Qualifying began today for the governor’s race and we heard from three of the candidates seeking to replace Governor John Bel Edwards. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Just when you thought it was safe, the Louisiana Department of Health’s recent report shows COVID hospitalizations more than doubled since mid-June from about 50 to over 100. Teiko Foxx has more.
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Qualifying for the statewide races got underway this morning at the Secretary of State’s Office in Baton Rouge. The first candidate for governor to sign up was Independent Hunter Lundy, an attorney from Lake Charles. Lundy says in order to improve Louisiana, more funding needs to go towards early childhood education…
Lundy says to pay for more early childhood education, he would like to keep the state sales tax rate at 4.45 percent. It’s set to go down to four-percent in July of 2025. Lundy would also like to raise the state’s minimum wage…
John Schroder is one of five main Republican candidates expected to qualify between now and Thursday afternoon. Schroder has served as the State Treasurer since 2017 and before that he served in the Louisiana House for over ten years. The Covington resident wants to make fundamental changes to state government…
Schroder on the polls that show he’s trailing front-runner Jeff Landry by a wide margin
Former state transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson also qualified. He’s the lone major Democrat in the race. Wilson joins Lundy in keeping what is currently a temporary 0.45-percent state sales tax
Wilson joins Lundy in keeping what is currently a temporary 0.45-percent state sales tax
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State Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain qualified today for re-election as he’s seeking a fifth term. Strain says Louisiana farmers are responsible for helping to feed the world and he says he has a plan to help producers make that happen
Strain says the state has to double food production by 2050. He believes it’s possible because food production in the state has increased fourfold since 1960. But he says it must be streamlined and protect the environment at the same time.
Since taking office Strain says he’s saved taxpayers $350 million in salaries, interest payments, and costs by streamlining the department.
During his tenure, Strain says the department has paid off debts and liabilities of over $120 million and also significantly decreased the department’s automotive and aviation fleets.
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The state Department of Health’s COVID dashboard shows hospitalizations have doubled since June 22nd and the percent positive rate for COVID tests has climbed to 19 percent. Director of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health New Orleans, Doctor Julio Figueroa says the uptick is related to a cycle that will probably reoccur every six months or so…
According to LDH, the number of people of hospitalized statewide is 108, which is a low number compared to what we saw in 2020 and 2021.
Figueroa says people with chronic health conditions, older adults, and anyone with underlying conditions should minimize possible exposure. He says Omicron is still in the community and highly transmissible.
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Figueroa says hospitalizations doubled during the time from about 60 to as many as 140. He says COVID is still a part of our present and future.
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Over 19-thousand people have died from the virus.