A report by the Centers for Disease Control shows Louisiana’s average school start time of 7:40AM is the earliest in the country. Is it too early? Eric Gill has more…

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The Calcasieu Parish town of DeQuincy was named the safest place to live in Louisiana by an online study released recently.

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The Louisiana Department of Education collected about 30,000 comments from an online portal about wanted changes to Common Core in the state. Emelie Gunn has more…

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Are Louisiana schools starting too early in the morning? According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control, early start times contribute to lack of sleep in teens, which negatively impacts their health and academic performance. Sleep expert, Dr. David Thomas of the Neuromedical Center, says this information is nothing new…

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Louisiana’s average school start time for public middle and high schools, 7:40AM, is the earliest in the country. The report states the national average is 8:03AM. Thomas says that extra sleep could have a positive effect on kids…

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The CDC recommends schools start their day at 8:30AM or later. Thomas says technology, like cell phones, is keeping people up later these days. He says it’s important for parents to ensure kids get the proper amount of sleep…

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(Teenagers should get between 8.5 and 9.5 hours of sleep daily according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

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In an online study conducted by Only in Your State, the Calcasieu Parish town of DeQuincy was named the safest place to live in Louisiana. DeQuincy Mayor Lawrence Henagan says he is happy that his town of nearly 3,200 residents is a place with no violent crimes…

CUT 7 (05)  “very dedicated”

The study took statistics from the FBI crime reports in 2013 to rank the top 11 safest places to live in Louisiana. The statistics reported that DeQuincy had the highest population in the state with zero violent crimes. Mayor Henagan also credits the residents for this success…

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Blanchard, Golden Meadow, Berwick and Haughton round out the top five in the online list of safest cities in the state. Henagan says that extra patrols at night help contribute to the safety of the people in the town on a larger scale.

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It’s much cheaper for teens to stay on their parent’s car insurance, rather than going out on their own. According to InsuranceQuotes.com, it costs 26 percent more for young adults to get their own car insurance policy in Louisiana than staying on their parent’s. Senior analyst Laura Adams says this number is eight percent higher than the national average.

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Adams says there are some advantages that mom and dad can pass on to their young driver, like having discounts because of multiple vehicles or good credit. She knows many parents want to push their teens to be on their own when it comes to insurance but suggests making an agreement.

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Adams says even if a teen goes on their own policy, there are some ways to save on the cost of a young driver. She says young adults can qualify for a good student discount by keeping around a “B” average and staying proactive with sending in their results.

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The State Department of Education says they’ve collected nearly 30,000 comments on its online portal from people about possible changes to Common Core in Louisiana. The comments came from 723 people and 23 percent were parents. Regina Sanford, the chairperson of the standards review committee, says these opinions were collected from July 8^th through August 5^th.

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Sanford says the first public hearing on possible Common Core revisions is set for August 19^th. She says the work they’re going to do is very important for the students and faculty in the state.

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Sanford says BESE will make recommendations in March, which will then get legislative review and have to be approved by the next governor. Public comments will continue to be collected through the fall online at louisianabelieves.com.

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The New Orleans Saints final practice of the week is today then they’ll fly out Wednesday to Baltimore for Thursday’s preseason game against the Ravens. They started the second week of training camp with a full pads practice at the Greenbrier in West Virginia and worked for a little over two hours. Coach Sean Payton says he likes what he’s seeing

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Payton says these first two weeks of training camp are about getting everyone up to speed…:

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LSU went through the first full squad practice of the fall and the battle for the starting quarterback position is far from over. Coach Les Miles said that sophomore Brandon Harris continues to get the first snaps, but if it will be he or Anthony Jennings that will start on September 5th against McNeese has not been decided.

Cut 18 (09) “to evolve”

Jennings started 12 games for the Tigers a year ago, passing for 1,611 yards and 11 touchdowns. Harris played in nine games with one start last year as a true freshman. He threw for 452 yards and six touchdowns and added another 159 yards and three scores on the ground. Miles says both guys continue to show improvement every day and there is not a certain person he has in his mind that will start at QB…:

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In a recent survey by pollster Verne Kennedy, Republican Scott Angelle has moved ahead of fellow GOP candidate David Vitter in the race for governor. Eric Gill has more…

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Baton Rouge food blogger and radio host Jay Ducote finds himself in the top three of the Food Network Star competition as the finale airs this Sunday. The top prize is your own show on Food Network. Michelle Southern reports…:

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In a recent survey by pollster Verne Kennedy, Republican Scott Angelle has moved ahead of fellow GOP candidate David Vitter in the race for governor. The poll of 600 residents, conducted between July 27th-31st, shows Angelle with 25-percent of the vote and Vitter with 22-percent. But ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley notes that previous polls have consistently showed Vitter and Democrat John Bel Edwards on top…

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The poll shows Edwards at 20-percent and Republican Jay Dardenne at 12-percent with 21-percent undecided. Stockley say he is skeptical about the results of this poll, but says it is possible that Angelle has increased support over the last few months…

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He says Angelle is the only gubernatorial candidate, thus far, to spend any real money on advertising and it could be paying off. Stockley says it may be time for the other candidates to take notice…

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Baton Rouge food blogger and radio host Jay Ducote will be competing in the finale of Food Network’s Star on August 16 to win his own show on the network. Three finalists made their own pilot for a cooking show in last night’s episode. Ducote prepared fried catfish topped with crawfish etoufee as his showcase dish. He says he has enjoyed the experience and the unique opportunities the show has offered:

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In Ducote’s pilot, he filmed an episode of Deep-Fried America which explores the best versions of fried food all across the country. Ducote says if he wins, his show will remain Louisiana focused the way he’s competed throughout the season…:

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Ducote says there will be a viewing party for the show’s finale, which begins at 8pm, at the Varsity near LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge. He is still quiet about what his plans are for the future until Sunday’s episode is aired, but he says he is excited about his progress through the season…

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The largest public company headquartered in Louisiana, CenturyLink, says its estimating the elimination of 1000 jobs company-wide. Spokeswoman Annmarie Sarter says it’s unclear how the layoffs will impact the company’s corporate headquarters in Monroe…:

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CenturyLink has already committed to expanding in northeast Louisiana and create 800 new jobs by next summer. Sarter says that deal is still on track…:

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CenturyLink said in a prepared statement that results for the second quarter were below forecast primarily due to pressure on wholesale revenue and higher employee and benefit costs. Sarter says in addition to the layoffs, they are working on other ways to reduce expenses such as minimizing the number of contractors they work with and reducing travel expenses…:

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Just in time for the much anticipated start of football season, the Louisiana Lottery is back with its popular “Saints Fever” scratch-off which launched today. Lottery spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says this is their 7th Saints-branded scratch off game…:

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Chopin says the $5 “Saints Fever” ticket features four top prizes of $100,000 plus the opportunity to enter non-winning tickets into a series of second chance drawings. She says Who Dat fans love this game because it also offers prizes that are once in a lifetime opportunities…:

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Chopin says complete game and second chance drawing entry rules can be found online at louisianalottery.com. She says Louisiana Lottery’s long standing partnership with the Saints is a good one as they love supporting all things Louisiana…:

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