More people are saying that Louisiana is headed in the right direction, with that number pulling even with that of the people who say the state is heading in the wrong direction. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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LSU President William Tate is stepping down at the end of next month. Jeff Palermo reports.
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The number of people who say Louisiana is heading in the right direction is on the rise. LSU’s annual Louisiana Survey has found that the percentage of those who say the state is headed in the right direction and that of those who say the state is headed in the wrong direction is now split 50-50. Two years ago, it was about two-to-one in favor of those who said the state is headed in the wrong direction. Survey Director Michael Henderson says that’s when the U-turn started.
Henderson says a big driver of that is people’s views on the economy – more specifically, they say their personal financial situation has improved in recent years. He says while the number of people who believe the state is going in the right direction is up, that doesn’t mean that that’s the majority view at this point.
Cut 4 (10) “…the wrong direction.”
Henderson says while this latest survey will certainly bring a smile to Governor Landry’s face, it’s important to note that the trend started reversing itself from rock-bottom during the administration of his predecessor, John Bel Edwards.
More than one-thousand Louisiana residents were surveyed for this study.
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Louisiana ranks 11th in the country for lightning deaths. That’s according to a new study from the CDC which looked at data from 2006 through 2021. During that time, Louisiana had 12 deaths. Florida had the most with 79. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim on why so many more lightning deaths in the Sunshine State…
CDC data highlights that 18% of fatalities are work-related, with farmers and ranchers most at risk. Keim says males are four times more likely to be struck than females, with the average victim aged 37.
Cut 7 (12) “…than females are.”
Texas came in at number two in the CDC ranking with 36 deaths from 2006 to 2021. Keim says Florida and Texas have a lot more golf courses than Louisiana, which is one reason why they have a lot more lightning fatalities…
Cut 8 (12) “…hard to believe.”
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LSU President William Tate is heading to the Garden State. Tate has announced that he is leaving his post to become the new president at Rutgers University. Tate has been president of the LSU system and the head of the flagship Baton Rouge campus since July 1st, 2021. Piper Hutchinson with the Louisiana Illuminator says Tate’s relationship with state government took a turn for the worse with the change in gubernatorial administrations.
Hutchinson says it had been rumored that there’s a list of administrators that people wanted to oust, and Tate’s name was allegedly on that list. She says there may also be a troubling trend in play.
With Tate’s departure scheduled for June 30th, that leaves LSU scrambling to find a new president. Hutchinson says there could be a few names to potentially be included on the shortlist.
During Tate’s four years at LSU, campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport achieved a record-breaking 543-million dollars in combined research activity, part of his goal to make LSU a top 50 research university. 55-thousand students enrolled across all campuses, and the system achieved record-breaking graduation rates.
LSU Agriculture Vice President Matt Lee will serve as interim president.
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Seven of the Orleans Parish jail escapees remain on the run. They busted out of the jail during the middle of the night early Friday morning. Superintendent of State Police, Colonel Robert Hodges, believes it’s only a matter of time before these fugitives are back in custody…
The reward for information that leads to the arrest of the inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center has increased to 20-thousand dollar per fugitive. Hodges says anyone caught trying to help these escapees evade authorities will be arrested themselves….
Cut 13 (09) “…someone else helps them.”
Four of the inmates that are on the run are accused of murder. Governor Jeff Landry has ordered an audit of the Orleans Parish facility. During a press conference, he slammed the criminal justice system in New Orleans, blaming prosecutors and judges for not moving fast enough in prosecuting the cases of accused violent criminals