Incumbents got off easy this year with few established candidates set to challenger statewide officeholders. Matt Doyle has more.
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The National Weather Service issues as heat advisory as the heat index is expected to hit the triple digits. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
cut 2 (28) I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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Statewide incumbents appear to have gotten off pretty easy this year with few high profile, or well-funded challengers signing up to run for their seats.
Prominent Republicans sat out this cycle with all statewide offices except for Governor controlled by the party. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says challengers are rare in states with one-party rule.
The exception this year is the race for Insurance Commissioner, where Republican Tim Temple is self-funding a million-dollar campaign to unseat 13-year Republican incumbent Jim Donelon.
The public may often voice a desire for change, but Cross says the electoral outcomes tend to not reflect that desire due to the substantial advantages of incumbency.
Prominent Democrats steered clear of the statewide ballot this year despite the presence of a fairly popular governor. Cross says that’s an indictment against the state party.
The exception may be Attorney General Jeff Landry’s challenger, Ike Jackson Jr. who previously served as Assistant Attorney General of Louisiana.
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A Shreveport woman is accused of intentionally slamming the head of her 23-month old child following a bus accident in an effort to collect an insurance pay day. State Police Trooper Brent Hardy says the arrest of 38-year-old Deidra Lee comes after an investigation into the incident that took place on a city bus.
Hardy says Lee is charged with cruelty to a juvenile and two counts of insurance fraud for the disturbing incident.
Cut 7 (09) “…crash that occurred.”
Hardy says Lee was booked into the Caddo Correctional Center on Tuesday, but has since bonded out.
Cut 8 (09) “…taken into custody.”
Hardy says Lee also presented false information as part of the attempt to defraud an insurance company by claiming injuries to both herself and the child. Authorities did not release details on the condition of the child following the crash.
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It’s a scorcher across Louisiana today as the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory. State Climatologist Barry Keim says temps are going to be in the low to mid 90s, but it is the very high humidity with very little chance of rainfall that will make conditions extremely uncomfortable.
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Keim says today is the day to beat the heat by all means necessary.
Cut 10 (11) “…friends and neighbors.”
Keim says there is a chance these weather conditions could continue into the weekend.
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The advisory is in effect through 7PM.
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New Orleans city council unanimously bans property owners from renting out homes for Airbnb use unless the home itself is the owner’s primary residence.
Supporters say real estate speculators have been buying up historic residential neighborhoods, pricing locals out of owning homes, and drastically cutting the supply of rental units. This supporter says it’s killing the city’s working class…
Opponents say the ruling is a violation of property rights, and the city has no right to dictate how they use their land.
Duplex owners can still rent out the other half of their property if they live in one half of it.
One man who spoke at the council meeting says it could have unintended consequences.
The ruling also caps the percentage commercial “short term rentals” to 25 percent of the units in a single property, a substantial limit on private business use of Airbnb as well.
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Cut 16 (08) “…pharmacy.”
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