Entergy is proud to support programing on LPB and greener practices that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental and sustainability initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations can be left with a cleaner planet.

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 make investments that will last for generations, big pots of money for the state's future, if we don't have successful children, we won't have a successful state, a child care crisis building in Louisiana.

Candida auris is really good at hiding what's Candida auris and how does it affect us?

That was obviously a major part of public broadcasting, pretty much from the very beginning in Louisiana, a visionary and public broadcasting steps down.

Hi everyone.

I'm Kara St. Cyr.

And I'm Andre’ Moreau.

COVID cases nationwide are trending downward, though they still remain rather high.

The CDC reports that the number of hospitalizations and cases will decrease this week.

State officials are saying that the American variant has peaked.

They're still reporting over 7000 cases a day.

But that is a significant drop from cases last week.

As of today, the Louisiana Department of Health reports 7573 new cases.

Unvaccinated people make up 69% of COVID cases.

And now let's take a look at other news making headlines across the state.

The oldest working brewery in New Orleans is doling out donations to a Mardi Gras Indian organization just ahead of fat Tuesday.

Faubourg Brewing Co is selling twelve packs of beer, along with a poster of a Mardi Gras Indian to customers.

All the proceeds will go toward the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Council, where members will put that money toward more than 30 local tribes.

Louisiana's longest serving female prisoner was released after 50 years behind bars in 1971.

Gloria Williams was arrested and sentenced to life in prison after a store robbery gone wrong.

The Louisiana pardon board gave Williams a favorable recommendation for parole eligibility in 2019, but before the governor officially signed her pardon, the pandemic halted the entire process for two years.

On Tuesday, the parole board granted her freedom and Williams walked out of prison the exact same day.

six people are injured after a chemical explosion in Lake Charles.

A spokesperson for Westlake Chemical South said the explosion was contained in an empty ethanol dye chloride tank at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The fire was extinguished quickly.

three of the injured were taken to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital.

two were taken to Christa St Patrick Hospital.

The last person was treated at the scene.

Big topic this week, the governor's budget proposal and reaction from other lawmakers.

Jay Darden is the commissioner of administration and the chief architect of that budget proposal.

So glad to have you here and the state facing really a once in a lifetime opportunity with the money that is coming in.

Thank you, Andre.

It really is.

And we can't blow it.

I mean, we have money coming from multiple sources, the American Rescue Plan.

We still have 1,000,000,000 for to spend that came in last year and we had a surplus in the previous fiscal year of over 700, about $700 million.

We have an excess in the current year of over $800 million in the in the forecast for next year's budget beginning July first is very, very optimistic.

And we we've got to be very smart and very careful that we don't blow it and that we invest in some long term needs of the of the state because most of this money is one time money.

And when you talk about one time needs some of the big opportunities.

What are those?

Some are obvious, for example, where we've recommended a significant amount of money as a kind of a down payment on the bridge in Baton Rouge and to make certain that we show potential investors who may be public private partners, as well as the federal government, that the state is willing to commit funding for this project.

It's not on the horizon right now.

It's going to be a ways off.

So we have to we have to cede it at some point begin the funding commitment.

So that would be placed in a safe place where other people couldn't use it or rate it.

We're recommending that it be placed in a separate fund.

There's already a fund for some of the mega projects that are available in the state, but this would be a fund that would be identified solely for the bridge.

That's one example we're paying back our unemployment trust fund because we went down to zero during the pandemic with all the folks who are out of work entitled unemployment checks.

And so we're suggesting an amount sufficient to avoid any new taxes on businesses, and we hope the Legislature will go along with that.

We're suggesting deferred maintenance dollars of money for coastal projects, some of the big ticket things that we've not been able to do.

And then when we get into the operating budget for next year, which which really was kind of dwarfed by the discussion of this one time money, the recurring budget for operational expenses, we're recommending a teacher pay raise of 15 hundred dollars, faculty pay raises on campuses, an unprecedented amount of money about $125 million in new money for higher education.

And you've also said that there could be more money to come.

Well, there could be for a couple of reasons I'll mention, but let me also add early childhood education, which so many people have talked about as a priority that it has not yet been met.

We're recommending a significant amount of dollars going to early childhood on a recurring basis, but there may be more.

We don't know.

There may be more money coming from Washington.

There's been so much it's hard to imagine that we may even be more.

But the revenue forecast adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference earlier this month was conservative.

We took the conservative forecast.

In fact, I made the motion to take the conservative forecast.

So if the more optimistic forecast is correct and if the economy continues to move like it's been moving when the RNC meets again, probably in May, I think we will have even more revenue projected for next fiscal year.

That's something we always cover and stay on top of.

But it's interesting because a lot of this is again, money that wasn't anticipated, money that seemingly was just printed in Washington.

Well, they can print money in Washington.

We can't print money here.

We have to have a balanced budget and this budget will be in balance and it will be based upon the revenue that the RNC has said is available to us.

But all of this one time money, which totals over $2 billion, we really have to be careful and we spend that on the priorities of the state and we spend it only for one time purposes and we make investments that will last for generations.

It won't just let's look beyond the tip of our nose and look down the road and see what Louisiana can do to get off the bottom of a number of lists and to improve our infrastructure in a way that we've not had the resources to do again a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It is.

It is a once in a lifetime opportunity with this much one money, one time money at our disposal.

Do you ever feel how things will play out as the Legislature is set to begin another session and people might be saying, Oh, this is important, this is important, but you got to have a cohesive togetherness to get this money spent.

There will be no shortage of suggestions on how to spend the money, and obviously there was a lot of questions earlier in the week about what our recommendations were.

But we think the proposals we're making are sound in their long term in thinking and they make a lot of sense.

But as I told the committee earlier this week, the Legislature's in the marketplace for ideas, that's where people will come and say, I'd like to spend some money here and the Legislature ultimately will make the decisions .

I think at the end of the day, they're going to make wise decisions and they're going to invest long term.

They're not going to squander the money.

They're going to seize the moment and make the kind of infrastructure down payments that we need to move the state forward.

All right.

Opportunity for Louisiana.

Jared, thanks so much for being here.

Thanks, Andre.

The state of child care has been in turmoil nationwide since the start of the pandemic.

Daycare centers and schools closed while teachers and parents struggled to hold on to their jobs.

A study done by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children Experts found that these setbacks can have major long lasting effects on children.

Dr. Libby Sonia, the executive director of LPC, says the state's future depends on proper child care for youth.

The child care crisis is growing nationwide following the onset of COVID 19, but Dr. Libby Sonii says the pandemic only compounded an already existing issue.

There's lack of access to child care for families and not just access as as far as the number of seats, but lack of access of affordability.

We know that child care is the single highest expense for families, even over and above keeping a roof over their head.

Dr. Sonia is the executive director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children.

She says workforce instability and low wages are forcing parents to make difficult decisions.

Some have had to step away from jobs to find time to watch their children, while others have had to take on more responsibility just to provide basic childcare needs like food and education.

The trend is also affecting those that work in the childcare industry, like teachers and daycare owners.

Child care operated on a razor thin margin before the pandemic.

People don't get into this business because they want to make a lot of money.

They get into it because they really love children.

But then you put a pandemic on top of that and you've had fluctuating teacher child ratios to limit the spread of the virus.

You had people in and out of the workforce because of the virus.

It's just compounded issues that we saw prior to the pandemic.

Sonjay says that trend has continued into this year.

And then you think about Louisiana specifically, we think about we've had three major hurricanes in less than a year.

You know, within one year.

And I think that that is also compounded the crisis that we have.

Also, too, is we have to significantly fund early care and education, quality, early care and education in the state.

A study conducted by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children revealed that the average family pays almost $9,000 a year for child care.

The study also found that 50% of parents were working to adjust their work or school schedule to accommodate child care needs.

Families with an income under 20,000 were most likely to quit their jobs to take care of their kids, and I think the pandemic also really brought to light how much we rely on child care.

You know, people really cannot go to school and or work if they don't know that their children are being cared for in a safe, loving, nurturing educational environment.

The strain on parents can leave lasting effects on their kids.

Dr Soni says 60% of Louisiana kindergartners are not ready to learn, meaning they don't have the tools to fully participate in class.

Sonya says the first few years are crucial to a child's development in the education system.

When children have access to rich learning environments, they they do better in school.

We know that from longitudinal research.

And so when we're not able to allow children to have the access that they need, they're going to continue to start behind even in kindergarten.

What we also know is when children start behind, they don't ever really catch up.

Sonia says the only way to truly reduce the burden on parents is to invest more in early education and lift wages.

It's critically important we will not get above the bottom of the barrel unless we invest in our our young children.

With the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children really believe that if we don't have successful children, we won't have a successful state.

Favorable news for the child care industry came in after the story was recorded.

Governor John Bel Edwards legislative budget proposal for 2022 includes increased state aid for families who qualify for child care subsidies.

More state support for early childhood education.

And $50 million in funds that support local child care efforts.

Medical officials reported two cases of the Candida auris fungus at a hospital in New Orleans.

The CDC classified this fungus as an emerging threat because its multidrug resistant Dr. Louis Minsky with Baton Rouge General Hospital breaks down the infection and how it affects the body.

Candida auris is a rare strain of yeast that's causing small outbreaks throughout the country.

Medical professionals reported two cases in Louisiana.

Candida auris has been around for a while, but it's becoming more prevalent, and the problem with its appearance now is that it's also becoming multidrug resistant.

Dr. Minsky's, the chief of staff at the Baton Rouge General Hospital.

He says that the fungus isn't a new strain, but it's dangerous.

It's been classified as an emerging threat by the CDC because it's resistant to most of the drugs used to treat it.

Dr. Minsky says that doctors often have to mix several types of antifungal medicines to manage it, which also contributes to the problem.

Drug resistant bugs like Candida auris develop, in part because we overuse antibiotics because we do create resistant bugs.

When you have an infection, you don't want to over treat, you don't want to use the best antibiotic or the strongest antibiotic or the most wide spectrum antibiotic.

You want to use the antibiotic most specific to that organism that is most likely to work at a low concentration that will eradicate the bug for that particular problem.

The symptoms aren't dangerous externally, but if it infects a human's bloodstream, it can cause serious problems for internal organs.

The most severe infections caused damage to the kidney and lungs.

Now it's deeply seated.

It's invasive now, and that is when Candida causes its greatest problems.

It's not when it's superficial on the skin, behind the ear, under the arm or are in urine, even are in the respiratory tract until it has invaded into the lung tissue.

Specifically, Minsky says, the average person isn't at risk for severe symptoms.

It's the immunocompromised or those with underlying health conditions, specifically those who've been at hospitals for long periods of time with tubes or lining attaching them to machines.

The fungus can live on surfaces like these for days and spread easily through contact.

That's why hospital patients and people in nursing homes are most at risk.

The problem with this organism is that when you have a patient who is immunocompromised, such as an HIV patient and organ transplant patient.

A cancer patient.

A stem cell patient or someone who's in intensive care unit.

These organisms yeast in general can be very, very difficult to manage.

first, they're very difficult to identify, and Candida auris is really good at hiding.

Scientists have been monitoring this organism for a while.

It was first reported in Japan in 2009, when doctors found the fungus inside a man's ear.

Since then, it's been reported in 30 countries and 20 states in the U.S., including Georgia, Texas and Florida.

This fungus isn't airborne.

It only spreads through contact, so keeping hands and surfaces clean is the best method of prevention.

We are beginning a new chapter here at Louisiana.

Public Broadcasting will be upgrading our content and storytelling with a new quarterly show called Spotlight.

The series will air four times a year, and we'll explore deep, timely social issues that affect each and every one of us.

I sat down with one of the producers of the show, Ben Johnson, on his latest project covering the effects of climate change in a hidden Terrebonne Parish community.

So Louisiana's spotlight is kind of the next generation of Louisiana Public Square.

But what does that actually mean?

Yeah, definitely the next generation.

We're just switching up the styling of the storytelling we're doing.

This is more documentary based storytelling, rather than kind of getting our information from experts and professionals around the state to tell the stories, we're going and immersing ourselves in the cultures and places in Louisiana to tell the stories from the people and their voice.

And you guys have already started working on a couple of projects.

Can you tell me about point?

Yeah.

My first Louisiana spotlight is on the point about an Indian tribe.

They are state recognized tribe fighting for their federal recognition.

That's a big part of the story that I'm trying to tell, but they're also a tribe that is facing extinction of their culture because of climate change.

And it's a culture that's very unique to Louisiana.

They speak of Indian French dialect that is one of a kind.

They're, you know, a very, very unique community that is that there's a threat of extinction.

And the last time I was talking to you point again.

The whole reason why you were interested in this place was because of a very special school.

And how did you find out about it?

Yeah.

The school, the elementary school in Plantation was closed in April.

I found out about it from a talented journalist down in Homa named Keziah, who was writing stories about the plantation tribe.

And the school itself was kind of a cultural center for the plantation, for that for their tribe.

And it was a huge outcry in the community when they closed it.

And that's what originally brought me down there.

And since then, you know, that was in April, August Hurricane Ida hit, and that's kind of evolved the story as well.

All right.

So how will they be able to watch something like this at home?

Well, the Louisiana spotlight will be airing and the film, the documentary film on the point action we are trying to have out by the anniversary of Hurricane Ida.

So you can watch it two ways, you know, either the show where we kind of show snippets of the footage that I've shot and hear from the people themselves.

The tribe members are coming into our studio to talk about it.

And then after that, we're going to be doing the documentary in late summer.

All right.

Well, it sounds really exciting.

I can't wait to watch the first episode.

Thank you.

Just a reminder you can catch that first episode of Spotlight Monday at 8:00 p.m.. Make sure you tune in the name Beth Courtney has been synonymous with LPB since we first went on the air.

Every aspect of Louisiana's network bares her signature.

She has also been a giant and a fixture nationally with PBS's.

Good evening, I'm Beth George, welcome to this legislative edition of Louisiana, the state we're in.

Beth Courtney, then Beth George, was the first to anchor the news broadcast.

She created Louisiana, the state we're in.

It would be the first of many news and public affairs, shows and documentaries produced by LPI, and I will be watching the political scene.

Beth also helped create the Louisiana Digital Media Archive, which includes digitized civil rights era broadcasts, Louisiana themed cooking shows and speeches by political leaders as CEO and president.

She made sure LPB's programs became some of the brightest stars in the PBS Galaxy A programing all the while education has been at the centerpiece of LPBs mission.

Nancy Tureen is director of the network's educational technology.

Education has always been a number one priority with Beth.

She truly believes in the power of public media to educate, especially our young children.

And she's always had that vision, and that's what drives this education department is to provide quality resources to our families, our caregivers, our teachers and our students across Louisiana.

The Louisiana Association of Broadcasters named Best Broadcaster of the Year in 2020 and 2021, the Council for a Better Louisiana gave her its Robert B Ham Award for her achievements as a woman in broadcasting, and I want to welcome Barry Erwin, president of Council for a Better Louisiana and LPB contributor, and Clay Fourrier , a longtime executive producer at LPB and now a contributor in every way and help me be.

You were here, Clay from the very beginning of the programing.

Take us back.

Well, it was 1975 and a group of us came over.

We've been a close circuit medical television network and there was this idea that they were going to be putting on a public broadcasting network in the first station.

The home station was going to be PBS and was going to be here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in September.

We were able to put that on and let me just say it was a group of young people all coming together trying to do this.

They led us, Louis, to do this and we did it.

But one of the things was then that with FCC requirements, you had to do some community service, some news and such.

We couldn't do anything like that.

So administration found this young radio reporter Beth George with your name at that time.

So yeah, and brought her into the fold.

And that's how the Louisiana state run began.

She found that name.

She started coming up with the idea is what the show would be.

And let's just say with our technology at that time, let's be very, very we stay where you are in the seats.

We can't go out to do much.

We had 1:16 millimeter camera.

We can shoot about 100 foot of film.

We can put it together with tape and then you could come out and talk about it.

And yet that expanded yes, to Paris and other places around the globe where be broadcast from very quickly.

As a matter of fact, within a short amount of time, we were putting up stations in Lafayette and Lake Charles, Monroe, Alexandria and Shreveport.

We were really rolling at that point because public broadcasting really fill the need for this state.

Yeah, and it just it just took off and Beth was there for the introduction and the initiation of all of it.

Beth was obviously a major part of public broadcasting, pretty much from the very beginning in Louisiana and with Louisiana.

The state were in being our first weekly news and public affairs program.

By the way, he's still one of the longest running of those series as well from that because of her, her interest in politics in Louisiana.

We expanded into gubernatorial debates and debates.

We started covering inaugurations.

Our first inauguration we covered was the treen inauguration.

I think we had a big a big bus.

We'd look like a greyhound bus out there with some equipment in it.

It was what we were doing with what we had at the time.

And as the technology advanced, advanced, yeah, it did more.

And though the sets may have changed and they have and they will again, but the characters have also changed, but some have remained the same spirit to some degree.

You have been here for the past less than 20 years as an LPB big contributor.

You had been with WBEZ before and then began your work with CABL Council fora Better Louisiana.

Yeah, we had started doing some work for Council for Better.

Louisiana was back in 1995.

It happened to be an election year.

It was the year Governor Mike Foster got elected and LPB had been doing debates for a number of years beforehand.

But CABL was trying to kind of reintroduce itself in some ways, and we had the sort of audacity to come to LP, be into bats and say, Hey, can we partner with the all on the debate?

And I didn't know what response we would get, but we brought some polling with us on issues and our initiative.

And she said, yes, we did three debates that year, and I guess we've really been partners on a variety of projects ever since.

Yeah, that wound up being a happy marriage between the two very long standing marriage.

Keeps going on.

Which was as good.

Of course, we bring you on as for your expert opinion on so many things and in many areas, because it's for the good of the public to know these things well, and I think we share the same kind of values that help.

Certainly, I know that Beth does in terms of belief in an informed electorate of informed citizens re nonpartisan, you know, good information out there for the public.

And you know, the debates are one thing, but we've been able to participate in the public square in, you know, inaugurations, legislative sessions.

We've done quite a few things together.

So it's it's a good fit, I think.

And to stick around, there's another one coming.

And so as you know, clay, is it interesting as you look back that you were here at the beginning of something that has grown?

I mean, again, public broadcasting did not exist before 1970 or so.

But to be here and watch it develop, oh, it's just amazing.

It's a sense of pride.

It's a sense of accomplishment.

And everybody out there who has helped all of the people who have been in the employees of this network who have contributed to this network , who have given of their time like Barry and his organization, all of that has come together to make this just a Premiere, a Premiere public broadcasting network.

And I'm not sure how many people know this, but a number of the programs that we have done a number of the series, and so especially those highlighting Louisiana, there not only have been shown here in Louisiana, they've gone nationally on PBS stations around this right.

And of course, as I say that that you've been here when I say that, I mean, you and Beth, because you guys have been also partners in the LPB project that's happened from the very beginning.

We share that that vision of what LBB needed be, what what Louisiana needed about the education that we needed to bring out about this, this great technology of Louisiana and how it could help the students of of Louisiana.

How we could basically create a better Louisiana through capturing the culture and the history and the educational aspects of everything that needs to be done here in Louisiana.

Clay, very thanks so much.

Thank you.

Great to be here, Beth.

The people of Louisiana.

Thank you.

Those of us at LPB.

Thank you.

And a personal thank you for me for the opportunities that you've given me and everyone.

That is our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB 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, Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok for everyone here at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Andre’ Moreau and I'm Kara St. Cyr until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Entergy is proud to support programing on LPB and greener practices that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental and sustainability initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations can be left with a cleaner planet.

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.