Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

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

Together, together, together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth 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.

And there's a lot of needs that we have to improve and and it's going to take some real leadership.

Well, the state's top watchdogs are saying about the new year.

So we wanted to come here and see what it's like and it's amazing.

Baton Rouge is the star of the newest national treasure storyline.

We're advising people on January 11th to go ahead and move that tree outside to the curb, and then we will pick it up either on January 12, 13 or 14.

Jefferson Parish Asking for Christmas Trees For Our Coast.

I'm honored to be riding with them this year as well.

Louisiana and the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Hi, everyone.

I'm crossing here.

And I'm.

Andre Moore.

We're saying so long to 20, 22 and looking forward to 2023.

So tonight's Y features examples of duplicity for the state.

Plus, after eight years, it's John Bel Edwards, his final year as governor and caution about 2023 is where we begin tonight for the very reason that the new year will be one of change.

So look ahead to 2023.

I thought we'd bring in the top leaders of the top three watchdog groups for Louisiana.

And Steve Procopio from Public Affairs Research Council.

Barry Erwin, Counsel for Louisiana.

John Mueller, Louisiana Budget Project.

How do you differentiate what you guys focus on?

Let me start with you.

If you would just simply say what my mission is.

Oh, sure.

PA has been around since 1950 as an independent watchdog state policy research group.

I mean, we focus on the big issues tax reform, budget accountability, governance, education, a lot of different things.

But those are the core issues that we're really trying to, you know, do the research on to figure out what's the thing that's going to move the state ahead.

Okay.

Four part, four cable, it's kind of similar in some ways, actually.

Our organization has been around.

This is our 60th anniversary and it was kind of founded out of a lot of the same people that started PA but a few years later.

But we focused on historically major issues like state fiscal policies, governmental ethics.

But we have a real big focus on education really at all levels from early childhood education through workforce and on beyond.

Right.

And, John, well, we're the New Kids on the BLOCK grants since 2006.

We are like them.

We do policy research, we do advocacy.

We like to think of ourselves as a think and do tank.

And we look at state budget and tax policies primarily and how they affect low and moderate income families.

So we do it with a point of view that state policy really should work as much as possible to lift up people with low and moderate incomes.

Okay, great.

This is just a totally open discussion as we're on the cusp of 2023.

What do you guys need about and plan about as you look ahead to a new year and what will come and what needs to happen ideally in a new year?

Sure.

The first thing is what's going happen in the legislative session and with the current elected officials.

One thing we're looking at, I think a lot of people are is the budget.

Yeah, we just got good news from the people that do the estimation of how much money year and a half looks like we're have a little bit money more money that we're planning on but as PA and most of the people sitting around here know, we're going to have money that falls off and we're have a fiscal cliff in a couple of years and we need to start planning for it.

And at the very least, we need to make sure that we don't make things worse.

So that's one of the big things that we're looking for, is a particular item that you and that PA would push for coming out of session.

I mean, we want to see tax reform.

I think there's a lot of things I just don't have a lot of hope for tax reform, for major tax reform right before an election.

And I think you talked about the governor's election.

There might be others, but that we'll get to that and talk forever about education.

You said your top priority, but there are other things, too.

Yeah, I mean, kind of like Stephen, I think these years prior to or a part of an election, the sessions right before the election or in election years, they tend to be kind of do nothing things in a lot of ways.

There's a lot of posturing.

There may be a lot of hot button issues.

I think for us there's probably not going to be that many things.

We're pushing as much as there are things that we're keeping an eye on and trying to kind of protect.

I do think you'll see some positive change possibly in terms of teacher pay raises, maybe that being an issue now that we have at least some money that maybe not all of it's going to be there in a couple of years, but at least there may be a desire to do that.

And I think another issue that we've been working on a lot deals with teacher recruitment and retention, which doesn't get all the headlines, but it's a huge issue in our state.

And I actually think there may be a couple of policies that we may try and push during the session that will kind of help with that idea of fairness for all, I think, is one of the things that you would chiefly be looking for and also people that are disadvantaged.

Absolutely.

And I don't want to say, first of all, I agree with most of what Stephen and Barry said.

You know, the first object is to make sure they do no harm.

And and there's always a chance of that, especially in an election year.

But I also think even though the budget's in pretty good shape, there are some particular investments that we need to make and that we actually have the resources to make.

We also have a fiscal cliff in early childhood education.

A lot of that those slots right now for the youngest learners are being paid for with temporary federal pandemic relief dollars.

We need to find some ways to fund those for the long term.

And we also have a child welfare system that is collapsing in this state.

And we have a juvenile justice system that has pretty much collapsed in this state.

So there are some areas where very vulnerable people are not being served by the programs we have.

And we really need to think seriously about reinvesting some of the money that we now have and doing it in a way that helps people who are really the least fortunate.

And to everybody on that point, what can be done about some of those huge issues that we have seen spiral out of control in the wrong direction this past year?

Really?

Well, some of the specific things that John was talking about, you're looking at, you know, the social net, the social services.

I mean, that's really I think more people would help a lot.

And it takes a while.

Even if you have more people, make sure they get trained and put in there.

So it's not paid.

Yes.

So it's not an instant panacea.

But if you I think they need to bring in more people.

So there's there is a little pot of recurring money, I think that probably should be at the top of the list of things.

And similarly is juvenile justice as well.

You know, we are in a crisis again, that's going to take a while there.

Facilities need to be built.

There's people that you need to bring in and get them paid.

So I think those things should be at the top of the list.

And then after that, education obviously is important for a whole host of reasons.

And the why things from early childhood, I think is a priority, particularly with the issues and to the federal money going away, but also K through 12 higher education and just workforce initiatives.

I think that's I think that's a good use of the money pretty quick after that.

That was strange to me that it was education because I have to do is be reminded yearly that we right at the bottom and at some point we've got to be doing something feeding and giving resources to be stronger from the start.

So all of a sudden we can be, oh, we're not 45th or sixth, we're in the thirties, or maybe even better than that at some point.

But soon we want to talk about like a decade down the road.

We don't have that much time to waste, I don't think.

Well, I totally agree with you.

And I think one thing that's happened here recently in the last few years, we've really seen how we've kind of gone down in some areas of education, particularly in the area of early literacy, early learning.

Yes.

And we've seen our neighbor, Mississippi, kind of moving in the opposite direction, where they've actually gone from really basically tied with us to up in the thirties, like you just mentioned, what we have done over the last couple of years is put some policies in place that are very similar to what they've done in Mississippi.

And while they haven't totally had a chance to kick in yet, if there's any little silver lining from things that have come after COVID, we've seen at least some indication that maybe our kids didn't lose ground as much as they did in other states, particularly in the reading area, and actually even grew a little bit, you know, in the reading area.

And when you're coming out of COVID with with actually some even though very slight improvement, hopefully that's an encouraging sign for the next few years to come.

So encouraging.

But would you say next few years, how quickly can there be some significant movement like Mississippi has seen?

You can see some quick movement sometimes in rankings in terms of where kids are in third grade, fourth grade, whatever it is with the reading scores or the math scores, whatever it is, sometimes you can see a turnaround in the rankings.

Now that doesn't you know, it's more generational when you're talking about trying to get to the impacts that it has for kids who are in high school, who are adults, who are out of college, hopefully are out of high school, hopefully graduating.

So I mean, the thing for us is to try and be on the front end of these things.

It does take a little time, but if you see some progress, which you can in the short term at those early ages, that's very promising for later on.

Okay.

The governor's race, which will be happening this year, will be a change in governor for the first time after two terms as Governor Edwards is gone into private life or whatever he decides to do.

How much of an impact will that make when we shift into all of a sudden heavy campaigning and who actually is going to wind up running?

Well, I think the governor's race is going to really hang over the legislative session.

I mean, it is a lame duck session because it's not just a governor we're electing.

Every single seat in the House and Senate is on the ballot.

So everybody in there, or at least most of them, some of them maybe retiring, is thinking about reelection and no one wants to rock the boat.

Yeah.

And so that's why there's going to be, as Stephen alluded to, there's going to be a temptation to want to pass tax cuts and kind of short term, politically popular things instead of taking the long view.

But then, as you said, we're going to have a wide open governor's race.

And I think if there's one thing I've learned in around 20 years in this state is that whatever predictions you make a year out are usually wrong.

So I don't want to make any predictions, but I do think we'll have a lot of candidates in there.

There will be a lot of money spent.

My hope for the governor's race is that we really have an issues based campaign and that the people who run really take the time and honor the voters by going out there and detailing specifically what they want to do if elected.

I don't think we had that four years ago.

I hope we get that this time.

Briefly, if there is a big fear in the year ahead, I'll start there and then we'll go better.

If there's a big fear, what would that be for you guys?

The economy, events, overseas events in China, there's a lot of things that can impact Louisiana's economy.

And so I think if right now the budget is in pretty good shape and our finances are in good shape, and we have the luxury of thinking about where we want to make investments to move our state forward.

But if the economy nosedives and unemployment starts to spike, then we could be having a whole different discussion.

But I hope we don't do something dumb.

I think during election years you always run that risk.

So that's what I hope that we don't do anything done.

Okay.

Yeah.

So it's very similar to the other ones I would say short term thinking, yeah, whether that is tax cuts that are unsustainable or spending increases that are unsustainable or other changes that we just can't sustain and are not moving the needle on what we really need to do.

Let's spend to hope.

But what are you excited about looking ahead this year?

You know, with all the change comes possibility in and so I think there is we have all these needs whether it's on the fiscal side, on the educational side, on anything that we're dealing with, criminal justice, public safety.

There's a lot of needs that we have to improve and and it's going to take some real leadership.

But hopefully we'll see that.

Let's see if we do it, not just talk about it.

Exactly right.

Anything else?

The other thoughts, I just hope for some new ideas and some fresh thinking that goes into this governor's race and races for the legislature.

And I would just say we're on the cusp of a lot of change in Louisiana, in the in the world, really.

And a lot of it affects our economy very, very directly.

So my hope is that we will kind of seize these moments that we have and actually do something that really turns us and transitions us towards the future instead of keeping our eyes to the other direction.

Exactly.

Guys, thanks so much.

I appreciate it.

And happy New Year to.

Same to you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jefferson Parish Christmas Tree Recycling Shoreline Protection Project is in its 30th year of action.

The organization's goal is to keep Christmas trees from filling up landfills and save Louisiana's coast.

In the process, I spoke with Michelle Gonzalez, the Coastal Management director for Jefferson Parish, about the ongoing effort to relieve Louisiana's coast.

So in Louisiana, we do have an issue with our coasts.

It seems to be eroding at a very quick rate, and that's been alarming for a lot of environmentalists in the state.

And Christmas trees seem to be a way to alleviate that.

How so?

So the Christmas tree project that we do here in Jefferson Parish has been one for about 33 years now.

Actually, this is our 33rd year.

We collect recycled Christmas trees, so individuals place their tree at the curb and we bring them down to our the Barataria Basin in the areas surrounding levee.

And we've created what we call crabs.

So it's basically two by fours that we've put in like a a lined up way so that the trees can be placed inside of them.

And that holds the trees kind of in a long row.

Those trees allow the area to kind of cuts down on the wave action.

So a lot of times on stormy, windy days or just even high tide, you'll have a lot of wave action that erodes the shoreline.

And so these trees are helping to cut down that wave action.

Another thing that the trees do and it's it's really interesting whenever you get out there to see them, they create a habitat for the fish and the crabs.

And so you've got a lot of just fishermen say it's great fishing.

There are Christmas tree crabs because you got a lot of small fish and crabs that are kind of great in their habitat in these trees.

So not only is it creating a shoreline protection, but it's also kind of giving that that habitat creation that that's often needed because so much of the area has eroded away.

Why Christmas trees?

I mean, there are a lot of decorations that people use during the holidays.

But why Christmas trees specifically?

Yeah, Christmas trees are an interesting thing to use and one reason is because they're they're the right kind of material and they're also easy to get into the right size that we can pick up easily, put them in boats and transport them out.

Oftentimes we'll have we've had people contact us, especially after Hurricane Ida, and they had a lot of trees that had fallen in their yards.

Those trees are really big and difficult to get into boats and out into the marsh.

And so these just seem to be the perfect size, obviously, we can't have any ornaments on our more tree stands, can't use any flock trees because we don't want those types of things in the marsh.

Yeah, of course.

You want to make sure that everything is safe, especially for the animals that are living there.

Now, you said that this program has been going on for a while, has support kind of grown?

Are more people bringing in trees?

Are you seeing that decline?

So there's definitely a decline in the trees that we receive.

I think it's just kind of an industry thing.

A lot of people are using artificial trees and last year was probably the smallest amount of trees that we had collected.

Again, that was just a few months after Hurricane Ida.

So we're really excited about this year.

We've been reaching out to actual tree farms and if they didn't sell all of their trees, some of them are donating them to us.

And so we're excited about that, that those aren't just going to the landfill.

And so, you know, that was kind of one of the reasons that the project got started years ago, which is to divert these trees from landfills, the landfill.

And so certainly we can do that at the household by household level or the trees that maybe didn't get sold.

We're excited to do that.

We definitely put things out last year after Hurricane Ida, but we've done a lot of repairs to our infrastructure because Hurricane Ida was one of those really big storms that that broke a lot of the two by fours that we had.

And so we've repaired some of the area excited to get also this year we hope to have more volunteer ers coming to work with the project.

In the past two years we've had to limit volunteers because of COVID and and various things.

And so this will kind of really be our first year inviting volunteers to come back out and help us with the trees.

Yes, that's really exciting.

Being able to save the land and make sure that everything is okay, especially like I said earlier, for the animals that live there.

So if you want to donate a tree and you want to help with this effort, what do you need to do?

We're advising people on January 11th to go ahead and move that tree outside to the curb and then we will pick it up either on January 12th, 13th or 14th, your regular garbage collection day.

But certainly want to encourage people if you if you live in New Orleans or Saint Charles or some of the surrounding communities, a lot of the communities here do a project with their Christmas tree.

So, so tune in to see what what might be happening in your area also.

All right.

Well, it looks like we are running out of time.

Is there anything else anybody needs to know?

Our volunteer event this year is going to be on February 4th and it happens in lower Lafayette.

You can certainly check our website, jeff parish dot net and search for the Christmas tree projects.

All right.

Well, thank you so much for sitting down and talking with us.

I appreciate it.

No problem.

And film crews were in Baton Rouge all summer to film the new Disney Plus series National Treasure Edge of History.

We spent some time on the set for a behind the scenes look at the film.

We interviewed the crew, the writers and the new star, the spin off from the 2004 hit film starring Nicolas Cage remains full of mystery, including whether Cage will eventually join the cast to the rest of the world.

Baton Rouge may seem like a folk tale hot, humid and shrouded in a mystery.

It's a part of the country so alluring it grabbed the attention of film producer and screenwriter duo.

Marianne and Cormac were really it's.

It's sort of this mythical town when you hear that in songs all the time and you never really have seen Baton Rouge.

And we hadn't.

We hadn't.

So we've seen with New Orleans, we hadn't seen it.

So we wanted to come here and see what it's like.

And it's amazing.

It's just it's like a little small town, but it's a big, big, big town.

Small town.

These two carefully crafted the world of national treasure starring Nicolas Cage.

Now, it seems Louisiana will be a part of the newest storyline with Baton Rouge right at its center.

The cool factor was it has history and is beautiful in the Mississippi.

We really always wanted to play into the into the storyline of the historical, the treasure.

This holds a clue to a treasure of utmost importance.

The Disney Plus series National Treasure Edge of History follows a young girl on a mission to uncover family secrets.

She does that through a hunt for Pan American treasure.

The series Lee lies that Olivia was excited to take on the role as Jess Valenzuela.

It's a dream come true, I would consider just to be a bit different from Nick's character in the original franchise, but in the similar mind that they have very quick, quick ability to solve puzzles and to be able to, you know, move quickly on their feet when problems arise.

But it's been it's been a really good experience.

I think there's there's a lot of liberating feeling to play such an intelligent young woman.

So I think it's just it's it's honestly a dream come true.

Olivia says her character is close to her own personality and identity.

Valenzuela is a dreamer of Mexican-American heritage, and she's an intelligent young woman.

She is strong, she's stubborn, which I love about her.

And she has such a big heart and operates through so much passion.

And to see my culture represented in a way that feels truthful to me is really, really important.

I know it will be for so many, but Olivia isn't the only star of the series.

That girl gave us a very big clue.

Catherine Zeta Jones plays an antagonist who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

I played Billie Pearce.

She's a black market antiquity dealer, and she plays a cat and mouse game with Jessie.

To find the three boxes and find the treasure.

If you do decide to tune in, you'll see lots of Baton Rouge landmarks and maybe a few familiar faces in the background.

The series went live on Disney plus December 12th.

It's expected to have ten episodes.

I have no idea where to start.

I.

The state's lieutenant governor will be starting off the new year singing the praises of Louisiana to attract more and more tourists.

The idea to put a state float in the nation's biggest parades has been a hit.

So for a second year in a row, Billy Nungesser is ringing in the New Year at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

Every year, whether it's Rose or the Macy's, one of our requirements is that they have to have a Louisiana performer.

We give them several names and we go back and forth.

Well, we did.

John Batiste in Macy's.

Nobody thought it was a big enough name.

And then he wins all these Grammys.

So it was good luck for him.

And then this year we gave him Lainey Wilson.

And weeks, months later, she gets best new country singer of the Year, female vocalist of the year.

So she's become a star overnight.

And so we're so excited to have her performing, representing Louisiana.

The preparation that goes into this and the planning of it, what when was the decision made in the past year to begin this.

In the Macy's.

Thanksgiving Parade and then the Tournament of Roses?

Yeah, they started right after last year.

We started thinking about what could we do to outdo ourselves next year.

And I happened to be on the phone that morning with Carla with the about the strawberry fest.

And I thought it was to promote that fast and make it a success coming out of COVID.

And when I hung up the phone, I got the idea what better way to represent all of Louisiana if we pick seven basketball queens from all over?

You know, they have to learn so much about the strawberries in their festival, in their community to win that pageant.

What better ambassador than to have them there doing national international interviews about the cotton, the peach, the duck fest, all the great things that Louisiana makes Louisiana special.

So I'm really excited about this year, having them all really being great ambassadors for our state.

And of course, you'll have Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana America sort of headlining the pageant queens that are they're the scholarship queens that are there.

And I'll tell you a little secret that they asked me, they have never had a lieutenant governor, nor would I be the captain of the riverboat.

So I'm honored to be riding with them this year as well.

I mean, look, this year we've got 200 volunteer ers came out to help decorate this float.

It's done with our volunteers.

Now, some have been doing it since they were kids.

They're in their eighties.

They know what they're doing.

They tell someone like me, a rookie, put those eight roses right there.

But last year we put 34,000 roses on that float.

And three days and every part of the float is a road, a seed or a flower.

Just incredible workmanship goes into these floats.

And then we also found a little old lady in Pasadena from New Orleans, true story that owns a benefit truck.

And we ran her for the three days.

We pull that truck into the den and everyone has hot menus from 5 to 9 every morning.

And I'll tell you, even the other corporate floats, when they're giving interviews, they got white powder down their shirt and they got to explain that's Louisiana's bennies.

So we get we ball reach in bringing some Louisiana out to California for the event.

Well, together, we cannot wait.

To watch it just a couple of days away.

Now, on the second and it'll be a great happy new year and you'll be in charge of it.

You'll be driving it, writing it.

Take care of it.

Yes, it's I'm excited.

Thank you, Billy.

We appreciate it.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to you, too.

There are large New Year's Eve celebrations all around the state, especially in New Orleans and in Baton Rouge.

Yeah, these are the free ones in Baton Rouge.

I will host the 10th year of Red Stag Revelry, which takes place downtown bands and entertainment.

The iconic LED Red Stick will drop at midnight at Town Square.

I'm very jealous because I want to go.

Well, come.

It's a lot of fun.

I may be there.

I may.

That's our show for this year.

Remember, you can watch anything, Elphaba, any time, wherever you are with our PBS website.

You can catch our TV 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, TikTok and Instagram.

For everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Andre Mauro.

Happy New.

Year.

And I'm care crossing here.

And until next time, that's the state run.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

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

Together, together, together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea 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.