WEBVTT 00:00.200 --> 00:03.370 Entergy is proud to support programing on LPB 00:03.370 --> 00:06.506 and greener practices that preserve Louisiana. 00:07.240 --> 00:09.509 The goal of our environmental and sustainability 00:09.509 --> 00:13.513 initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations 00:13.513 --> 00:15.749 can be left with a cleaner planet. 00:27.761 --> 00:29.929 Additional support provided by the Fred B. 00:29.963 --> 00:30.497 and Ruth B. 00:30.497 --> 00:34.701 Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall. 00:35.034 --> 00:39.105 The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical 00:39.105 --> 00:41.508 and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana 00:42.942 --> 00:46.412 and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 00:46.646 --> 00:48.681 With support from viewers like you. 01:03.763 --> 01:05.565 We wanted to show all the good Louisiana 01:05.565 --> 01:09.402 has to offer a familiar showpiece, pays off big for tourism. 01:09.702 --> 01:13.606 So there's more potential for people to get both infections at the same time. 01:14.040 --> 01:16.776 Is flurona the twindemic medical experts feared? 01:17.043 --> 01:20.613 But our mission is really to grow young professionals in the area. 01:20.813 --> 01:24.517 The plan to keep young talent from leaving Louisiana and I thought like, 01:24.517 --> 01:26.919 I'm just going to have to shut everything down. 01:26.919 --> 01:30.390 Supply chain woes adding insult to injury for Mardi Gras artist. 01:31.090 --> 01:32.292 Hi everyone, I'm Kara St. 01:32.292 --> 01:33.793 Cyr and I'm Andre Moreau. 01:33.793 --> 01:37.730 Louisiana sets another COVID record for most daily cases. 01:37.997 --> 01:42.997 On Wednesday, the Health Department reported 17,592 new cases. 01:44.103 --> 01:46.773 It beat last week's record by 3000. 01:47.173 --> 01:50.309 The number of hospitalizations also increasing rapidly. 01:50.543 --> 01:54.447 132 patients are currently on ventilators and experts, 01:54.714 --> 01:57.950 they say they don't see any slowing for the surge. Dr. 01:57.950 --> 02:01.954 Joseph Kanter from LDH says health officials aren't really sure. 02:02.188 --> 02:06.025 Even if we've seen the peak yet, the growth has been so, so explosive 02:06.025 --> 02:10.763 that if you look on graphs nationwide of case counts 02:11.130 --> 02:13.900 , they've had to change the y axis because the rate of growth has been 02:13.900 --> 02:17.003 just so, so extreme over the past couple of weeks 02:17.003 --> 02:20.339 and this past week really, unfortunately has been no different. 02:20.907 --> 02:24.377 On a more positive note, Kanter did say that the number of patients entering 02:24.377 --> 02:29.377 emergency rooms has dipped from 16.7% to 12.9% in one week. 02:30.183 --> 02:32.952 Now, Governor John Bel Edwards said he won't be reinstating 02:32.952 --> 02:35.688 any mandates, but some cities are creating their own. 02:36.022 --> 02:39.559 New Orleans is now requiring a face covering indoors to manage the COVID 02:39.559 --> 02:41.227 spread before Carnival season. 02:41.227 --> 02:44.964 The mandate went into effect Wednesday at 6:00 a.m., and it also applies 02:44.964 --> 02:48.634 to participants in the annual Mardi Gras balls that take place in the city. 02:49.035 --> 02:52.171 And now let's look at other news headlines from around the state. 02:52.805 --> 02:57.243 The Public Affairs Research Council: PAR; released a new report that details 02:57.243 --> 03:00.746 how Louisiana lawmakers are using the state's budget boom 03:00.746 --> 03:05.117 to pay off much of a 1.1 billion dollar multi-year debt. 03:05.518 --> 03:09.221 The money is owed to the federal government for the flood protection system 03:09.455 --> 03:12.692 strategically built around New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. 03:13.125 --> 03:17.063 The payments will save Louisiana billions of dollars in interest charges. 03:17.630 --> 03:21.500 A big changes in the works for the Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner. 03:21.901 --> 03:26.901 They've announced plans to move onto land as part of a 95 million dollar expansion. 03:27.340 --> 03:32.340 A 2018 Louisiana law cleared the way for floating casinos to move onto land. 03:33.145 --> 03:37.483 The treasure chest has been docked on Lake Pontchartrain in Kenner since 1994. 03:37.883 --> 03:41.220 A federal court has again rejected a central pastors lawsuit 03:41.487 --> 03:46.487 over Governor John Bel Edwards past COVID 19 restrictions on public gatherings. 03:47.326 --> 03:50.663 A Baton Rouge judge said Tony Spells lawsuit is moot 03:50.963 --> 03:53.466 because the restrictions long ago expired. 03:53.899 --> 03:57.269 He also ruled there was never a clearly established right 03:57.503 --> 03:59.672 to unrestricted religious liberty. 04:00.406 --> 04:03.509 The current rise of COVID cases will keep the state Supreme 04:03.509 --> 04:07.146 Court building in New Orleans off limits to the public for now. 04:07.413 --> 04:10.583 It's been that way since December, a court statement says. 04:10.583 --> 04:13.586 Court filings will be accepted at the main entrance. 04:13.752 --> 04:15.921 But electronic filing is encouraging. 04:16.722 --> 04:19.592 The governor this week unveiled the state's final plan 04:19.592 --> 04:23.929 for reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. 04:24.463 --> 04:27.666 three main components of the plan include a dramatic shift 04:27.666 --> 04:31.570 to electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar, 04:32.037 --> 04:36.375 using that electricity to power the state's huge industrial base 04:36.675 --> 04:40.679 and requiring industries using high intensity heat processes 04:41.013 --> 04:43.916 to switch from carbon based fuels to hydrogen. 04:44.516 --> 04:46.919 News of the plan came during an online Zoom 04:46.919 --> 04:49.788 meeting of the Climate Initiatives Task Force. 04:50.389 --> 04:52.558 Thousands of animals are dead 04:52.558 --> 04:55.961 after a pipeline from Collins pipeline company ruptured, 04:56.228 --> 05:01.133 spilling more than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel into a coastal wetland 05:01.133 --> 05:05.271 between Chalmette and Bayou Savage National Wildlife Refuge. 05:05.704 --> 05:08.040 The leak was discovered December 27th. 05:08.474 --> 05:11.410 The State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are now cleaning 05:11.410 --> 05:15.214 and treating 72 diesel covered alligators 05:15.214 --> 05:18.717 affected by this spill, plus dozens of snakes and turtles. 05:19.184 --> 05:22.154 An inspection in October 2020 discovered 05:22.154 --> 05:26.759 that the pipeline had external corrosion, but repairs were never made. 05:42.374 --> 05:44.243 And 2021, Louisiana had the 05:44.243 --> 05:48.847 fifth highest population loss among all states in the US. 05:49.214 --> 05:51.850 Now we had a pandemic, we have a pandemic. 05:52.050 --> 05:53.519 We also had hurricanes. 05:53.519 --> 05:57.256 But population loss in Louisiana is really not anything new. 05:57.456 --> 06:01.693 And that's especially among young professionals who may go to school here 06:01.827 --> 06:06.365 and then leave for greener pastures like Atlanta or Houston . 06:06.365 --> 06:09.968 The question is how to change that, and Morgan Almeida, a 26 06:10.135 --> 06:12.871 LSU graduate, is here to tell us about that. 06:13.138 --> 06:16.642 You're involved with a group that is working to change that, 06:16.642 --> 06:17.843 and you see some hope. 06:17.843 --> 06:19.611 I believe I do. 06:19.611 --> 06:22.648 Well, thank you for having me, and I'm excited to talk about this. Yes. 06:22.948 --> 06:25.617 I am currently president of Form 225, 06:25.617 --> 06:29.188 which is Baton Rouge, his largest young professionals organization. 06:29.454 --> 06:33.125 So our mission is really to grow young professionals in the area 06:33.358 --> 06:36.028 through philanthropic efforts, civic efforts 06:36.728 --> 06:40.065 and just helping them become leaders within their own organizations. 06:40.098 --> 06:43.735 You grew up here and in the past several years 06:43.735 --> 06:46.838 when a lot of people in your age group may have moved to bigger cities 06:47.606 --> 06:51.543 or other states, you've found that this was a great place to be. 06:51.577 --> 06:53.745 So how do you get that message out? 06:53.812 --> 06:54.813 Yeah, honestly. 06:54.813 --> 06:58.850 So the very truth of it is I decided to stay because 06:58.850 --> 07:03.221 the form two to five, I got involved straight out of college, not going to lie. 07:03.221 --> 07:06.925 I was super intimidated at the beginning, but here we are, 07:06.925 --> 07:10.295 six years down the road and I'm now president of the organization. 07:10.295 --> 07:13.498 But it was really the opportunities that the organization 07:13.498 --> 07:17.402 provides that allowed me to grow here in my community and stay, 07:17.402 --> 07:20.906 and I do really see good things happening in Baton Rouge. 07:20.939 --> 07:24.309 I think our biggest struggle right now is we don't talk about them. 07:24.609 --> 07:27.813 And so I think that's one of the reasons some young professionals are leaving 07:27.813 --> 07:31.083 because they just don't know about the good things about the good thing. Yes. 07:31.149 --> 07:33.218 So let's talk about some of them. Yeah. 07:33.218 --> 07:35.087 So I'm very excited. 07:35.087 --> 07:36.321 We did recently announce 07:36.321 --> 07:39.825 a new partnership with our local economic development organization. 07:39.825 --> 07:44.825 The Baton Rouge Area Chamber in this partnership is allowing us 07:45.063 --> 07:48.333 to better engage with local businesses. 07:49.067 --> 07:51.436 Our business community knows that young professionals 07:51.436 --> 07:55.874 want a great quality of life and we have the stuff that going on in the works. 07:55.874 --> 07:56.942 You know, we know 07:56.942 --> 08:00.011 we're working on our infrastructure, we're working on better schools. 08:00.278 --> 08:01.980 We hear those things. 08:01.980 --> 08:05.283 But do young professionals know about the other things that are going on right 08:05.283 --> 08:09.521 now? This partnership is allowing for them to go to businesses, 08:09.754 --> 08:11.022 get those businesses 08:11.022 --> 08:14.793 to involve their young professionals with us to see those things. 08:14.893 --> 08:17.829 They need a life outside of work and we can give them the forms 08:17.829 --> 08:21.233 been around for a while, but this is a different approach than before. 08:21.266 --> 08:22.100 Oh, absolutely. 08:22.100 --> 08:26.905 I think we've always known form has an ability to be a talent 08:26.905 --> 08:30.876 retention tool, and it's kind of been an added bonus of our organization. 08:30.876 --> 08:34.946 But I think our board really took an intentional step by partnering 08:34.946 --> 08:39.946 with Barack to expand that reach of talent retention 08:40.385 --> 08:43.355 and show how we can be an economic force as well. 08:43.555 --> 08:47.792 OK, improving schools, change leaders, fixed taxes. 08:48.093 --> 08:51.129 Those are three basic things that you might as well say. 08:51.129 --> 08:53.064 Let's go to the Moon right now, right? 08:53.064 --> 08:56.768 It sounds like, but those are three basic things that are reasons why 08:56.768 --> 09:00.705 people would stay or any of those feasible in the short term. I, 09:01.706 --> 09:04.976 I definitely see change is happening now in the short term. 09:05.143 --> 09:09.714 There are things going on in our community and I've been really excited for 09:09.881 --> 09:13.018 has recently released a young professional platform. 09:13.018 --> 09:15.186 We did that during the pandemic, 09:16.154 --> 09:18.456 but it was just eight things our members 09:18.456 --> 09:21.459 and other young professionals in the community are very passionate about. 09:21.459 --> 09:25.997 And we just that platform was saying, we want to partner on those things. 09:26.031 --> 09:30.969 Let's push together now with quality of life, has important amenities. 09:31.770 --> 09:33.605 Does the capital region? 09:33.605 --> 09:36.941 Does Louisiana as a whole have enough of those things 09:37.142 --> 09:40.645 to attract the young professionals not to flee the state? 09:40.845 --> 09:43.882 Oh, I absolutely think so. 09:44.115 --> 09:47.185 I think our main problem is letting people know those things. 09:47.185 --> 09:49.187 We are very focused on the negatives. 09:49.187 --> 09:52.891 So often I find that they're not hearing about some of these other things, 09:52.891 --> 09:55.894 like the potential inner city rail between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. 09:55.894 --> 09:56.895 That's amazing. 09:56.895 --> 10:01.232 And that's potential still, well, well, but it's closer and closer. 10:01.232 --> 10:02.367 Yeah, yes. Yes. 10:02.367 --> 10:05.703 And that's not just great for Baton Rouge, that's great for New Orleans 10:05.703 --> 10:08.907 as well in our surrounding super region as we like to call it. 10:09.841 --> 10:10.308 Let me ask you 10:10.308 --> 10:14.179 about blight, because Louisiana keeps Louisiana beautiful. 10:14.212 --> 10:17.248 Yet you go around a lot of Louisiana cities 10:17.248 --> 10:20.718 and there seems to be a lack of pride across the state as a matter of fact, 10:20.718 --> 10:25.089 because you see litter and a lot of places and you don't see that necessarily. 10:25.290 --> 10:29.394 And some other major metro areas as much. 10:29.627 --> 10:32.697 And we do have organizations that are tackling that. 10:32.697 --> 10:34.565 Like you said, keep Louisiana beautiful. 10:34.565 --> 10:37.936 And I think that for one thing, one stance we take 10:37.936 --> 10:41.339 is volunteering with those organizations. 10:41.439 --> 10:43.641 So we like to create relationships with them. 10:43.975 --> 10:47.578 Show young professionals in the community, yes, it might not look great now, 10:47.578 --> 10:48.313 but there are these 10:48.313 --> 10:51.716 organizations out there doing those things and you can be part of it. 10:52.083 --> 10:53.318 Morgan, thanks for being here. 10:53.318 --> 10:58.156 Thanks for telling us about this new partnership and about going forward. 10:58.623 --> 10:59.123 Thank you. 11:00.758 --> 11:03.061 Young professionals and others listen up. 11:03.094 --> 11:06.931 There is much more information about this on the forum225 Website 11:07.231 --> 11:09.834 Forum225.org 11:24.849 --> 11:26.484 Doctors have long been concerned 11:26.484 --> 11:29.620 about the occurrence of a twindemic, since the start of COVID 19. 11:29.921 --> 11:30.421 Now that flu 11:30.421 --> 11:33.758 cases are on the rise, patients all over the world are coming down with flurona. 11:34.459 --> 11:37.195 A co-infection of the influenza and COVID 19. 11:37.662 --> 11:41.332 Dr. Rachel Kermis a family medicine physician at Baton Rouge General Hospital, 11:41.332 --> 11:43.701 breaks down the infection and its symptoms. 11:44.802 --> 11:47.638 While the public grapples with an intensifying fifth wave, 11:47.672 --> 11:49.507 medical experts are keeping an eye out 11:49.507 --> 11:52.276 for another infection, slowly growing more prevalent. 11:52.944 --> 11:56.681 Flurona is when we unfortunately get COVID and the flu together. 11:57.315 --> 12:00.718 It's something that has happened in the past, but not really with the 12:00.718 --> 12:04.255 prevalence that we're worried about it happening right now because... 12:04.522 --> 12:07.592 Dr. Rachel Kermis , a family medicine physician at Baton Rouge 12:07.592 --> 12:10.761 General Hospital, says that Florence isn't a new variant. 12:11.128 --> 12:14.065 Instead, it's two viruses infecting the body at once. 12:14.532 --> 12:17.635 The symptoms of the dual infection take ailments from both diseases. 12:18.035 --> 12:21.872 It's common for people to experience a dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath 12:21.872 --> 12:26.872 from COVID 19, alongside the congestion, runny nose and muscle aches of the flu. 12:27.745 --> 12:31.582 So we do worry about the symptoms potentially being worse 12:31.582 --> 12:34.118 because flu obviously is not good by itself. 12:34.418 --> 12:37.989 We've seen that COVID is not very good by itself, either, so 12:38.556 --> 12:42.326 hopefully in a healthy individual, some without a lot of comorbidities, 12:42.560 --> 12:45.129 it's just a bad respiratory infection, meaning 12:45.329 --> 12:47.798 we're going to be on a couch for a few days and have some coffee 12:47.798 --> 12:51.102 and hopefully improve over-the-counter medications. 12:51.268 --> 12:54.105 This type of infection, although rare, isn't new. 12:54.538 --> 12:57.208 There have been previous cases of coronaviruses and the flu 12:57.208 --> 13:01.145 simultaneously infecting people for years, according to the Atlantic. 13:01.178 --> 13:04.248 A man tested positive for coronavirus and the flu in February 13:04.248 --> 13:07.485 2020, before the public had any concept of COVID 19 13:08.519 --> 13:10.087 . Since the initial diagnosis, 13:10.087 --> 13:13.290 medical experts have noticed an increase in both cases globally, 13:13.758 --> 13:15.726 the first of the year was reported in Israel, 13:15.726 --> 13:18.562 when doctors diagnosed two pregnant women on January second. 13:19.263 --> 13:22.833 Since then, cases have been reported in Brazil, China and the U.K.. 13:23.367 --> 13:27.805 The United States has also reported cases in Houston, Florida and California. 13:28.506 --> 13:32.710 Dr. Kermis says that it's likely cases will start to appear in Louisiana as well. 13:32.977 --> 13:36.280 We were worried about it last year, and that was kind of the big, scary thing. 13:36.280 --> 13:38.082 We were all hoping it wasn't going to happen. 13:38.082 --> 13:42.386 And thankfully, from our masking protocol and a lot tighter isolation rules, 13:42.386 --> 13:45.489 we did just not have as much fluid within our community. 13:46.557 --> 13:48.926 Unfortunately, we are seeing more of it now, 13:48.926 --> 13:52.863 so there's more potential for people to get both infections at the same time. 13:53.164 --> 13:55.900 The reason this infection seems more common this year is 13:55.900 --> 13:58.936 because mandates have been lifted and more people have returned to work. 13:59.470 --> 14:03.440 In 2020, lockdowns and restrictions were put in place to limit COVID spread. 14:03.841 --> 14:06.143 The flu was also limited in the process. 14:06.644 --> 14:10.180 Now that life is returning to a new normal, flu cases are rising. 14:10.481 --> 14:11.448 one of the big things I'm 14:11.448 --> 14:15.619 still recommending for people is if you feel sick, please don't go round. 14:15.619 --> 14:17.855 People try to get tested. 14:17.855 --> 14:22.226 I know we are having some access problems with tests, but as the supply chain picks 14:22.226 --> 14:25.596 up, we should be able to have more and more testing available 14:25.863 --> 14:28.399 while the patient may get symptoms of both viruses. 14:28.399 --> 14:30.768 The overall infection is reported to be mild. 14:31.235 --> 14:34.138 The best protection is still to be vaxxed and boosted. 14:36.507 --> 14:38.642 If you feel like you have symptoms of Flurona, 14:38.642 --> 14:41.945 make sure you ask your doctor for both a COVID and an influenza 14:41.945 --> 14:42.713 test. 14:58.595 --> 15:01.432 To elaborate floats in two of the nation's 15:01.432 --> 15:05.669 biggest parades watched by literally billions of people. 15:06.070 --> 15:08.505 They've drawn rave reviews for Louisiana, 15:08.806 --> 15:12.776 a great part of the Louisiana tourism push. 15:12.976 --> 15:16.380 It's like a full court blitz, actually, that they've been doing this past year 15:16.580 --> 15:19.216 to try to lure people to come back into the state 15:19.216 --> 15:22.453 still in a pandemic and to also do those staycations. 15:23.020 --> 15:26.857 In addition to that, also keeping Louisiana beautiful. 15:26.857 --> 15:27.891 Another part of that? 15:27.891 --> 15:29.827 There's a lot to talk about. Mardi Gras is here. 15:29.827 --> 15:32.362 But Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is also here. 15:32.396 --> 15:34.431 So where do you want to start Mardi Gras? 15:34.464 --> 15:35.599 Well, you know. 15:35.599 --> 15:37.668 These two parades for the parades 15:37.668 --> 15:41.605 a way to promote and get people excited about coming to Louisiana. 15:41.605 --> 15:45.275 Something thinking outside the box with Mardi Gras right around the corner. 15:45.742 --> 15:48.478 Those billions of people that watched, we're sure 15:48.478 --> 15:51.615 many of those are going to be excited about Louisiana, what we have to offer 15:51.848 --> 15:54.851 and hopefully book a trip somewhere in Louisiana to Mardi Gras. 15:54.918 --> 15:59.918 Now let me ask you, this was a great idea, but did you ever think that it would 16:00.157 --> 16:03.894 get the acclaim, including an award in the tournament of Roses, right? 16:03.927 --> 16:05.529 No. You know, we it's always a gamble. 16:05.529 --> 16:08.131 We have to make sure the return on investment is there. 16:08.432 --> 16:10.167 So it's always a risk. 16:10.167 --> 16:13.136 But looking at the parade in past years in the viewership 16:13.437 --> 16:17.007 and knowing that when we went out there to make the presentation to get added, 16:17.608 --> 16:21.612 we talked about putting our best foot forward, a hospital worker 16:21.612 --> 16:23.780 or a police officer. You're a teacher of the year. 16:24.081 --> 16:29.081 We wanted to show all the good Louisiana has to offer and a local boy made it big. 16:29.152 --> 16:32.255 American Idol Laine Hardy, the hot eight brass band. 16:33.023 --> 16:35.993 These performances and all together 16:36.193 --> 16:39.663 was our concept of to show all the good for Louisiana. 16:39.896 --> 16:41.631 So when we were accepted 16:41.631 --> 16:44.368 then we had to make sure that we got the return on investment. 16:44.568 --> 16:45.402 And it knocked it out. 16:45.402 --> 16:48.472 The park official website also seems to have knocked it 16:48.472 --> 16:52.242 out of the park because it seems more thorough, more specific. 16:52.476 --> 16:55.579 It gives specific ideas telling people If you're eating 16:55.579 --> 16:58.582 crawfish, don't worry about getting sleep because that's going to happen. 16:58.648 --> 17:01.585 You know, we want to make sure that we're touching people. 17:01.585 --> 17:03.887 Interacting so much is social media. 17:03.887 --> 17:05.422 There's so much out there. 17:05.422 --> 17:08.759 So we've got great partners all over the state in the tourism industry 17:08.959 --> 17:12.629 that really have a lot of input in how we put that content out there 17:12.896 --> 17:15.065 and how we reach people, interact with them. 17:15.065 --> 17:18.101 And I think that's the future of trying to get people excited 17:18.368 --> 17:19.703 about coming to Louisiana. 17:19.703 --> 17:22.672 They want to interact and know they can come here, get their hands dirty 17:22.939 --> 17:24.674 and see what Louisiana is really about. 17:24.674 --> 17:26.009 It's one thing to get them here, 17:26.009 --> 17:28.445 but when they leave, what are they saying about the state? 17:28.445 --> 17:29.880 And that's for the keeping 17:29.880 --> 17:33.583 Louisiana beautiful campaign comes in and you've got something to mention. 17:33.950 --> 17:34.784 Yes, we are. 17:34.784 --> 17:38.088 We last year we were able to get the Legislature to move it under our office. 17:38.121 --> 17:41.358 I've always been passionate about cleaning up Louisiana, 17:41.725 --> 17:44.060 and we moved it into my office last year. 17:44.661 --> 17:46.963 We've made some progress, but we've got a long way to go. 17:47.230 --> 17:50.066 And we're going to have a major announcement next week about that. 17:50.066 --> 17:54.070 I can't let the cat out the bag yet, but I'm excited that working as a team, 17:54.070 --> 17:57.807 we're going to finally get to clean up Louisiana once and for all so we can be 17:57.807 --> 18:00.644 proud coming and leaving the state and everyone else will be. 18:00.911 --> 18:04.047 We do have the best people in the world and when I travel 18:04.047 --> 18:07.350 the world, people say, Yes, y'all treat strangers like family. 18:07.384 --> 18:08.051 Yeah, just like that. 18:08.051 --> 18:10.553 So that makes you so proud of Louisiana. 18:10.787 --> 18:12.689 And I want to be proud of the landscape. 18:12.689 --> 18:15.992 We are the sportsman's paradise, so that's why we're excited about that, too. 18:16.159 --> 18:20.030 You know, one of the things that's exciting is that coming up 18:20.897 --> 18:23.500 in a little while, we'll talk about this in the future. 18:23.733 --> 18:27.137 Your civil rights markers continue to grow and expand. 18:27.237 --> 18:31.641 Really, as you know, we've we've postponed the one for Friday in Bogalusa 18:31.641 --> 18:35.445 because the family of the send is wanted to be there and they're elderly. 18:35.945 --> 18:36.946 We don't want to risk that. 18:36.946 --> 18:38.848 So we're going to push you back a few months. 18:38.848 --> 18:40.850 But as we put those around the state 18:41.051 --> 18:44.454 partnered with the other southern states, it's going to bring millions of visitors. 18:44.687 --> 18:48.491 But it's also going to tell a story and recognize some of those families 18:48.725 --> 18:50.760 and what they meant to the civil rights movement. 18:50.794 --> 18:52.462 Another great addition. 18:52.462 --> 18:54.731 More tools in our toolbox to promote Louisiana. 18:54.764 --> 18:57.767 I'd like to bring you back here to talk more thoroughly about that. 18:58.334 --> 19:01.137 one thing I don't want to leave out and I touched on it 19:01.137 --> 19:03.807 earlier was we're still in a pandemic. 19:04.174 --> 19:06.443 How is how are you coping with that? 19:06.476 --> 19:08.478 Well, you know, we've got to get through it. 19:08.478 --> 19:11.447 I don't believe we can take a setback in shutting down again. 19:11.848 --> 19:14.818 And you know, we promote Mardi Gras all over Louisiana, family 19:14.818 --> 19:17.353 friendly, affordable Mardi Gras in every corner of this state. 19:18.087 --> 19:21.958 Before COVID, we saw double digit improvements of people driving in 19:22.225 --> 19:26.229 to Shreveport, Huoma, Morgan City to those Mardi Gras celebrations. 19:26.229 --> 19:27.564 Baton Rouge Lafayette. 19:28.531 --> 19:31.167 We believe we can host the parades and do it safely. 19:31.401 --> 19:35.205 And we're hoping to welcome people from all over the world to Mardi Gras this 19:35.205 --> 19:35.672 year. 19:35.672 --> 19:39.542 The communities around this state really need that shot in the arm, 19:39.542 --> 19:43.179 no pun intended to the economy, the businesses attractions. 19:43.680 --> 19:45.982 We can't afford another setback. 19:45.982 --> 19:49.018 Those businesses won't make it if we don't do everything we can to support them. 19:49.252 --> 19:50.119 Great to have you here. 19:50.119 --> 19:51.287 Always. Happy New Year! 19:51.287 --> 19:53.323 Appreciate. Happy New Year! 19:53.356 --> 19:57.327 You will find more information of what's happening throughout Louisiana. 19:57.560 --> 19:59.929 At Louisiana Travel dot com. 20:14.444 --> 20:17.280 Supply chain issues resulting from the pandemic have halted 20:17.280 --> 20:20.550 numerous operations, from food distribution to retail 20:20.550 --> 20:23.653 shipments, Mardi Gras supplies of the latest casualty, 20:23.986 --> 20:25.455 Dana Buehler, an independent Mardi 20:25.455 --> 20:28.858 Gras artist, and Stephen Ellis, the Rex Commerce Quartermaster, talk 20:28.858 --> 20:32.762 about their struggle to bring Mardi Gras back to life amid a supply chain crisis. 20:33.596 --> 20:36.132 Shipping containers stuck at sea trucks 20:36.132 --> 20:38.868 without drivers store shelves empty 20:39.469 --> 20:42.672 When the pandemic began in 2020, the world came to a halt. 20:43.139 --> 20:46.976 As we enter a fifth surge, widespread shortages for the global supply 20:46.976 --> 20:49.746 chain are still impacting every corner of the country, 20:50.146 --> 20:53.850 including south Louisiana, where small businesses are struggling. 20:55.952 --> 20:57.487 In the heart of New Orleans, 20:57.487 --> 21:01.390 independent Mardi Gras artists like Dana Bueller are just trying to stay afloat. 21:01.824 --> 21:04.427 I really did my best to get started early. 21:04.894 --> 21:09.265 I always do, but the season always will catch up with you. 21:10.366 --> 21:13.202 And there were things that I waited a really long time for. 21:13.302 --> 21:16.706 Bueller built the iconic Mardi Gras flowers you see in every parade. 21:16.939 --> 21:18.608 She makes headsets for crew members 21:18.608 --> 21:21.143 and even builds the sculptures atop some of the floats. 21:21.711 --> 21:24.614 But to do this accurately, she has to have enough time. 21:25.114 --> 21:28.751 I would say if I haven't started on something by September, 21:28.885 --> 21:32.021 or if it's not at least on my books or on my radar 21:32.021 --> 21:35.057 by September, it's too late. 21:35.057 --> 21:39.295 It's too late, and this year she is cutting it dangerously close. 21:39.662 --> 21:42.265 I mean, there were times when I would drive to Slidell 21:42.265 --> 21:44.267 just to pick up a quart if I could find it. 21:45.468 --> 21:47.003 Just to try to keep me going, 21:47.003 --> 21:50.139 and there were times when I thought, like, I'm just going to have to shut 21:50.139 --> 21:53.843 everything down, I'm going to have to stop taking orders and stop working. 21:54.277 --> 21:57.847 She placed orders for material she needed in June, which is about ten 21:57.847 --> 22:00.950 to twelve gallons of glue and 20 to 30 gallons of paint. 22:01.651 --> 22:04.053 Now, glue and paint may seem easy to come by. 22:04.353 --> 22:08.457 But Mardi Gras artists need specific brands that can survive hundreds of hands, 22:08.791 --> 22:11.927 grabbing at floats and costumes in the hopes of catching a bead. 22:12.862 --> 22:15.831 These orders were backlogged when a shipping container for months 22:16.232 --> 22:17.066 and for a while. 22:17.066 --> 22:20.302 Manufacturers weren't even sure that they could make the materials she needed. 22:21.437 --> 22:24.340 From July to November, it was a game of anticipation. 22:24.673 --> 22:26.776 Patience and perseverance. 22:26.776 --> 22:30.179 I do remember evacuating for IDA 22:30.579 --> 22:34.483 and driving all over Houston, just looking for courts 22:34.817 --> 22:38.854 and only being able to find like two courts. 22:39.088 --> 22:42.091 And I would be able to find it at certain places and I would crack 22:42.091 --> 22:45.861 open the cans and they would all be old old cans, dead 22:45.861 --> 22:50.861 cans, unusable because people were like getting the material off the shelf. 22:51.100 --> 22:53.469 It was the last that they had, but it was all old. 22:53.669 --> 22:55.771 So it was it was disheartening. 22:55.771 --> 22:57.907 And I think that's when I started to put out the memo 22:57.907 --> 23:01.610 to the other artists that like, Hey, guys, this is the problem. 23:01.777 --> 23:03.579 This is really bad. 23:03.579 --> 23:05.147 I don't know what's going to happen. 23:05.147 --> 23:08.184 Her orders would eventually come in late November, early December, 23:08.217 --> 23:11.687 putting her nearly three months behind schedule, and to make matters 23:11.687 --> 23:14.423 worse, the inflated price of shipping and panic buying. 23:14.690 --> 23:18.961 Costed Bueller 500 to $1,000 more than her average supply spending. 23:19.595 --> 23:22.631 And she's not the only artist battling the supply chain crisis. 23:23.265 --> 23:27.069 Rex Commerce, one of the oldest parades in New Orleans, is facing it, too. 23:27.336 --> 23:29.238 I was hearing horror stories towards the 23:30.339 --> 23:33.108 beginning of last year, even before it made the news. 23:33.709 --> 23:36.145 The people who I worked with for logistics were telling me, it's 23:36.145 --> 23:38.414 going to take longer. It's going to be more expensive. 23:38.714 --> 23:41.216 Stephen Ellis is the quartermaster for the Rex Parade. 23:41.717 --> 23:45.087 His job is to order beads, bags and any other items crew members 23:45.087 --> 23:46.555 throw off the float. 23:46.555 --> 23:50.392 Unlike Buehler, Ellis's biggest problem wasn't locating the items he needed. 23:50.726 --> 23:53.195 It was paying for them to get to New Orleans. 23:53.195 --> 23:54.663 We didn't want to take the risk of things 23:54.663 --> 23:57.166 getting caught up in, not having our throws here in time. 23:57.800 --> 24:00.436 So we tried to bring a ship directly into New Orleans 24:01.437 --> 24:04.506 early to book on a ship that was coming to New Orleans, 24:04.506 --> 24:06.542 and that's how we were set up for a while. 24:06.542 --> 24:10.379 That ship ended up getting rerouted and came in to Texas, 24:11.080 --> 24:14.616 so then we had to hire a truck to bring our containers from Texas to New Orleans. 24:15.117 --> 24:17.820 The result was a 16,000 dollar price 24:17.820 --> 24:21.457 tag for beads and bags that would have normally cost around 4000. 24:22.191 --> 24:24.827 Much of the cost was absorbed by Rex's foundation, 24:25.160 --> 24:27.262 but the amount of money was still a shock. 24:28.897 --> 24:31.166 The supply chain crisis is still underway. 24:31.433 --> 24:34.903 In December, John Drake, the vice president for supply chain policy 24:34.903 --> 24:35.404 at the U.S. 24:35.404 --> 24:38.841 Chamber of Commerce, said that a wealth of factors are to blame. 24:39.541 --> 24:41.643 Raw materials are scarce right now. 24:41.643 --> 24:44.680 There's a truck driving shortage and factories are closing. 24:45.247 --> 24:48.150 The Biden administration has pledged 230 million in port 24:48.150 --> 24:51.687 infrastructure grants and programs to recruit more truck drivers. 24:52.054 --> 24:54.790 Well, with all these changes, it's still likely Americans 24:54.790 --> 24:57.526 will feel the shortage further into 2022. 24:58.093 --> 25:00.729 But for artists like Buehler, the worst is 25:00.729 --> 25:02.164 almost over. 25:04.099 --> 25:04.933 Buehler is back 25:04.933 --> 25:07.703 on schedule for production of her flowers and headdresses. 25:08.003 --> 25:09.204 She says she should be finished 25:09.204 --> 25:12.708 before her parades roll, and Rex comments is also on track to finish on time. 25:12.975 --> 25:14.576 You'll be able to see them on Mardi Gras Day. 25:14.576 --> 25:16.545 Yeah, but you know, it's been stressful because you do 25:16.545 --> 25:21.350 Mardi Gras because you love it and having all those things not work out on time. 25:21.683 --> 25:22.951 It certainly makes it tough. 25:22.951 --> 25:24.720 Yeah, it's definitely a strain going on. 25:24.720 --> 25:28.957 But here at LPV, we're doing our part to keep the Carnival Spirit alive and well. 25:29.291 --> 25:32.928 We just launched a new social media campaign to encourage vaccinations. 25:32.928 --> 25:35.864 It's called Save Mardi Gras. 2022. Yeah. 25:35.931 --> 25:40.931 LPB produced an original Mardi Gras inspired song with musician John Gray, 25:41.403 --> 25:44.906 and we asked well-known choreographer here in this area of Baton Rouge, 25:45.240 --> 25:47.809 Leonard Augustus, to create a special dance. 25:48.076 --> 25:51.680 We've turned it into a Tik Tok video we hope will encourage 25:51.680 --> 25:54.750 everyone to get vaxxed and look the good times roll. 25:54.983 --> 25:57.486 Let's take a look. Hey, Louisiana's. 26:01.556 --> 26:02.391 Come on. 26:10.565 --> 26:11.400 You're not in that. 26:11.400 --> 26:13.235 No, I'm not I would not be able to keep up. 26:13.235 --> 26:14.703 We were not invited. 26:14.703 --> 26:15.737 We're not invited. 26:15.737 --> 26:17.672 We were learning the dance moves, so we were trying. 26:17.672 --> 26:19.975 We're going to practice. We're going to practice it down. 26:20.108 --> 26:22.344 But like I said, I could not keep up. 26:22.611 --> 26:25.981 Now, if you're like me, I need a little extra help getting those moves down. 26:26.248 --> 26:29.618 We created a tutorial video for the dance that breaks it all down for you. 26:30.051 --> 26:32.420 Post your video on social media, and in a few weeks, 26:32.420 --> 26:34.256 we're going to take the best of the best 26:34.256 --> 26:36.358 the creme de la creme, and we're going to air that right here. 26:36.391 --> 26:37.559 If you like to learn more. 26:37.559 --> 26:39.127 You can join our Save 26:39.127 --> 26:41.596 the Mardi Gras dance challenge, and that's going to be on Tik Tok. 26:42.097 --> 26:42.898 You can head over to 26:43.865 --> 26:45.200 lpb.org/Save Mardi Gras, 26:45.200 --> 26:48.603 listen to the original music and watch our fun dance to learn the steps 26:48.904 --> 26:53.904 and remember the hashtag Save Mardi Gras 2020 to get vaxxed for now. 26:54.576 --> 26:55.844 Yes, indeed. 26:55.844 --> 26:58.213 And on that note, that's our show for this week. 26:58.246 --> 27:00.181 Remember, you can watch anything LPB, 27:00.181 --> 27:03.618 anytime, wherever you are with our LPB PBS app. 27:03.852 --> 27:05.820 You can catch LPB news and public affairs 27:05.820 --> 27:09.591 shows, as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years. 27:09.591 --> 27:12.827 And please like us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and possibly TikTok. 27:13.562 --> 27:16.831 So make sure you go to TikTok and do that TikTok challenge right now. 27:16.865 --> 27:19.868 Absolutely for everyone here at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 27:20.135 --> 27:22.137 I'm Andre Moreau and I'm Kara St. Cyr. I got to work on tape. 27:22.137 --> 27:23.271 Yes, we both do. 27:23.271 --> 27:26.141 We both do. Until next time, everyone, that's the state we're in. 27:27.375 --> 27:29.377 Hey, Louisiana, 27:30.078 --> 27:30.912 gras. 27:35.183 --> 27:36.184 Seem. 27:51.833 --> 27:54.969 Entergy is proud to support programing on LP 27:54.969 --> 27:58.139 and greener practices that preserve Louisiana. 27:58.873 --> 28:01.142 The goal of our environmental and sustainability 28:01.142 --> 28:05.146 initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations 28:05.146 --> 28:07.382 can be left with a cleaner planet. 28:19.761 --> 28:21.863 Additional support provided by the Fred B. 28:21.863 --> 28:22.497 and Ruth B. 28:22.497 --> 28:26.734 Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall. 28:27.068 --> 28:31.105 The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical 28:31.105 --> 28:33.541 and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana 28:34.876 --> 28:38.346 and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 28:38.580 --> 28:40.615 With support from viewers like you.