The pace of the special session will accelerate this week. Matt Doyle spoke with LaPolitics.com’s Jeremy Alford…
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Governor Edwards says police reforms are needed, but he does not support the movement to redirect tax dollars away from law enforcement agencies and into social services like education…
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An LSU study indicates 42 percent of residents know someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart.”
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The second week of the special session will see lawmakers dig into the nuts and bolts of the budget and start the debate on economic relief bills for businesses. The special session started last Monday and LaPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford is surprised by the slow start despite the mountain of work ahead for legislators.
The House Appropriations Committee has already advanced the budget to the House floor for more debate, but the spending plan does not take into account potential tax breaks for businesses that will mean less revenue for the state. He says there’s also legislation that would change unemployment qualifications.
Alford expects this to be the start of a bitter partisan brawl over the prospect of tax cuts even while the state faces revenue shortfalls. He pointed to comments from Baton Rouge Representative Ted James…
The special session is set to end June 30th.
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Governor Edwards says Louisiana should consider police reforms in next year’s legislative session.
Cities and states across the country are taking up changes to policing policy in the wake of George Floyd protests. Edwards says he spoke with Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields about what could be done in Louisiana…
Edwards says reforms to the way police interact with their community are needed, and overdue. He pointed to what he says is a disturbing trend.
Proposals to redirect tax dollars away from law enforcement and into education, mental health, and other social services are being considered in some areas. Edwards says he doesn’t agree with that “Defund the Police” movement.
The Minneapolis City Council recently passed a resolution, on a veto-proof majority, to disband the MPD following the death of George Floyd.
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A new LSU study polling 757 Louisiana residents indicates 42 percent of respondents know some who has tested positive for the COVID-19, with 23 percent knowing someone who has died from it. LSU Public Policy Lab director Michael Henderson says it’s a testament to just how widespread the impact of the virus in on society.
Cut 10 (06) “…people who have.”
Louisiana’s black population has seen a disparity in the way it is impacted by the virus, and Henderson says that it is echoed in the survey as those in the black community are more likely to know someone with the disease than the overall baseline.
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Forty percent of black residents know someone who has died from complications of COVID-19, compared to 17 percent of white residents.
This is the second polling of the group, which was first polled in mid to late April and again from May 20 through June 1. 62 percent indicate they now wear face coverings when in public, compared to 48 percent in April. But Henderson says people are slow to get back out of their homes as 71 percent say they are still staying at home, compared to 81 percent in April.
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A majority of residents are uncomfortable with activities outside of the home, with a feeling unease about air travel at 77 percent, attending large sports or entertainment events at 75 percent, and eating out at restaurants at 60 percent. However, most respondents feel comfortable about going to the grocery store at 67 percent, going to parks at 63 percent, and visiting friends at 58 percent.
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The UNO Transportation Institute wants residents to fill out a survey detailing what they would like to see from a hypothetical Baton Rouge to New Orleans passenger rail service.
Research Associate Tara (tar-uh) Tolford says their survey asks commuters along the route in Gonzales, LaPlace, and Jefferson Parish how or if they would use the system.
Rail service between the two locations is highly limited at the moment.
A 2010 survey indicated 39,000 riders a month may use the proposed system in the short term were it to be built, but Tolford says those numbers could change should the proposed stop-offs be built.
That previous study indicated that up to 135,000 riders a month could use the system if the price and speed were adequate.
Tolford says they plan to use this data to further refine the BR to NOLA passenger rail concept. The data will be incorporated into a more comprehensive report in the future.
The survey takes about 15 minutes and can be found on UNO TI’s Facebook page.
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LSU football begins offseason workouts today as the national champs can lift weights and perform conditioning drills on campus for the first time since spring practice was halted in March. LSU strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffit says about 85-percent of the players stayed in great shape. He says over the next two weeks they’ll do three days a week of hard training and two days of functional training on specific muscle groups
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Moffitt says there will be different groups of players in the weight room until the middle of the afternoon. He says most of their student-athletes will also take summer online classes…
Cut 17 (25) “…player led practices”
Moffitt says their sanitation and disinfectant equipment is the state of the art…
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