Voters across Louisiana are finally getting their chance to vote Saturday after weeks of delay caused by Hurricane Ida. More from Dave Brannen.
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Bonfires on the Levee are officially greenlit for this Christmas Eve in St. James Parish after COVID snuffed them out last year. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Voters head to the polls tomorrow in Louisiana, but for most, there’s not a lot to cast their votes on. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says every registered voter will have the opportunity to decide the outcome of four constitutional amendments.
Orleans Parish has the most items on the ballot because of municipal races, including the bid by Mayor LaToya Cantrell for a second term. The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. (Any absentee ballots have to be received by 4:30 this afternoon.)
Ardoin says because of an expected 35 percent voter turnout in Orleans Parish, voters statewide should be aware that New Orleans could have the largest impact on the fate of the constitutional amendments.
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Ardoin says if you aren’t sure where your polling location is or what’s on your ballot you can visit the website geauxvote.com. (that’s g-e-a-u-x vote-dot.com)”
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A note, that Terrebonne Parish has moved 40 of its 77 polling locations and Lafourche relocated ten in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
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The National Average for a gallon of regular gas has decreased by a penny to $3.41. The decrease in demand has led to a slight price relief. Triple-A spokesperson Don Redman says with holidays around the corner he’s hoping the slight decrease is a sign that prices might be stabilizing for the winter at least…
The statewide average in the Bayou State is $3.16 a gallon and crude oil prices remain above $80 a barrel.
Redman says while there has been a slight decrease, he doesn’t expect to see prices change drastically one way or the other as we approach winter.
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And even though most of us tend to dislike the time change, Redman says it might have one redeeming quality, especially right now because it’s darker on your commute home.
Redman says and while OPEC has agreed to slowly increase production he says we most likely won’t see an impact in prices at the pump for some time.
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The longtime Louisiana Christmas tradition of the Lighting of Bonfires is officially back on the calendar after being extinguished last year due to the pandemic. St James Parish President Pete Dufresne says the Christmas Eve pastime of lighting the way for Papa Noel has been a community event for decades…
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Dufrense says canceling it last year was the most difficult thing he’s had to do as parish president and he’s overjoyed the event can finally be held again this year, weather permitting.
The Parish will begin issuing permits for the bonfires at the Parish Welcome Center on November 20th and the bonfire season runs from November 21st to December 27th. As for Christmas Eve Dufrense says they are lit at 7 PM and thousands come to witness it.
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As for when the tradition began in southeast Louisiana, Dufrense says that’s a hard question to answer but well over a century ago.
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is up for re-election on Saturday. Cantrell also opposes Constitutional Amendment one on the ballot which creates a single commission to collect sales and use taxes. LA-politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says business groups support amendment one
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Cantrell is expected to win re-election on Saturday as she does not face any well-funded challengers.
There are races for open legislative seats in New Orleans, Lake Charles and Monroe. He says the most interesting race is in Lake Charles as Republican businessman Jeremy Stine is battling with a high-profile Democrat…
Alford says the other major storyline in this election is the expected low turnout…
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A suspect has been arrested in the second of two fatal shootings that took place on Grambling State’s campus during homecoming week. Trooper Michael Reichardt says the suspect has been identified as Ahmad Green
Green was arrested in Shreveport and booked into the Lincoln Parish Detention Center on a four-million dollar bond. Reichardt says they are still looking for the suspect in the first shooting, that occurred on October 13th. His name is Jatavious Carroll of Delhi…