interstate called I-14, is very likely. He says they’re working on getting a federal designation and Texas has already been issued one.
Morris says once a designation is received, a corridor is selected but the interstate is probably 10 years out from being constructed. He says the plan is for I-14 to run mostly along Highway 28.
Morris says having two interstates, one moving north-south and one moving east-west, is a tremendous economic boom for the cities in central Louisiana. He says I-14 would be helpful for the overall military picture of this country and especially this area.
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We’re two weeks away from Election Day, and party leaders on both sides are facing similar struggles. Candidates for US Senate have been going at it with opponents from their own party. Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party Stephen Handwerk says those vicious blows will make it harder for the party to come together after November 8th.
After Senate candidate and former-KKK leader David Duke qualified to participate in next week’s Senate debate, Handwerk and Louisiana GOP executive director Jason Dore agreed that if he polled high enough, he should be included. However, Handwerk says they share the same opinion about whether or not they would like to hear what Duke has to say.
Selfies in the voting booth have been a big topic this election cycle. Both party leaders encourage people to exercise their First Amendment rights and selfie if they like. Dore says social media is a huge part of the world today and sees this as an extension of that.
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Louisiana ranks fifth in the country when it comes to the percentage of cancer deaths that are attributable to smoking, according to research from the American Cancer Society. Thirty-two percent of all cancer deaths in Louisiana are attributed to smoking. Chronic Disease Director with the Louisiana Department of Health, Melissa Martin, says LDH is doing what they can to reduce the number of smokers. She says that starts with preventing kids from picking up the habit.
The report shows Louisiana ranks second for the number of male smokers who died from lung cancer, at 38-percent. The rate for women was 25-percent, coming in at number 8 nationwide. Martin says the state is doing what it can to decrease exposure of second hand smoke…
Martin says the state also offer a free comprehensive quit line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW to educate the public on how to kick their habit.
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Voters in Baton Rouge and around the state are exercising their right to vote today on this first day of early voting. Charles and Kathleen Gendusa were among those that cast their vote on the first day the polls opened. They say they were hoping to go before the lines got long, but they ended up having to wait about 20 minutes. They were so eager to vote, they even showed up a day early.
Early voting will be open from 8:30 am until 6 pm every day except Sunday through November 1. Raymond Jensen works at the Registrar of Voters Office and says early voting turnout has been good so far. He says there’s usually a lot of early voters during a presidential election, and the lines show it.
Jensen says he expects wait times to be between 15 and 30 minutes throughout the early voting period. Carla Schiavone also cast her ballot on the first day of early voting. As a displaced flood victim, she says she didn’t have any trouble finding out where to vote, but she did have to drive a long way.
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