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 an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you, while the Olympics are underway in Paris, athletes also gathered in Louisiana this week hoping for a gold medal.

We'll take you to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and Light Pulse.

We're digging into our state's dismal health rankings, and some things we can all do to live a healthier lifestyle.

Plus, I'm taking you to Franklinton, where an 84 year old farmer is improving and inspiring his community one bushel at a time.

Let's get started.

Hello, everyone, I'm Karen LeBlanc.

Much more on those top stories in a moment on this week's Louisiana, the state we're in.

But first, we are keeping a close eye on the Gulf of Mexico.

A system is moving through the Caribbean that could strengthen into a tropical depression as it moves toward the Gulf.

The National Hurricane Center says there is a 90% chance of tropical development over the next week.

Now, right now, it looks like the biggest impact will be in Florida and the East Coast.

Experts still urge all of us living along the Gulf to be prepared in case the track shifts.

Now, the system could eventually become a tropical storm, Tropical Storm Debbie, which would be the fourth named storm so far this year.

Cleanup efforts are winding down, and an investigation is ramping up after a major oil spill in Bayou La Fish.

More than 34,000 gallons of oil poured from a Crescent midstream pumping station in the town of Raceland.

About half of that ended up in the bayou.

Company officials say a worker accidentally left a valve open, causing the leak.

Now, crews quickly deployed skimmers and 1000ft of boom to contain the oil and rushed to clean up oil soaked animals.

Bayou La Fish provides drinking water for about 300,000 people in four nearby parishes.

Health officials say they are monitoring the water and air quality, and that there is no risk to the public.

Well, while students get ready to head back to school.

Louisiana's top education leader promises to bring what he calls law and order back to the classrooms.

Superintendent Cade Brumley is pushing school districts to recommit to strict discipline.

He's pushing two new state laws, one that makes it easier for teachers to remove students they feel are disruptive.

The other requires kids to be expelled for certain offenses.

Brumley says the increased discipline will make classrooms more productive.

Critics say his methods won't address the causes of misbehavior, like learning difficulties or stressful home lives.

They're also concerned the new policies will worsen racial disparities in school discipline in the 2022 2023 school year.

Black students were suspended at double the rate of white students.

As Louisiana gears up to host the next year's Super Bowl, and New Orleans officials are making progress to restore commuter train service linking several Gulf Coast states.

Passenger train service across the region was derailed by Hurricane Katrina.

The proposed Amtrak lined would link New Orleans with mobile, Alabama, with additional stops in Mississippi.

City leaders in mobile say they are close to finalizing a deal for funding for a new train station.

That's one of the last major hurdles for the commuter service.

Officials hope to have trains running in early 2025 before Super Bowl festivities begin.

If the New Orleans mobile route is successful.

Supporters hope to eventually expand Amtrak service to Baton Rouge and other parts of Louisiana.

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

The Paris Olympics, of course.

Now, as of now, the latest team USA leads the overall medal count with a total of 41 medals nine gold, 17 silver and 15 bronze and counting.

So Thursday night, Simone Biles made history as the most decorated Olympic gymnast of all time.

She won the gold in the individual All-Around finals, becoming just the third woman ever, the third woman ever to do so.

So that gives her a total of nine medals, six of which are gold.

Now, earlier this week, LSU star gymnast Aliyah Finnegan, who helped propel the Tigers to a national championship.

Well, she fell short.

She represented the Philippines and she finished 32nd in qualifying.

But she walked off with her head held high, saying she has no regrets and she is proud of her performance.

And of course we are as well.

Track and field events get underway this week, with a lot of Louisiana athletes set to compete.

Friday morning, Sha'carri Richardson got off to a blazing start, with the 24 year old sprinter winning the opening round heat of the women's 100 meter.

The former LSU star is favored to win the gold.

All right, whether you are a sports fan or not, if you're watching social media, you can't miss this one.

One of team USA is male gymnast is becoming a social media sensation.

His name is Steve Neta Raziq, and he's become known as the pommel horse guy or Clark Kent, winning the men's team its first medal in 16 years.

Now he's having fun, he's playing around with men's and he's glad that he's helping bring attention to men's gymnastics.

All right, well, if you're planning to go to the next Summer Olympics, check this out.

People are definitely in the Olympic spirit.

They're already looking ahead to the 2028 Summer games.

According to Google, searches for tickets to the games in Los Angeles has spiked 1,300% over the past week.

Make sense?

Time to book your hotel rooms, your Airbnb, Airbnbs.

You got to get on that.

While the Olympics are underway in Paris, Louisiana played host to national athletes competing for the gold this week in the 43rd National Veterans Wheelchair Games.

The six day event took place in New Orleans at various venues.

Adaptive sports athletes competed in more than 20 events, ranging from basketball to weightlifting.

I'm giving you a front row seat to the competition and camaraderie as these veteran athletes play with a purpose.

Joshua maly is going for the gold in the cornhole competition.

In 2012, I received a medical retirement due to a rare form of multiple sclerosis that I was diagnosed with.

Patricia Labar turns the tables on her opponent.

In 1994, I was suffering from a lot of depression after, I was injured in the service.

And Jimmy Green aims to dominate disc golf.

So I've been a paraplegic for 37 years.

This is my 28th year in a row.

It's game on for these veteran adaptive sports athletes who are competing in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in New Orleans.

We spend one full week a year bringing in about 630 veterans.

They're coming in for a week of competition.

we've been doing this for 43 years, and it's co-hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

U.S. military veterans from around the nation gathered to compete in 23 events.

The only requirement is that the veterans are wheelchair to play sports ranging from basketball to bass tournament fishing.

Jimmy is an Army veteran and a multi-talented athlete who won multiple medals, competing in several events.

You know what the best medal here is the memories that you take away.

It's about seeing the young guys and helping them learn the sport and and you know, for me it was my first games.

It changed my life.

I thought that I grew up as an athlete, and I kind of thought it was over for me in that way.

You know, I didn't know who I was going to be from that point.

And I came to the games and I saw all these sports happening, and I saw true athletes out on the court.

And, you know, I just realized immediately, I can do this and I can be the athlete always was.

So they just put me back on the right track for the rest of my life.

Patricia, a U.S. Army veteran, has competed in the National Veteran's Wheelchair Games since 1995.

It's amazing for me to see so many women veterans out here.

In 1995, there were seven women competing and this year there are over 80.

Veterans say they participate for the competition and the camaraderie of adaptive sports.

Well, page, a U.S. National Guard veteran, was new to the games this year and took home the gold for bowling.

It's just like being in the service.

You you have you have.

You're all competing for the for the same goal.

You know, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games is the world's largest annual wheelchair sports and rehabilitation event solely for military veterans.

Each year, it takes place in a different state.

Louisiana played host for the 43rd annual event.

This is like a family reunion for a lot of our veterans, because our veterans are from all over the United States and Puerto Rico.

Our goal is to make sure that we leave the community aware of adaptive sports, and also how to support people with disabilities in their community.

You're playing basketball that might help you open and close cupboards and get out dishes.

If you're playing disc golf, that might help build strength to pick things up off the ground or say you have to throw something for some reason, you know, that could be softball.

It's really important for a lot of reasons, and I think everybody kind of takes their their own reasons.

But I really love to see the friendly rivalry, the camaraderie, and like I said, making people more independent.

Family and friends cheer on from the sidelines as adaptive sports athletes push their limits.

Although the spirit of the games isn't really about keeping score.

The takeaway isn't the bronze, the silver or the gold medal.

It's the empowered mindset that the competitions foster on and off the courts.

You come, you try an event.

You will never regret it.

It will change your mindset.

It will change.

Who you are is not what you can't do.

It is what you can do and take that from a gold medal winner.

The 2025 National Veterans Wheelchair Games will be held in Minneapolis.

For more information or to sign up, go to Wheelchair games.org.

All too often, Louisiana finds itself near the bottom in the nation when it comes to a variety of health factors.

We're second in the nation for the highest rate of obesity, and near the top for the number of people with heart disease and cancer.

A number of factors play into why Louisiana as a whole is so unhealthy.

To close out our live poll series this month, health expert doctor Ronnie Whitfield shares insight on improving these outcomes.

In this episode of Life Pulse, we're going to do a checkup of sorts on Louisiana Health rankings.

And joining me is Doctor Ronnie Whitfield, aka the hip hop Doc social media sensation here to share with us your expertise and insight.

Louisiana, as we know, tends to be first on all the list that we shouldn't be, and last on all the list that we should be when we come to health rankings.

This could not be more true, right?

Yeah.

When American kid is a cold, Louisiana catches pneumonia.

We're at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to heart disease, obesity, literacy.

we just we're not doing very, very well.

And this has been going on for for many, many years.

There's definitely strong attempts to try to correct these things.

We just can't seem to get out of that barrel.

and it's I see it daily in my office.

Heart disease, chronic diseases, diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart attacks.

Many of these things are preventable and treatable.

but there's reasons why that happens in our community.

So we know that we have some of the highest cancer rates in the nation, aka cancer alley.

What other health indicators are of concern to you in the state of Louisiana?

Again, high rates of hypertension, high rates of obesity, high rates of diabetes.

and then the preventable things.

Well, ABC is one of those in a sense.

but cigaret smoking levels have declined some.

But we still have a significant amount of people that cigaret smoke cigarets and substance abuse.

This fentanyl crisis is taking the lives of our young people.

So another huge issue that that that I think is a topic we should delve into as well later.

What is going on with, our citizens?

What is happening?

Is it an economic thing?

Is it, jobs, an opportunity thing?

Is it, lack of access to quality food?

Keep going out there.

Multifaceted.

Lack of access to care, high rates of poverty.

All of those things contributed to the poor health conditions of Louisianans and, you know, it's not an easy fix from the policy level to just a local level.

What could be done?

As community activists, there's attempts to do food, natural food, gardens and to grow foods is a very interesting book I read by, author Michael Pollan.

It says, if you can't see your food from the field to the table, or read less than five ingredients on the label, I think he said three, you probably shouldn't eat it.

We have a highly industrialized food process now.

Much this food is made.

And of course, Louisiana.

We celebrate everything with food and alcohol.

And again, most of this food is not really, really good for us.

It's full of sugar, salt and fat.

It tastes good for a reason.

it's almost addictive to us.

And so we've got to learn ways to, to control that part.

So from a political standpoint or from a legislative standpoint, putting policies in place that can protect folks, there's been limited success with, size and quantities of foods and, and taxing cigarets and that type of thing.

but collectively we can couple of ideas that could, could improve this.

So definitely at the policy level, we can make some substantial changes to improve our health outcomes.

What can we do from a personal responsibility level here as a louisianan.

And there are some self-ownership we have to take.

some folks just don't have access to the walkable neighborhoods or the bikeable neighborhoods, the food deserts, you know, they just don't have access.

The corner store is more popular in some communities than the grocery store.

And then even knowing that when you're in a grocery store on the outer parts of grocery stores, what is healthier than going to the internal parts of the grocery store?

So there needs to be some, some, some robust education in the communities coming from the physicians.

When people have access to care, you can get that education through nutrition programs in our school will be very, very important as well.

And so, there's cradle to the grave marketing.

Now, young people are being marketed to when they come out of the grave to, to eat cereal, which is like candy in the morning.

And so we've got to change, it's a paradigm shift that has to happen.

We have to change how we think about how we eat.

And, you know, Louisianans tend to we we don't just love the we eat, live.

and so instead of eating to live, we need to live the, you know, and so what Maine was blessed by vice versa.

We should live to eat and not eat, to live as a as a doctor, what are the most common health concerns and ailments that you see and that you treat?

That are you you feel are the biggest issues?

Heart disease is the number one killer of all Americans, and most of the heart disease we see is preventable and treatable.

and what goes with that?

Hypertension is a form of heart disease, diabetes.

I just name them COPD.

These are for the most part preventable and treatable forms of illness.

Obesity is the single most preventable cause of death in a country.

Seems to be slowly overtaking, cigaret smoking.

This is the number one single single most vulnerable cause of death.

So again, making some healthy choices.

You know, we worry about wars and crime, but what's killing us more than anything?

Heart disease.

And so we could just stop heart disease alone, you know, during the Covid pandemic, there was a lot of things that happened as well.

We thought Covid may have been causing cardiovascular problems.

and at one point was in the top five for number one killers and cause of death.

But we still have those same things at the top cardiovascular disease, strokes, diabetes, they're still up there.

In a perfect world, what would you like to see as a medical doctor?

What what if you could pick the top three things that we could do to turn our the state of our health around?

What would it be?

Wow.

Tough question.

This is there's so many definitely addressing, accessibility to health care and to and to healthy foods.

I mean, that will make a huge difference.

But on top of that, the education piece to let people know about the healthy food choices they make, many folks don't understand that food is industrialized.

There's a place in new Jersey and the new Jersey Turnpike where food is made the same place where they make chemicals, they make food additives.

And so we're not really eating what's healthy.

So I would love to see people eating more organically, eating things that come out of the ground, things that you can see less processed food.

So reducing the amount of processed food and of course being more active.

Again, the average American gets 3 to 4000 steps a day.

We should be at least 5000 steps a day getting some ness that natural fresh sunlight and exercise and on a regular basis.

All right.

Well, Doctor Ronny Witzel, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Live Pulse.

Encouraging, information in the sense that there are things we are empowered to do to improve our health outcomes and important information that the public needs to know to push for changes at the policy level, as well.

In last week's Life Pulse, we talked about the link between social media and mental health issues in young people.

Now, in our follow up file, two bills aimed at protecting kids are moving forward.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy, would require social media platforms to take steps to prevent things like cyberbullying and body shaming.

Health experts have noted a strong link between social media use and issues like anxiety and depression.

A second bill would expand privacy rules to block social media platforms, from collecting personal data from kids under the age of 16.

Senator Cassidy acknowledged that the internet is an integral part of kids lives, but that new laws are needed to ensure their safety.

If the bills are approved by the House, President Joe Biden is expected to sign them into law throughout the month of August.

We're celebrating all of the foods grown and caught across Louisiana.

To kick things off, we're taking you to Washington Parish.

We're an 84 year old man is continuing a family legacy of farming and helping his neighbors.

Farmer Alton Cryer Senior is the unofficial community sage of gardening and the founder of local farmers markets.

I visited the Cryer family farm in Mount Hermon, where Alton is planting the seeds for a future farmers.

At the height and heat of summer in south Louisiana, Alton Cryer is prepping his farmland for seasonal harvest.

He's picked most of the watermelons famous in Washington Parish for their color and taste.

Farming at any time of the year is not for the faint of heart.

It takes mental fortitude and physical stamina.

And this 84 year old, well, he's got both.

I, have a whole, march on.

The project wants to be gone.

Never leave it until it's done.

Be the labor.

Great small.

Do it.

Well, I'm not at all.

So I've been doing, you know, whatever.

Odd.

you get better off here until I try to do my best.

And this is what I'm trying to do here.

And people, those people, they have seen me, doing growing because Alton is a third generation farmer.

He inherited the land from his father, and he's cultivating the next generation of farmers in the Cryer family and in the community.

He founded the Franklinton Farmers Market and recently started a new neighborhood farmer's market with his daughter, Tanya Cryer, and other family members.

It's open every third Saturday at the former Vernon School and Mount Hermon.

I hope that will continue to grow because this is people that have the gardens they would like to, get rid of.

They have excess produce.

They can bring it to the market and set up and sell it free of charge, you know, and I like to see that continue.

So the farmers market is free of charge for vendors to participate.

Yes.

We all of the thing we asked for is a donation because we have to maintain, the lights, the water and, and the and the grounds.

We walk through rows of okra ready for picking and a hot house where Alton grows a variety of vegetables.

No matter the season, the choir family farm produces a constant bounty of fresh food, all grown organically.

This is a new growth of squash.

These are cucumbers over here.

tomatoes.

in the back of us is eggplant.

There's a tall stuff there.

And, they grow, mustard greens, turnip greens, red potatoes, okra, watermelons.

peas, okra, sweet potatoes.

That is.

That's a lot like you grow enough to supply a whole fresh produce department of a grocery store, right?

This is a dying breed.

Really.

And everybody needs to eat.

Food is not getting any better.

And the processes of the way they're grown and processed, and it is just, like, kind of crazy, is really important that people know and understand.

And I think that people really don't, you know, and everybody has a little piece of something where they can grow their own stuff together.

Father and daughter aim to raise awareness of how, why and where fresh food comes from and its importance in our daily diet.

I feel like if we show people what to do, then they can take care of themselves by just doing what they know how to do in the ground.

I mean, the ground is so giving that as soon as you drop a seed in there, pretty much it grows.

Alton is happy to share his farming knowhow with anyone interested in getting their hands dirty.

He taught me the technique for picking peas and there a method to plucking the pods.

What is your vision for this farm?

my vision is just hoping that it was.

It would continue to go keep growing, because, people need the, fresh, produce, knowing that, they know I'm what they what what you're getting because this first hand is nothing, pretty much all organic, you know, that we we, putting a whole lot of stuff in people's people's body.

You can find Alton's fresh produce for sale at the Franklinton Farmers Market, where he serves as vice president.

His produce booth is open every Thursday through Saturday, selling what's in season when he's not selling.

You can find Alton on the farm, planting, picking and teaching future farmers.

So safe to say you'll be retiring here on the Cryer family farm?

Definitely.

That's the plan.

I brought all my stuff here, so everything that I own is here.

From produce to seafood.

The whole month of August, we're looking at how Louisiana foods are harvested, processed and end up in restaurants and on our plates.

Be sure to tune in to the State Fair and every week to learn more about the bounty our farmers and fishermen work to provide in our harvest of the month series, then be sure to go to LP Dawgs Harvest to see the full stories.

Also ahead on LPB.

Climate change A psychological toll takes center stage in the powerful news short film Ripple Effect.

Trauma in the wake of climate change.

As Louisianans, we are a resilient people because we're used to systems failing.

For those who are already having struggles, this is enough to push them over the edge.

Do I leave or do I stay?

Because if I don't stay, then who's going to help?

It is not normal for people to have to go through that level of trauma.

Through intimate interviews with residents, activists and mental health professionals.

Ripple Effect paints a haunting picture of how environmental catastrophes reshape communities and individual psyches.

Join us on Wednesday, August 7th at 8 p.m. as we explore this often overlooked connection between recurring climate disasters and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Then, at 830, stick around for Louisiana spotlights after the storms.

We'll look at how Louisiana is recovering for years after the devastating series of storms in 2020 and 2021, and shared stories of strength, determination and the fight for a brighter future.

That's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB anytime, wherever you are with our LPB 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 at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Karen LeBlanc.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

You.

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 an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and by Visit Baton Rouge.

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

Thank you.