Louisiana is now seeing a cluster of mumps cases with students at LSU. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Energy producing areas of the state continue to see large decline in employment. Halen Doughty has more…
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The state Legislative Auditor’s Office launches an investigation into the travel spending of Louisiana State Police. The inquiry comes amid an ongoing investigation into the agency by the Governor’s Office. Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera hopes this probe will lead to policy changes.
LSP is under scrutiny after four troopers made stops in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon on their way to a training conference in San Diego. Reports also indicate at least one trooper may have received overtime pay while on the trip. Purpera says the goal is to uncover the truth.
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LSP is conducting their own internal investigation into the side trips and possible overtime pay. State Police Col. Mike Edmonson hopes the findings of all these probes can be turned into new policy and accountability practices.
The results from State Police’s own investigation are expected in the coming weeks. Edmonson is still at the helm of LSP, despite rumors he would step down amid ongoing investigations into his department by multiple agencies. The Superintendent says he has no plans to vacate his position.
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There has been a large outbreak of mumps cases in Arkansas and we’re starting to see cases in Louisiana now. Medical Director of the state Immunization Program Dr. Frank Welch says they’ve been able to confirm at least six cases on the LSU campus. He says mumps is relatively mild but can cause some serious complications…
Welch says the U.S. used to see less than one thousand cases a year but there were over 5-thousand cases of the mumps in 2016. He says the disease is spread through saliva, so it’s important to wash your hands, cover your mouth when coughing and avoid sharing utensils.
LDH encourages everyone to receive two doses of the mumps vaccine which is 90-percent effective and the department has sent alerts to all doctors. Welch says the outbreak in Arkansas is mostly in school aged children. He says even though the majority of mumps cases in Louisiana have been at LSU, they are also taking every measure to ensure young children are aware of the disease.
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The Bureau of Labor and Statistics finds Louisiana’s unemployment rate has seen little change overall in the past year, but manufacturing and the oil and gas industry continue to see big losses. Houma lost 6,000 jobs over the year, and Lafayette lost 9,000. LSU economist Dr. Loren Scott says the loss rate in the Houma and Lafayette areas has slowed, but not enough.
However, other employment sectors like construction and education and health services saw tremendous gains. The Lake Charles area in particular saw an increase of 5,600 jobs over the year. Scott says the primary reason for that growth is the industrial expansion.
Louisiana’s unemployment rate is just under 6-percent statewide. Baton Rouge lost 1,300 jobs over the year, but gained 4,100 in the past month. Scott says the Capitol City has a number of projects that are underway and even more that have recently been announced.
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Governor John Bel Edwards has sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the protection of Medicaid expansion. The governor’s communications director Richard Carbo says as the debate is underway in the nation’s capital to repeal and replace Obamacare, Edwards is standing behind the program he signed into law on his first day in office…
Carbo says with the money generated from the expansion, the state is able to avoid major cuts to TOPS, K-12 education and partner hospitals. He says their biggest concern with the proposed health care legislation is that thousands of Louisiana residents who were recently insured though Medicaid will lose that coverage.
In the letter, Edwards acknowledged the expansion is not perfect, but changes can be made without harming the people who have been positively affected by their new healthcare. Carbo says in addition to saving lives, Medicaid expansion has been good for our economy and budget.
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