The Office of Community Development is hosting public meetings in flood impacted areas of the state to update flood victims on the recovery process. Michelle Southern has more…
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Former Governor Edwin Edwards is in the hospital with another bout of pneumonia. Michelle Southern speaks with his wife Trina…:
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Public meetings are being held in flood impacted areas of the state to update flood victims on the ongoing recovery efforts. Executive Director for the Office of Community Development, Pat Forbes says the task force wanted to make sure that everybody had a chance to weigh on how dollars will be distributed…:
The first round of money will go to elderly and disabled low income families who are not in a flood plain and don’t have flood insurance first. Forbes says they are working as quickly as possible, but the action plan still has to go through the bureaucratic process.
Former-Denham Springs mayor Jimmy Durbin sits on the Restore Louisiana Task Force. He says once approved, they’ll get to work on a plan to spend the $1.2 billion in federal aid. He says they’re moving about 60 days ahead of the normal timeline, and they hope to have the money in the hands of those who need it most soon.
A meeting will be held tonight in Lafayette, and more are scheduled in Rapides, Caddo, Ouachita, East Baton Rouge, and Ascension parishes.
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Governor John Bel Edwards has sent a letter to Senator-elect John Kennedy to bring him up to speed on the efforts to get more federal aid for flood recovery. The letter comes after Kennedy told USA today that the governor hasn’t done enough to secure federal funding. Edwards’ Communications Director, Richard Carbo, says Kennedy’s statements just weren’t based in reality.
Carbo says the governor has worked closely with the state’s congressional delegation to secure as much funding as they can as quickly as possible. He adds that the first round of aid was approved with unprecedented speed. But he says they understand Kennedy is new to this.
Carbo says the letter outlined the efforts made by the administration, as well as the process by which federal funds are approved. He says they will be working closely with Kennedy on flood recovery and a number of other issues when the now-State Treasurer takes his new office next year.
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A Baton Rouge father has been arrested after allegedly killing his 4-year-old while play fighting. Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Don Coppola says on November 30th, Kristopher Carter brought his unconscious son, Marcel, to the hospital. He says Carter transported the child to the hospital himself, hours after the incident because his son did not want to go.
Coppola says Carter has been charged with negligent homicide. He says detectives spoke with a witness inside the home who said Carter hitting his son with a closed fist and told him to fight back.
The autopsy revealed Marcel died from a laceration on his small bowel. He says the child’s mother and school officials told detectives Marcel had no signs of any illness before being with Carter.
Carter was bonded out of jail this morning.
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Former Governor Edwin Edwards is in the hospital with another bout of pneumonia. His wife Trina says that the 89-year-old has been having trouble with this infection for a while. She says it seems every winter about this time Edwards comes down with it:
Mrs. Edwards says its been an eventful couple of days as she deals with the couple’s three year old son Eli in a hospital room with a sick husband. She says hopefully Edwards will be discharged soon…:
Mrs. Edwards says her husband has a spot in one of his lungs that he keeps getting pneumonia in every year and doctors are working on a way to treat that so it doesn’t continue to recur. She says of course the state’s only four term governor is still in good spirits…:
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The state’s income forecasting panel has decided to delay the state’s reduced budget outlook for the financial year that ends June 30th; saying the picture of where Louisiana stands should be more clear in a month. The income projections were expected to be dismal; and Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says the delay is irresponsible…:
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Higher than estimated revenue would mean a large portion of the budget could get funding the state can’t afford, leaving higher ed and health care to face more mid-year cuts. A new reduction would come on top of a $313 million dollar shortfall from last year yet to be closed. Dardenne says the wait gives agencies less time to deal with inevitable cuts…:
Cut 16 (11) “blind eye to reality”