Almost two-thirds of voters in Louisiana are pleased with the current open primary elections in the Bayou State but the governor is not among them. Brooke Thorington.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Port Fourchon will soon be home to Louisiana’s first Wind Turbine. Colleen Crain has the story
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”
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A study conducted by Tulane Professor Toni Weiss finds Mardi Gras contributed nearly 900 million dollars to New Orleans economy. Teiko Foxx has more…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Teiko Foxx.”
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A JMC Analytics poll indicates that 56 percent of voters are not interested in changing how primary elections are held in Louisiana. In next week’s special redistricting session, Governor Landry wants lawmakers to also debate the possibility of changing from the current jungle primary to a closed-party primary. Pollster John Couvillon…
Cut 4 (11) “…open primaries.”
Despite overwhelming public opinion in favor of the current process, Landry is in favor of the state having separate party primaries and runoffs. Couvillon says those elections would only be open to voters who are registered with a political party.
Cut 5 (09) “…disenfranchised.”
Couvillon expects lawmakers will hear from election officials who will be in charge of implementing the proposed change and the extra costs that would be associated with additional election cycles for a closed primary.
As for why Landry is calling for a change, Couvillon believes it’s an issue of party purity.
Cut 6 (12) “…in anymore.”
Sixty-five percent of the 650 likely voters surveyed are in favor of the current jungle primary elections process in Louisiana.
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It will be a 187-foot-tall wind turbine and it’s headed across the Atlantic to Port Fourchon which will be the first Louisiana location to have an actual wind turbine. Greater Lafourche Port Commission Executive Director Chett Chiasson…
Cut 7 (11) “…going to be.”
The turbine will be located at the Port Fourchon Coastal Wetlands Park and Chiasson says though it will produce some energy for a facility adjacent to the port, the turbine will provide valuable information for future larger-scale development…
Cut 8 (09) “…wind blades.”
Chiasson says through this facility the public will learn about wind energy, and business and industry will see that Louisiana has the supply chain capability to service offshore wind projects and….
Cut 9 (12) “…comes our way.”
The Turbine is planned to be operational in the latter half of this year.
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New Orleans Mardi Gras is rolling in an economic impact of 891 million dollars on the Big Easy’s economy, according to a study from Tulane professor, Toni Weiss. That’s roughly three percent of the city’s gross domestic product. Weiss says a huge amount of that economic activity is generated by New Orleanians.
Cut 10 (09) “…economic activity.”
When people from across the country come to spend money hotels, food, and other items during carnival season, that helps generate more than 14 million dollars in tax revenue.
Weiss says thousands of individuals in hospitality and other industries benefit from the nearly month and a half long celebration of carnival.
Cut 11 (11) “…Mardi Gras.”
The net fiscal benefit accrued to the City of New Orleans as a result of staging, including franchise value is over 28 million dollars. The city’s return on investment is two dollars and sixty-four cents for every dollar spent.
Weiss says her last study conducted in 2014 found Mardi Gras contributed more than 400 million dollars to New Orleans. She says tourism continues to grow and so does the economy.
Cut 12 (12) “…and better.”
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Outgoing BESE president and proponent for the graduation appeal process for seniors who fail the LEAP exam, Holly Boffy, says she’s disappointed Governor Jeff Landry immediately issued an executive order revoking the policy.
Cut 13 (12) “…from high school.”
Boffy, who’s term-limited encourages individuals to reach out to their legislators and ask them to consider legislation for an appeal process and to sign a petition at excellgrad-dot-org, that’s E-X-C-E-L-L…
Cut 14 (11) “…options in life.”
The policy went into effect in December of 2023 and while it was only available for a brief period, Boffy says several students were able to graduate as a result and many of them did so via the LEAP exam.
Cut 15 (10) “…not there.”
Boffy says the policy also changed educator behavior from the test-prep mentality to more of a life-prep approach to teaching.
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Former five-star prospect Maason Smith has decided to enter the NFL draft forgoing his final two years of college eligibility. The big defensive tackle from Houma had 28 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. Tiger Rag Editor Todd Horne says Smith did not live up to his preseason All-SEC first-team accolades…
Cut 16 (08) “..back a year”
Smith tore his ACL in the season opener of the 2022 season and was slowed by injuries in preseason camp in 2023. Former LSU linebacker Darry Beckwith says Smith has received advice that now is the time to make the jump to the NFL…
Cut 17 (14) “…his goals”
Beckwith says Smith could have developed into a big-time player next season at the college level…
Cut 18 (16) “…move on.”
Both of LSU’s starting defensive tackles, Smith and Mekhi Wingo are headed to the NFL early and top reserve Jordan Jefferson does not have any eligibility left. So the Tigers are thin at defensive tackle. Jacobian Guillory, Jalen Lee, JUCO transfer Shone Washington and five-star recruit Dominick McKinley should see playing of playing time next season.