The 2nd special session of the year gaveled in yesterday at 6 PM with lawmakers returning to the Capitol with three main priorities per the call. Expect a lot of discussion about the rapidly dwindling unemployment trust fund and how to stop it from fully draining, and thus causing significant tax hikes on businesses next year. There will also be quite a few attempts coming out of the house that will seek to limit the governor’s broad authority to implement public health restrictions on businesses. Finally, lawmakers will seek to find some way to facilitate the post-Laura recovery in southwest Louisiana. But the issue that is likely to grab the most headlines will be the challenges to the Governor’s public health orders. Bills have been filed that seek to scale back the governor’s authority during an emergency. House Republican Mark Wright of Covington aims to limit the amount of time a state of emergency declaration can go without legislative approval. Wright proposes that any emergency declaration extended beyond 30 days should see more input than just the governor.

Cut 4 (13)“ …of these orders.” 

Lawmakers are scrambling to find cash to fill the near-empty unemployment trust fund but it appears one possibility is now off the table, and that’s the Frontline Worker Rebate Program…

The 250 dollar Frontline Worker Rebate Program has processed about 65 percent of the over 240,000 applications received.

Louisiana Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson says they’re confident they will give away all of the money by the October 31^st application deadline.

Cut 13 (10) “…available”

Eligible workers have to earn less than 50,000 dollars a year and have worked in a specifically listed frontline job for a certain amount of hours during the pandemic.

Louisiana’s Republican Congressional Delegation has nothing but good things to say about President Trump’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Metairie native Amy Coney Barrett. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 2 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”  

Over in Opelousas, police have charged 24-year-old Maleke Guillory with two counts of negligent homicide after he fatally shot his pregnant girlfriend during an argument. The victim, 31-year-old Tyana Thomas was five-months pregnant.

Calcasieu Parish has been working overtime to get the epicenter of Hurricane Laura’s devastation back to some sense of normalcy. Power has been restored to most areas and the debris has been pushed to the sides of nearly all roads in the parish. President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Tony Guillory says the blue roofs are now a normal sight around the area, a constant reminder to locals of the damage done, long after the national spotlight has moved on.

Cut 8 (12) “…forget about you.”

Enrollment at Natchitoches based Northwestern State University is up five percent this year to a record 11,447 students. Demons President Nick Maggio says he 136-year-old institution was well prepared for pandemic due to its robust online class offerings that have been a big hit with non-traditional students.

Cut 11 (07) “…levels”

It has been one month since Hurricane Laura made landfall, bringing widespread destruction to southwest Louisiana.  President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Tony Guillory says streets are cleared of debris, with much of it being pushed to roadsides.  About 120 trucks are being utilized for debris pickup.
Cut 7 (09) “…back through again.”
Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm around 1AM on August 27^th.

Louisiana’s Republican Congressional delegation is thrilled with President Trump’s decision to nominate Metairie native Amy Coney Barrett for a seat on the U-S Supreme Court. Benton Congressman Mike Johnson met Barrett at a student leadership event in 1988 when they were high school. Johnson says Judge Barrett is a female version of Justice Antonin Scalia, who served on the court for 30 years until his death in 2016

Cut 14 (12) “…same mold”

The Saints have their first two-game losing streak since 2017 as they lost to Green Bay 37-30 last night. A Taysom Hill fumble in the fourth quarter turned the momentum in the Packers favor, plus New Orleans committed eight penalties. Coach Sean Payton says his team is facing a bit of gut check

Cut 3 (08)  “the truth”  

It’s the second straight week the Saints defense gave up more than 30 points.

Enrollment at Natchitoches based Northwestern State University is up five percent this year to a record 11,447 students. Demons President Nick Maggio says the 136-year-old institution is thriving and seeing gains across the board.

Cut 9 (10) “classes”

Maggio says prospective students are responding well to the University’s focus on promoting a curriculum that prepares them for in-demand jobs, and jobs of the future…

Senator Bill Cassidy backs moving ahead with the nomination process for Supreme Court nominee and Metairie native Amy Coney Barrett. Cassidy says it’s the will of the people who elected a Republican President and the Senate has a Republican majority

Cut 13 (10) “…to do”

Cassidy’s main opponent in the US Senate race, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, has said the Senate should not vote on a justice nominee until next year.

Most of the power has been restored in Hurricane Laura ravaged Calcasieu parish, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean a lot of lights are on at night. President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Tony Guillory says there are a lot of parish residents who can’t actually live in their homes.

Cut 6 (08) “…next biggest issues.”

Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm around 1AM on August 27^th.

While the Saints as a whole have been pretty terrible running back Alvin Kamara is certainly living up to the hefty contract he signed just before the season started. Alvin Kamara had a huge game for the Black and Gold against the Packers in last night’s 37-30 loss. He gathered 197 yards from scrimmage, including a 52-yard touchdown catch that saw him break five tackles. Meanwhile Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns, but he says mistakes keep costing them

Cut 4 (12)“ opportunities” 

Enrollment at Natchitoches based Northwestern State University is up five percent this year to a record 11,447 students. Demons President Nick Maggio says prospective students are responding well to the University’s focus on promoting a curriculum that prepares them for in-demand jobs, and jobs of the future…

Cut 10 (12) “…sciences”

Louisiana’s Republican Congressional Delegation has nothing but good things to say about President Trump’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Metairie native Amy Coney Barrett. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 2 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”  

Former Louisiana Governor Mike Foster has entered hospice care. The two-term Republican first won the seat in 1996 and was popular enough at the time to avoid having to enter a run-off to win reelection. Foster is 90 and currently lives in Franklin.

Calcasieu Parish has been working overtime to get the epicenter of Hurricane Laura’s devastation back to some sense of normalcy. Power has been restored to most areas and the debris has been pushed to the sides of nearly all roads in the parish. President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Tony Guillory says the blue roofs are now a normal sight around the area, a constant reminder to locals of the damage done, long after the national spotlight has moved on.

Cut 8 (12) “…forget about you.”

Enrollment at Natchitoches based Northwestern State University is up five percent this year to a record 11,447 students. Demons President Nick Maggio says he 136-year-old institution was well prepared for pandemic due to its robust online class offerings that have been a big hit with non-traditional students.

Cut 11 (07) “…levels”

Louisiana’s Republican Congressional delegation is thrilled with President Trump’s decision to nominate Metairie native Amy Coney Barrett for a seat on the U-S Supreme Court. Senator Bill Cassidy says Barrett is incredibly well-qualified and she walks the talk and D-C Democrats fear that
cut 12 (11) “…besides themselves”
Cassidy is running for re-election and his main opponent, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, has said the Senate should not vote a successor to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg until next year.

Entergy Louisiana estimates the cost to repair the damage done to their equipment by Hurricane Laura is around one-point-four billion dollars. Entergy CEO Phillip May says they are exploring avenues to minimize as much as possible passing on recovery costs to customers…
cut 14 (09) “…our customers”

One month has passed since Hurricane Laura’s landfall on southwest Louisiana and the impacted communities have been working nonstop to get the area back to normal.
Cut 1 (28) “…Kevin Barnhart.”

Over in Opelousas, police have charged 24-year-old Maleke Guillory with two counts of negligent homicide after he fatally shot his pregnant girlfriend during an argument. The victim, 31-year-old Tyana Thomas was five-months pregnant.

And the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s office is investigating the death of a two-year-old, who was found dead yesterday afternoon in a vehicle in a mobile home community. No other details have been released.

One month after Hurricane Laura made landfall in Cameron Parish most of the lights are back and the streets have been mostly cleaned. President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Tony Guillory says the debris has been pushed to the roadsides and about 120 trucks are being utilized for debris pickup.

Cut 7 (09) “…back through again.”

Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm around 1 AM on August 27^th.

The Saints have their first two-game losing streak since 2017 as they lost to Green Bay 37-30 last night. It’s the second straight week the Saints defense gave up more than 30 points. They failed to force a turnover last night, only had one sack and gave up a couple of big passing plays. Saints Safety Malcolm Jenkins says the mistakes they are making can be corrected…

Cut 5 (12)  “haven’t been” 

Enrollment at Natchitoches based Northwestern State University is up five percent this year to a record 11,447 students. Demons President Nick Maggio says prospective students are responding well to the University’s focus on promoting a curriculum that prepares them for in-demand jobs, and jobs of the future…

Cut 10 (12) “…sciences”

Graduate school enrollment is also up eight percent.

LSU plummeted in the polls after an embarrassing 44-34 loss to then unranked Mississippi State Saturday. The Tigers are now ranked 20^th while the Bulldogs are 16^th.

It has been one month since Hurricane Laura made landfall, bringing widespread destruction to southwest Louisiana.  President of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury says most people have gotten electricity back, but the next big hurdle is getting people housed.

Cut 6 (08) “…next biggest issues.”

Enrollment at Natchitoches based Northwestern State University is up five percent this year to a record 11,447 students. Demons President Nick Maggio says the 136-year-old institution is thriving and seeing gains across the board.

Cut 9, 10 seconds, classes

The Saints dropped to 1-2 on the year after a close 37-30 loss in Green Bay last night. A later fumble by Taysom Hill and yet another penalty-filled performance from the team did the Black and Gold in.

Tigerland is in turmoil after the defending champs were taken down in Baton Rouge by unranked Mississippi State on Saturday 44-34. Bulldogs QB KJ Costello shattered the passing yards in a game record for the SEC with a jaw-dropping 623 yards as part of new coach Mike Leach’s debut of the space-age air raid offense into the SEC. Safety Jacoby Stevens was embarrassed.

Cut 15 (11) “…show up today”

LSU is at Vanderbilt on Saturday night.

Entergy Louisiana estimates the cost to restore power following Hurricane Laura is one-point-four billion dollars. CEO Phillip May says 18-hundred transmission towers were damaged or destroyed and the number of distribution poles lost is only second to Hurricane Rita.

Cut 13 (12) “…after the storm”

The Saints have their first two-game losing streak since 2017 as they lost to Green Bay 37-30 last night. A Taysom Hill fumble in the fourth quarter turned the momentum in the Packers favor, plus New Orleans committed eight penalties. Coach Sean Payton says his team is facing a bit of gut check…
cut 3 (08) “…the truth”
The Saints will look to rebound this Sunday in Detroit.

Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry says his office is looking into the six-day suspension a fourth-grade student received in Jefferson Parish after he was seen on webcam moving a BB gun during virtual class instruction. Landry says virtual classes are public spaces and do not have the same restrictions as physical school property…
cut 12 (08) “….precedent”
The Jefferson Parish Public School System is not commenting on the discipline the student received.

State lawmakers begin a 30-day special session tonight. The governor’s COVID-19 restrictions and whether the state legislature should have input will be a significant focus of the session.

Legislators will also discuss the unemployment trust fund, which is set to run out of money next week. Once it goes bankrupt, businesses face higher taxes, and unemployment recipients will see a smaller weekly check.

Governor Edwards has suggested using unspent dollars from the small business Main Street Recovery Grant program, but Senate President Page Cortez says all of those dollars are accounted for…
cut 9 (09) “….trust fund”

Legislators will also discuss Hurricane Laura Recovery. Jeremy Alford is the publisher of LA-Politics-dot-com…
cut 5 (06) “…area”
The special session is set to last 30 days.

A 30-day special session begins tonight as lawmakers will spend the next month discussing whether they should have more of a say in the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions. Republican lawmakers are concerned over how the restrictions are impacting businesses. Senator Fred Mills chairs the Senate Health and Welfare Committee…
cut 6 (13) “….possible”

Attorney General Jeff Landry is investigating whether the Jefferson Parish School system violated the constitution by suspending a fourth-grader after a teacher saw the child move a BB gun during virtual instruction. Woodmere Elementary 4th grader Ka Mauri Harrison was suspended for six days.
Cut 10 (09) “…care.”
The Jefferson Parish school system says the illegal carrying, possession, or use of a firearm within the boundaries of school property is a crime.

Hurricane Laura is estimated to be the costliest storm in Entergy Louisiana’s history, $1.4 billion dollars in damage to the company’s infrastructure. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

Taysom Hill’s fumble in the fourth quarter was a costly one for the Saints as they fell to the Green Bay Packers 37-30. New Orleans 1-and-2 and they have their first two-game losing streak since 2017. And the LSU Tigers fell 14 spots in the latest A-P Poll to number 20 after they were upset by Mississippi State 44-34.