1 00:00:00,133 --> 00:00:02,035 Support for a Louisiana. 2 00:00:02,035 --> 00:00:05,038 The state we're in is provided by. 3 00:00:05,071 --> 00:00:07,507 Every day I go to work for Entergy. 4 00:00:07,507 --> 00:00:09,242 I know customers are counting on me. 5 00:00:09,242 --> 00:00:12,779 So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on 6 00:00:12,879 --> 00:00:16,750 and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen. 7 00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:18,651 Together, together. Together. 8 00:00:18,651 --> 00:00:23,651 We power life. 9 00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:33,366 Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth 10 00:00:33,366 --> 00:00:37,871 Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall. 11 00:00:37,937 --> 00:00:42,008 The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical 12 00:00:42,008 --> 00:00:45,779 and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana 13 00:00:45,845 --> 00:00:49,482 and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 14 00:00:49,549 --> 00:00:54,549 With support from viewers like you 15 00:01:03,163 --> 00:01:08,163 and it is absolutely health in crisis. 16 00:01:09,302 --> 00:01:13,673 I mean, we're going to have people living in cars, living with friends, 17 00:01:13,740 --> 00:01:17,243 living underneath bridges unless we figure out how to fix it. 18 00:01:17,310 --> 00:01:21,047 The home construction industry warns of a housing crisis. 19 00:01:21,147 --> 00:01:22,615 We want to make sure that we have 20 00:01:22,615 --> 00:01:26,920 two legitimate seats within legitimate opportunities. 21 00:01:26,986 --> 00:01:31,424 Louisiana's congressional map under a deadline from redrawn districts. 22 00:01:31,524 --> 00:01:35,361 I support whatever he does because he's been such an amazing governor 23 00:01:35,462 --> 00:01:36,996 for our state during this time. 24 00:01:36,996 --> 00:01:40,800 A legacy chat with First Lady Donna Edwards. 25 00:01:40,867 --> 00:01:41,434 Hi, everyone. 26 00:01:41,434 --> 00:01:43,870 I'm passing here. And I'm Karen LeBlanc. 27 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:47,807 Louisiana makes a major step in closing the digital divide 28 00:01:47,807 --> 00:01:52,245 With access to more than $1.3 billion in federal funding, 29 00:01:52,345 --> 00:01:56,850 the broadband equity access and deployment program, known as Bead, ensures 30 00:01:56,850 --> 00:02:01,850 that every citizen has affordable, reliable, high speed broadband access. 31 00:02:01,988 --> 00:02:05,492 Louisiana is the first state authorized by the Biden administration 32 00:02:05,492 --> 00:02:08,962 to request access to federal funding from beeD, a cornerstone 33 00:02:08,962 --> 00:02:12,232 of the Biden-Harris administration's Internet for All initiative. 34 00:02:12,332 --> 00:02:17,070 The Beat program is $42.45 billion state grant program 35 00:02:17,137 --> 00:02:21,641 authorized by President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law. 36 00:02:21,708 --> 00:02:23,643 Rising homeowners insurance 37 00:02:23,643 --> 00:02:26,980 premiums, mortgage rates, and construction cost 38 00:02:27,046 --> 00:02:31,351 have created the perfect storm for new home construction. 39 00:02:31,417 --> 00:02:34,020 Homebuilders across Louisiana are competing 40 00:02:34,020 --> 00:02:37,490 for fewer customers, especially first time homebuyers. 41 00:02:37,490 --> 00:02:41,394 As market forces upset the supply and demand, 42 00:02:41,461 --> 00:02:45,798 homebuilders are warning of a housing crisis ahead. 43 00:02:45,899 --> 00:02:47,100 In Wagman, 44 00:02:47,100 --> 00:02:49,936 a bedroom community in Jefferson Parish, 45 00:02:49,936 --> 00:02:52,772 new neighborhoods are under construction. 46 00:02:52,772 --> 00:02:57,744 The tough sell here and throughout Louisiana is not the selling price. 47 00:02:57,810 --> 00:02:59,913 It's the cost of ownership. 48 00:02:59,913 --> 00:03:04,617 When factoring in homeowners insurance and in some cases, flood insurance. 49 00:03:04,684 --> 00:03:08,588 The mortgage plus SRO is pricing many people, 50 00:03:08,588 --> 00:03:12,625 especially first time homeowners, out of the market. 51 00:03:12,692 --> 00:03:14,093 I think the general trend that 52 00:03:14,093 --> 00:03:17,830 you will see is that there is a slowdown in construction. 53 00:03:17,931 --> 00:03:21,534 And part of that is because of the costs 54 00:03:21,534 --> 00:03:24,938 and the affordability, because of the increase in mortgage rates. 55 00:03:25,004 --> 00:03:28,208 Dan Mills is the chief executive officer of the Home 56 00:03:28,208 --> 00:03:31,411 Builders Association of Greater New Orleans. 57 00:03:31,477 --> 00:03:33,479 We're having some challenges. 58 00:03:33,479 --> 00:03:37,050 The Home Builders Association is focused on the American dream, 59 00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:42,050 trying to get people into the homes and affordability 60 00:03:42,121 --> 00:03:47,121 and our market has been a real challenge, compounded by 61 00:03:47,493 --> 00:03:48,661 significant issues 62 00:03:48,661 --> 00:03:51,831 with insurance as well as supply chain issues. 63 00:03:51,831 --> 00:03:53,433 In the wake of the pandemic. 64 00:03:53,433 --> 00:03:55,535 We're seeing fewer people move out of their homes 65 00:03:55,535 --> 00:03:59,505 and thus we have less homes on the market available. 66 00:03:59,606 --> 00:04:04,110 So that confluence of of aspects is is 67 00:04:04,177 --> 00:04:08,147 suppressing an expansion in home development right now. 68 00:04:08,248 --> 00:04:11,618 We got a 30% increase in cost 69 00:04:11,684 --> 00:04:15,989 in a year and a half, 30%, 30%. 70 00:04:16,055 --> 00:04:20,159 And the unfortunate thing is, once they get there, they very rarely 71 00:04:20,159 --> 00:04:21,527 come back down. 72 00:04:21,527 --> 00:04:25,398 Randy Noel served as chairman of the National Association of 73 00:04:25,398 --> 00:04:28,167 Homebuilders in 2018. 74 00:04:28,167 --> 00:04:31,638 While we're building great new homes, resilient, 75 00:04:31,738 --> 00:04:36,409 withstand disasters for the area, they're being built in energy efficient, 76 00:04:36,509 --> 00:04:40,179 much more energy efficient than we've ever built before, 77 00:04:40,246 --> 00:04:42,749 lowering their utility bills. 78 00:04:42,749 --> 00:04:45,318 We still got half of America can't afford to buy 79 00:04:45,318 --> 00:04:49,022 one of those new homes, much less a first time homebuyer. 80 00:04:49,055 --> 00:04:53,459 Well, and we used to build in America 81 00:04:53,526 --> 00:04:55,495 800,000 houses a year for 82 00:04:55,495 --> 00:04:59,699 first time homebuyers back in 1789. 83 00:04:59,766 --> 00:05:02,201 We're down to under 100,000. 84 00:05:02,201 --> 00:05:06,706 It's just that bad. 85 00:05:06,806 --> 00:05:09,242 The housing crisis, fueled in part 86 00:05:09,242 --> 00:05:14,080 by rising insurance rates, is literally leaving people without shelter. 87 00:05:14,113 --> 00:05:15,782 Here's what's happening. 88 00:05:15,782 --> 00:05:20,253 So you are a first time homebuyer and you can't afford to purchase a new home. 89 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,454 You rent. 90 00:05:21,454 --> 00:05:25,124 But rent is rising because insurance rates for multivan 91 00:05:25,124 --> 00:05:30,124 only housing is skyrocketing to being passed on to the renter. 92 00:05:31,397 --> 00:05:33,533 It is absolutely a housing crisis. 93 00:05:33,533 --> 00:05:37,904 I mean, we're going to have people living in cars, living with friends, 94 00:05:38,004 --> 00:05:41,908 living underneath bridges unless we figure out how to fix this. 95 00:05:41,974 --> 00:05:45,912 The Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 96 00:05:45,912 --> 00:05:50,283 for November 2023 shows that the shelter index 97 00:05:50,283 --> 00:05:54,487 increased 6.5% over last year. 98 00:05:54,554 --> 00:05:58,624 This year, Louisiana adopted more stringent building codes 99 00:05:58,891 --> 00:06:02,261 in an effort to curb rising homeowners insurance rates 100 00:06:02,328 --> 00:06:06,499 and entice more insurance companies to write policies. 101 00:06:06,599 --> 00:06:09,001 And those codes represent 102 00:06:09,001 --> 00:06:12,171 the most stringent building codes on the Gulf Coast today. 103 00:06:12,271 --> 00:06:15,875 So they address one of the major issues that came up during 104 00:06:15,942 --> 00:06:20,880 and that is preventing water inflow when shingles are removed from a roof, 105 00:06:20,947 --> 00:06:23,950 a fortified roof that prevents water intrusion 106 00:06:23,950 --> 00:06:27,453 is now code on new home construction. 107 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,223 Insurance companies provide a rate break 108 00:06:30,223 --> 00:06:34,193 for a home with a fortified roof for existing homes. 109 00:06:34,193 --> 00:06:37,730 A grant program is available to help homeowners defray 110 00:06:37,730 --> 00:06:42,730 the cost of retrofitting their roof to fortified standards or code roofs. 111 00:06:43,202 --> 00:06:46,472 In the state of Louisiana don't last ten years, 112 00:06:46,539 --> 00:06:50,276 even though the 30 year warranty on them, they they they aggregate 113 00:06:50,276 --> 00:06:53,946 so fast in a climate that after ten years, 114 00:06:54,013 --> 00:06:58,050 they're not strong enough to withstand the heavy winds we got in the storm. 115 00:06:58,117 --> 00:07:01,220 The insurance companies are starting to send out letters 116 00:07:01,220 --> 00:07:03,556 to ask about the age of your roof because they know 117 00:07:03,556 --> 00:07:07,393 if your roof is more than five years old, it is not fortified. 118 00:07:07,493 --> 00:07:09,328 So you're going 119 00:07:09,328 --> 00:07:12,999 to have the option of fortifying it from the top side by replacing your roof. 120 00:07:13,065 --> 00:07:16,636 If your roof's only 3 to 5 years old, you probably don't want to do that. 121 00:07:16,736 --> 00:07:19,906 So it is possible to come from the underside the attic side 122 00:07:20,106 --> 00:07:23,409 with a special type of spray foam and steel, again 123 00:07:23,409 --> 00:07:27,547 around every sheet of plywood clothes to sell polyurethane. 124 00:07:27,547 --> 00:07:31,584 Spray foam works to seal a roof from water intrusion 125 00:07:31,651 --> 00:07:35,922 and secure it up to the standard of the fortified roof code. 126 00:07:36,022 --> 00:07:38,191 And one of the certified fortified contractors 127 00:07:38,191 --> 00:07:41,727 with a grant program for the part of M insurance adds, 128 00:07:41,794 --> 00:07:44,564 We're finding that is much less 129 00:07:44,564 --> 00:07:47,567 costly than taking the roof off and redoing it. 130 00:07:47,567 --> 00:07:52,567 So if we can watertight that deck, we can prevent those damages and mitigate 131 00:07:52,905 --> 00:07:54,240 the costs of the insurance 132 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,110 and make it more amicable for them to come back into business. 133 00:07:58,110 --> 00:08:01,380 In our state, homeowners have another tool to lower 134 00:08:01,380 --> 00:08:05,218 their insurance rates by hiring a qualified inspector 135 00:08:05,384 --> 00:08:08,888 to do a wind mitigation survey of the home. 136 00:08:08,955 --> 00:08:11,524 Do you brought your house up 137 00:08:11,591 --> 00:08:13,726 to the current building codes? 138 00:08:13,726 --> 00:08:16,262 You had a form with this inspector that you feel that 139 00:08:16,262 --> 00:08:17,497 gave it to the insurance companies, 140 00:08:17,497 --> 00:08:21,434 and the insurance companies were mandated to give a discount on 141 00:08:21,534 --> 00:08:25,671 that one, in effect in six, I think. 142 00:08:25,771 --> 00:08:30,076 And and we had a lot of inspectors at the time 143 00:08:30,176 --> 00:08:35,176 and but it never really caught on. 144 00:08:38,251 --> 00:08:39,752 There are programs 145 00:08:39,752 --> 00:08:44,490 that open the door to homeownership for first time homebuyers here. 146 00:08:44,490 --> 00:08:45,625 And Wagman. 147 00:08:45,625 --> 00:08:48,294 In this particular neighborhood, there is a program 148 00:08:48,294 --> 00:08:51,397 known as a home opportunity mortgage. 149 00:08:51,397 --> 00:08:56,397 It offers 100% financing, no PMI, which is private mortgage insurance. 150 00:08:56,435 --> 00:09:00,706 It's not income based, but it is zip code specific. 151 00:09:00,806 --> 00:09:05,144 And in this case, majority minority areas. 152 00:09:05,244 --> 00:09:08,881 Many homebuilders believe lowering home insurance rates 153 00:09:08,948 --> 00:09:11,951 goes a long way in making homeownership affordable 154 00:09:12,018 --> 00:09:16,122 while amping up demand for new home construction. 155 00:09:16,188 --> 00:09:19,792 The houses are being built better, so they're not going to have as much damage. 156 00:09:19,892 --> 00:09:22,862 There's a new home. 157 00:09:23,029 --> 00:09:25,164 The cost piece of it I don't want do about that. 158 00:09:25,164 --> 00:09:28,367 Just pray to God that people's wages go up to catch up with it 159 00:09:28,467 --> 00:09:30,703 and then the insurance piece of it. 160 00:09:30,703 --> 00:09:34,440 New homes are getting better rates right now than existing homes. 161 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,978 But if they can't sell their existing home because of insurance rates, 162 00:09:39,045 --> 00:09:43,950 because of where they're built, they can come by my home. 163 00:09:44,016 --> 00:09:45,217 Louisiana lawmakers 164 00:09:45,217 --> 00:09:49,388 have until January 30th to draw a new congressional map 165 00:09:49,455 --> 00:09:52,258 after a federal judge extended the deadline. 166 00:09:52,258 --> 00:09:56,195 The current congressional map is the subject of a lawsuit filed by civil 167 00:09:56,195 --> 00:09:57,263 rights groups 168 00:09:57,263 --> 00:10:00,733 claiming that a single majority black voter congressional district 169 00:10:00,967 --> 00:10:05,967 violates the voting rights Act and does not reflect the latest census data. 170 00:10:06,172 --> 00:10:10,209 Governor elect Jeff Landry takes office on January 8th, leaving 171 00:10:10,209 --> 00:10:15,209 time to convene a redistricting session before the court order deadline. 172 00:10:15,448 --> 00:10:18,084 Here's the latest on the legal dispute. 173 00:10:18,084 --> 00:10:23,084 The American Civil Liberties Union is proposing a Louisiana congressional map 174 00:10:23,289 --> 00:10:28,289 with congressional districts two and five as majority black districts. 175 00:10:28,527 --> 00:10:30,630 It's one remedial plan. 176 00:10:30,630 --> 00:10:35,630 One proposed map as a possible solution to create fair representation in Congress. 177 00:10:37,103 --> 00:10:41,941 For Louisiana's African-American voters, the current map of the state is passed. 178 00:10:42,141 --> 00:10:46,245 Lets the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans into one congressional district. 179 00:10:46,479 --> 00:10:49,715 When our map is separated, those two metropolitan area 180 00:10:49,782 --> 00:10:53,185 in the two different districts make sure that black voters are not passed 181 00:10:53,185 --> 00:10:56,355 into one district despite the differences in their living situation. 182 00:10:56,422 --> 00:10:58,724 We don't believe ours is the only map, and we're interested 183 00:10:58,724 --> 00:11:00,326 to see what the legislature comes up with. 184 00:11:00,326 --> 00:11:01,994 Try to comply with the voting rights Act. 185 00:11:01,994 --> 00:11:02,962 Recent U.S. 186 00:11:02,962 --> 00:11:05,031 Supreme Court rulings set the stage 187 00:11:05,031 --> 00:11:09,301 for Louisiana's legal showdown over its congressional redistricting. 188 00:11:09,301 --> 00:11:12,872 We think the Supreme Court victory in Alabama is an enormous statement 189 00:11:12,872 --> 00:11:15,241 about the strength of the Voting Rights Act. 190 00:11:15,241 --> 00:11:18,210 And we've also seen a recent win in Georgia following that. 191 00:11:18,210 --> 00:11:22,148 So we're eager to see the legislature come back into session as soon as possible. 192 00:11:22,181 --> 00:11:24,650 We're hoping that they will take the opportunity 193 00:11:24,650 --> 00:11:28,954 to do exactly what the district court required of them to draw a new majority 194 00:11:28,954 --> 00:11:31,957 minority district that would help black voters in Louisiana 195 00:11:32,191 --> 00:11:35,327 get fair representation consistent with the Voting Rights Act. 196 00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:38,431 Do you have faith that the Louisiana lawmakers 197 00:11:38,431 --> 00:11:41,400 are capable of doing this, given the current political climate? 198 00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:44,737 We're always hopeful, and we think that if anything, the case we've proven 199 00:11:44,737 --> 00:11:48,507 so far has given them a clear roadmap to how to draw a new majority black 200 00:11:48,507 --> 00:11:49,709 district in Louisiana. 201 00:11:49,709 --> 00:11:53,412 At issue is Louisiana's current congressional map, 202 00:11:53,612 --> 00:11:56,515 which has one majority black voter district. 203 00:11:56,515 --> 00:12:01,515 Despite 2020 census data showing that African-American comprised 204 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:06,392 roughly one third of the state's population, you don't have strong opinions 205 00:12:06,392 --> 00:12:09,995 as to where the second majority black congressional district is. 206 00:12:09,995 --> 00:12:12,998 As long as we have a second majority. 207 00:12:13,099 --> 00:12:13,999 That is right. 208 00:12:13,999 --> 00:12:15,267 That is correct. 209 00:12:15,267 --> 00:12:18,037 At the end, we want to make sure that we have 210 00:12:18,037 --> 00:12:22,608 two legitimate seats, whether legitimate opportunities, 211 00:12:22,708 --> 00:12:26,445 not with narrow margins that don't take into effect 212 00:12:26,545 --> 00:12:31,545 the the disproportionate amount of voting participation. 213 00:12:31,650 --> 00:12:35,755 Louisiana Congressman Tori Carter, a Democrat, represents 214 00:12:35,755 --> 00:12:40,126 District two, the state's only black majority congressional district. 215 00:12:40,226 --> 00:12:44,663 District two includes most of Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish. 216 00:12:44,730 --> 00:12:48,334 The majority of the river Parishes and portions of East and West 217 00:12:48,334 --> 00:12:49,468 Baton Rouge Parish. 218 00:12:49,468 --> 00:12:51,437 It balances the playing field 219 00:12:51,437 --> 00:12:54,940 that gives cover to those individuals who feel like 220 00:12:55,007 --> 00:12:59,111 because their ideological views and philosophical views don't match up 221 00:12:59,178 --> 00:13:02,848 with those in the Republican Party would better match up with a Democrat. 222 00:13:02,915 --> 00:13:06,218 And then they have the opportunity to have their voices heard greater 223 00:13:06,452 --> 00:13:07,653 in the nation's capital. 224 00:13:07,653 --> 00:13:08,320 The U.S. 225 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,758 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has extended the deadline to January 30th, 226 00:13:12,758 --> 00:13:17,758 2024, for lawmakers to redraw Louisiana's congressional boundaries. 227 00:13:18,297 --> 00:13:22,268 Governor elect Jeff Landry takes office January 8th 228 00:13:22,334 --> 00:13:27,039 in time to convene a redistricting session before the court deadline. 229 00:13:27,106 --> 00:13:31,777 Although the incoming administration has not committed publicly to calling one, 230 00:13:31,811 --> 00:13:35,714 I'm hopeful and optimistic that this governor and this legislature 231 00:13:35,714 --> 00:13:38,184 will do the right thing this time, particularly 232 00:13:38,184 --> 00:13:42,221 since we've had so many directives from the court 233 00:13:42,288 --> 00:13:44,256 saying either you do it or we will. 234 00:13:44,256 --> 00:13:47,393 If lawmakers fail to create a congressional map 235 00:13:47,393 --> 00:13:51,230 that is not in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the case heads 236 00:13:51,230 --> 00:13:56,202 to Louisiana's middle district court for a federal judge to decide. 237 00:13:56,268 --> 00:13:59,205 When Donna Edwards took on the role of Louisiana's first lady, 238 00:13:59,205 --> 00:14:00,739 she came with three goals 239 00:14:00,739 --> 00:14:03,976 for finding Louisiana's foster care and education system 240 00:14:04,076 --> 00:14:07,079 and creating a mechanism to fight against human trafficking. 241 00:14:07,179 --> 00:14:09,081 After eight years in office, Ms.. 242 00:14:09,081 --> 00:14:11,150 Edwards has seen her goals become a reality 243 00:14:11,150 --> 00:14:13,185 with the Louisiana First Foundation. 244 00:14:13,185 --> 00:14:15,120 In this in-depth interview with the First Lady. 245 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,389 She reflects on her legacy. 246 00:14:17,389 --> 00:14:18,991 Let's rewind to 2016. 247 00:14:18,991 --> 00:14:21,360 So you become the first lady of Louisiana, 248 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,195 and there's no training school for this position. 249 00:14:23,195 --> 00:14:25,965 It's something that you have to figure out on your own. 250 00:14:25,965 --> 00:14:29,869 What was your vision for the role and did it evolve over the years? 251 00:14:29,935 --> 00:14:33,606 You know, there is no job description for the first spouse. 252 00:14:33,672 --> 00:14:37,343 And so the only job requirement was that 253 00:14:37,343 --> 00:14:38,911 is that you have to be married to the governor. 254 00:14:38,911 --> 00:14:41,914 And so I you know, I fit that job description. 255 00:14:41,981 --> 00:14:45,084 I qualified after 34 years of marriage. 256 00:14:45,117 --> 00:14:49,421 So, you know, it did it evolved. I knew 257 00:14:49,488 --> 00:14:51,824 what I wanted that I knew. I. 258 00:14:51,824 --> 00:14:55,794 I started learning about the mansion. 259 00:14:55,861 --> 00:14:59,064 And so I the first thing I did is 260 00:14:59,064 --> 00:15:02,968 I got involved with wanting to 261 00:15:03,035 --> 00:15:03,702 repair. 262 00:15:03,702 --> 00:15:06,705 There was a lot of things that needed to be updated here. 263 00:15:06,939 --> 00:15:08,507 I knew that needed to happen. 264 00:15:08,507 --> 00:15:13,507 Invited Alice Foster over and and a group that had helped her. 265 00:15:14,113 --> 00:15:17,516 And so we started that process of building 266 00:15:17,583 --> 00:15:19,952 up the foundation or starting a new foundation 267 00:15:19,952 --> 00:15:22,087 because the other one had been laid to rest. 268 00:15:22,087 --> 00:15:25,691 So we started the Governor's Mansion Preservation Foundation, 269 00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:28,961 started raising money, working with other people, started 270 00:15:28,961 --> 00:15:32,698 working with interior designers, raised over 271 00:15:32,765 --> 00:15:37,765 $1,000,000 plus to refurbish and preserve this mansion. 272 00:15:38,504 --> 00:15:41,006 That's the first thing I did, 273 00:15:41,006 --> 00:15:43,042 because that was in front of me. 274 00:15:43,042 --> 00:15:45,778 The second thing, as a former music teacher, 275 00:15:45,778 --> 00:15:49,682 I wanted to to bring awareness that 276 00:15:49,748 --> 00:15:52,618 that was something that we needed to keep in our public schools. 277 00:15:52,618 --> 00:15:55,988 And all schools was music art movement. 278 00:15:56,055 --> 00:16:00,359 As a former music teacher, having left the classroom 279 00:16:00,426 --> 00:16:05,197 in our small town of Amy, they didn't replace me. 280 00:16:05,264 --> 00:16:08,067 And so all of those children every year 281 00:16:08,067 --> 00:16:12,037 that had been teaching and those that I had left, 282 00:16:12,104 --> 00:16:13,172 you know, 283 00:16:13,172 --> 00:16:17,109 now had a new music teacher, it saddened me. 284 00:16:17,176 --> 00:16:20,079 And so, you know, we know 285 00:16:20,079 --> 00:16:24,383 studies show that music, art and movement enhance the other core subjects. 286 00:16:24,383 --> 00:16:27,886 That is data statistics, all of that shows. 287 00:16:27,886 --> 00:16:32,424 And so I knew I wanted to bring awareness to the need for us to teach music, art, 288 00:16:32,424 --> 00:16:34,927 move in our schools. So I was going to do something with that. 289 00:16:34,927 --> 00:16:37,496 So that's where I started. That's where you started. 290 00:16:37,496 --> 00:16:41,700 And of course, that ended up giving way to that entire movement that you created, 291 00:16:41,700 --> 00:16:45,270 which was teacher music, art movement, which you just mentioned. 292 00:16:45,270 --> 00:16:47,406 Right? And then also it was all under that umbrella 293 00:16:47,406 --> 00:16:49,008 for the Louisiana First Foundation. 294 00:16:49,008 --> 00:16:52,011 So I started the foundation, Louisiana First Foundation, 295 00:16:52,177 --> 00:16:55,180 and then came the Teach music art movement, Teach man. 296 00:16:55,214 --> 00:16:56,048 I started Teach Man 297 00:16:56,048 --> 00:17:00,786 because as a former military wife and just in the south, we use ma'am a lot. 298 00:17:00,786 --> 00:17:03,422 And so it kind of brings about respect. 299 00:17:03,422 --> 00:17:05,324 Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. 300 00:17:05,324 --> 00:17:07,960 And so teach ma'am 301 00:17:08,060 --> 00:17:09,695 pretty much says respect the arts. 302 00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:12,698 And so that's where that came from. 303 00:17:12,765 --> 00:17:13,065 Yeah. 304 00:17:13,065 --> 00:17:16,068 And you were talking a lot about your 305 00:17:16,101 --> 00:17:18,303 your history as a public music school teacher. 306 00:17:18,303 --> 00:17:19,638 Do you think that there was anything else 307 00:17:19,638 --> 00:17:21,774 that you learned from that job that you took into this one 308 00:17:21,774 --> 00:17:23,609 that kind of prepared you for public service? 309 00:17:23,609 --> 00:17:27,279 I think John, Bill and I both value people, value people 310 00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:28,380 from all walks of life. 311 00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:31,483 And we both walked into this position 312 00:17:31,683 --> 00:17:36,683 with that same feeling and wanting to make things better. 313 00:17:36,955 --> 00:17:39,691 And, you know, coming from a very small community, 314 00:17:39,691 --> 00:17:44,096 a small area in a meet and having served that community 315 00:17:44,096 --> 00:17:47,866 after leaving the military, he was the president of the class. 316 00:17:47,866 --> 00:17:51,403 I was present auxiliary building up the community that we were in. 317 00:17:51,503 --> 00:17:53,539 We both live by their philosophy. 318 00:17:53,539 --> 00:17:55,140 Leave it better than you find it. Right. 319 00:17:55,140 --> 00:17:59,611 And so together we built a playground in our community. 320 00:17:59,611 --> 00:18:02,614 And so we brought that same mindset here. 321 00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:05,851 Him on, obviously a larger 322 00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:06,685 playground, this 323 00:18:06,685 --> 00:18:09,788 state and you know, here in the governor's mansion. 324 00:18:09,788 --> 00:18:13,959 And then taking that idea of the teach music art movement 325 00:18:13,959 --> 00:18:16,995 and then loving the children and then realizing 326 00:18:16,995 --> 00:18:21,100 that our Department of Children Family Services and the children 327 00:18:21,166 --> 00:18:26,166 that are there in the foster care program and then they end up in the states 328 00:18:26,939 --> 00:18:29,942 or in the states hands are our children. 329 00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:33,645 And so I wanted to be a part of that and what I can do to support them, 330 00:18:33,645 --> 00:18:34,947 to help them, 331 00:18:34,947 --> 00:18:38,016 because they needed some love and help and they need encouragement 332 00:18:38,016 --> 00:18:40,953 because caseworkers are most often like teachers and educators, 333 00:18:40,953 --> 00:18:44,790 they oftentimes pull out of their pockets to help the children. 334 00:18:44,890 --> 00:18:45,724 So. Right. 335 00:18:45,724 --> 00:18:47,593 And I actually do want to talk a little bit more 336 00:18:47,593 --> 00:18:50,596 about the work that you did with Louisiana's foster children 337 00:18:50,662 --> 00:18:53,532 and what's unique about this program is that it linked churches 338 00:18:53,532 --> 00:18:57,002 and faith based organizations with these foster groups. 339 00:18:57,069 --> 00:19:01,406 So how else has your faith influenced your work while you were in office? 340 00:19:01,607 --> 00:19:06,578 So we came up with the idea if every church, because we have over 4000 341 00:19:06,578 --> 00:19:11,383 churches in our state, we have over 4000 children in foster care at any given time. 342 00:19:11,483 --> 00:19:14,119 And so and this kind of go together, right? 343 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:17,322 And so if every church in our state 344 00:19:17,422 --> 00:19:21,193 would consider recruiting one family within their church 345 00:19:21,293 --> 00:19:22,661 and that one family goes through 346 00:19:22,661 --> 00:19:26,331 the foster care program and become a certified foster family, 347 00:19:26,431 --> 00:19:27,199 and then the church 348 00:19:27,199 --> 00:19:31,870 wrap themselves around that family and that child, Are those children. 349 00:19:31,937 --> 00:19:34,072 Can you imagine what that would do 350 00:19:34,072 --> 00:19:37,509 for those children in our state or our communities? 351 00:19:37,576 --> 00:19:39,411 We would take care of all the children 352 00:19:39,411 --> 00:19:41,947 and then we would literally take care of every child in our state. 353 00:19:41,947 --> 00:19:43,182 That's huge. 354 00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:44,183 And it wouldn't be hard. 355 00:19:44,183 --> 00:19:46,818 It's not like we have a we have to have a program. 356 00:19:46,818 --> 00:19:50,989 I have to do is stand up in church and say, who in the congregation is a 357 00:19:50,989 --> 00:19:54,326 is a foster parent who in the congregation knows someone's a foster parent? 358 00:19:54,526 --> 00:19:57,196 What can we do to help them this week? Can we bring them food? 359 00:19:57,196 --> 00:19:58,864 We love food in Louisiana. 360 00:19:58,864 --> 00:20:01,166 We can bring them food this once a week. 361 00:20:01,166 --> 00:20:04,069 Can we offer to support them in afterschool programs? 362 00:20:04,069 --> 00:20:06,805 Maybe there's a tutoring program, maybe there's a basketball. 363 00:20:06,805 --> 00:20:08,373 We have basketball in our community. 364 00:20:08,373 --> 00:20:11,310 You know, offer to help them with clothing. 365 00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:14,279 Maybe they need 366 00:20:14,346 --> 00:20:16,748 prom dresses or maybe there's a, 367 00:20:16,748 --> 00:20:20,385 you know, some school clothes offer to help them with tutoring. 368 00:20:20,385 --> 00:20:23,422 There's all kinds of things we can do to help. 369 00:20:23,422 --> 00:20:26,458 But I encourage the churches to step up and be a part of that. 370 00:20:26,458 --> 00:20:29,861 And so that's something I will continue to do even after leaving office. 371 00:20:29,962 --> 00:20:33,732 Well, another aspect of the Louisiana First Foundation was human trafficking. 372 00:20:33,832 --> 00:20:36,835 It is you mentioned in other interviews that you didn't know 373 00:20:36,835 --> 00:20:40,472 much about human trafficking before taking on the role as first lady. 374 00:20:40,672 --> 00:20:42,874 So what compelled you to get involved with this? 375 00:20:42,874 --> 00:20:44,343 Well, I didn't. 376 00:20:44,343 --> 00:20:46,211 And I'm embarrassed to tell you that I didn't. 377 00:20:46,211 --> 00:20:47,312 And I say that quite often. 378 00:20:47,312 --> 00:20:51,016 And it's one of those situations that once you do know it, 379 00:20:51,049 --> 00:20:54,353 when you hear about it, you can't unhear it. 380 00:20:54,453 --> 00:20:56,922 Once you 381 00:20:56,989 --> 00:20:59,758 know that it's right here in your own community, which it is. 382 00:20:59,758 --> 00:21:02,361 It was in our community. And I meet 383 00:21:02,361 --> 00:21:04,930 you can't walk away from that and you can't say, 384 00:21:04,930 --> 00:21:06,598 I don't want to have a part of that. 385 00:21:06,598 --> 00:21:10,002 These are children, the average age of a young girl 386 00:21:10,002 --> 00:21:14,439 in our state of Louisiana that is trafficked is 13. 387 00:21:14,506 --> 00:21:17,876 And so you have to say, what can I do? 388 00:21:17,909 --> 00:21:19,745 How can I help with this situation? 389 00:21:19,745 --> 00:21:24,149 And I knew I could possibly leverage this leadership role at some level 390 00:21:24,349 --> 00:21:27,653 to be a voice for the voiceless, to help in some way. 391 00:21:27,653 --> 00:21:29,521 And what can I do? What could I do? 392 00:21:29,521 --> 00:21:34,059 And so I just started reaching out to others, you know, and talking about it and 393 00:21:34,126 --> 00:21:35,427 speaking out about it. 394 00:21:35,427 --> 00:21:40,198 And we started working and through the office, 395 00:21:40,265 --> 00:21:42,701 the governor's Office of Human Trafficking Awareness. 396 00:21:42,701 --> 00:21:43,335 Dana, Dr. 397 00:21:43,335 --> 00:21:47,239 Dana Hunter, we were able she was able to just really work 398 00:21:47,239 --> 00:21:50,242 hard to train law enforcement. 399 00:21:50,242 --> 00:21:53,245 We traveled the state, had summits around the state. 400 00:21:53,312 --> 00:21:55,080 I've had my own Zoom summit. 401 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,684 We've went from 300 people attending to over 600 402 00:21:58,684 --> 00:22:02,821 800 people from around not just our state, the country, other countries. 403 00:22:02,888 --> 00:22:06,158 Now, I've started the National Coalition for the Prevention of Human Sex 404 00:22:06,158 --> 00:22:09,161 Trafficking with other for spouses around the country. 405 00:22:09,261 --> 00:22:10,762 And I'll continue to do that, 406 00:22:10,762 --> 00:22:13,231 spreading awareness because it's happening in every state. 407 00:22:13,231 --> 00:22:15,734 Well, eight years is a lot of time for hindsight. 408 00:22:15,734 --> 00:22:19,171 What is the most difficult aspect of being the first spouse? 409 00:22:19,204 --> 00:22:20,839 We've had a lot of trauma. 410 00:22:20,839 --> 00:22:22,841 A lot of things happen over these last eight years. 411 00:22:22,841 --> 00:22:27,412 You know, the 2016, we had multiple tornadoes that year. 412 00:22:27,412 --> 00:22:29,348 We had shooting here in Baton Rouge. 413 00:22:29,348 --> 00:22:31,683 We had officers killed. 414 00:22:31,683 --> 00:22:36,683 We had we had the that blood of 2016, I was going to say a 100 year flood. 415 00:22:38,390 --> 00:22:41,793 And I pause because I think now they're saying it's what, 416 00:22:41,860 --> 00:22:45,731 300, 400 year flood, something even bigger than that, longer than that. 417 00:22:45,731 --> 00:22:49,134 But that was just in one year. It's a lot. 418 00:22:49,167 --> 00:22:53,305 And to watch your husband go through that and to watch our our friends 419 00:22:53,305 --> 00:22:57,476 and family members in our state go through, that was hard. 420 00:22:57,542 --> 00:23:01,847 And then all the hurricanes that we've had and COVID and 421 00:23:01,947 --> 00:23:04,950 the drought and the fires and 422 00:23:05,083 --> 00:23:08,787 salt in the river, it's just been a lot over this last eight years. 423 00:23:08,787 --> 00:23:12,290 And so but, you know, I believe that God put him here 424 00:23:12,290 --> 00:23:16,461 for this time because his military experience 425 00:23:16,561 --> 00:23:19,931 really played a huge part in how he governed our state. 426 00:23:20,132 --> 00:23:23,668 And is there anything that you'll miss? 427 00:23:23,735 --> 00:23:24,936 I'll miss a lot. 428 00:23:24,936 --> 00:23:29,936 All the dismissed the people you know, this has been such a joy, a humbling 429 00:23:30,175 --> 00:23:33,745 and an honor to be here in this governor's mansion. 430 00:23:33,745 --> 00:23:37,215 And we have really tried very hard to open it 431 00:23:37,315 --> 00:23:40,852 to to remind people that this is the state's home. 432 00:23:40,852 --> 00:23:43,555 It always is. Is so much fun when children come to visit. 433 00:23:43,555 --> 00:23:45,791 I come down and I welcome them to the governor's mansion. 434 00:23:45,791 --> 00:23:49,428 And I say, did you know that this is your mansion? 435 00:23:49,428 --> 00:23:54,428 And their eyes get really big right now, like, Yes, this is your mansion. 436 00:23:54,533 --> 00:23:56,067 This is the state's home. 437 00:23:56,067 --> 00:23:59,671 And so to be able to share this with the people of the state 438 00:23:59,671 --> 00:24:03,408 and remind them that this is their home and to take care of it and to leave it 439 00:24:03,408 --> 00:24:08,046 better than I found it has been such a wonderful, rewarding experience. 440 00:24:08,113 --> 00:24:10,515 So what's next for you after all of this is over? 441 00:24:10,515 --> 00:24:12,684 I'm going home to be a grandmother. 442 00:24:12,684 --> 00:24:15,420 Yes, I'm very excited about that. 443 00:24:15,420 --> 00:24:18,557 And I'm to take some time to rest and and I'm 444 00:24:18,557 --> 00:24:22,561 going to keep working in my foundation and working hard to continue 445 00:24:22,561 --> 00:24:26,064 bringing awareness of the need to support foster children, 446 00:24:26,131 --> 00:24:31,131 the need to remind people about human trafficking and making. 447 00:24:31,303 --> 00:24:36,303 We have some great laws, but continue making our laws tougher and harder 448 00:24:36,408 --> 00:24:39,277 and remind people that, you know, 449 00:24:39,277 --> 00:24:43,181 if there are no buyers, we wouldn't have this issue. 450 00:24:43,281 --> 00:24:47,018 And then also continue talking about the need for music 451 00:24:47,018 --> 00:24:51,256 art movement because, you know, we had John Bettis here the other night 452 00:24:51,356 --> 00:24:53,592 and wow, that should remind us 453 00:24:53,592 --> 00:24:56,695 all why there's a need for music art movement in our schools. 454 00:24:56,761 --> 00:24:57,629 Right. 455 00:24:57,629 --> 00:24:58,663 All right. Well, thank you so much. 456 00:24:58,663 --> 00:25:00,765 Just slightly. 457 00:25:00,765 --> 00:25:03,835 According to the most recent data from the Louisiana Department of Health, 458 00:25:03,835 --> 00:25:08,373 our state records 30 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. 459 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,344 Lack of access to quality health care, racial disparities and social determinants 460 00:25:12,344 --> 00:25:16,515 of health are all factors in Louisiana's poor maternal health outcomes. 461 00:25:16,615 --> 00:25:19,751 In this latest episode of Louisiana Spotlight, we analyze 462 00:25:19,751 --> 00:25:23,154 how Louisiana got here and what we can do to improve. 463 00:25:23,221 --> 00:25:28,221 Here's a sneak peek of Louisiana Spotlights Birthright. 464 00:25:31,396 --> 00:25:32,531 I'm Tiffany Dietrich. 465 00:25:32,531 --> 00:25:34,132 I'm a licensed midwife. 466 00:25:34,132 --> 00:25:37,202 We are at Sage Birth Center in New Orleans. 467 00:25:37,202 --> 00:25:39,371 It's the first freestanding birth center. 468 00:25:39,371 --> 00:25:42,307 We've been here for about two years. 469 00:25:42,307 --> 00:25:45,377 I have had a birth center in California for about 13 years, 470 00:25:45,377 --> 00:25:48,380 and I started doing birth work in the nineties. 471 00:25:48,446 --> 00:25:51,182 I was initially licensed in Washington State 472 00:25:51,182 --> 00:25:56,182 and then practicing in California and then most recently here, Louisiana. 473 00:25:56,288 --> 00:26:01,288 Midwifery model of care is very focused on education. 474 00:26:02,460 --> 00:26:04,996 It's informed consent driven. 475 00:26:04,996 --> 00:26:08,300 We have a very specific demographic of clients 476 00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:12,470 that we take that are appropriate to birth in an out of hospital setting. 477 00:26:12,571 --> 00:26:16,141 In reality, that's most women in pregnancy. 478 00:26:16,241 --> 00:26:18,810 We provide all of the prenatal care. 479 00:26:18,810 --> 00:26:23,810 We do the birth, we do all of the postpartum care and education. 480 00:26:24,149 --> 00:26:29,149 And the amount of time that we spend in visits is a big part of improving birth 481 00:26:29,754 --> 00:26:34,754 outcomes in the South are outcomes are very poor for mothers and babies. 482 00:26:36,194 --> 00:26:39,431 Particular for women of color. 483 00:26:39,497 --> 00:26:42,901 And we know that if you look statistically 484 00:26:42,901 --> 00:26:46,905 at outcomes with midwifery based care, it's much better. 485 00:26:47,005 --> 00:26:51,142 You can watch the full Louisiana Spotlight episode on December 19th at 7 p.m. 486 00:26:51,142 --> 00:26:53,111 on OPB. 487 00:26:53,211 --> 00:26:54,512 That's our show for this week. 488 00:26:54,512 --> 00:26:59,512 Remember, you can watch anything anytime, wherever you are with our LP app, 489 00:27:00,518 --> 00:27:03,388 you can catch LP news and public affairs shows as well 490 00:27:03,388 --> 00:27:06,591 as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years. 491 00:27:06,691 --> 00:27:09,928 And please like us on Facebook and Instagram 492 00:27:09,995 --> 00:27:12,998 for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 493 00:27:13,031 --> 00:27:15,433 I'm Karen Lalor and I'm crossing here. 494 00:27:15,433 --> 00:27:16,668 Until next time. 495 00:27:16,668 --> 00:27:21,668 That's the state we're in. 496 00:27:39,624 --> 00:27:42,060 Every day I go to work for Entergy. 497 00:27:42,060 --> 00:27:43,828 I know customers are counting on me. 498 00:27:43,828 --> 00:27:47,365 So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on 499 00:27:47,432 --> 00:27:51,302 and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen. 500 00:27:51,369 --> 00:27:53,171 Together, together. Together. 501 00:27:53,171 --> 00:27:58,171 We power life. 502 00:28:05,550 --> 00:28:08,286 Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth B 503 00:28:08,286 --> 00:28:12,757 Zeigler Foundation and the Zeigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall. 504 00:28:12,824 --> 00:28:15,827 The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists 505 00:28:15,927 --> 00:28:20,598 and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana 506 00:28:20,699 --> 00:28:21,066 and the 507 00:28:21,066 --> 00:28:24,135 foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. 508 00:28:24,369 --> 00:28:26,404 With support from viewers like you.