The wife of the late Congressman-elect Luke Letlow has announced she will run for the Congressional seat he won last December. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 1 (30) “ …I’m Jeff Palermo”
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Gas prices have jumped nine cents in just a week, now putting the average price for a gallon in Louisiana above two dollars. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Julia Letlow, the wife of the late Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, has announced she will run for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District seat. The seat was left vacant when Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 before he was to be sworn-in. Julia Letlow announced her candidacy on K-W-C-L Radio just like her husband did last March…
Julia is a Monroe native and graduate of ULM. She earned a doctorate at South Florida and has served as an executive-level administrator in higher education. She says everything in her life and in her marriage prepared her for this moment…
Luke Letlow died last month and is remembered as someone who wanted to help others. He served as former Congressman Ralph Abraham’s chief of staff and also worked for former Governor Bobby Jindal. Julia Letlow wants to continue Luke’s legacy of being a public servant…
Alexandria businesswoman Candy Christophe, who is a Democrat is also a candidate. Qualifying is next week.
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The average price of a gallon of gas in Louisiana is just over two dollars, up nine cents over last week and up nearly 20 cents from last month.
AAA spokesperson Don Redman says overall gas sales are still down and this price is a reflection of the low level of production.
OPEC recently agreed to further reduce production to ensure prices did not collapse again as the world economy endures the second major wave of the pandemic.
Redman says the increase in gas prices is good news for Louisiana’s oil sector which has been battered by months of low prices.
At one point in spring, the price of oil futures had fallen into negative territories.
Redman does not expect we will see another major jump in price like we did this week, nor does he expect the price of gas to fall back too far under two dollars a gallon again.
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COVID Nursing Home data from AARP indicates cases and fatalities in Louisiana have more than doubled. AARP looked at numbers from November 23rd and December 20th and case numbers jumped from 456 to 1,171 in the previous four-week period. AARP Louisiana Director of Advocacy Andrew Muhl says we can’t depend on the vaccine alone and must do more now.
Vaccine rollout among nursing homes began December 28th and Moderna Vaccine requires a booster shot 28 days after the first.
AARP says COVID fatalities in the nursing home facilities increased by 70 to 175 during the same time period. Muhl says policymakers must act immediately to change this dangerous trend.
Muhl says 31-percent of facilities are reporting a staffing shortage. Case numbers among staff also increased by 476 to 1,146 cases and 17-percent of nursing homes report less than a one-week supply of PPE.
For more info visit AARP’s website for their Nursing Home COVID dashboard.
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A suspect who allegedly stole a Dodge Charger in New Orleans died in a fiery wreck and injured three workers on I-10 just outside Lafayette after being pursued by police.
State Police Trooper Thomas Gossen says the driver allegedly stole the vehicle in New Orleans, was spotted in Iberville, and pursued to the Louisiana Avenue Westbound lane on I-10…
Gossen says after striking the construction work truck…
The suspect is currently unidentified due to the severity of the crash. His heavily charred remains have been sent back to a lab for testing.
Gossen says obviously this is a different situation than most crashes but it should serve as a reminder to be cautious when driving through construction zones.