LRN AM Newscall August 19

Governor Jeff Landry is holding a press conference today to launch GUMBO 2.0, bringing high-speed broadband internet access to the entire state.  Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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The Council for A Better Louisiana, or CABL (cable) says Louisiana’s wellbeing is trending downwards. Colleen Crain has more…

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Colleen Crain.” 

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New Orleans Representative Mandi Landry is in Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention. Jeanne Burns has the story.

Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.” 

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Governor Jeff Landy is holding a press conference today to announce the launch of Gumbo 2.0. Marksville Representative Daryl Deshotel, who has been instrumental in improving broadband access around the state, says the program will allow for the distribution of $1.35 billion to bring high speed internet to rural areas.

Cut 4 (05) “…good positive way.”

Funding for GUMB0 2.0 came from the Infrastructure Act and received the eighth-largest amount of money out of any state. Deshotel credits that to the success of GUMBO 1.0…

Cut 5 (06) “…but we’re ahead.”

Deshotel says that this funding will bring internet connectivity to every home and business across Louisiana and create jobs for rural communities.

Cut 6 (05) “…close the digital divide.”

Today’s press conference will begin at 11 AM at the state capitol.

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The Council for A Better Louisiana (CABL, pronounced cable) says the state is making progress on less than half of the 35 indicators for wellbeing, and trending slightly downwards from last year. CABL president Barry Erwin says one problem area is health and wellness…

Cut 7 (09) “…those things.”

CABL monitored Louisiana’s progress in five areas: economy, which showed a decline; health and wellbeing, which also declined; infrastructure, which largely improved; environment and energy, which was a mixed bag; and education, which Erwin says improved a lot…

Cut 8 (12) “…right direction.”

16 indicators are trending downwards, compared to 13 last year, and 7 were down for two years in a row. Plus, 16 are trending upwards compared to 18 last year. Erwin says the best way to improve these numbers is to create policy to address problem areas like the economy and healthcare…

Cut 9 (12)  “…help us make progress.

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State lawmakers are looking for ways to reduce auto rates after Marketwatch.com crowned Louisiana the state with the highest full-coverage car insurance rates last week. House Speaker Phillip DeVillier says legislators are trying to figure out why Louisiana is an outlier in auto insurance rates…

Cut 10 (12) “…as well.”

DeVillier says most of his pre-session research has been focused on insurance fraud, which poses a big threat to the state. He adds lawmakers understand how much auto insurance is squeezing the people of Louisiana, and says they’re considering going into a special session to address it…

Cut 11 (08) “…that we have.”

Last session saw a few bills approved addressing the auto insurance crisis, but he says a key tort reform bill was vetoed by Governor Jeff Landry. DeVillier says that veto brought awareness to the insurance crisis and allowed legislators to refocus…

Cut 12 (08) “…insurance reform.”

Five legislative committees are meeting monthly about the insurance crisis and to prepare for a possible special session.

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New Orleans Representative Mandi Landry is in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. She was locked in to go with the Louisiana Delegation while President Joe Biden was the nominee, but says she’s more hopeful about current nominee Vice President Kamala Harris…

Cut 13 (10)  “…polar opposite.”

Landry says she’s excited and proud to publicly support Harris and her campaign policies, including stopping companies from gouging prices and…

Cut 14 (12)  “…get that done.”

Landry says Harris and running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are normal people and they call Walz “Dad” because of his humor and principles…

Cut 15 (12)  “…a teacher.”

The DNC runs through Thursday, August 22nd.

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We’re two weeks away from the season opener and it’s been a good camp for Tigers starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Coach Brian Kelly liked what he saw from his signal caller last Saturday…

Cut 16 (20) “…out there.” 

The Tigers have been in camp for two and a half weeks. Kelly says he likes the improvement from his cornerbacks…

Cut 17 (13) “..job one.”

Ashton Stamps and Sage Ryan have been starting corners for most of camp. It’s also been a good camp for fifth-year senior defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory, who earned a degree from LSU this summer. Kelly says when he first arrived at LSU, Guillory was not a good player…

Cut 18 (20)  “…football player.”

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Louisiana Tech is moving closer to its season opener against Nicholls. Bulldogs Coach Sonny Cumbie says it’s been a good camp for their starting quarterback Jack Turner…

Cut 19 (08) “…run game.”

The Bulldogs defense had just 16 sacks last year. Cumbie believes they can put more pressure on the quarterback this year…

Cut 20 (22) “ play fast.”