The state has seen declining COVID-19 hospitalization numbers but health officials are concerned about rising numbers in the Lake Charles, Monroe, and Alexandria regions. Matt Doyle has more…
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A study shows the COVID-19 pandemic has put financial pressures on nearly three-quarters of the nonprofits in southeast Louisiana. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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LSU expects all of its football players will be registered to vote by tomorrow. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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State health officials are concerned about rising COVID numbers in the Lake Charles, Alexandria, and Monroe regions. Assistant Health Secretary Alex Billioux says while the state as a whole is seeing consistently declining numbers of COVID hospitalizations those areas have seen a steady uptick. That being said…
Billioux says they track real COVID transmission growth by hospitalizations and not raw cases because case numbers can be influenced by increased testing. He says a substantial portion of these new cases could be coming from nursing homes in those regions…
Congregate settings aside Billioux says there is still evidence that a worrying level of community spread is occurring in those three regions, and that’s backed up by data from their contact tracing program…
In the Lake Charles region, Billioux notes the number of new COVID hospitalizations in many hospitals has jumped from just a few to roughly 20 new cases as of last week.
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A Greater New Orleans Foundation study indicates nearly three-quarters of nonprofits throughout southeast Louisiana have suffered a financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. G-N-O-F CEO Andy Kopplin says most nonprofits have been hurt financially by canceled fundraisers and fee-for-service programs.
Cut 7 (10) “…extraordinary financial challenges.”
With a 20% unemployment rate, Kopplin says organizations such as food banks are seeing an increased demand, but fewer dollars to carry on operations, adding to the financial pressures.
About 23% of organizations have indicated interest in potentially merging or partnering with other nonprofits, which Kopplin says is a testament to how concerned they are with the financial impacts.
Cut 9 (07) “…quality staff members.”
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The Louisiana House has approved a 34- billion dollar spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1st. The current budget is 30-billion dollars. Alexandria Representative Lance Harris says the increase is due to an influx of federal coronavirus relief dollars, so the state will not have this money to spend next year…
Harris says 13 months from now, if current spending levels hold, the state will face a 731-million dollar deficit.
The extra federal dollars means the state does not have to make any deep cuts. But Erath Representative Blake Miguez is still concerned cuts will be needed a few months from now…
The budget was stitched together with those federal funds, so if the state were to see a mid-year revenue shortfall, could that be remedied with another round of help from D.C.? House Appropriations Chairman Jerome Zeringue…
Zeringue says it’s likely the state will need another special session in the fall because of the revenue unpredictability. For now the budget heads to the Senate for more debate.
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LSU’s student-athletes are wanting their voices to be heard at the ballot box. LSU executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry says what has happened across the country in recent weeks has inspired the athletes to be more involved in the voting process.
Student-athletes from any sport can schedule a time to stop by the football office to register to vote. Ausberry anticipates that every football player eligible to vote will be registered by Friday, even those that don’t live in Louisiana.
Cut 14 (08) “…their absentee ballot.”
Ausberry says while the university is doing its part to help them vote, they will not influence the decisions they make.