LRN PM Newscall December 8th

There are two U.S. House seats remaining on the ballot for this Saturday’s election. Jeff Palermo has more on the competitive races…

CUT 1 (31) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Secretary of State Tom Schedler would like to end December elections in Louisiana because they usually have a low turnout. Michelle Southern has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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The two remaining U.S. House races in Louisiana are heating up as the election is only two days away. In the 3rd Congressional District, two Republicans are facing off for the open seat. ULM Political Science Professor John Sutherlin says Clay Higgins has taken to social media portraying himself as the Cajun Donald Trump and that’s brought in supporters.

Cut 3 (10) “Angelle”

Sutherlin says Higgin’s opponent, Scott Angelle, is far more moderate and he expects African Americans will be drawn to him. He says Higgins has been so successful because he’s riding a wave of anti-establishment politicians.

cut 4  (08) “career politician”

There seems to be less excitement in the northwestern part of the state in the 4th Congressional District race with Republican Mike Johnson and Democrat Marshall Jones. Sutherlin says Johnson is projected to win this seat.

Cut 5  (10)  “white democrats”

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Secretary of State Tom Schedler says based on the likelihood of low turnout on Saturday’s elections, he would like to have a conversations with the legislature about ending December elections. He says it might make more sense to have the primary for federal elections in early October and the runoff in November.

Cut 6 (11) “and seniority”

Schedler says Louisiana is the only state that still has elections looming in December. He says it’s difficult to get voting machines delivered during the holiday season because so many trucks are being used to deliver Christmas cards and presents from online orders. He says they also have a hard time finding commissioners to work December elections.

CUT 7 (07)  “can’t attend”

Schedler says having the runoff in December leads to lower voter turnout because people are so fed up with elections by this time. He says he’ll talk to legislators more about this next year in the hopes of moving up the federal elections in 2018.

Cut 8 (10) “this year”

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An Affordable Housing Expo will be held in Baton Rouge this weekend for flood victims. Mike Steele with GOHSEP says there are people at different stages of recovery, so there will be a variety of housing options on display. He says people can come see manufactured and modular homes, park trailers and pre-fab housing.

Cut 9 (09)  “their recovery”

Another housing option featured at the expo will be the newly popular tiny houses, which are less 500 or less square feet and they contain a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Steele says while a lot of people use these as permanent homes, they will also work as temporary housing options while people rebuild.

Cut 10 (10) “they’re made”

The free expo will be held at Celtic Studios, where the disaster recovery center is set up. Steele says they’ll have a kids area with activities to keep children entertained while parents tour the homes. He says other services will also be available at the expo.

cut 11 (09) “on hand”

The expo will be open from noon until 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. until 3 pm Saturday.

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Louisiana is seeing the coldest temperatures of the season so far and many folks are finding themselves becoming more in the holiday spirit as a result. That’s according to Dr. Michelle Moore, clinical psychologist with LSU Health Sciences Center. She says you could even argue the cold weather Christmas Spirit is good for the economy…:

cut 12 (06) “while it’s cold”

Moore says for kids and even grownups, since Santa lives in the North Pole, we feel closer to Ole Saint Nick when we’re cold. She says there are many Christmas traditions centered around cold weather…:

Cut 13 (10) “not as fun”

Moore says we’ll even become more in the holiday spirit the colder it gets…:

cut 14 (08) “in a good way”

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