The October 24th primary election is one month from today and UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says it’s finally starting to feel like election season. Eric Gill reports…:
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Syracuse is getting ready for the thousands of LSU fans expected to head their way for the game against The Tigers and The Orange. The Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau reports that some bars will be opening as early as 8am to accommodate the fans and plan to have enough alcohol on hand ahead of the 12 NOON eastern kickoff.

Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany reflects on the destruction caused by the devastating Hurricane Rita which made landfall in Louisiana 10 years ago today. He says though recovery has been slow in Cameron Parish, he has confidence in the extreme resilience of the communities over the past decade. Boustany also says over those years, they developed a strong understanding of storm surge to better prepare for future natural disasters…:
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Alexandria Representative Lance Harris has been re-elected to his state House seat after his lone opponent withdrew from next month’s election. He says he’s grateful for another term in office…:
CUT 3 (06) “more years”
Harris, who is the current chairman of the state House Republican delegation, is hopeful that legislators can make appropriate changes to the budget under the leadership of our next governor.

There is a record number of graduates from Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges. Jeff Palermo has more….

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According to recent figures by the American Association of University Women and the federal government, Louisiana continues to have the most unequal pay gap between men and women in the United States. The study shows that women in Louisiana make 65-cents to a man’s dollar. They say the wage gap remained present even when similar jobs with similar education and experience were compared.

It’s the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Rita and many, including Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany, remember the destruction it caused only a month after Katrina. Boustany says the recovery in Cameron and Calcasieu parishes proves that after a natural disaster, the people of south Louisiana come back better than before…

cut 5 (08) “of opportunity”

Boustany says they learned many lessons after Hurricane Katrina, so the response for Rita was much improved.

Despite his bruised rotator cuff, Saints quarterback Drew Brees is confident that he can play this Sunday against Carolina. Brees’ banged up shoulder has been one of the biggest news items in the state this week. The veteran Q-B says he is a little suprised with all of the attention it’s getting…

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Brees says he’ll put in extra time this week to rehab his bruised shoulder so he can play against the Panthers.

10 years ago today, Hurricane Rita hit southwest Louisiana causing immense damage. Emelie Gunn has more on how we’ve recovered…

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The state Attorney General’s Office says a Carencro woman has been arrested in connection with an elaborate financial fraud scheme that resulted in the more than 300 victims of identity theft and over $5 million in fraud. 64-year-old Brenda Taylor is accused of creating false bank records in an attempt to obtain a $250,000 loan. Taylor is charged with racketeering and criminal conspiracy to commit racketeering.

In one month voters will head to the polls for Louisiana’s primary elections. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross still expects Republican David Vitter and Democrat John Bel Edwards to make the gubernatorial runoff. He says Republicans Jay Dardenne and Scott Angelle really have their work cut out for them with only one month to go…

cut 9 (08) “putative front-runners”

Cross says it appears the governor’s race is finally starting to heat up.

The latest Public Policy Polling Republican presidential survey in Iowa shows Governor Bobby Jindal receiving four-percent of the vote. There’s still over four months to go before the Iowa caucus and polling analyst Jim Williams says they’ve already seen poll numbers shift dramatically. He says the now departed Scott Walker’s decline is a prime example…

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He says Jindal’s four-percent standing puts him in the top ten in Iowa.

The latest Public Policy Polling survey shows Governor Bobby Jindal continuing to poll in the single digits in Iowa. But polling analyst Jim Williams says a positive sign for Jindal is that his favorability rating is 59-percent…

cut 14 (08) “in Iowa”

The poll of nearly 500 Republican primary voters last weekend showed four-percent said they would like to see Jindal receive the GOP nomination for President.

The 2014-15 school year saw a record number of students graduating from the state’s technical and community colleges. Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Dr. Monty Sullivan says 70 percent of graduates go directly into high demand jobs and they’re making wages that are enough to sustain a family…

cut 11 (07) “those jobs”

Sullivan says they’re projecting that they need to produce about 40-thousand graduates to meet the workforce demands for Louisiana in 2020.

Louisiana’s October 24th primary election is one month from today. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says it appears the governor’s race is finally starting to heat up. He says we’re beginning to see some hostility among the candidates and that’s something everyone’s been waiting for…

cut 8 (07) “now gone”

Cross says with all four major gubernatorial candidates running television ads and taking shots at each other, it finally feels like election season.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Rita and many remember the destruction it caused only a month after Katrina. Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany recalls the immense flooding and tornadoes that slammed into southwest Louisiana. He says the only fortunate thing that came out of this tragic event was there were no lives lost.

cut 4 (09) “leadership”

Boustany says both Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes showed extreme resilience and entrepreneurship after the storm.

Governor Bobby Jindal continues to poll in the single digits in Iowa. Public Policy Polling surveyed nearly 500 Republican primary voters last weekend and four-percent said they would like to see Jindal receive the GOP nomination for President. Polling analyst Jim Williams says Jindal’s four-percent standing puts him in the top ten in Iowa..

cut 13 (07) “John Kasich”

Public Policy Polling continues to see Donald Trump leading the state with 24-percent.

We’re one month away from Louisiana’s October 24th primary election. For a while, the governor’s race seemed to be lackluster, at best. However, UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says it appears the governor’s race is finally starting to heat up…

cut 7 (08) “election season”

Cross still expects Republican David Vitter and Democrat John Bel Edwards to emerge from the primary into November’s runoff.

A record number of students have graduated from the state’s technical and community colleges in the 2014-2015 year. Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Dr. Monty Sullivan says they’ve graduated over 21-thousand students, who have entered the workforce or moved on to universities to pursue bachelor’s degrees…

cut 10 (07) “across Louisiana”

Sullivan says 70 percent of graduates go directly into high demand jobs. He says by entering into critical economic fields, they’re making wages that are enough to sustain a family.

Governor Bobby Jindal’s administration is reportedly telling legislative leaders that Louisiana finished the fiscal year that ended on June 30th with a deficit. It’s not known how large the deficit is and we are expecting more details next month. Political blogger CB Fortgotston says the deficit must be closed within nine months…
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The four gubernatorial candidates have said they would call a special session in January to deal with the state’s budget problems.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees met with reports today and talked about his bruised shoulder, which kept him from throwing at practice today. But the veteran Q-B hopes to play this Sunday…
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Brees has never missed a game due to an injury while with the Saints.

On the eve of the ten year Hurricane Rita anniversary. Eric Gill takes a look at how Cameron Parish is recovering…
cut 1 (29) “…reporting’

Louisiana Tech says its student enrollment is at an all-time high. Over 12-thousand students are enrolled in the fall quarter, a 10 percent increase from last year. Tech spokesman Dave Guerin says a big key to the record enrollment is that 81-percent of first-time, full-time freshman in 2014 are back this year…:
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The school reported earlier this year that its graduation rate is the second highest among all public Louisiana universities.

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Rita tomorrow, leaders in Cameron Parish say their economy continues to suffer from the devastation of the storm. Kevin Savoie, with the LSU Ag Center in Cameron Parish, says the depressed oil industry has also hurt them but that could be offset by the planned construction jobs coming:
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He says still it’s been a decade and the town of Cameron, which had 2200 people pre-Rita, still hopes steady at about just 400 residents living there.

Injured Saints Quarterback Drew Brees was back on the practice field today and participated in the portion that the media was allowed to attend. Brees status was called “day to day” by coach Sean Payton earlier this morning. Number 9 says he’s not throwing in practice so he can rest his bruised rotator cuff, but he’s pretty confident that he will play in the game Sunday at Carolina.

Two relatives of Breaux Bridge actress and model Ali Landry were attacked and killed in Mexico. Jeff Palermo has more…:
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Pope Francis is in Washington DC today and gave a speech at the White House. Tomorrow he’s addressing Congress. Doctor Tom Ryan, director of the Loyola Institute of Ministry, says after talking about climate change and religious freedom in front of the President, what will he say to legislative leaders???
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Pope Francis will travel to New York and Philadelphia later in the week to wrap up his six-day visit.