There’s a debate over whether the federal government should wipe out or significantly reduce the college student loans for millions of Americans. There are many who say it’s not fair for those who paid off their loans without any government assistance, but 32-year-old Victoria Carter says the cost of college has risen considerably…
cut 6 (10) “…was a kid”

Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Laura. It took until March of this year before the federal government finally announced over a billion dollars in hurricane recovery funds for southwest Louisiana. Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter says that’s just not right…
cut 12 (11) “…..disaster”
Residents who suffered hurricane damage are still not able to get their hands on federal grants to pay for repairs.

The state’s Gaming Control Board confirms it: sports betting – in person and via an app – is a big success in Louisiana. More from Kevin Gallagher…:
Cut 2 (30) “….I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Baton Rouge Judge Wilson Fields has ordered LSU to pay former offensive line coach James Cregg 492-thousand dollars for improperly firing him last year for allegedly violating NCAA rules. Cregg says there’s been no determination he broke the rules, but LSU plans to appeal as they say he held in-person meetings with recruits when face-to-face contact was prohibited because of COVID protocols.

While members of Louisiana’s Republican Congressional delegation are critizing the President’s student loan cancellation plan, many Louisiana residents who are thousands of dollars in debt are applauding the action. Victoria Carter says while her loan payments are hold for now, she was paying 600-dollars a month for her and her husband…
cut 5 (09) “….our loans”

All the rain this week has not been good for the state’s soybean crop. It’s the state’s largest crop at one-point-two million acres planted, but LSU soybean specialist Doctor David Moseley says it’s getting bad for some farmers, especially in northeast Louisiana
Cut 13 (09) “..to rot.”
There’s a good chance for more rain today.

Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Laura, as the Category 4 storm made landfall in southwest Louisiana. Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter says his outlook has improved immensely since this time last year now that the city has received an allocation of federal supplemental disaster aid.
cut 10 (11) “…around the corner.”
Federal grant money is still not available to families who are in the need of money to help pay for repairs or fix that roof that still has a blue tarp on it.

The state’s Gaming Control Board reports sports betting – in person and via phone app – is off to a vigorous start in Louisiana. Chairman Ronnie Johns says numbers collected for the first half of the calendar year shows just over $85-million has been bet on sporting events through June 30th…:
Cut 7 (08) “…revenue for the state.”
And Johns expects sports betting to pick up with a new football season starting.

Many are debating President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel or in some cases reduce a person’s college loan debt by as much as 20-thousand dollars. Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy says it is unfair for a person who paid off their college loan, while others who have not are catching a big break…
cut 10 (12) “…paid for”
But Democratic New Orleans Congressman Troy Carter says the President is bringing long-needed relief to student loan borrowers.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is defending the 43-thousand dollars spent on a four-day trip to France where she signed a “sister city” agreement with a resort town on the French Riviera. Cantrell says the trip allowed her to promote…
cut 12 (11) “…city of New Orleans”
NOLA-dot-com says Cantrell and her aides stayed at a luxury hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

LSU officials are thrilled about the success of their latest fundraising campaign. It has surpassed its goal three years earlier than projected. Marsanne Golsby has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Marsanne Golsby.”

LaFourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre is sitting up today after suffering a heart attack Sunday night. Webre says doctors told him that the type of heart attack he has is often fatal. Webre credits the doctors and medical staff for the lifesaving measures they performed.

LSU’S one point five billion dollar fundraising campaign has surpassed its goal—and done so three years early. The Fierce for the Future campaign received donations for every LSU campus. LSU Foundation President Rob Stuart says donations to the previous campaign were split evenly between academics and athletics. But this time two-thirds of the money went to academics.
Cut 3 (10) “…academic side”
Stuart says four hundred million dollars has been raised in the year since President William F. Tate IV arrived.

The Board of Regents has revised its admission standards allowing students who passed college courses in high school to be admitted into a university, even if they don’t have the required GPA or ACT score. Deputy Higher Ed Commissioner Tristan Denly says the policy change supports the state’s Master Plan goal of doubling the number of credentials awarded annually by 2030…
cut 8 (10) “…secondary attainment”

Twelve families who lived on the Isle de Jean Charles island have moved into new homes in Terrebonne Parish as part of a 48-million dollar federal resettlement plan, because the Island is washing away into the Gulf of Mexico….
cut 11 (10) “…climate change”
Pat Forbes with the State Office of Community Development says they expect another two dozen families to re-locate to the new neighborhood by the end of the year.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved the state’s first accountability plan for kindergarten through second grade. State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says it’s a literacy focused-plan and students will begin taking a literacy indicator during the 2024-25 school year. He says they have several ideas on how to ensure students can read at grade level once they reach the third grade…
cut 14 (12) “….the school”

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Economist Gary Wagner predicts the state will lose about 24-hundred jobs over the next 12 months as a result of a downturn in the economy. Wagner says a rise in interest rates is helping to stem the tide of inflation, but it’s also causing other problems…
cut 6 (11) “…slowing down”

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approves the state’s first accountability plan to measure success in kindergarten through second grade. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley says the state has lacked a strong measure on how K-through-second graders are performing, especially when it comes to reading…
Cut 13 (08)“…learners.”
Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, students in grades K-through-second will take a literacy indictor that measures early literacy skills.

The Board of Regents has revised its admission standards allowing students who passed college courses in high school to be admitted into a university, even if they don’t have the required GPA or ACT score. Deputy Higher Ed Commissioner Tristan Denley says the boards has also made it easier for students to transfer from community and technical colleges to four-year university with a technical associate’s degree….
cut 9 (09) “…..their education”

The first set of Isle de Jean Charles residents who were living on an island that was vanishing as a result of rising sea levels has relocated to The New Isle resettlement community near Schriever in Terrebonne Parish. Pat Forbes with the Office of Community Development says 12 of the 37 families who’ve agreed to relocate moved into their new homes Wednesday.
Cut 10 (09) “…together.”
Nearly 100 residents will relocate to New Isle by the end of the year.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette economist Doctor Gary Wagner predicts the state could lose 24-hundred jobs over the next 12 months because of a downturn in the economy. Wagner says we are already starting to see a slow down in the number of new jobs in the state…
cut 5 (11) “…three months”
Wagner says the root problem is a rise in interest rates.

Twelve families who lived on the Isle de Jean Charles island have moved into new homes in Terrebonne Parish as part of a 48-million dollar federal resettlement plan, because the Island is washing away into the Gulf of Mexico….
cut 11 (10) “…climate change”
Pat Forbes with the State Office of Community Development says they expect another two dozen families to re-locate to the new neighborhood by the end of the year.

The board that governs Louisiana public higher education has created another way for high school students to get into college…
Cut 2 (28) “….I’m Marsanne Golsby”

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved the state’s first ever accountability plan for grades K-through-second. State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says a major focus of the accountability plan is a student’s reading ability…
cut 15 (12) “….literacy levels”

Is Louisiana actually IN an economic downturn? Kevin Gallagher reports an economist predicts thousands of jobs lost over the next year…:
Cut 1 (28) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

The state Department of Health confirms one human case of the potentially fatal West Nile disease in the Acadiana region; the first one in that area since 2018. So far this year, 14 cases the Neuroinvasive viral disease have turned up statewide. Two people have died. LDH says do what you can to avoid mosquito bites.

Twelve Isle de Jean Charles families who lived on a sinking island are in new homes today in Terrebonne Parish as part of the first federally funded resettlement plan. Pat Forbes with the state Office of Community Development says the residents are excited about their new homes, but also sad they had to re-locate…
cut 12 (10) “…..leaving the island”
Since 1955 the island, which is located about 40 miles south of the new site, has experienced a 98-percent land loss and continues to be at risk.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved the state’s first accountability plan for kindergarten through second grade. State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says it’s a literacy focused-plan and students will begin taking a literacy indicator during the 2024-25 school year. He says they have several ideas on how to ensure students can read at grade level once they reach the third grade…
cut 14 (12) “….the school”