The latest Kids Count report has Louisiana ranked 49th again for child well-being, but Agenda for Children releases a roadmap on how the state can improve its ranking…
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”
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Eddie Rispone had a rare public interview this morning where he spoke with Jim Engster about his run for Governor. Matt Doyle has the story.
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A drive-by shooting in Iberia Parish leaves an 8-year-old child in critical condition in a Baton Rouge hospital. Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Lt. Col. Wendall Raborn says the child was among 15 people standing outside when the suspect, 26-year-old Jonas Hawk of Jeanerette rolled up on the scene.
Raborn says the child’s uncle, who was among the group, had a connection to the suspect that may have been the motive behind the shooting.
Cut 4 (08) “…long ongoing dispute.”
Raborn says officials were able to find the suspect within 30 minutes and he is now in the Iberia Parish Jail, booked on 15 counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Cut 5 (12) “…somebody like this.”
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Three teenagers have been arrested for the murder of 20-year-old Adrian Carradine of Bossier City, including a high school basketball star. Bossier City Police spokesperson Traci Landry says their investigation began Monday night when an officer patrolling a neighborhood saw gunfire coming from a vehicle
On Monday, police arrested two teens, 18-year-old Raymond Henry of Bossier City and a 15-year-old female who was the driver. Landry says 19-year-old Otis Smith, a senior on the Bossier High basketball team, was arrested yesterday
Smith is one of the top scorers on the Bearkats basketball team that’s ranked number one in the Class 3A power ratings.
This is the third homicide in Bossier City this year after reporting six homicides in 2019. Landry says they are working to make Bossier City safe…
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The Agenda for Children releases its first-ever road map to improving Child Well-Being in Louisiana. The Bayou State has never ranked higher than 46th in the Annie E Casey Foundation Kids Count report. Researcher Theresa Falgoust (Fal-goo) says reducing the child poverty rate would be a huge step forward…
Falgoust says the report also shows that if every parish could prevent four infants from being born at low birth weight then Louisiana would improve by a ranking.
Falgoust says Louisiana’s high rate of child poverty is 28-percent, but there is a positive sign, just over half of three and four years are enrolled in schools with the help of federal and state resources.
Cut 11 (12) “…universal access.”
Falgoust hopes the report will encourage lawmakers and other policymakers along with nonprofit groups to focus on how they can help improve child wellness in the state.
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Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone sat down with Jim Engster on Talk Louisiana this morning in a rare public interview where he opined about his quest to unseat Governor Edwards.
Rispone was the first Republican to challenge Edwards, announcing his bid back in late 2018. When asked if he still has a taste for the campaign trail…
He says he plans to remain active in Louisiana politics through support for candidates who share his views on education.
Rispone received some flack for running a blitz of attack ads against Republican Ralph Abraham late in the primary. Rispone was asked if that soured his relationship with some Abraham supporters…
Abraham struggled to raise funds during the campaign, while Rispone sunk a reported 14 million of his own money into the race.
Rispone’s connection to GOP mega-donor Lane Grigsby was the basis of many Edwards attacks, with the Governor even calling Rispone Grigsby’s “puppet”. Rispone called Grigbys’ influence a media exaggeration.