Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy is the front-runner in the race to replace outgoing US Senator David Vitter, according to a new poll. Halen Doughty reports…
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A Metairie Senator has written a letter to Higher Education Commissioner Joseph Rallo to create a plan of organization reform. Emelie Gunn has more…
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The first independent poll on the 2016 US Senate race has Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy as the favorite. In the Southern Media and Opinion Research Survey of 500 likely Louisiana voters, Kennedy received 22% of the vote that’s 12% more than Republicans Charles Boustany and Scott Angelle. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says Kennedy’s reputation is boosting his campaign.
Republicans John Young, Rob Maness, and John Fleming each have less than 8% of voters’ support. At this time, only Fleming and Maness have announced they are running. But so far Pinsonat says Kennedy is the favorite to make the run-off.
Pinsonat says if four or five Republicans who are well-financed run for Senate, it could guarantee a Democrat being in the runoff. Democrats Foster Campbell and Caroline Fayard have support from 7% and 4% of voters respectively. Fayard is in the race, while Campbell is still thinking about it. He says a loaded ballot will hurt candidates with low-name recognition…
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Louisiana Tech University has announced plans to demolish Wyly Tower and Prescott Memorial Library, but LA Tech spokesperson Dave Guerin says this demolition will not happen any time soon. Guerin says for the time being, Wyly Tower is still open.
Guerin says Wyly Tower and Prescott Memorial Library will be replaced with new up to date facilities for students.
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The new university center will offer an information commons and a research and collaboration center. Guerin says the university will have to wait to see how the state’s budget crisis is resolved before moving forward.
Guerin says it will be more cost effective to replace Wyly Tower than to renovate it due to the tower’s infrastructural issues, including problems with the elevators, stairwells, fire alarms, windows, and mechanical control systems.
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Metairie Senator Conrad Appel has written a letter to Higher Education Commissioner Joseph Rallo calling on the Board of Regents to construct a plan for organization reform. Appel says it’s clear we have grossly underfunded higher education but there is no prospect of that changing in years to come. He says additional money isn’t going to fall from the sky…
Appel says redesigning the system doesn’t necessarily mean the closing of campuses but all options should be on the table.
Appel says funding for higher education in Louisiana is pretty much stagnant as far as we can see in the future. He says it’s the duty of the Board of Regents to plan the big picture strategy and decide what actions need to be taken.
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The House Ways and Means Committee began hearing various tax bills today that would raise revenue to close a massive budget deficit. One of the measures would increase the state sales tax on a pack of cigarettes by 22-cents to $1.08 per pack. Fred Hoyt, a convenience store owner, spoke in opposition. He says adult tobacco users already pay their fair share of taxes and the tax was raised 50-cents last year.
Bill Shepherd, owner of Churchpoint Wholesale, is also against raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes. He says raising this tax will negatively impact tobacco retailers across the state. Shepherd says if this bill passes Louisiana smokers could save 73-cents per pack by purchasing cigarettes across the state line in Mississippi, which is $266 annually for the average smoke. Louisiana would then collect less revenue.
New Orleans Representative Walt Leger is authoring one of the bills seeking to raise the cigarette tax. Leger says the higher price for cigarettes will discourage people from smoking.
Leger says that the 50-cent increase on a pack of cigarettes last year was not enough. He says the increased tax would still keep Louisiana in the lower 50% in the nation.
The committee is waiting to hear on all the proposed taxes before deciding which ones to approve.
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