40% of households in Louisiana are considered in poverty and can’t afford day-to-needs according to a new report by the Louisiana Association of United Ways. Jeff Palermo reports…:
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Governor John Bel Edwards says he understands an increase to the state’s sales tax is not popular, but feels it is needed to avoid major cuts to state government. Eric Gill reports…
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Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser has tapped former state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham to direct Louisiana’s state parks and historic sites. Barham will officially start his new job Monday. Barham says, despite the current budget crisis, taking care of state parks is very important as over a million and a half people visited them in 2015…
Louisiana’s 23 state parks and 19 historic sites have seen tremendous budget cuts in recent years. Lt. Governor Nungesser says funding for state parks has been reduced by 50-percent in the past seven years. Barham says this makes his new job challenging, but he’ll work to maximize the funding he gets…
State parks are facing issues like layoffs, pool closures, and deferred maintenance, while some historic sites are closed with no plans to reopen. Barham says there are some great people already in the state park system who are determined to make it great…
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40% of households in Louisiana are considered in poverty and struggle to afford day-to-day needs, according to a new report by the Louisiana Association of United Ways. President and CEO Sarah Berthelot says these more than 695,000 homes in the state are nicknamed ALICE. She says 19% of Louisiana families live in poverty, according to the US level…:
CUT 6 (10) “basic cost of living”
ALICE refers to a group of families and individuals who work low-paying jobs and have little or no savings. Berthelot says ALICE families play a critical role in keeping Louisiana’s economic engine running, but they aren’t always sure that they can put food on their own tables. She says the scale of the struggle is alarming…:
To download the report that provides parish-by-parish and town-level data, go to www.launitedway.org. Berthelot says basic needs are considered housing, child care, food, transportation, medical care and taxes. She says they hope the study can serve as a vital tool…:
CUT 8 (10) “legislative session”
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Governor John Bel Edwards says he understands an increase to the state’s sales tax is not popular, but feels it is needed to avoid major cuts to state government. Edwards says with a $750 million budget shortfall for this fiscal year and $1.9 billion next fiscal year, they have very few options to stabilize the budget…
He says a special legislative session will begin February 14th to deal with the budget crisis. Edwards says there are immediate and acute funding shortfalls that the proposed one cent increase to the state’s sales tax would address…
cut 10 (08) “shared prosperity”
The Governor describes the tax increase as a bridge to get the state to a new, more stable tax structure. He says voters will have an opportunity in the future to repeal the tax hike in favor of a new income tax structure. Edwards believes the budget crisis is so bad that new revenue is necessary to fix it…
Cut 11 (10) “Louisianians first”
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The contained burn chamber that will be used to dispose of 16 million pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Natchitoches on February 6th. Col. Pete Schneider with the Louisiana National Guard says once the burn chamber begins its four day journey from the port, it will arrive at Camp Minden on February 12thth…
The burn chamber was constructed in Oklahoma and the only other chamber like it is in Denmark. Schneider says the chamber is currently traveling on the Mississippi River and will make its way to Camp Minden beginning February 8th.
Schneider says the chamber is about 180 feet long by 27.5 feet wide and weighs more than 400-thousand pounds. He says it will be loaded onto a vehicle to be transported….
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