Jennings American Legion Hospital signs a letter of intent to merge with Lafayette General Hospital, and LGH to assume management. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”
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Five flood mitigation projects around south-central and southeast Louisiana have been identified by the Corps as most likely to win federal funding. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Two Acadiana hospital systems announce their intent to merge. Jennings American Legion Hospital and Lafayette General Health signed a letter of intent to explore a merger with LGH assuming management.
Leaders of both facilities want to keep high-quality medical care in the area, JAHL CEO Dana Williams.
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Lafayette General Health President David Callecod says they have relationships with several healthcare providers in the area and they expect to expand services as opposed to streamlining them.
Cut 4 (12) “…Jennings community”
LGH anticipates a $6-million investment in the merger. Callecod says that includes, infrastructure upgrades and integration, physician placement and recruitment, and technology.
The goal is to have documents for the merger finalized Fall of 2020. In September LGH signed a letter of intent to merge with Ochsner Health System.
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The Corps of Engineers New Orleans District has identified five flood mitigation projects across south Louisiana they feel stand a good chance of winning federal backing and eventually funding.
Corps spokesperson Ricky Boyett says the requests for funding, which could run several billion dollars, aren’t just for additional levee building…
The five studies looked at the south-central coastal region, the upper Barataria, the Amite River, Lake Ponchartrain and surrounding areas, and the West Bank of the Mississippi south of New Orleans.
The largest request for funding will be 3.2 billion dollars for New Orleans levees. Boyett says the levees are slowly sinking, and we’ll need a commitment to continually raise them back up to current standards.
Maintaining current levee protection levels is also necessary to meet National Flood Insurance requirements.
The study also calls for 1.4 billion to raise homes and businesses in south-central Louisiana, 500 million for levee work in St. Charles Parish, and several other 200 million dollars to 2 two-billion-dollar projects…
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The Louisiana Supreme Court rules today on a case between Jefferson Parish and Walmart that could determine whether large online marketplaces could be required to collect sales taxes on third-party retailer transactions. Tax law expert Bill Backstrom says the ruling will impact the businesses providing the marketplace.
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Jefferson Parish has been previously successful in two similar cases. Backstrom says the tax administrators and businesses all over the country are waiting for the outcome of the case.
New legislation could be enacted stemming from the issue.
Cut 11 (10) “…under state law.”
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Tough news for Saints fans as reports in the last 24 hours indicate both defensive end Marcus Davenport and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins will be out for the year.
Locked on Saints publisher Ross Jackson says losing two high level starters on the defensive line is a devastating loss not just for the team’s pass rush, but in the run game as well.
Davenport had six sacks on the year so far and three forced fumbles. Rankins had two sacks since returning to the lineup in week four.
Jackson says the Saints D-line runs about nine players deep, and while those are two major holes to fill, they’ve got some rotation players who could potentially step up.
Davenport is 23 and Rankins is 25, and both figured to be young cornerstones to build the future defense around, but it’s two years in a row they’ve ended the season on IR. Of particular concern is Davenport…
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