Three Vermilion Parish residents and a non-profit are suing the parish government, claiming it used deceptive methods to approve the SpaceX deal. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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A new report finds that the Baton Rouge area leads metros comparable to its size in job growth. Jeff Palermo has the story.
Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Today is the last day of early voting, and Election Day is one week from today. Yesterday, candidates vying for the open seat in the Fifth District met for a one-hour forum in Baton Rouge. Kace Kieschnick reports.
Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”
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Three Vermilion Parish residents and a non-profit are suing the parish government for allegedly violating the Open Meetings Act when it gave the green light to the SpaceX development. William Most of Most and Associates, who is representing the plaintiffs, says they were kept in the dark as the state offered SpaceX a 24-billion-dollar tax exemption to build its spaceport in Vermilion Parish.
Cut 4 (11) “…give their say.”
Most says the police jury was very secretive in its proceedings, including in its revival of the industrial development board, which had been inactive since 1997, using a code name to conceal the identity of SpaceX.
Cut 5 (13) “…anything about them.”
Most says by using a code name, the Vermilion Parish was being very deceptive in how it went about approving the SpaceX project.
Cut 6 (11) “…the law requires.”
The citizens and the non-profit, dubbed the Vermilion Citizens Coalition, are asking a judge to void the actions taken by the industrial development board, as well as damages, attorneys’ fees and court costs.
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The Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership says the Capital Region leads comparable metro areas in job growth. Andrew Fitzgerald, the senior vice president of strategy and research, says the region added 13,700 jobs over the past year, with construction accounting for much of the growth.
Cut 7 (04) “…the Capital Region.”
Fitzgerald says the Capital Region now has more than 58-thousand construction jobs. He points to two major projects fueling that growth — Hut 8’s 10-billion-dollar A-I data center in West Feliciana Parish and Hyundai Steel’s mill in Ascension Parish.
Fitzgerald says workers are moving to the Baton Rouge area to fill some of those jobs, while local residents are also getting the education and training needed to join the workforce.
Cut 8 (13) “…trades and construction.”
Fitzgerald says the region also has an affordability advantage. Since 2019, home values and rents have increased less in the Baton Rouge area than in comparable metro areas.
Cut 9 (09) “…and groceries too.”
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Today is the last day of early voting for the November 3rd election. One of the key races is in the Fifth Congressional District, in which six Republicans are vying for the open seat. Yesterday, three of them attended a candidate forum hosted by the Baton Rouge Press Club. Gabe Firment says he supports the Medicaid work requirement provision in the Big Beautiful Bill.
Cut 10 (08) “…a productive citizen.”
On saving Social Security, Austin Magee says instead of increasing the wealth cap as Democrats are calling for, the government should redirect money to Social Security from things that the U.S. should have no business spending taxpayer money on.
Cut 11 (12) “…sub-Saharan Africa.”
While Magee says he would go against his party on an issue if it hurts his constituents, Michael Echols says it’s important for Republicans to stick together.
Cut 12 (13) “…what America is.”
Stewart Cathey, Misti Cordell and Omar Dantzler are the other Republicans running; they did not appear at the forum. There are also three Democrats on the open primary ballot.
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We are looking at another dry work week, but rain chances do increase for Saturday. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says rainfall on Halloween could dampen some spirits.
Cut 13 (10) “…some scattered showers.”
Keim says 89-percent of Louisiana is in drought, and 41-percent of the state is in either extreme or exceptional drought…
Cut 14 (10) “…time of year.”
Keim says drought conditions will continue to worsen through Friday.
Cut 15 (09) “…seriously in sight.”
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The Saints head into their bye week with a lot to talk about after a frustrating loss to the Steelers in Paris this weekend. New Orleans has now fallen to 2-and-5 to start the season but are just one win behind the 3-and-3 Panthers at the top of the NFC South. Head Coach Kellen Moore says this week will give the team extra time to self-scout.
Cut 16 (17) “…forward will be.”
One of the Saints’ biggest points of emphasis will be their 26th-ranked run game. New Orleans ran for just 18 yards in the loss to Pittsburgh but posted a season-high 175 yards the game before against the Giants. Moore says he will take a long look at the ground game.
Cut 17 (17) “…the ball well.” (2x)
Another area of concern — the Saints have scored just six points in the first quarter all season. They have gone scoreless in the first quarter in 17 of their 24 games under Moore and have not scored on their first drive the last 11 games. Moore says they need to start better.
Cut 18 (18) “…the opening drive.”
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UL Lafayette suffered its second tough loss of the season on Saturday, giving up a fourth-quarter lead to lose to Southern Miss, 35-31. It’s the second straight road game the Cajuns were unable to close out with a win, and head coach Michael Desormeaux says this one stings a little more.
Cut 19 (13) “…wasn’t the standard.”
UL Lafayette is now 5-and-3 this season and 2-and-2 in the Sun Belt. They’ll be on a bye this week; but Desormeaux says the bye week is not an off week, and his team needs to focus on getting better.
Cut 20 (20) “…pretty good football.”