King Cake season is in full swing, and a lot of people don’t know that the filled Mardi Gras pastry is actually a Mississippi tradition. Jeff Palermo reports…:
______________________________________
The Transportation Task Force put together by the governor releases its final report and it calls for $700 million more a year to improve roads and bridges. Don Molino has more…
______________________________________
Governor John Bel Edwards sent a letter to Congress urging federal lawmakers not to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
______________________________________
King Cake season is in full swing, and a lot of people don’t know that the filled Mardi Gras pastry is actually a Mississippi tradition. It all started with Paul’s Pastry Shop out of Picayune in 1972, when bakers decided to spice king cakes up a bit. Sherri Thigpen is the current owner of the establishment. She says they had some learning to do…:
Thigpen says they were already known for making birthday cakes, wedding cakes and even cheese breads that were filled, so they developed a similar recipe for the king cakes…:
Cut 5 (11) “over cream cheese”
Thigpen says with over 40 to choose from, including the option to create your own combination, Paul’s Pastry Shop offers the largest selection of flavors at a single bakery. She says at first, the recipe was not being recognized as a King Cake by bakery organizations because of the fillings…:
______________________________________
Monroe is a top contender for a new Graphic Packaging facility. Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, Sue Appleyard, says while they are still looking at other potential locations, the company reached a conceptual agreement with the local union to build the facility in the Monroe area.
Appleyard expects a final decision to come in the next few months. She says there won’t be any impact on their current paper mill, which employs the bulk of their 400 workers in West Monroe, but the two other facilities would be consolidated. She says there would be a slight decrease in the number of jobs for the area, but the overall impact won’t be hugely significant.
Appleyard says this new 70-million facility will be Graphic Packaging’s first brand new plant in 10 years. She says they’re excited about the possibility of bringing this new state of the art facility to a town where Graphic Packaging has become a household name.
________________________________________
The Transportation Task Force has released their final report on how to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure, and of course, funding is number one. DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson says the state needs to increase its investment in transportation by $700 million a year. But he says they haven’t decided how those dollars will be raised.
Cut 10 (09) “commercial vehicles”
Wilson says they’re also looking into tolls and public-private partnerships as a means of funding. He says something has to be done to address the $13 billion backlog of transportation projects, as well as address the $16 billion in new projects, like a new Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge. He says policy reform could be needed.
Revenue raising proposals to fund transportations needs will be considered during the regular legislative session that begins April 10th. It’s unclear what specific proposals Governor John Bel Edwards will back but Wilson expects a lot of discussion.
_______________________________________
Governor John Bel Edwards has sent a letter to Congress urging national leaders not to repeal the Affordable Care Act. But US Senator Bill Cassidy says Obamacare isn’t working for everyone. He says when premiums and deductibles cost thousands of dollars, that’s anything but affordable.
Cassidy has proposed the Patient Freedom Act, which gives states the option to choose whether or not to keep Obamacare. He says the bill would repeal the ACA on a federal level, including the individual and employer mandates, and it would prevent the federal government from forcing people to pay penalties for not having insurance. He says states could then decide their own plan of action.
But Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee urges federal lawmakers not to fix what isn’t broken. While she admits Obamacare is causing premiums to go up nationwide, she is adamant that the Medicaid expansion has been a godsend.
Gee says she and the governor look forward to working with Congress to find a suitable replacement for Obamacare. She says their top priority is maintaining coverage for Louisiana residents. She says repealing the ACA without a replacement would have drastic consequences for Louisiana.