Saturday is Election Day in the 5th and 2nd Congressional District special elections. Matt Doyle has more on the state of both races.
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Governor Edwards announces essential workers can begin receiving vaccines on Monday. Brooke Thorington has more.
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The health department is launching an awareness campaign to make sure every corner of the state access to and knowledge of the vaccine. Brooke Thorington explains.
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Voters in the 5th and 2nd Congressional Districts head to the polls Saturday to pick their next representative.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the 5th District race should be a blowout with Republican Julia Letlow comfortably clearing the 50 percent margin needed to avoid a runoff.
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The 5th District special election was called after Julia Letlow’s husband, Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, died of COVID-19 less than a week before he was set to be sworn into office. Luke won the 5th District runoff in early December.
In the 2nd Pinsonat says Democratic New Orleans State Senators Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson are favorites to make it to a runoff.
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Internal campaign polling shows Baton Rouge activist and Democrat Gary Chambers running in third with a strong enough showing to basically guarantee a runoff.
Pinsonat says turnout for both races is expected to be very, very low, and Saturday’s results in the 2nd could give us a good idea of just how competitive the April runoff will be.
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The 2nd Congressional District special election was called after Cedric Richmond joined the Biden Administration.
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Beginning Monday all Essential Workers will be eligible for the COVID vaccine. Governor John Bel Edwards made the announcement Thursday. The list includes grocery store, food service, and postal workers.
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The list of professions also includes hotel, construction, manufacturing, energy, emergency preparedness workers, and media.
Edwards says this is the last group to be eligible before the vaccine is available for all residents 16 and older and he believes that will happen before President Biden’s May 1st directive.
Like all other eligible groups for the vaccine, essential workers will have to schedule appointments and also identify themselves as eligible workers and provide documentation.
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Edwards announced that the state positivity rate is at 2.9-percent the lowest it’s been since the pandemic began. He also praised the hard work of the health department and vaccine partners, allowing the state to set an example.
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Edwards also shared that he himself is now fully vaccinated because it’s been two weeks since his last shot. He plans to hug his mother this weekend, something he has not done in a year because they are both fully vaccinated.
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The state and federal tax filing deadline has been extended to June 15th in Louisiana for all individuals and businesses.
Postlethwaite and Netterville Associate Tax Director Kathryn Pittman says this is because of the federal disaster that was approved for Louisiana as a result of last month’s winter storms.
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The IRS also extended the deadline for all individual filers a month to May 15th due to the pandemic and recent legislation passed that could impact their return.
Despite the one-month state extension and two-month federal extension, Pittman says it’s still a good idea to not procrastinate.
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Pittman says Louisiana is no stranger to getting disaster-related extensions…
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State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter announces the launch of a statewide campaign aimed at providing the opportunity to be vaccinated and the ability to ask questions about the vaccine in all pockets of the state.
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Kanter says to speed up the process of reaching herd immunity and bring back a sense of normalcy, the goal of “Bring Back Louisiana” is to increase vaccine awareness, provide the space and opportunity to discuss hesitancy, and sign people up for appointments.
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So far the greatest obstacle with vaccinations has been the limited supply. Kanter says the White House indicated weekly allotments will increase significantly in April.
Just this week the CDC released a study that communities more vulnerable to the virus, as measured by the social vulnerability index, to date, are less likely to get vaccinated. Kanter says that is the focus of “Bring Back Louisiana.”
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Kanter also pointed out that the CDC social vulnerability index to gauge how at-risk a community is in periods of disaster was created after Hurricane Katrina.
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LSU quarterback Myles Brennan spoke to the media for the first time since suffering an abdominal injury against Missouri early last season. Brennan missed the entire season due to what he called the strangest injury he’s ever had.
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This injury was so rare that very few surgeries had been performed on this area of the body. Brennan says that’s ultimately why he decided to let the injury heal on its own.
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Brennan is now back on the practice field and battling with quarterbacks Max Johnson, TJ Finley, and Garrett Nussmeier for the Tigers’ starting job. New offensive coordinator Jake Peetz will surely keep a close eye on the competition. Brennan says he’s developed a relationship with Peetz that goes beyond football.
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The 19th ranked LSU baseball team opens SEC play tonight with a big weekend series against third-ranked Mississippi State. The Tigers lead the nation in home runs with 35, but the Bulldogs rank sixth in the country in team ERA at 2.34. LSU Coach Paul Mainieri says State has a lot of good arms…
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Jaden Hill will start for the Tigers on the mound and Mainieri says he goes into conference play with freshman right-hander Garrett Edwards from Pitkin as his closer
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Devin Fontenot went into the season as the closer but he has struggled at times this season.