Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

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

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.

State lawmakers have restructured Louisiana's tax system.

We'll break it down, and we'll tell you what it means for taxpayers.

And Xavier University is set to become the first HBCU in the southeast to run a full medical school.

I'll explain how that could help improve statewide health outcomes.

A high school freshman shows off her strength on the world stage.

We'll meet the world class weightlifter.

And most of us are familiar with Mister Rogers.

But Fred Rogers Productions has a whole host of educational shows for kids.

We'll meet the man behind the popular programing.

Let's get started.

Hello, everyone.

I'm Karen LeBlanc.

And I'm Dorothea Wilson.

Much more on those top stories in a moment.

On this week's edition of Louisiana, the state we're In.

But first, a package of bills rewriting Louisiana's tax structure is headed to Governor Jeff Landry's desk for his signature.

State lawmakers wrapped up a whirlwind special session on taxes more quickly than expected.

Now, here's a look at how those changes will impact everyone in the state.

We now stand at the threshold of a new era for Louisiana.

Having just concluded a historic tax reform session.

Governor Jeff Landry's overarching goal for tax reform, stemming the tide of Louisianans leaving the state and making Louisiana more business friendly.

We came into this session wanting to accomplish four major things to give everyone in Louisiana a tax cut.

So you spend less of your money to fund this government.

We wanted to make our state more competitive so we attract more jobs and have higher wages.

We want to fix the fiscal cliff and provide our teachers a much deserved pay raise.

And we want to simplify our tax code, eliminating special interest loopholes and give us more sustainable budget.

Lawmakers voted to put more money back into the pockets of Louisianans by passing a flat income tax rate of 3% and tripling the standard deduction.

It increases the standard deduction for a single person from $4500 to $12,500, so a married couple would not pay any income taxes on their first $25,000 of taxable income.

The personal income tax savings comes with an increase in sales tax.

Lawmakers voted to raise the state sales tax rate to 5% for five years, solidifying Louisiana's status as having the country's highest combined sales tax rate at more than 10%.

This is a big, bold package of reforms on net.

We think it's a very good day for Louisiana families, for businesses, for economic growth.

There was a few things that got left, left on the side this time.

The first is the automatic phase out of the personal income tax.

If we're to be competitive with our neighbors, what kind of grade would you give this?

This tax session?

Well, I'm going to be generous and give it a d-minus.

I think from our perspective and invest in Louisiana, this was not something they needed to come in and do in November.

We have a whole regular session coming up in the spring that's supposed to be devoted to tax and budget policies.

We have the 10th most regressive tax system in the country here in Louisiana, that sales tax fall falls the hardest on low and moderate income families tend to spend all of what they take in, and income, it falls less hard on on high income families.

And we're doing this in the service of cutting income taxes.

Lawmakers voted to boost sales tax revenue with the addition of digital items including apps, streaming services, software, digital books and music.

Companies and corporations doing business in Louisiana also got a tax break.

Lawmakers voted to lower corporate income taxes to a flat rate of 5.5%, from the highest rate of 7.5%.

Is this setting us up for our employers to be able to to, create jobs and thrive in new communities?

Yeah, absolutely.

Senator Womack.

I mean, by making our businesses more profitable, it gives them the chance to hire more people.

And being last is not where we've where we want to be.

As far as the highest rates in the South for so many times, Louisiana is an outlier.

This puts us in a competitive place.

The tax reform package also eliminates corporate franchise taxes.

The corporate franchise tax in particular is there's just a punishing tax.

It's basically a cover charge, for the pleasure of doing business in the state of Louisiana.

And as we modeled this, our economists modeled this, that had the single biggest impact on economic growth, eliminating the corporate franchise tax.

Most of the benefits of this tax, tax cut for corporations are going to go to corporations and their shareholders.

And most of those shareholders don't live in Louisiana.

We fix the fiscal cliff by cutting state debt.

In turn, we were able to give our teachers a permanent pay raise, a much deserved win for our unsung heroes.

Lawmakers voted to give a permanent pay raise of $2,000 to teachers and $1,000 to support workers.

The pay raise essentially makes permanent the temporary pay stipend in effect for the last two years.

It's tied to voter approval of a constitutional amendment that provides the funding for paying down teacher retirement debt.

I'm happy to say that with our new Louisiana Forward playbook, Louisiana will now be on the playing field.

And to level that playing field for Louisiana, its citizens and businesses.

Lawmakers must balance the budget without cutting essential services, a task they take up in the regular legislative session in April 2025.

That's limited to fiscal matters.

From hashtags to headlines, here's what's trending this week.

Now, most of us enjoyed a big Thanksgiving feast, but it may have been tough to find a key ingredient.

That's right, Karen.

And how unfortunate is that?

Now, some areas saw shortage on things like eggs leading up to Thanksgiving and many experts blame the bird flu, which peaks in fall and spring because migrating birds can spread the disease to chicken farms.

Yeah.

Okay, so let's talk about the price.

Not too long ago, the average price was 3.37 for a dozen of eggs.

Now, egg prices have risen more than any other staple in the last year.

And that is really bad timing for all that holiday baking.

Absolutely, Karen.

I remember when there were $0.99 for a dozen, but experts expect the egg prices to continue to grow all the way into the new year.

All right.

So I got to ask you, while we're on the topic of food, what is your favorite holiday dish?

Well, it's a dish that definitely needs eggs and it's not corona and cheese.

Good choice.

That's just like a nice comfort food all year round dish.

What about you?

Well, I love my mom's green bean casserole.

Just with those crunchy onions on top.

And that can of mushrooms.

Cream of mushroom soup.

Love it, love it, love it.

Well, with Thanksgiving over a lot of us are starting to shop for Christmas gifts.

Now.

This year, economists expect Americans to spend an average of $650 over Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

Well, I'm definitely a Black Friday shopper.

I remember standing in those lines Karen up the worst, but if you want unique gifts, there's also Museum Store Sunday where lots of museums have sales on their gift shops in more than 2000 museums across the country.

Now they're a part of it, and a few in Louisiana.

Now, this year's event is set for December 1st.

You can find a list of participating museums at museum stores.

Sunday.org.

That's a great idea for unique gifts.

Personally, I am an Amazon Prime Day shopper.

I don't really buy into the whole Black Friday Cyber Monday thing.

I get that give me an Amazon gift card and I am good to go.

Now Xavier University in New Orleans is working to open the first medical school run by an HBCU in the southeast.

When it opens, it will be just the fifth such school in the entire country.

Xavier is already the top producer of black premed students in the nation, which can have a big impact on a community's overall health.

Recent studies revealed that racial disparities in health care are at an all time high in Louisiana, affecting access to care, quality of care, and health outcomes.

However, evidence shows that increased racial diversity in medicine helps reduce those numbers and improve overall health outcomes for minority populations.

Some experts say.

When a doctor shares the same race as their patient, health results improve and disparities fade, representation within the clinics.

The representation in research is part of the important solution to the health disparity problem that you, as you see that there are the lack of representation within the groups that make decisions about health care, about what diseases should be prioritized, has been a factor in causing health disparities that cascades to our generation.

That began more than 1500 years ago.

I think when one solution is to have, from schools like Xavier, becoming part of this care and also decision making process, both in the clinic and in those in the research laboratories as well.

Doctor Verret is the president of Xavier University of Louisiana, one of the country's top producers of black doctors.

He says that while he's proud to be part of an institution that's working to provide health equity across the state and beyond, it's time to take it up a notch.

We're now contemplating the opening of a medical school in Xavier.

Xavier is in the running to be the fifth historically black college or university in the country to have a medical school, and the very first in the Gulf South.

They've partnered with Ochsner Medical to create Xavier Auctioneer College of Medicine and aim to advance medical education, address health disparities, and fulfill the critical need for more physicians in this state.

The medical school is our reading the signs of the times, to use a very faith based notion that we ask of always, where does the education of Xavier?

Where does it need it?

Then clearly what we needed to address disparities of medical in medical care, but especially the underrepresentation of African-Americans, black doctors within the medical profession.

Right now, there are 5.4 or 5.5% of physicians, all black in the country, with 13% of our population is black.

That's been a steady continuing problem that goes back for decades.

And one of the solutions is to mobilize those schools like ourselves.

So as this medical school unfolds, what can people expect to see?

Well, people can expect to see up a major contribution, increase the representation of blacks within the medical profession, especially in our region, but nationally, but also setting an example for other sister institutions as to how it can be done.

And even so, we've been setting an example of what's possible.

We've done that before.

The other part that's important is that we'll be addressing an important deficit in physicians in this country, as we foresee in the next 5 to 10 years, there'll be a deficit of about 8000 600,000 physicians in the US, Louisiana will be in the upper 1 or 2 states in the country, per capita lives of physicians.

So it's educating physicians for Louisiana itself will be an important need for our region, but also being a part of the solution nationally will be important as well.

Now, it's been all hands on deck since the partnership was made.

Faculty, staff and students alike working together to change their city, state and country one health outcome at a time.

It's not easy work.

It's not easy work.

And not everyone who wants to go to medical school or other health professions schools will get in.

Xavier normalizes excellence.

There's precedence for the possibilities.

So you hear people now say, you can't be what you can't see.

It's all around us and it's been around us for 30 plus years.

The name Fred Rogers is synonymous with public media, with Mr. Rogers Neighborhood playing a huge role in the lives of young people.

But Fred Rogers Productions is responsible for a growing list of educational shows and learning opportunities.

I got to sit down with the company's president, Paul Simpkin, to learn more.

Well hello everyone, I am here with man of the hour, president and CEO of Fred Rogers Production.

None other than Mr. Paul speaking.

Thank you for having me on.

So I've been in public media now for a little over 20 years.

But have been in children's television for almost 30.

And I started my career as, public high school English teacher and moved, from there.

I was in Atlanta and, found my way to the Cartoon Network.

Yeah.

Because I was interested in pursuing some creative endeavors, and, was there for eight years and did a lot of different jobs there.

But was there an exciting time?

We launched a lot of brand new programs.

The first original programs for Cartoon Network.

But after about eight years, I had the opportunity to go to PBS, and was there for nine years and, you know, worked on programs with producers, everything from curious George to Sid, the Science Kid and the Cat in the Hat and Wild Kratts, and eventually worked on, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood with the Fred Rogers Company at the time.

And, after that show premiered, the company reached out to me and asked if I'd like to come run production for them.

I understand that you've produced a number of great works during your tenure at Fred Rogers Productions.

Talk to us about that.

Well, thank you.

I, we are really proud of the work that we've done, since 2012, when Daniel Tiger premiered, we've had six series all on PBS.

And this is from an organization that prior to Daniel Tiger had only made one show under the vision of one man.

They had made Mister Rogers Neighborhood since 1968.

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood.

So it really did take, a lot of sort of interesting thinking to see how are we going to move forward in the 21st century.

And I think what guides us is that today it's important to make different programs in different formats for different age groups and different children, because children are different.

You have a very diverse country, and we want to make sure that children are able to see themselves in the work that we do.

So Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood has been incredibly well embraced, and it's now, you know, ten years old.

It's like 12 years old.

So there are kids that are going to be graduating from high school for whom Daniel Tiger was formative in their young lives.

We were lucky enough then to produce Peggy plus Cat, which is still the only preschool math series on PBS.

And, we, love that show.

It's an Emmy winning show, and, a almost like a musical theater show about math.

Yeah.

And, we're very proud of that odd squad, an elementary school show for math is, live action.

And it's a comedy that's about, you know, a secret agency of kids that solve that problems.

And the way they solve our problems is using math.

So what do you think Fred Rogers means to public television and the work that you're doing today?

Fred Rogers, I think, is sometimes not given the credit he deserves for being a real pioneer.

Yes.

And being, an incredible talent.

He was fascinated by the power of television when he first started to reach directly into people's homes and to move them and to inform them.

And when it came to children's television, he felt like it wasn't being used to its to its best potential.

And so he was really interested in taking the power of television and, and using it for good for kids.

And, he was a talented guy.

Yeah, right.

He on Mister Rogers Neighborhood, he was the writer.

He was the producer.

He was the puppeteer.

He was the composer, the musician, the star of the show.

And, he also was an expert in early childhood education.

Sure.

Renaissance man, he was.

So he could have done a lot of things.

Yeah, but he made a choice.

And the choice that he made was to make educational children's television.

For public media, so that it was free and available to everyone.

And, you know, we talk about that a lot at our organization.

Now, we've made a choice to bring our talent to the benefit of, you know, children, their families, educators and, that we should feel good about that choice and that we should feel good about our own creative talents and what we can bring, to families today.

And you just published your first novel.

I did it's called Vernon Poche.

And the goes to New Orleans, and it's a middle grade, what I call a historical fantasy.

And, you know, the story is about, a 12 year old boy, named Vernon, who is coming back to the city about two weeks after Hurricane Katrina.

Oh, wow.

He's coming back with his father.

His father is an electrical engineer.

He's helping to get the grid back up, but his dad says, look, after this job's done, we're moving to Atlanta.

Yeah, because, you know, the damage is too bad.

Well, Vernon, being 12 years old, going back home, he's not too happy about this.

Particularly because he wants to go visit his mom's grave, actually, because his mom has passed away.

So, it mixes in adventure and fantasy and also has a lot of history packed in.

I love that way.

To put Louisiana or New Orleans, Louisiana on the map.

Paul, I love that.

Now, outside of you being from New Orleans, I get that.

And I love how you included Atlanta, because I know you did a stint in Atlanta with cartoon Network, right?

That's right.

Awesome.

So tell me a little bit more about the inspiration for this book for you.

I think that like so many people from Louisiana, in the wake of the storm, there was a lot of talk around the country.

And I was living in D.C. at the time, questioning whether or not money should be spent to to bring the city back.

And I was just struck by this.

I was I remember sort of shouting at the television, this is a 300 year old city.

What are you talking about?

There's so much culture.

There's so many people.

And you need to honor the generations of people that created this.

It's a little.

Well, thank you so much for being here.

It was such a pleasure meeting you.

I'm actually honored.

And you know what great things do come out of the state of Louisiana.

Here's Paul, and he's a testament to that.

Thank you.

You.

Dorothy, that was a great interview.

I grew up watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood, which probably gives you a little indication of my age.

We won't say how old I am, but well done.

It's great to see him continuing the legacy of educational shows.

Thank you.

I feel like he's doing a great job taking it to another level.

Well, I really enjoyed it.

Thank a young girl from Denham Springs is making herself known in the world of weightlifting.

As LPB sports correspondent Victor Hall reports.

In a sport that involves incredible strength, stamina and mental focus, this young woman has earned her way to the top.

Tucked away in a garage of a nice neighborhood in north central Denham Springs.

You'll find a 14 year old freshman at Live Oak High School who's one of the top ranked athletes in America in the sport of powerlifting.

I don't talk about it a lot, but if you ask me a question now, you know, I'll tell you some things.

But I'm not like, you know, bragging about, you know, I get to go workout number one, like I don't.

I just keep it quiet, just do my thing and just keep it going or they don't believe me.

They just.

They think they're better than me.

And then I'm like, I don't say anything.

I just like, okay, now just walk off.

But then, like, they realize it because, you know, everybody's talking about it.

And then they search me up and they see that and then they like, they actually start believing in me.

Since the age of eight, when she was first introduced to lifting at her dad's gym, Brant Catalano has been about winning after one year.

Her form called the eyes of former Olympian Matt Bruce, who instantly wanted to be her mentor.

He saw her working out at the CrossFit gym that we had moved over to to stay in the realm where I was coaching at at Red state CrossFit, and he saw her working out one day and he asked me, is that your daughter?

And I did not know Matt at that time.

And he I knew who he was that.

And when he asked me that, I said, yeah, it is.

And he said, you know, I'd like to coach.

And I said, I would be honored if you did so from like eight to right at ten.

He was coaching her, which was great to have somebody of that caliber, you know, looking over your daughter.

The lifestyle for this competitor is very disciplined.

90 minutes of lifting at 430 in the morning, followed by a full day of school volleyball practice for her school team.

Then back home for a second round of lifting before dinner and bed.

Quite a long day for anyone, but certainly for a freshman who admits she has her moments.

Sometimes I'm like, you know, I'm like, oh, I don't want to do this.

But then, like, I think about it and I'm like, but I do like, I want to win.

I want to be the best.

And as a dad, I can't do anything but well up and be very, extremely proud of who she is as a person and what she's accomplishing.

As an athlete and as a person, as a student, as a daughter.

So it's it's a little emotional.

Sometimes I get choked up.

After her first ever meet, she was ranked second nationally for her age.

She won her first national title at the age of nine, then won nationals again for the age group of 11 and under.

Her accolades are proudly displayed on her wall of medals with room to add many more.

Earlier this year, she captured silver and bronze medals on team USA at the Pan Am Games in Ecuador, her first real international competition, one she said was full of memories.

You have all the countries in the same hotel and you know we're all mean each other and like using Google Translate to talk to each other because we don't know what they're saying.

Not a lot of people get to experience that.

And then I was like, it finally, like, hit me like, international competing against other people of other countries, like, one of the best that USA has to offer.

She's preparing to travel to Tucson in December to compete and solidify her spot on team USA.

Her goal is to set personal records of 90 kilos on the clean and jerk and 74 in the snatch, which would set an American record.

Then it's off to Peru to take part in the World Games and meet more international friends, with the ultimate goal to represent team USA in the Olympics, most likely in Australia in 2032.

When I go to the Olympics, I want the Olympic rings right here, right?

Oh, ma'am.

So that's my biggest goal.

You know, when people hear that, they're like, they don't really believe me.

And I'm like, I'm serious.

It's hard to imagine passing this home gym in the garage.

You'd find a quiet, humble, ferocious competitor who's one of the best in the nation on the path to becoming one of the best in the world.

Maybe the only thing more impressive than her strength and lifting is her perspective on her success, and the example she's set for her little brother, who's also just now getting into lifting and the influence she has on those around her, most notably her coach, who she also calls her dad.

I get to say I have the best coach and the best dad, like she goes through everything with me when we go to other competitions or like they ask me, my coaches, I'm like, I'm not.

It's my dad, and I'm proud of it because he's my number one supporter.

I've actually learned it's kind of take a different mentality.

I want to have I want to have very strong daughter out in this world because this world is rough.

I want to start doing this.

I wanna accomplish this goal.

So I'm go for it.

And if I inspire the people to do it with me, then, you know, hopefully I will.

And then we'll have more people, more girls doing this sport.

Do whatever you want to put your mind to.

Don't let anybody else make you believe that you can do it.

Go!

Oh!

Like Victor said, Brin's goal is 90kg and the clean and jerk.

And that's more than 198 pounds.

That's right.

That's insanity.

For such a young girl.

And if she hits her 74 kilogram goal in the snatch, that would set a new American record of over 163 pounds.

All right, Brant, we are rooting for you.

Well, that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB, any time, wherever you are with our LPB app.

That's right.

And 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 and Instagram.

For everyone that Louisiana Public Broadcasting I'm Karen LeBlanc and I'm Dorothea Wilson.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together, we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum.

Located in Jennings City Hall, the museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and by Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Visit Baton Rouge and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.