Latest news with #Nungesser
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill expanding ticket writing power of Louisiana park rangers advances
BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Louisiana lawmaker wants to broaden the state's approach to litter abatement by expanding the power of state park rangers. House Bill 173, authored by Representative John Illg of Jefferson Parish, seeks to expand the ticket-writing powers for park rangers. Current law allows state park rangers to write tickets for litter offenses within the park only. Ticketed offenses range from simple littering to intentional acts of littering. Tickets would be mailed and handled by an administrative law judge rather than bogging down district attorneys' offices. Dumpsite violations or gross littering caught on camera will be investigated and treated as a criminal matter, under current Louisiana law. Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser testified before the committee to express support for Illg's bill and highlight the work of those who volunteer for Keep Louisiana Beautiful litter abatement efforts. Bill banning ballon releases in Louisiana breezes through House committee More than ever before, this has turned into a movement only about 20% of Louisianans litter, but boy, they litter a lot,' Nungesser said. 'And a lot of these dumpsites, when we get a call by the time Wildlife and Fishery or the sheriff's office can get there, they're gone. They don't have the manpower sometimes to look through the trash and find those receipts. And so where we have state parks in that area, our rangers are willing, when we get the call to go out and assess the problem and write the tickets.' Nungesser said expanding ticket-writing power is an effort to better enforce Louisiana's current litter laws. To ensure that local district courts are not overwhelmed with litterbug case reviews, there is an amended provision that 'creates the authority for the department to assess civil fines using the adjudicatory process through the Division of Administrative Law. When asked about the safety of the public and the rangers by Representative Neil Riser, Nungesser stated that they undergo the same training as law enforcement officers. 'It's more so for those dumpsites that continue over and over and over. We're actually going to be – this will allow us to put cameras out as wildlife fishery does, but they have many other tasks so this will allow us to put some out and respond to local governments that are reaching out to us time and time again,' Nungesser said. The enforcement will focus on communities with nearby state parks, allowing for a more responsive approach to local entities that work diligently to maintain the cleanliness of those areas. 'If you get a ticket, you're 80% less likely to litter. And I think through that and the added cleanups we're doing and education, we're going to see one day when we don't have to spend the $92 million we spent last year cleaning up after the fact,' Nungessor said. Nungesser and Illg said that violators would be subject to a fine or a day of litter cleanup for those who can not pay. The bill, passed through the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment with amendments, will be sent to the House floor for discussion. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Alligator hunters post successful 2024 season in Louisiana, LDWF may extend 2025 season
BATON ROUGE, La. () — The 2024 alligator season in Louisiana was a successful one, according to numbers released by the . Louisiana hunters just wrapped up an alligator season in which 32,335 alligators have been reported harvested to date — making 2024 the highest harvest total since 2016. According to LDWF, from less than 100,000 to more than 2 million in the past 50 years. That's nearly three times the gator population of Florida, the state with the second-most alligators. There are also nearly 1 million alligators on farms in Louisiana. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The alligator population has has rebounded so much that the Louisiana Wildlife Commission approved a notice of intent to extend the season for 2025. The proposal would set the East Zone season from the last Wednesday in August until Dec. 31 and the West Zone season from the first Wednesday in September until Dec. 31. That would expand the current 60-day season in both zones. Currently, nearly 2,900 licensed alligator hunters participate in the annual harvest. During the history of the program, the annual harvest has averaged around 24,000 alligators with a high of 36,301 alligators harvested in 2014, LDWF said. Nungesser highlights 'teamwork', Gulf shrimp, MICHELIN partnership in Louisiana Adidas shoes and gear are up to 55% off on Amazon right now 'Full House' property in San Francisco sells for $6 million; price includes celeb memorabilia in backyard Alligator hunters post successful 2024 season in Louisiana, LDWF may extend 2025 season House Republicans pass bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nungesser highlights ‘teamwork', Gulf shrimp, MICHELIN partnership in Louisiana
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Louisiana will join other southern states as MICHELIN unveils a regional guide highlighting popular eateries. Louisiana is celebrating the 'Year of Food,' which is being marked by an exciting partnership. Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Office of Tourism announced that Louisiana will participate in the MICHELIN Guide for the American South. The guide will highlight the state's 'diverse and authentic cuisine,' making it the first regional guide in North America. Nungesser said the guide is another significant step toward promoting everything Louisiana offers. 'Every year during the Louisiana Great Seafood Cookoff, we include chefs from all over the state. Many North Louisiana chefs and out west have won that title and went on to attract attention for their restaurant from people from all over the country in the world, both in North Louisiana and surely over in the Lake Charles area of Lafayette. So when Michelin came to the Southern states, after going to several Southern states, it was only fitting for us to reach out to our partners around the state,' Nungesser said. Testing reveals some Louisiana restaurants misrepresent imported shrimp as Gulf shrimp New Orleans is known for its famous restaurants, beloved by locals and visitors, but this is also true for other Louisiana cities, and the lieutenant governor says the MICHELIN partnership presents a great opportunity for other parts of the state without the reputation of the Crescent City. 'Hopefully, if we're lucky, they will receive several stars to restaurants all over the state because people will travel to visit restaurants on that list, and surely we want them to visit more than just New Orleans.' The lieutenant governor said restaurants across the state are being visited now in preparation for the complete release of the 2025 selected restaurants later in the year during the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony for the American South. Restaurants featured in the regional guide will receive one, two, or three stars. 'If you receive one star, that means you're a good restaurant. If you receive two stars, then it's worth detouring wherever you're going to make a trip to that restaurant. And if you receive three stars, it's worth planning your trip around going to that restaurant,' Nungesser explained. 'That will be international recognition for those people that are lucky enough to receive those stars.' The MICHELIN Guide started as a way for the tire company to give a little bonus to its customers by gathering notable stops for road trips, which also boosted tire sales. 'They had the idea to get people to travel and go visit other states to see the things worth seeing. So they really helped drive the tourism industry initially, early on with getting people to use their tires more,' Nungesser said. Louisiana is still in the national spotlight, as Lieutenant Governor Nungesser also announced that the state will be featured in the 2026 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day, with the theme 'Teamwork.' More Louisiana News 'As a matter of fact, I'll tell, I'll say it here first on your program that we'll be highlighting, the great foods of Louisiana on the Rose Parade float. This year's theme is, teamwork,' the lieutenant governor said. 'And what better teamwork than to put great Louisiana, all those great ingredients produced here in Louisiana, and a great pot of gumbo. It takes a great team to put together a great pot of gumbo. So that's gonna be our teamwork and our theme this year.' He said his office will partner with Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain to bring together Louisiana's native products, produce, and seafood to ensure every ingredient that belongs in the gumbo pot also makes it to the representative float. Nungesser, whose father was a Louisiana shrimper, shared some of his favorite traditional foods. Anything with Gulf shrimp is a go-to, including Galatois shrimp remoulade and shrimp creole, but he also loves red beans and rice and, of course, gumbo. As the son of a shrimper, it's no surprise that the lieutenant governor is interested in protecting and bolstering the interests of the state's shrimp economy. His office is over the seafood promotion board, and now, through legislative action, the office will oversee the inspection of imported shrimp formerly overseen by the Louisiana Department of Health. He shared the steps his office is taking to protect Louisiana's shrimp industry and protect consumers from shrimp that is filled with antibiotics or farmed and processed in unsanitary conditions. 'So now that's gonna be our responsibility, along with the AG department. Mike Strain is gonna do the testing. So we can catch those bad actors that mislabel seafood. And then I'm, I'm here today in Rhode Island at the Lieutenant Governor's Conference,' Nungesser said. 'Several years ago, I got them all to support a resolution asking the federal government. To impose a 10-cent-per-pound inspection fee. We inspect less than 10% of the imported seafood. A lot of that is rejected, chock-full of antibiotics or full of bacteria. It's unhealthy.' He hopes that President Trump's tariffs on imported shrimp will provide some relief for Louisiana shrimpers and drive consumers to buy shrimp from a few hundred miles away in the Gulf rather than thousands of miles away in a foreign country. 'We hope they'll use some of those tariffs to hire more inspectors, so those people are, are caught that are bringing in unhealthy seafood we inspect less than 5% of it. So that's a great start, but we are making progress,' Nungesser 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Louisiana launches ‘Love the Boot Week 2025' for litter cleanup
BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS)—On Friday, Baton Rouge kicked off a week dedicated to litter removal and beautification throughout Louisiana. More Louisiana News The nonprofit 'Keep Louisiana Beautiful' and Lieutenant Billy Nungesser kicked off 'Love the Boot Week 2025'. According to Nungesser, over 1,000 cleanups are planned across all 64 parishes from April 5th through the 13th. 'If you pick up litter for a day, you're about 80% less likely to litter again. So we're making progress,' Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser. 'This is no longer just a week cleanup, it is a movement. And we're gonna keep our foot on the gas until we have a clean Louisiana and put the paradise back in Sportsman's Paradise.' According to Keep Louisiana Beautiful, during 'Love the Boot Week' last year, 19,441 individuals volunteered, and 347 tons of litter were removed. 'It really is about engaging everyone like everyone has a responsibility to solve this problem. The good news is it's 100 % solvable, right? And so if everybody just took care of their space, right? Their neighborhood, their business, their community, then we could solve this problem,' said Susan Russell, Executive Director of Keep Louisiana Beautiful. Volunteers focused on community beautification, planting 921 trees, and refurbishing 366 gardens. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'We know that having a dirty, littered community decreases community pride. It leads to more criminal activity. It's unhealthy for our environment, not only for us as residents but our wildlife. We also know that it's an economic development and tourism problem,' said Courtney Hornsby, a Keep Louisiana Beautiful Board Member. 'Studies have shown time and time again that new businesses or new people do not want to move into your community or visit your community if it's dirty, if it's littered, if it looks like no one cares about it. And So this is a problem that touches every Louisiana state agency, every municipality, every corner of our state.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Statewide cleanup effort during Love the Boot Week
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser stopped by the WGNO studio to talk about Love the Boot week. Why do we need the love the boot effort? Because obviously we're not loving the boot too much. 'We got cameras out there catching you. Every one of those people got a ticket,' said Nungesser. 'Now you can report litterers by calling the hotline.' Learn the 'roots of our culture' at free Congo Square Rhythms Festival The hotline is 855-LA-Litter. The Love the Boot effort is one of 'the state's largest litter removal and beautification projects.' 'We moved Keep Louisiana Beautiful under my office four years ago. Every year we've seen an increase. Started out about 40 groups last year, 750 groups. Our goal is 1,000 groups. We are at 920 this morning. Your family, your organization, your school, your church,' said Nungesser. Why is it important? 'If you pick up litter for the day, you're 80% less likely to litter again. And so it's important to get more people involved. If you can't do it during Love the Boot Week, you can go to your local library anytime and check out Tom's Invest and clean up your neighborhood,' said Nungesser. Groups can sign up by visiting the Love the Boot website. Once done, report how much was picked so that officials can get an idea of what was cleaned up. Want to see your favorite Disney characters all in one show? All on ice? In 2024, Louisiana spent over $90 million cleaning up litter. 'If we do a little bit more work, education, clean up, ticketing people. On the front end, we can save a lot of money on the back end and use it for better things,' said Nungesser. Love the Boot Week runs from April 5 through April 13. 'Sign up today. Help us clean up our state.'Statewide cleanup effort during Love the Boot Week McConnell: US headed for 'Russia wins, America loses' headline on Ukraine deal Trump holds 'productive call' with new Canadian prime minister Want to see your favorite Disney characters all in one show? All on ice? Trump: House should take up Senate-passed DC funding fix immediately Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
