Interstate 10 will be widened from four to six lanes from Highland Road in Baton Rouge to Highway 73 in Ascension parish. Jeff Palermo has more on the announcement from Governor John Bel Edwards…
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Solar panel customers in Louisiana are suing the state over a cap that was placed on the solar tax credit program. Halen Doughty has more…
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More Louisianans than ever are now covered by health insurance, according to new census data. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Governor John Bel Edwards announces I-10 will be widened from four to six lanes between Highland Road in Baton Rouge and Highway 73 in Ascension Parish. He says about 30-percent of the traffic on I-10 is moving commerce. But he says this project will benefit all drivers.
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State Department of Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says the project will cost more than 60-million dollars, but the state plans to use 40-million dollars in federal monies to get the project started. Edwards says they are also looking at elevating parts of the interstate in this 7 mile stretch.
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Construction is expected to begin in about a year. Edwards says this is an important project because this section is one of the most congested parts of I-10, because the interstate goes from three lanes to two east of Highland.
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This week is National Drive Electric Week and the state department of natural resources would like motorists to learn about the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars. Executive Director of Louisiana Clean Fuels program, Ann Shaneyfelt, says the range of some fully electric vehicles is up to 200 miles, which is similar to having a full tank of gas.
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Shaneyfelt says the maintenance cost of electric vehicles is also much lower, and most public charging stations are free. She says there are also tax credits available for people who purchase electric and hybrid vehicles.
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Shaneyfelt says Plugin Louisiana is one of their initiatives that encourages employers to install workplace charging for plug-in electric vehicles. LSU is the first Workplace Charging Challenge partner in Louisiana. She says workplace charging is an appealing incentive for many employees that can help attract and retain a cutting-edge workforce, while also increasing consumer exposure of electric cars.
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Solar panel customers in Louisiana are suing the state over the cap that was placed on the solar tax credit program earlier this year. New Orleans lawyer Larry Centola says the state violated these people’s rights when they retroactively capped the program.
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Centola says because the program is now first come first serve, people who bought their panels after the cap was passed could get a tax credit before those bought them before the cap, depending on who filed their taxes first. Centola says about 2-thousand homeowners installed their panels before the June 2015 vote on the cap.
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The tax credit program was capped at $25 million during the 2015 session. Centola says they will be seeking more than $10 million in the suit. He says he understands that the state was in a budget crunch, but…
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New census data shows that more Louisianans than ever before are now covered by health insurance. Director of the Louisiana Budget Project Jan Moller says this is great news because for the longest time, Louisiana had one of the highest uninsured rates in the country.
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And Moller says this number doesn’t even include all the people who received coverage this summer through the expansion of Medicaid. He says nearly 212-thousand people in Louisiana signed up for coverage through the federal health insurance exchange program.
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The new census data also found the overall median income rose 5-percent in 2015, but in the south, it only climbed three percent. Moller says we can’t be sure exactly why the southern part of the country is behind but the south in general has lower levels of educational attainment. He says even though it’s not as much, 3-percent is still an improvement.
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Mississippi State is getting ready to travel down to Baton Rouge for Saturday night’s SEC showdown with the 20th ranked LSU Tigers. Bulldogs Coach Dan Mullen says despite the Tigers opening week loss to Wisconsin, they have one of the most talented rosters in the country…
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Two years ago, Mississippi State came into Tiger Stadium and beat LSU 34-29 for their first win over the Tigers since 1992. The Bulldogs quarterback that day was Dak Prescott, who played an exceptional game. Mississippi State’s quarterback this Saturday will be Nick Fitzgerald who threw for 178 yards and rushed for 195 yards against South Carolina. Mullen on Fitzgerald and Prescott’s running styles
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ULM and UL Lafayette open Sun Belt play this Saturday. The Warhawks are at Georgia Southern and Coach Matt Viator says the Eagles option offense is hard to simulate in practice…
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The Cajuns host South Alabama. UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth likes how quarterback Anthony Jennings is developing in their system…
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South Alabama comes into Lafayette with a 1-1 record. They upset Mississippi State in the season opener and then lost to Georgia Southern last week. Hudspeth says his defense will have to pay attention to Gerald Everett…
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