Support for Louisiana, the state we're in is provided by.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together, together, together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Zigler Foundation and the Zigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.

We don't know the extent of what's burning, what could be burning under the ground.

Day ten of Bayou Savage Wildfire relief with no end in sight.

Every year since tort reform passed in 2020, auto insurance rates have climbed.

Car insurance rates continue to rise for Louisiana drivers.

Can we put the brakes on rate hikes?

So inflation has ebbed a bit lately.

But that doesn't mean the prices have gone down after a very high inflation last year.

Louisiana's quality of life took a dip after the pandemic.

He changed American landscape painting.

George did the widow of Louisiana's beloved blue dog painter shares his paintings and his legacy statewide.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Kara St. Cyr.

And I'm Karen LeBlanc.

Tonight, all the candidates for the upcoming gubernatorial election are in.

We now have 16 hopefuls vying for the governor seat.

We will be bringing you a special coverage of the gubernatorial election, including our series Coffee With the Candidates.

And LPB will be hosting a televised and gubernatorial debate on September 28.

So make sure you tune in and Bayou Sauvage is a national wildlife refuge uniquely situated in the city limits of New Orleans.

Its 20,000 acres are home to a diverse ecosystem of 340 bird species and hundreds of plants.

But a wildfire caused by a lightning strike is consuming several acres, and it's still burning.

Here's the latest.

My SO was is approximately 27,000 acres of fresh and saltwater marshes.

Only a small portion of those refuges are actually within the city limits.

Just what makes this refuge so unique is it is all here in the city, all Orleans Parish, and what all the wildlife and everything that goes with it.

John Dickson is with the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

His life's work is dependent on the health of Bayou Savage, Urban National Wildlife Refuge.

But this week, his job just got a little more complicated.

The refuge caught fire July 30th, and it's still burning.

This is day ten of wildfire relief.

Can you tell me how this fire started?

We feel that this fire started as a result of a dry lightning strike that happened on July 30th, approximate around 830, 9:00 timeframe.

We discovered the fire early Monday morning right before the.

We have some contractors out here that are doing some herbicide treatments.

And they called me about 6:00 Monday morning to report a fire.

So I drove over here, located the fire, and then I called in support and we have been dealing with it ever since.

The fire is currently burning in 36 different spots.

But you can't see it because it's underground.

You see, the soil is so dry that he, from the initial blaze, is traveling underground and hitting up old tree stumps.

Those stumps have roots that travel all along the refuge.

When it gets hot enough, it can start a blaze above ground.

That's what makes it a hot spot.

So normally, about 3:00 every day, we we have these hot spots that flare up and we feel that we may have some organic matter that's burning.

And we refer to that as peat.

And so these peat fires kind of work their way to the surface and become surface fires.

Then that ignites the grass and then you see smoke and flames.

We had that happen yesterday around 330, 4:00.

It is at the peak of the heating already on.

His team are using several methods to control the flames.

The big dramatic buckets of water literally opening the floodgates of surrounding rivers.

But it's hard to detect a fire you can't see.

So how long do you think it would take to put this out?

We don't know because we don't know the extent of what's burning, what could be burning under the ground.

So it could be a few more days.

It could be a few more weeks.

We really don't know.

We have unmanned drones that fly every morning with infrared capabilities.

They fly over the burn area to detect any hotspots that may be burning.

And if we see hotspots, we will get on those with the bucket and try to suppress those hotspots like ponds.

Said, it could be weeks before the fire was extinguished.

And he would know because this isn't the first time a wildfire has broken out here.

Wildfires are almost cyclical, so it's not super common, but it's not uncommon either.

That is correct.

Okay.

Explain that.

We might well, we may go a decade or so, but it's it's all connected meteorology.

So that right now, if you've been watching the news in the weather, you know that that we have an El Nino event that's been taking place.

It starts off in the Pacific and then it spreads across this area.

Well, classically, when there's an El Nino event, the water gets warmer in the Pacific.

And as it drifts across this way, it heats up the areas in the southern United States.

But that might only last for a short period of time and then it's gone.

So nobody really notices any impacts.

Well, this time it's been with us for a long time.

I Savage caught fire in 2001 27 and 2011.

2023 is unique in the fact that we're in a drought partly caused by the El Nino weather pattern, which is making matters worse.

Well, I mean, people are saying with climate change, stuff like this could be more common.

Is that true?

Absolutely true.

But we don't know.

You know, we nobody predicted that this was going to happen this year.

There were some meteorologists who were always suggesting that this happens and this happens and this happens, you can have a problem.

So far, the fire has burned through more than 400 acres of land, and the path to recovery is still unknown.

Most of the species that inhabit by survivors or fire dependent species, they have evolved with fire.

So fire is a vital part of the life cycle of a lot of these species that are found on the refuge.

Now, there is a silver lining to this fire.

According to Pine, the plant species in the bayou are accustomed to cyclical fires and that could even help the bayous regrowth.

Louisiana auto insurance rates continue to rise, putting a financial strain on hundreds of thousands of drivers.

The latest rate hikes include the state's largest auto insurer.

State Farm impacting approximately a million drivers.

Louisiana currently ranked second in the nation, only behind Florida for the highest car insurance premiums.

Here's a look at what's driving the rate hikes and solutions to put the brakes on premium hikes.

Nicole Fontenot is a working parent in a two income household, insuring five drivers and five vehicles.

She was surprised to discover on her latest auto insurance bill from progressive a $95 increase in her monthly premium.

Our mortgage runs around $1,100 - $1,150 a month and our car insurance is $1,407.

And so we are paying more for car insurance than we are paying for our mortgage and our homeowner's insurance together.

Progressive is one on a long list of auto insurance companies raising rates on Louisiana drivers.

The top five auto insurers in the state that received approval to raise rates include State Farm, the largest insurer of Louisiana drivers with a 17.3% rate hike.

And USAA group with the highest rate hike at 3.8%.

Without any warning or really without any reason, we have had no accidents, no tickets, no incidences that would cause a usual rate hike, something that you would expect to cause a rate hike.

It was just an increase in the bill unexpectedly.

It's the constant unexpected nature to the increases that come with insurance.

But when there's really repetitive increases and for no reason that you can't plan for that you may even be unaware of.

You can't budget for things like that.

So the only real way to control rates is competition.

And that competition will will do what it can.

If the system isn't skewed against them to control rates politically, we can't just say no, that won't work.

Companies don't have to be here.

Louisiana's insurance commissioner, Jim Donelon█s team of actuaries, reviews and recommends either the rejection, adjustment or approval of auto insurance rate hikes.

Insurance companies don't have a rate hike cap nor a limit on the number of times they can ask for insurance premium increases.

The next obvious question is why grant them?

Because to just say no is to tell them go somewhere else.

The rising cost of auto repairs on new cars with more technology and pricier parts, that's one of the contributing factors.

Another, the many drivers opting to carry only the minimum coverage required by law.

Bad roads, distracted driving.

The other factors are not major contributors to the cost.

Litigation is.

And we have a set of laws that enable folks to take advantage of the system by taking a minor accident into litigation.

It's no secret that Louisiana is a sue happy state with a large amount of litigation and tied to car wrecks.

For years, state lawmakers have attempted tort reform aimed at putting guardrails on personal injury lawsuits.

In Louisiana, if your case is valued at $10,000 or higher.

A judge rather than a jury will decide it.

It's referred to as a jury threshold.

In 2020, a law aimed at reducing frivolous lawsuits lowered the jury threshold from 50000 to $10000 in claims value.

Every year since tort reform passed in 2020, auto insurance rates have climbed.

They continued pointing towards tort reform or insurance industry talking points that are used to distract the Louisiana drivers from the real problem that's driving up their auto insurance rates, which is the way that insurance companies set these rates.

Consumer advocacy groups say the root cause of Louisiana's rising auto insurance rates is that credit scores are tied to insurance premiums.

Louisiana ranks second to last an average credit score, and we have the second highest auto insurance rates in the country.

When you consider those two facts together, Louisianans with Louisiana drivers with bad credit, but a good driving record will pay 111% more than a driver with good credit and a good driving record.

That's the reason we're paying so much for automobile insurance here in Louisiana.

Bad credit can drive up auto insurance rates regardless of a good driving record.

In Louisiana, if you are a safe driver, a safe driver with a safe driving record and you have poor credit, you will pay $905 more for automobile insurance than a driver with a DWI and good credit totally unrelated to either.

Their rates are totally unrelated to their actual driving record and the risk that they pose to the insurance company or to the general public.

The end result is a self-perpetuating cycle.

Unaffordable auto insurance rates create more uninsured motorists, which produce a higher monetary risk for insurers and insured motorists.

All of it laying fertile ground for more litigation, prohibiting the use of credit scores and setting rates for Louisiana drivers.

Some say that will help drive down rates.

This is a price setting practice that is particularly difficult for low income families.

And once you start to have more uninsured motorist, the cost of insurance goes up, which makes it more cost prohibitive for more people.

And it's a death spiral from there.

Nicole offers up another rate reduction solution reward for responsible drivers.

She pays for auto insurance for two adult children in graduate school with good grades and good driving records.

Why not offer rate discounts instead of driving away future generations who can't quite literally afford to drive in Louisiana?

You know, you hear from legislature, politicians, they want to keep the best and brightest students in the state when they graduate from from any college within the state.

I can't blame them for leaving.

We have we have told our kids, don't stay here for us.

We'll come to you all.

But if there's a better opportunity and you can afford to live somewhere that gives you more freedom for what you have to pay, we'll find you and you'll leave.

That is a very powerful statement from a parent.

The Pandemic to Prosperity South project highlights the social and economic changes in the American South following the outbreak of COVID 19.

The most recent report painted a pretty grim picture of Louisiana's capacity to provide quality lives for its residents.

Allison Plyer, the chief demographer at the data center, helps interpret those statistics.

Allison, thank you so much for joining us.

And I'll just start off with the question.

So you work for the data center, and part of that job is running these studies where you really analyze how Louisiana and really the entire South is recuperating after COVID 19.

And you guys recently just put out a new study and that's pandemic prosperity and it focuses on the South.

Can you tell me a little bit about some of those results?

Sure.

Well, one of the things that we found is that nationwide, nearly half of black and Hispanic adults are really struggling to just pay for basic household expenses and so are about a third of white and Asian adults.

And a lot of that is because of the end of stimulus payments and also, you know, inflation, which is really hit people hard.

So we looked at Louisiana and about 20%, that's one in five Louisianans reported that their families went hungry in June of this year.

All of that is directly tied to those stimulus payments and inflation and inflation.

That's right.

So inflation, you know, has ebbed a bit lately, but that doesn't mean that prices have gone down after a very high inflation last year.

Right.

So we're all still really struggling with high, high prices.

So is Louisiana providing any type of service or any type of program that they can go to to where they can help themselves?

Because 19 to 20%, I mean, that's a very large number of people.

Yeah.

You know, in Louisiana and elsewhere in the country, food banks have been, you know, really critical lifeline.

But they've been stretched, especially as grocery prices have gotten so high.

One of the things we do know in Louisiana is, you know, we have about more than a third of all adults report symptoms of anxiety and depression.

That's new.

And before COVID, it was really only about 11%.

So those rates have tripled.

So basically, we're leading the country whenever it comes to disasters.

We are definitely leading the country when it comes to disasters.

And there's lots of disasters happening in other places as well.

So that just says a whole lot about some of the struggles that Louisiana is facing.

Do we show any signs of maybe that waning a little bit or is it becoming more of an issue?

It's actually becoming more of an issue.

You know, drug overdose rates have been continuing to grow and they were certainly their highest in 2021 and have gone down a little bit in 2022.

Is there anything that I guess people can do to try to relieve some of these effects that are leftover from COVID?

You know, the federal government sent a lot of money to states and localities through the American rescue plan, and that's very flexible.

And there's also more money that's coming through the Infrastructure Act.

And this really sort of a once in a in a generation investment in local governments and those local governments can use that funding to invest in health and well-being of people.

All right, Allison.

Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

The art and legacy of Louisiana's beloved Blue Dog painter George Rodrigue are on view at the West Baton Rouge Museum and a rare opportunity to see several works from his private collection.

It's been ten years since the artist's death and his widow, Wendy Rodrigue, is keeping the memory and mission of George Rodrigue alive by sharing his art with schoolchildren around the state.

Here's more.

Many of the George Rodrigue paintings hanging on the walls of the West Baton Rouge Museum are rare sites from the private collection of his widow, Wendy, on loan as part of a retrospective of Rodrigue work themed The River is the Road, and the River is one of those elements that links all of Rodriguez paintings through.

So I thought about that George as a little boy on the banks of the bayou towards the river, leading us through to this bright hope.

We shall see.

And so many of these paintings at the end of the river, or is it a road?

And how does that translate to the journey of life and the journey of George, his life in particular, but also hopefully for people who visit this, maybe it will resonate some for their own lives.

Wendy Rodriguez, widow of the famed Blue Dog painter Jorge Rodriguez, is filled with emotion as she talks about her late husband's work as a chronicler in canvas of Louisiana's culture, history, heritage and landscape as a child.

I grew up mesmerized by the Blue Dog.

There is a hypnotic quality to the Blue Dog.

Those eyes, that kind of lure you in and that mystique about it.

So tell me about the origin of the Blue Dog.

So the Blue Dog actually started with an early Cajun legend called Lukaku Lukaku crazy wolf werewolf, almost a boogeyman type of type of character or myth.

And it was a story Georgia's mama told him when he was a little boy.

Wendy says George grew up in what we call today an artistic desert in his hometown of New Iberia, which at the time museums, galleries, public art and school art classes were not readily available.

George discovered painting at the age of eight while recovering from polio after his mom gave him a paint by numbers kit, The very first painting that George Rodriguez ever saw in his life was his own.

It's not wild.

Now, he didn't like the scene on the paint by number.

You know what it was?

What?

When paint by number first came out, they only had one scene, and that was the Last Supper George attended what is now known as the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, and left before graduating to attend the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, only to discover it was a graduate program at the time.

And I don't know if it's still true or not, but at that time, George Rodriguez was the only student they had ever accepted who did not have a degree.

George came back to Louisiana and said, I'm going to do this at home.

I want to capture Louisiana.

That will be my subject.

And so he came up with this idea to well, as in the piece right here, to cut the tree off at the top.

No one had ever done that consistently before in American landscape painting.

He changed American landscape painting.

George did.

The Blue Dog didn't start out blue.

He was gray with red eyes.

Blue is an artistic decision.

He thought the night sky would cast that shade on its fur.

He had changed the eyes to yellow, but it's in a very thick goopy oil, so very intense and no landscape.

It was the first painting in 25 years that George had done that did not include a Louisiana landscape within it.

That was big and it was a real aha moment for him because he said he knew immediately that he had painted something exciting for him.

When George first introduced the Blue Dog, much of the art world didn't get it.

His friends hate it, his family hates it, the critics hate it.

His collectors really hate it because they wanted what they already knew.

And the Cajun work that George was very excited about it.

He had pulled that nugget, that element out of the blue garu and turned it into something else that he could use to express something completely different.

Over time, the Blue Dog gained international fame, showing up on canvases as prints objects, Neiman Marcus catalog covers even a custom painted car for the department store and a Steinway piano to raise funds for the LSU School of Music.

Before we finished our tour, I had to ask a personal question that had perplexed me for years.

Why is the Blue Dog Red?

Why is there a red version of the Blue Dog?

What's up with that?

And you're going to hate this answer because it can be anything that you need for it to be here.

It's heavy, but something that George Felt was missing was that dark side, which he enjoyed exploring that.

I mean, let's face it, we're in the bayous and there's all kinds of, you know, magic and wonderful mysticism that comes with being in Louisiana.

Right.

And so associated with it.

So he liked that.

So he thought, I know what I'll do.

I'll have an alter ego for this Blue Dog.

And that was the Red Dog.

That is how that began, was kind of as a way of still carrying on the little guy through this red Dog.

Now, over time, it became other things as well.

He used it to express love.

For example, in a whole series of paintings when he returns to the West Bank Rouge Museum in October to host free guided tours for area schoolchildren as part of our ongoing mission nationwide to inform and inspire future artists.

She's also traveling around the state, sharing Georgia's paintings with school children.

It's called the Life and Legacy Foundation.

I now have my status and and to go national with it.

And I hope to go eventually, I will I will go international with it also.

And I'll see 137 schools, over 600 classes and more than 60,000 kids later establishing the life and Legacy Foundation was Wendy's way of pulling herself from the depths of grief after her husband died of cancer.

It was her way of finding purpose, a way forward, and keeping George's legacy alive.

George Rodrigue is an LBP, Louisiana legend belonging to the ranks of the state's most beloved and accomplished icons.

Between 1990 and 1993, George painted 16 portraits on three canvases of other LPB Louisiana legends.

Today, his paintings are prized by collectors and his joy of life, art and altruistic efforts live on through his family, including the volunteer work of his widow, Wendy.

To learn more about Wendy's work with school children, check out the Life and Legacy Foundation's website at www Dot Legacy Art Talk, The George Rodrigue exhibit The River The Road runs through October 29th at the West Baton Rouge Museum.

The artwork then travels for two and a half years to Louisiana museums.

And that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB be any time, wherever you are with our LPB PBS app, you can catch LPB news and public affairs shows as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please like us on Facebook, X, and Instagram for everyone that Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Karen LeBlanc ,and I'm Kara St. Cyr.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together.

Together.

Together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth Zigler Foundation and the Zigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.